50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

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

Oh wow! I was going to join this thread when it started and have just discovered it again. Thank you so much for the fantastic book reviews and the hundreds of recommendations - I just need to live another 154 years to get through all those, the ones on my Kindle and the books on the bookshelves

Hi fiveshelties. I read something somewhere that reading books and buying books are in fact two different hobbies and I’m inclined to agree.

@SatsukiKusakabe, I think I agree too. I must spend more time reading and less collecting☺

There’s something great though about finally taking a book off a jumbled shelf that’s been waiting a long time and thinking “why didn’t I get to this earlier!”

36. An Almond for a Parrot by Sally Gardner (writing as Wray Delaney). Set in the late 18th century, this tells the story of Tully Truegood, a young woman living in London and fending for herself (whatever that involves) without the protection of a loving parent. A mixture of historical fiction and magical realism, it took me a little while to get into this, but by a third of the way through I was hooked. Tully is a terrific character!

I'm a little behind on the thread, but wanted to fit in a thank you to @Sadik because I just finished 41) Delusions of Gender by Cordelia Fine, a fascinating read that does exactly what it says on the tin, and am also enjoying Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality (although there is far too little shagging for my usual fanfic tastes!)

42. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite - I really enjoyed the writing and the style of this, but found the ending a little limp. Also half way through I felt it could be a very effective stage farce and that slightly clashed with the sympathy I was feeling at the time for the narrator.

On another thread someone pointed out that the Edexcel exam board has decided, after it seems some suggestions from teachers, to introduce more diversity to its otherwise pale, male and stale text choices (thanks, Govey) . I found the list and decided to read The Empress by Tanika Gupta. This is possibly the play the film Victoria and Abdul was at least inspired by, or maybe based on : I haven't researched that yet. It tells a very simple tale of Indians in London in the late part of Victoria's reign and would certainly introduce GCSE students to a rather - or even entirely- untaught part of British history.

I do not teach Edexcel so cannot do my bit by including this. It certainly would appeal to me more than Blood Brothers. Sadly, though, it is up against the teaching behemoth that is An Inspector Calls (and the prose texts they include are up against Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies, so I can't see Edexcel's decision having much impact. Still.. baby steps. They have also added some poems to their poetry anthology.

This is quite a slight play : it was performed at the RSC a few years ago. It's not technically brilliant or massively searing in its polemicism but it does a good job of presenting otherwise silenced voices.

35. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, no introduction necessary. Listened on Audible and thoroughly enjoyed it, although obviously with the benefit of age and experience Heathcliff appears unhinged rather than the romantic hero I envisaged as a teenager.

    36. Anne Of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, a freebie from Audible via the Alexa Echo which again I really enjoyed revisiting. Unashamedly nostalgic and somewhat old fashioned but the loving relationship that develops between the quirky orphan and her foster family is beautifully realised, the unbending of the initially frosty Marilla and the blossoming of the shy Matthew meant I listened to much of it with tears in my eyes. It did inspire me to pick up the sequel Anne Of Avonlea but I soon gave that up as a bad job, it doesn't have the same magic and I contented myself with a read of the synopsis of Montgomery's other 'Anne' novels (the law of diminishing returns I fear) to find out the fates of various characters.

    37. The Sleeper and The Spindle by Neil Gaiman stumbled across this whilst looking for Spinning Silver on BorrowBox. A mash up of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty as told by Neil Gaiman from a more feminist perspective. Really a book for older children/YA but I enjoyed it and it's wonderful illustrations.

Now reading The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid on my Kindle and listening to
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik on Audible and throughly enjoying both.

A really odd thing. The author of Romantic Outlaws likes the words elaborate and collaborate a great deal. Only she keeps spelling both of them with a u , as one would in favourite. She's an American but I do not believe an American spelling would suddenly randomly add a u where the default is to be devoid of them! Any thoughts? I am wondering if an over zealous editor has tried to anglicise the prose for a UK readership and got the wrong end of the stick!?

41. The Overstory by Richard Powers. This is a tome of a book and the 2019 Pulitzer prize winner.

I'm not really sure where to start reviewing it - it was quite a challenging read which required a fair amount of concentration. Not my strong point while I'm in holiday so it's taken me a while to reach the end.

It is a book with many themes; the main one being the environment and the importance of trees and ancient forests. Nine characters are linked through this central theme as their lives are told.

As I was reading the Sunday papers the other week, I noticed a brief news bite relating to the huge increase in deforestation of the Amazon rainforest since the climate-sceptic Jair Bolsonaro came to power in January of this year.
Something like 4200 sq km of forest was chopped down in the month of July alone. He appears to be giving a free pass to illegal logging, farming and mining.

If I haven't been reading the Overstory I'm not sure this would have registered quite so markedly with me. Shame on me but I feel more educated now thanks to the book.

42. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. This was a good, plot-driven read. It's set in New York in the early 1940s - a world of immigrants, gangsters and old-fashioned values. Anna Kerrigan is a young girl growing up in the 1930s and whose father is linked with shady businessmen. She becomes the first female diver at the Brooklyn naval yard, repairing ships that will help America win the war.

It's a fascinating read; part love story part noir thriller and is well written to boot.

53. A Very English Scandal by John Preston

I watched the very impressive TV adaptation and still found much to enjoy in this account of the frankly incredible Jeremy Thorpe/Norman Scott affair. Just astonishing that the protagonists could remotely have thought this a sensible plan, and the sheer ineptitude.... It did at least make me feel marginally better about our current embarrassingly awful political class, in that I am not convinced things were any better 40/50 years ago.

I meant to add that, as a lawyer, I really enjoyed the courtroom scenes. A fascinating portrait of George Carman and his part in this complete travesty of justice.

22. Home Fires by Kamile Shamsie This is really difficult material done really really well. Im sorry to say i had to skim some of it as it was so distressing. But I'm including it because reading it has changed me, and i reckon that's enough. Deeply realised and human characters, strong political engagement without easy answers, beautiful writing without pointless complexity. The grief chapter is basically a poem.

That sounds weird Piggy - I have to say I seem to be seeing a lot more errors in published books lately- I don't know if I have become more observant, or if editing has grown worse- sometimes I think it might be because I am reading a lot of ebooks and maybe they are sloppier?

43. Photo Finish by Ngaio Marsh. I am nearing the end of these, and I will miss them - this was a good one, a version of the "country house" murder, and although Alleyn and Troy are beginning to seem rather anachronistic, it was a good read.

TemporaryPermanent I just got Home Fires from the library, thanks for the review. I have raging anxiety at the moment so have been avoiding ‘difficult’ stuff but I definitely want to read this.

Got back from holiday today, updating my holiday reads:

40. Longbourn - Jo Baker
    I received this as a gift a few years back and never got round to it until now. Based on Pride and Prejudice but tells the story of the Bennett’s household servants, I enjoyed this.

41. Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married Marian Keyes
    Due to being on holiday, and anxiety issues mentioned above, I wanted something light and frothy to reread. I’d read this ages ago in my youth and had fond memories so decided to get it again on my kindle. It did not really stand the test of time, this time round the cliches were just too much, the heroine who is gorgeous but doesn’t know it yadda yadda, and her complete obliviousness to reality just stretched credibility too far. Also some fat jokes and other mean spirited stuff that jarred somewhat.

42. The Queen of Bloody Everything Joanna Nadin
    Found on the hotel bookshelf left behind by previous guests. The story of the dysfunctional relationship between Dido and her aging hippy/ unconventional mother Edie, and their relationship with the more ‘normal’ and middle class family they move next door to. I enjoyed this to begin with but felt it was just too long and sort of petered out.

43. Beloved Poison E S Thomson
    The story of Jem, an apothecary in a crumbling 1850s London Infirmary, and of secrets/murder/ general dark deeds. Was in two minds about this, I liked the medical history aspects and the sense of place and atmosphere but objectively some of the plot points were a little silly and OTT but I did get sucked in and was quite gripped by the end.

44. The House on Vesper Sands Paraic O’Donnell
    Another Victorian crime novel, this time with a supernatural element. I wasn’t as keen on this one, the supernatural side didn’t work for me and there were a few too many anachronisms. I enjoyed some of the characters though, particularly the police inspector although his name escapes me now!

45. In Her Wake Amanda Jennings
    One of those beach read thriller types (well Amazon describes it as a thriller) but a good one. I raced through it and enjoyed it but it’s not one I’ll remember forever or anything!

46. Pistols for Two Georgette Heyer
    Collection of Georgette Heyer short stories, all very similar and predictable (apart from one rather grizzly one in the middle!) but fun nonetheless if you like a bit of Heyer as I do.

54. The Secrets of Life and Death - Rebecca Alexander

Very readable urban/historical fantasy, giving an interesting twist on the standard vampire myth. In the present day, Jackdaw Hammond employs magical means to extend lives (including her own) beyond their natural term. Back in 1585, occultist John Dee and his assistant Edward Kelley travel through Eastern Europe and are strong-armed into saving the life of the Polish king's niece, the notorious Elizabeth Bathory.

This was not great literature, but worked very well as a read-on-the-Kindle-in-the-dark-just-as-you're-about-to-nod-off kind of book. Found out the sequels are only 99p each on Kindle, and enjoyed it enough to buy them both.

44. The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles. Another Sadik recommendation I think, I really enjoyed this historical urban fantasy with added slashy romance- possibly a genre that needs a snappier title!

53: Slow Horses - Mick Herron

Cracking spy caper introducing readers to Slough House, grimy home to a motley band of failed operatives, presided over by the uncouth Jackson Lamb. And yet Lamb's band of misfits slaving away at dull tasks in this anonymous London street suddenly find themselves back in the game.

I loved this highly amusing and readable romp, so much so that I'm already well into the next in the series.

27. The Man In The High Castle - Philip K Dick

Another of my top 50 reads and only the second time I've read this. I went through a huge PKD / SF phase a few years back and was blown away by this - such a deceptively simple but mind-bending short novel set in an alternative reality where Germany and Japan won WW2, and the US has been separated into occupied territories with 'authentic' prewar mass-produced consumer items considered as valuable collector's items. It's tense, claustrophobic and just so cleverly conceived. I have a feeling not many people on here rate it, though!

Piggy - I don't remember that from when I read Romantic Outlaws. I read the kindle version - is yours the print copy?

It is the printed version, yes/ It's most peculiar!

32. Spring by Ali Smith. Either this is the most straightforward in the quartet so far, or I'm getting better accustomed to Smith's style. This season follows Richard, a sixtyish TV director mourning the loss of his close friend and former lover Paddy, and his encounter with a captivating young migrant girl and a detention centre officer. As current as can be, in terms of reflections on the migrant crisis, it's angry and energetic.

Oooh TheTurnoftheScrew didn’t realise Spring was out! Exciting!

Completely fallen off the thread as for some reason I was locked out of Mumsnet whilst on holiday last week. Have been catching up but will update later.

67 Throne of Jade - Naomi Novik
Second of the Temeraire Napoleonic-wars-with-dragons series, listened to on Audible. Not as good as the first in the series (most of the book is taken up with a very long sea voyage) but very well read & a pleasant easy listen for work.

68 From the Corner of the Oval Office by Beck Dorey-Stein

Memoir of the 5 years the author spent working as a stenographer in the White House during the Obama years. I picked this up on Kindle deal after seeing it reviewed upthread by ClosedAuraOpenMind and it made an interesting read coming just after I'd read Michelle Obama's autobiography. There is quite a lot of the author's love life, much of which I skimmed, but still an enjoyable read about life working alongside the president's entourage.