50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth 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, the third one here and the fourth one here.

Have finished off a couple that have been on the go simultaneously.

60 The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Ray and her husband lose their home the day before he receives a terminal diagnosis. Obviously at this point the only option available to them is to set out to walk the 600 plus mile SW Coast Path, wild camping and living on noodles and fudge. It's an amazing tale of love and endurance - the style wasn't really my cup of tea, but I was thrilled by the story and loved
her account of those parts of the path I have walked.

61 Hired by James Bloodworth
Depressing account of work in low wage jobs based on the author's own experience. He works at an Amazon warehouse, for a care company and for Uber, and rents the rooms he can afford on his limited and variable wages. I think everyone should read this, and no one should talk about the benefits of the gig economy or the flexibility of zero hours contracts unless they do so in full knowledge of what it means for people working those jobs.

62 The Diving Pool by Yokō Ogawa
This was a spooky trilogy of novellas, all narrated by women who become increasingly disturbed and disturbing. They are dark and beautiful and really uncanny. This was May's entry to the "12 books in translation" challenge and a big hit with me and my sister, which makes it rare indeed. I'll definitely seek out more by the same author.

That was me, Chessie, and I was also championing the Viv Albertine book as my best read of last year (with an early shout out to The Salt Path) so I'm feeling modestly triumphant. I'm increasingly finding non-fiction to be more satisfying than fiction.

Not that I've ready anything wildly satisfying for a while. Last night I went through a pile of library books, picked up on a whim, and decided after a few pages that I couldn't be bothered. I have a few books on hand that I think I'm going to like, but I don't feel in the right frame of mind just now.

Thanks biblio!

@Sadik I think you'll love it. I've put the sequel The Fated Sky on my wish list. Also if you haven't already check out the novella that started this series although it's set in the timelines future The Lady Astronaut of Mars (this also won a well deserved Hugo)

31. Simplicity Rules by Jo Facer. Another education read. I am increasingly self discovering that I am not a knowledge curriculum gal, and shan't be applying to a school which insists on the 'direct instruction' approach. Not for me. Too restrictive. I love knowledge but would be exhausted using the 'methodologies' and creatively repressed. It's stultifying. Book is clearly written but I disagree on a range of points. Shame as she is a) a woman and b) an English teacher : voices not often heard in the educational writing sector. She ahs not at all convinced me that English and DI are happy bedfellows. Who wants to know all the plot and context of a book via a 2 page handout read aloud before reading the book???

32 . The Suffragettes In Pictures and IWM book, the forerunner to Atkinson's epic Rise Up Women. Despite its title , this book does have many words. the pics are fascinating. What amazing women the suffragettes were. I think my knowledge of them at school was limited to : chained themselves to railings, put in prison, the King's horse, WWI and that, in itself is probably patriarchal and certainly very reductive. I do wish the books would pay (a little) more homage to the men who supported suffrage for women : I know that sounds counter intuitive but at least a little more focus on them would stop us form viewing the struggle as entirely many women vs all men. Still think Churchill was an arse though.

Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep is on daily deal. Anyone read it? Should I read it?

Yes and yes, Chessie !

Goodness the Random Number Generator has just turned all spooky. It today selected the 39 Steps, which I duly began reading. At the start of Chapter Two, Hannay has announced that it is the 24th of May....

Yes, yes, yes to Chandler!

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Reread (but first time listen) of this medieval behemoth centred around three key plots:
The rebuilding of a cathedral.
The reclamation of a lost Earlship.
Women have breasts.

Devout monks, dependable master builders, evil bishops, even more extremely evil Earls, creative genius bastards and women with breasts; Follett weaves the lives of these complex characters in and around the lifetime creation of a magnificent gothic cathedral. Sometimes things burn down, or fall down, or there is evil political plotting, or people are killed with swords, or King Stephen and Empress Maude do some royal dicking about, or medieval folk like beer or but after 40 hours of all this we the listener are left in no doubt that Follett’s overriding theme throughout his masterpiece is that cathedrals are nice but boobs are better.

Brilliant review, Scribbly!

Mutters about horse chestnuts.

Scribbly

Hilarious Scribbly!! Have been reading the thread but failing to update again. Sorry!
Will post an update tomorrow and in other news it is Half Term!!!

Scribbly
I've just picked up the third in the series from the library so I shall bear your review in mind when I read it to see if the theme continues.

Still ploughing on with One Hundred Year of Solitude
I have photocopied the family tree so I don't have to keep flipping back. Resisting the urge to laminate it. I feel like it's going to take me 100 years to finish the book so it would be worth it.

Scribbly

Ooh, the fantasy standalone epic The Priory of the Orange Tree is currently 1.89 on Kindle. It looks great. I wish I could say it is great, but as with so many of the books I own, I haven’t got around to reading it yet. 🙄 At that price I’d snaffle it up though.

scribbly, I love the review. I'm about two hours into the audio book and can confirm that women do indeed have breasts.

And Fortuna, that book nearly killed me. All that dicking around with butterflies and beautiful sexy jaguars and why for the love of God why did they all have the same name? I persisted, but it was a grim battle to the death.

Great review, Scribbly I've resisted the urge to read any Follett thus far, and thanks to you I don't feel I need to pick up any of his books now.

approx. 58 The Road to Lichfield - Penelope Lively following the Lively memoir love up-thread, I tried to get hold of the Jacaranda one without success so ended up with this 1977 effort from the library. A so-called Penguin Essential but the type was tiny & blurry; for several chapters, the "i's" had the dots missing and there were no question marks after questions. The cover was nice though. In a nutshell, boring and dated. I had to smile at the protaganist's dull solicitor husband, however - she has to visit her dying father in Lichfield. One evening, the husband doesn't ring her because "it's fifteen pence for three minutes & it doesn't seem worth it unless you have something to say". He was also baulking at paying 80p to get in a stately home. Ring a bell with anyone's childhood memories?

Ian McEwan - Machines like me - in the top ten at the library. In a fictional 1980s setting, shiftless Charlie buys a top of the range android/robot & you know it is not going to end well. I can appreciate the quality of McEwan's writing (especially when you compare with the recent tide of so-called psycho thrillers) but don't really like him and think there is something of the self-conscious adolescent in his style. This one has "another Film4 script" written all over it.

Fortuna will be interested to hear if it continues too

I hope I haven’t spoiled anything for you Pepe for all its faults I did enjoy revisiting the book again. The plot, characters and writing are certainly not sophisticated, and I ended up fast forwarding through all the rape scenes as they were beyond awful, but all in all I liked just bumbling along with it over the last month. It's big but easy and I haven’t allowed myself to relax into a book like that for a while. He does write action scenes well and I loved it when he goes into full on geek architecture or monastic organisation mode.

Feel quite daunted by how much and genres of books read on this thread. Bravo!

I need to get back into the habit of reading ... hopefully this thread will give me the nudge I need

I'm the same Theknack I think my reading style is too limited for this thread, either that or my posting style doesn't suit (reflection on me, not the thread which I find interesting to read)

Scribbly Spot on. However, somehow I've found myself reading athe whole KIngsbridge saga over the years. They are very flawed and very cheesy in parts but they do roll along and I find them an easy read when not in the head space for something more complex.

The thread moves quickly so although I don't always respond to reviews and comments posted I do really enjoy reading the thread and putting books on my wishlist. Don't feel that you have reviewed a load of books and no one noticed, I did and I bet a load of others did too, but the thread had rolled on before I could read and reply.

Reporting in on The Thirty Nine Steps one of my bucket list books on my TBR pile. This one was on it because it is a Scottish writer and a classic thriller.

I did not realise this was so short (112 pages in my rather stylish 'Polygon Authorised Edition'). I also did not realise it does not end at Big Ben, so influenced was I by the 1970s film!

It took all of about 4 hours to read and moves at a rollicking pace. It's rather non PC and I found the ending anti-climactic but each chapter certainly races along and provides a cliffhanger : the touches of humour I liked . My favourite bit was 'the men who knew that he knew what he knew had found him'. Brilliant!