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.

Yes Chrissie, t'was nuts. Sort of: girl in late 30's has breakdown, addresses it by shagging.. but with a fishy element. Some of it was hilarious, some a bit American psychobabble, some a bit dark. I'm dying to find someone else who's read it so I can discuss!

Pepe for the Oranges mix up. I'd never do something like that. I had a very confused half hour earlier this year when I picked up The Luminaries instead of The Immortalists. I did want to read both but it wasn't quite what I had in mind at the time.

98. At the Edge of the Orchard - Tracy Chevalier

Frontier America, a family settle in the Black Swamp of Ohio where the landscape works against them as they try to cultivate the necessary amount to lay permanent claim to the land. Swamp fever starts to claim the children and as their relationship breaks down it affects those remaining who do what it takes to survive.

Told by different narrators this family tragedy is heartbreaking but beautifully told.

99. Books Do Furnish A Room - Anthony Powell DTTMOT #10

Nick's set adapt to life following the war as he rekindles his publishing career. Lots of old friends wandering about and WIDMERPOOL in the house. What's not to like?

I've been rationing these as I don't want them to end.

I still can't seem to settle with a print book so I am about a third through 5 different things.

The Beekeeper of Aleppo is a lovely, earnest and sincere book in the tradition of The Kite Runner and so on. It's not a complex tale at all but its simplicity and sympathy work well. Plus, there really is a charity in Yorkshire which helps train refugees to beekeep, thus preserving British bees whilst supporting refugees. This is a touching book and also, for those with teens, an ideal book for young adults.

So much kinder and more moving in its depiction of the horrors of asylum seeking than that Henry Porter tripe.

I loved Lost Souls 20 odd years ago Pepe, not sure I'd dare reread it now! However, have reread Frederica many times Time, and it has always been a joy!

45. A Flight of Magpies by KJ Charles. Satisfying sequel to The Magpie Lord.

Just read Diary of a Provincial Lady - it was okay. Quite repetitive. Not sure I'd bother with the others, unless desperate.

45. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Reread (audio book). Great as always.

46. The Flower Girls by Alice Clark-Platt

@Tarahumara described the plot and gave this a ‘mediocre’ review upthread but despite this I was intrigued and found it on BorrowBox. ‘A 5 year old goes missing from a hotel in a storm. During the investigation it’s established that one of the guests is a Flower Girl, one of the infamous child killer sisters from the 80s’. @Tarahumara was completely right but it was fast paced and I enjoy this sort of thing from time to time.

47. The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell. A book describing lots of quirky book shops around the world. Bookish facts and authors own experiences with bookshops. I enjoyed this and definitely felt inspired to check out some of the independent book shops on my travels. However, it was a bit UK centric and to be honest I could of done with a more coffee table affair with pictures. All the quaint and quirky started to blur after a while.

48. The Unseen World by Liz Moore

The story of Ada and her father David. David is an AI scientist. As Ada grows up David begins to show signs of Alzheimer’s. I don’t think I should say more of the plot of this one but I absolutely loved it. Very twisty but kept me guessing right til the end. For such a plot driven narrative it was really well written.

49. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay. An essay collection about modern feminism, its contradictions and intersectionality (Gay is also Black and large). I listened to the well read audio book and enjoyed this. Her pop culture references were my own and I found her approach really nuanced. Written in 2014 it’s already outdated in many ways and I’m keen to check out her more recent collection.

46. The Strawberry Thief Joanne Harris. Quite nice to take a trip back to the world created by Harris in Chocolat. I've read Chocolat and The Lollipop Shoes but ages ago. Nice, quick, easy read.

Uh oh, went into Foyles today to look for birthday presents for DD and ended up judging a book by its cover and came home with this beauty.

(Also went to Hamleys, but definitely not because I wanted to check out the latest Sylvanians...)

LOVE the look of that, Idiom. A thing of beauty.

154. Peaches for Monsieur Le Cure by Joanne Harris

Third in the ‘Chocolat’ series. Enjoyed this one more than Lollipop Shoes as it takes Vianne back to Lansquenet, where she becomes caught up with racial and religious tensions. The only problem with these books is they make me so hungry!!

I think it was splother who mentioned The Rapture by Claire McGlasson on here recently. I picked this up, in its lovely hardback form in the Bedford branch of Waterstones last week. It is signed by the author! Much excitement.

The relevance of this is that the book is set in Bedford (not a phrase I have ever written before) amongst the members of a religious sect called the Panacea society. Set in 1926, it is really well written, if a little dialogue heavy and clearly well researched. It is another one of these women centred books about the Victorian/Edwardian period and partly about women as captives and 'insanity' and 'nervous conditions'. A lot of books look at this theme but this is a good example.

One thing did really jar. McGlasson is a journalist and has done oodles of research. This being the case, why does she not know that 'talkies' began in 1926 with The Jazz Singer? In her desperation to shoehorn in a film version of The Scarlet Letter, she (jarringly to me, at least) works in an impossible cinema visit to see it a good six months before its American release. Tsk. She also later has the narrator saying she feels she is in a 'silent film' which no one said in 1926 as all films were silent...

Claire, when you write your next book, I am here as your film consultant!

This book has had a lot less attention than some of the creative writing MA type books with their pretty covers (looking at you Imogen Hermes Gowar, Stacey Halls et al) and , yet, I think it is the superior work to many of that ilk.

Just seen it's been optioned for TV, which does not surprise me at all.

It sounds good Piggy, and if I can get hold of it I will be sure to remember your film facts!

46. Mythos by Stephen Fry. I started this as an ebook from Overdrive, didn't get through much before it went back, and then found the waiting list for the audio book was much shorter- read by Fry himself; I found this a joy to listen to, although it did take some time! Would 100% recommend (it's a retelling of Greek myths and is followed by Heroes, also good).

Hi Oranges, later joiners very welcome

55: Diary of a Somebody - Brian Bilston

I saw this book in a shop, picked it up for a browse, and next day it appeared in the Kindle sale, so I took a punt. Brian Bilston (not his real name, I assume - he doesn't show his face anywhere in photos either) is apparently a huge phenomenon on Twitter thanks to his poems, many of which appear in this gently funny novel.

The fictional 'Brian Bilston' is a failing would-be poet working in a deadbeat job, living alone after his divorce and going to a weekly Poetry Club. There he meets the objectionable Toby Salt, a poet who's going places, with a growing reputation and a book of pretentious verse about to hit the shops. Naturally Brian loathes him. Then Toby Salt disappears - and suspicion falls on Brian. Now read on.....

This made me laugh in places and the poems are funny, offbeat and often extremely clever, but the book as a whole isn't the greatest comic masterpiece I've ever read - though engaging enough. He acknowledges Sue Townsend for her Adrian Mole books and this reminded me strongly of those in places.

I like Brian Bilston’s poems - DD and I follow him on twitter. The Excel one is a favourite of ours (we both spend far too much time using Excel in our jobs). Been meaning to get hold of the book.

It's still £1.99 on Kindle, Best...just checked.

Just bought...thanks Terpischore

The Lost Man is 99p today. I quite liked The Dry except for the ending, but didn't like the second, so I thought I'd try this one and if it's dreadful I won't bother with any more!

Also just bought - thanks Remus.

I had a recent book mix up too: Children of Time and The Outcasts of Time are both good - but very different!

42. All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison I enjoyed this beautifully written coming of age novel. Set between the world wars, it paints a picture of a vanishing way of life in rural England, and explored what that meant in terms of being female, the choices available, and the effect on the narrator's mental health. The last person to review this (sorry can't remember who!) found the incoming posh woman an unbelievable character, but I thought that was an example of class trumping gender, and all the hypocrisy around that. There is a growing sense of menace throughout, as you know something bad has happened to the narrator, you think you know what it is, and you're just waiting for the event that perpetrated it. It's not over egged and it's really well done.

43. The Council of Twelve by Oliver Potzsch (with an umlaut - can't work out how to do on this laptop) Hangman's daughter #7. If you haven't read any of this series don't start here. The action was a bit silly and frantic, and explored themes and used devices that have already been overdone in this series. I have become fond of the characters, and the author clearly always does his research. An easy to read romp through 17th century Bavaria.

Welcome to all the new posters . Thank you for your Diane Setterfield review medb22. I think Once Upon a River looks interesting and have added it to my TBR list.

As usual, my reading rate has seriously dipped during August as I find myself out of my usual routine and getting out and about doing things more. Here's my latest reviews...

46. The Ginger Tree – Oswald Wynd

I picked this one up second hand, looking for some good historical fiction for holiday reading material. This fitted the escapism brief perfectly.

It’s 1903 and young Mary Macdonald leaves her native Scotland to marry a man she barely knows, posted with the British Diplomatic Service in Peking. She struggles to come to terms with her new husband’s cold and disinterested approach to their marriage to no avail, and has a brief affair with a Japanese nobleman, also posted in Peking. I can’t reveal the plot further without risking spoilers, but definitely worth staying with this book, which was a bit slow burner at first.

The story is told through a series of letters and diary entries, which I thought worked well. It’s not a particularly long book but it moves purposefully through time encompassing the First and Second World Wars and the major political and social upheaval of the time. Well written but not too demanding, this book was a great travelling companion.

47. Jamaica Inn – Daphne du Maurier

Having never read anything by Daphne du Maurier, and being on holiday in Cornwall at the time of reading, I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately I found it a bit of a struggle. Not very much happened and when it did I felt underwhelmed. Too much build up and suspense, not carried through. Very atmospheric, rather thin on plot and not well written enough to carry it off. Frustrating characters. Disappointing.

48. The House of Broken Angels – Luis Alberto Urrea

I picked this one up at the library knowing nothing about it, tempted by the numerous favourable reviews on the cover. A big sprawling Mexican family saga that takes place over two eventful days; the funeral of the 100 year old family matriarch on day one and the birthday party of her son, seventy year old Big Angel on day two.

Big Angel is seriously ill and knows this party will be his last. He looks back at his life and comes to term with the good, the bad and the ugly with the help of his brothers, sisters, half-brother Little Angel and his large extended family, who all have their own story to tell. I enjoyed this very much, particularly the writer's style which is lively and engaging. Just the right combination of the personal and the political make this feel very current, with Trump’s anti-Mexican rhetoric always present in the background. This book ponders not only what it means to be an immigrant and an American, but a human being. Thought provoking and entertaining.

48. The House of the Spirits Isabelle Allende Reread of an old favourite, I adored this book and reread it a few times as a teen/in my early 20s. I liked it much less at 39 unfortunately- found the writing quite irritating in places and really struggled to justify the treatment of certain themes (rape being the main one).

Updating with my holiday reads:

37. Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd. Hope Clearwater is living in a beach hut in an unnamed African country and reflecting on two key periods of her life, one in England during her difficult marriage to John Clearwater, and the other in Africa on a scientific posting as part of a team observing the behaviour of chimpanzees in the wild. This is excellent - gripping, original and unpredictable, with Hope as an intriguing main character and narrator. Loved it.

38. Truth and Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett. I'm already a big fan of Patchett's fiction, and this year I have discovered that her non-fiction is just as good if not better (I also read This is the Story of a Happy Marriage a few months ago). This account of her deep friendship with fellow author Lucy Grealy is fascinating and very moving.

39. Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard. Made famous by the film, and based on the author's own personal experiences, this is a WWII story seen from the eyes of a child, Jim, who is 11 and living in Shanghai with his wealthy parents when the Japanese invade China in 1941. Separated from his parents in the war time confusion, he spends much of the war in the Lunghua prison camp. This is an astonishing book, and it genuinely feels like the experiences of an 11 to 14 year old, who has a rather different perspective of the prison camp and its inmates than the adults around him. I'm glad to have read it, but I'm not sure I was in the mood for something quite so bleak while on holiday!

Pleased to see that review of Brazzaville Beach Tara - I’m staying with in laws and they have given me that to read and I’ll be starting it tomorrow! Glad it’s good.

155. Perigord Summer by Julianna Simor Lee

Children’s book set in the area I’m currently staying in. Nice to read about the places I’ve visited.

156. A Girl Called Justice by Elly Griffiths

Another children’s book, about a girl solving a murder at boarding school. DD loved it and I thought it was good for her age group.

157. Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris

Another one that I had read so long ago I had forgotten what happened. I loved this. It switches between Yorkshire in the 1970s and rural France in 1999. Like Harris’s other books there’s hints of magic and I just became engrossed with the characters and settings. I think Harris’s writing is beautiful and I kept rereading paragraphs just to enjoy them again!