50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2019, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here and the third one here.

How're you getting on so far?

13. The Blade Itself – Joe Abercrombie

This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed it just as much if not more than the first time.

This is the first instalment of the fantasy First Law trilogy and the author’s debut novel. It is set in a pseudo-medieval world populated by many races with distinct cultures and detailed histories. There is a great deal of world building and character development that sets the scene for the main plot in the next two books. In some ways, the whole book feels like a bit of a prologue, but this didn't detract from my enjoyment of it.

There is political intrigue, backstabbing, war brewing and skirmishes aplenty. The dialogue is gritty and laced with black humour and biting sarcasm. Crude at times but also in keeping with the characters.

I loved that each of the main characters is very clearly defined and is in such contrast to their counterparts. There are no purely good or evil souls, and few of the archetypal fantasy roles. Despite each being morally dubious and repulsive at times, they do make for a disturbingly likeable cast.

Feeling a bit better now thanks. Polish 30p pretzel and 80p ice cream helped!

Glad you are feeling better Piggy It’s rotten being ill on holiday. I once spent 6 days of a Portuguese holiday confined to bed, unable even to get up to go to the loo. Thank god for my Kindle.

I spent most of a Turkish holiday in hospital once. Not nice. Actually the hospital was nice but not my idea of fun

I use audio books as actually sitting down with a book now seems wasteful when I can now trot around doing other things at the same time. It's opened up new genres for me - even managed to get through Atlas Shrugged, which has got some very windy monologues. Apart from listening to old favourites (Terry Pratchett is just on a loop), I've just finished Neil Gaiman's American Gods, good but I was expecting more for some reason (probably because of Good Omens). I have also developed a taste for zombie fiction, Mountain Man by K. C. Blackmore excellent. There is also a series called Nightlord by a chap called Garon Whited, he's not really read in the uk but if you can get his books off Amazon they are well worth the read and his sense of humour is very "british" for a guy from Texas.

42.) The Girl With All the Gifts, by M R Carey -- Melanie is a schoolgirl who goes to school in an underground bunker somewhere in the UK. Every morning, she is strapped into a wheelchair by two soldiers, one to fasten the straps, the other to keep a gun trained on her at all times. She lives for the days when she's taught by her favourite teacher, Miss Justineau, who introduces her to the Greek myths, and in particular the story of Pandora.

I loved this, and so far out of all the books I've read so far this year it's probably the one I've enjoyed the most, for its pure post-apocalyptic goodness. Having the disease that decimates the human race be caused by a fungus rather than the more typical virus or bacteria is a clever twist, and one that lends itself to some wonderful description of bodies wreathed with fungal threads, and to what was ultimately my favourite set-piece towards the end, when shit started getting real (and weird). Also as a bonus, I was thrilled that it was set in the UK.

I loved it so much I watched the film straight away, and was hugely disappointed. Unfortunately, despite a decent cast (Glenn Close, Paddy Considine), the film is bloody dreadful for a lot of reasons, which I won't rant about now, but I was gutted. But at least I've got the follow-up, The Boy on the Bridge to read.

43.) The Last Hours, Minette Walters -- When the Black Death hits Dorseteshire, and in the absence of her hated husband, Sir Richard, Lady Anne acts quickly and gathers all the serfs of her demesne into the grounds of her estate and destroys the bridge, cutting them all off from the rest of the countryside. She appoints a bastard serf Thaddeus as her steward, much to the fury of her daughter, but when his half-brother is murdered, Thaddeus leaves the demesne with five other young men to search for food.

Technically, this is really the first half of one massive novel split into two, the 'sequel' being, The Turn of Midnight. It's incredibly slow-moving, but it drew me in and held my interest, and I will definitely read the sequel.

Remus, I would say that The Shortest History of Germany is for those who know little/nothing of the history of that area of Europe. And so if you know a lot about the history of Germany/Prussia, then it’s not worth your pennies because you’ll know it all!

Thanks, Shake. I think you're probably right. Might see if I can get it from the library at some point, to just read the most modern section.

Glad you're feeling a bit better, Piggy and so sorry you've been unwell on holiday. How frustrating.

27. Slade House - David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas not Peep Show)

Creepy house horror set in the same world as Bone Clocks; very enjoyable page-turner and it was good to see some of the familiar characters, but not sure that this added anything to his existing mythical concept.

Been buy in real life so reading has taken a back seat this week.

Finished #33 The Cruel Prince which I enjoyed. I didn't realise that the author wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles which I enjoyed with my DDs when they were smaller. Two human twins are raised in Faerie by their parents murderer. The story is told from one of the twins Judes viewpoint. It begins as a typical (albeit with a fantastical setting) high school story but then widens it's scope into the politics of the Faerie court over the crisis of the succession of the new king. .

Then moved onto #34 The Lost Sisters which is a novella and retells the story of The Cruel Prince from the viewpoint of the other twin.

And now reading #35 The Wicked King the second in the series. A new king rules the seelie court who would really rather not feeling betrayed by Jude.

Obviously enjoying this set of books but think I'll need a break from fantasy for a bit.

27. When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Gah. Why do I do this to myself? Whilst I have read books with whimsical titles that I've liked (viz The Trouble with Goats and Sheep), most of them just wind me up and make me harrumph. This one followed the usual pattern. It just felt like quirky novel-by-numbers; a series of set pieces (including sexual abuse and 9/11) that just didn't draw me in. Didn't really care about the characters, not that interested in in what happened. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood this week. It wasn't awful or anything, just meh.

1. Normal People by Sally Rooney - well written, well observed. If I were younger I'd have loved it but it's about young people at uni which I'm a few years past. Very enjoyable though.

2. The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd - utterly fabulous short stories. I'm not usually a fan of the genre but loved every page of this.

3)The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Blythell - loving this gentle memoir of a man who bought a second hand book shop in rural Scotland.

4)The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. Very formulaic, I was a pisshead then I stopped type of book. I suppose might be helpful if you're in the same boat, but I'm not and found it boring and the writer unlikeable.

5. The Wild Remedy by Emma Mitchell . This was serialised in one of the papers and I loved the excerpts and bought it. It's a lovely gentle book to dip in and out of, and when I read it, it makes me want to be somewhere remote eg Norfolk, going for long solitary walks. Inspiring and beautifully written and illustrated.

6. The Salt Path by Ray Win. An assistant in Waterstones was recommending this to someone and I overheard and bought it too. Lovely (though shocking and sad) story of a couple who go through some serious shit and then pick themselves up and walk around the coastline of Devon/Cornwall and maybe a bit of Somerset and Dorset. Uplifting, inspiring and memorable.

7. Tangerine by Christine Mangan. Another Waterstones recommendation and I loved it. Gripping story of young women in Tangier - a real page turner and quite chilling. Great fun.

8. All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison. Loved this beautifully written tale of a country childhood in the 1930s. So evocative.

9. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. Absolutely loved every minute of this 1966 classic about three women in showbiz in America. Excellent and just as relevant and sharp today, half a century on.

Currently reading:
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.

17. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

Another Top 50 reread, this remains an absolute gut-puncher of a book. Coming in at under 200 pages, it nails human folly and its tragic consequences in a way that like all Vonnegut is funny, ridiculous, and desperately sad. Not one of his more optimistic reads but sadly more relevant than ever in the face of our species' headlong rush to environmental disaster.

Books 1 and 2 in Colleen McCullough's (of Thorn Birds fame) Rome series are 99p at the moment.

I am with grimupnorth CCM was a bit meh for me but loved his Latin Trilogy and think they are due for a re read.

20 The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Short little book that has been on my kindle for a while and rattled through, finishing early this morning (why can't I sleep past 5,30?)I am sure everyone knows the story about the town where men create their ideal women as an antidote to the women's lib movement.

I'm living the dream here in Essex, visiting family and eating chocolate and have finished:
37. Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout - I was rather moved by this tale of mother and daughter and the awkward relationship they have. Strout does write well, she really crafts some of her sentences, and captures the thoughts and emotions that lie underneath the ordinary things we do and say with so much grace and simplicity. This was a slow starter but to me was very touching.

And now I'm reading Landfill by Tim Dee which is a book about gulls. Ah well.

46. To Love and Be Wise, Josephine Tey
Detective novel from 1950. Not one of her best, and not the place to start if you're new to her, but I was happy enough to dip into her world for a little bit.

47. What a Complete Aisling, by Sarah Breen and Emer McLysaght
Narrated by nice Irish girl who commutes from her small town home to her office in Dublin. Her long-term boyfriend won't propose, but she has friends and family and neighbours and wants to "Live, love, laugh", as the decals on her bedroom wall advise. This reads like an odd mixture of chicklit and anthropological case study - apparently it started as a Facebook page where the authors affectionately document the hallmarks of girls like Aisling - what she wears, drinks, eats, says. It's very popular in Ireland and almost scarily accurate.. I could almost taste the West Coast Cooler and Burger Bites as I read.

I believe I am at about 53 or 54 so the latest is Calypso by David Sedaris. I read all the samples available on Kindle and then finally broke down and bought this one as an easy short-attention span read. I think I will have a break from him now as the more I read the weirder he seems - although how much of his memoirs are fictional is open for debate. Would you let a stranger remove a benign tumour in the middle of the night & then keep it in the freezer? 54 Louise Candlish - Our House superior chic-lit thriller.
re Dorothy Whipple the name is enough to arrest your interest as it sounds like a children's icecream - I read a few of these some years ago and found them a bit overblown and over-written although, of course, better writing by far than anything contemporary in the chic-lit category. I re-sold them on Amazon I think. They were Persephone press and nice books to own with attractive inside covers and a free bookmark. I was drawn to the whole Persephone vibe as highlighted in their magazine with cultured literary functions in Lamb's Conduit Street (wherever that is in London) and lively discussion but never went. (non-story alert). I think Carmen Callil of Virago said that they drew the line at re-publishing Dorothy whipple and I can appreciate what she meant. Did not finish Don't let go by Michel Bussi - I couldn't get hold of the plane crash one at the library so took this instead. Don't like translations and it is so stilted as to be unreadable but worse are the offensive descriptions of different races on the French island of Reunion. ".. the cascade of blonde hair, the fine white teeth. A pureblood! …" Plus native words translated with foot-notes which is always an irritant for me.

23. Bonjour Tristesse & A Certain Smile - Françoise Sagan So very French! And yet I never read this/ any Sagan before despite doing a French degree with a huge literature component. Possibly she was on the reading list and I just never got to her. Of the two stories/ mini novels in this book I far preferred the first, although I’m not sure whether that was just because there’s only so much of ‘this sort of thing’ (existential ennui as expressed by amoral teenage girls I guess) I can take seriously at 40, so the two back to back were a bit much.

Nearly finished Pure by Andrew Miller also. Which is also set in France (pre-Revolutionary in this case). Thats a lot of French themed reading considering I’m currently on holiday in Spain. It’s thick cloud here and I’m knackered after a full on few days (DP not very good at ‘relaxing’ on holiday and insists on driving to about 10 different places every day, plus we run around doing little jobs for my aunt we are visiting) so I’m having a pj and reading day in the apartment whilst DP and the aunt have gone shopping.

DecumusScotti I completely agree with your review of both the book and the movie of The Girl With All The Gifts. The book is wonderful, the film is utter trash.

Pencilmuseum I absolutely love David Sedaris. Have you seen him live? If you haven't (and get the chance to) it's worth it. I know what you mean about the potential fictional element, however life writing is sort of like that (as I learnt in my first creative writing uni module last year). Though with the price of American healthcare, it may not be so far-fetched .

25: The Year of Reading Dangerously - Andy Miller

Reviewed already on this thread, I think. Andy Miller is now one half of the team behind the excellent Backlisted podcast, and it chimes in very nicely with this thread that his project was to read 50 books in a year. The endeavour came about because, some years ago, as a frazzled parent to a young child, working as a busy book editor commuting to London, he'd stopped reading for pleasure - and decided to do something about it.

He's often very funny indeed (as Backlisted fans, and those who follow him on Twitter, will already know), and his verdicts on the books he reads are always good value. I flagged a bit at points - he lost me for a while with his fan letter to Michel Houellebecq - but on the whole this is a witty and engaging piece of flag-flying on behalf of books and the joy of reading. And Mumsnet gets a mention! (Andy, are you on here ? )
ps I'm slightly nervous now because he found Moby Dick quite hard going - it's just been picked for our next Book Club....

And updating with:

20. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper - Hallie Rubenhold

I know that others on the thread have already this. I found this an interesting read as it was quite insightful into the living conditions of the time and how swiftly fortunes could change. The common themes running through the victim's lives were the hugely negative impact of alcohol (for all of them) and the dependency of women on men because women's wages were generally insufficient to support them (unless they had a live-in position) and it was assumed they would live with a father or husband or other family rather than having to support themselves solely from their own earnings. Not at all sensational and recommended.

21. At Lady Molly's - Anthony Powell

This is the fourth book in A Dance to the Music of Time and I am now (after initial doubts) really enjoying them. The narrator, Nick, is now in his late 20s and moderately successful but still attending parties (often against his better judgement) where he encounters old and familiar faces. It's great to see the re-appearance of characters from earlier books and the ups and downs of their lives alongside the introduction of new characters. My favourite book of the series to date.

22 The Suspect - Fiona Barton

I raced through this as it was a real page-turner. The ending was not entirely a surprise but some twists along the way. Regular characters from her previous books re-appeared.

Will catch up now on what everyone else has been reading whilst I decide what to read next.....

Now read what others have been reading and see that I am only slightly lagging behind Pepe on A Dance to the Music of Time

Hope everyone enjoys their Easter breaks particularly those who are away for Easter with appropriate reads!

GandT - I’m on a one a month routine. Until this month it’s always been a case of “oh, really should get round to that”, whereas this month I got it off the bookshelf at the start of the month. Like you, I’m definitely getting more into the series with each one I read.

17. When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi
A book written by a young neurosurgeon who is diagnosed with an inoperable lung cancer as he tries to discover what makes life worth living.

This was a remarkable book which I think is much reviewed on here. I found the strength shown in this to continue with life until you can’t any longer inspiring. Utterly heartbreaking though that the life of a man with such talent for curing others was cut so short and that he didn’t live longer to know his daughter.