50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh, and possibly final, 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, the fifth one here and the sixth one here.

How've you got on this year?

141. Everything I know about Love, Dolly Alderton Millennial documents the youthful escapades of her twenties as she looks unsuccessfully for love and concludes that at least she has her female friends. I felt quite a lot of fellow feeling with her - I've had more sustenance from female friendships than from Big Romances over the years. A decent read.

Started reading the second biography of Patrick O'Brian by Nikolai Tolstoy, which got poor reviews but I'm finding fairly interesting. I've got to the 1950s when O'Brian and his wife are eking out a fragile living in the south of France. The author is his stepson, and I'm picking up a few unresolved family tensions sloshing about unacknowledged under the surface. He's in his 80s now, and stylistically it feels a bit retro, which has its own appeal.

I had to hit pause on that one to start I Never Said I Love You, by Rhik Samadder, which is wonderful. Yet another journalist's book about depression, but the funniest one I've ever read. I predict a (much deserved) hit when it's out in paperback next year.

I’m going to investigate the Noel Streatfields as well. I looked once but was put off by the prices so it’s good to know they have come down.

Speaking of Streatfield, I re-read The Growing Summer this year which was like a warm hug, and I feel very much in need of some of that kind of reading right now, so talk up thread of the Chalet School makes me think it may be time to dig one or two of those out. Or possibly Anne of Green Gables which is my go-to comfort read. I looked back at this year’s list and realised that a far smaller proportion of my books read this year deal with the here and now, compared to past years. There is definitely something going on there - escapism through books has never felt more needed.

27. Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver. A novel set in two parallel time periods, alternated chapter by chapter - one set during Trump's campaign to get nominated as presidential candidate in 2016, and one in the 1870s. The two cross over in the house in which both protagonists and their families live, which is falling apart and in danger of collapse around their ears.

I liked this well enough, though Kingsolver is a bit heavy-handed in her connections between contemporary America and the puritan-like conservative nineteenth-century community. The characters - especially the modern ones, and increasingly as the book went on - were more like mouthpieces for particular ideological viewpoints than real human beings. The 1870s story was much more interesting, following a science teacher's conflict with the community over evolutionary biology and religious teaching. By about two-thirds in, I was quite bored by the contemporary chapters and wanted to skip to the historical ones. But I do prefer historical fiction, generally, so could be that.

It was only £2.49, Pepe - a steal, I thought! Lots of her other adult fiction books are on Kindle in the same edition at that price, too. I'd bought a few before but I might have to treat myself to the rest now....

Tanaqui I quite enjoyed Katy.
What Katy Did is one that I re-read a lot growing up. It’s a while since I read the original, but from what I recall it’s a more substantial and satisfying read than Jacqueline Wilson’s version. If I was going to re-read either in the foreseeable future, it’d be the original.
Although the modern version is is more plausible in making the paralysis permanent.

Well, I persevered with The Binding and have just finished it. The last 150 pages at least things happen, I guess...

I didn't like this. Collins is a YA author (I have never heard of her), foraying into adult fiction. But it read like YA fiction with added swearing.

It irritated me that the historical setting is not fleshed out. tense 'crusades' she nags on about are never developed. And why do characters have names like Alta, Perannon , even Lucian. That feels very YA as well...

I found the bit when two males are trapped and overhear and old , and wealthy man, forcing a young woman to fulfil his sexual fantasies very very tasteless and badly written. Were we meant to find it funny (the characters did)? Hardly sensitive from a female writer! I hope her representations of females are better in her teen writing.

If anyone read this and really enjoyed it , I'd welcome some ideas as to what I missed. I just read to get to the end really.

Tanaqui - have bought and currently enjoying The Whicharts. It's really interesting to see how certain lines in Ballet Shoes were lifted entirely from it, and how other things were necessarily changed. Thanks for the heads-up - it's definitely proving to be worth £2.49!

182. The Zig Zag Girl - Elly Griffiths
     A police detective and a magician are drawn together when members of the secret unit they were in during the war start turning up dead. Readable but ultimately a bit naff. It's the first in a series of this unusual crime busting duo.

183. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
     Children's book based on the authors own experience of fleeing Nazi Germany and her life in other countries along the way. Beautifully written and I couldn't believe it had my crying on one page, only to be laughing the next. I'm sorry this passed me by as a child. I felt it ended very abruptly so I immediately started the next in the series.

184. Bombs on Aunt Dainty - Judith Kerr
     As above, now dealing with the London in the Blitz. She deals with difficult periods with surprising lightness. I'm now halfway through the third one.

185. Once Upon A River - Diane Setterfield
     Gothic tale of a young girl found in the river, thought to be dead but unexpectedly revived and the three families missing children who lay claim to her. Beautifully written and fabulously atmospheric. I agree with TurnoftheScrew that it was a little too neatly tied up at the end.

186. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - RL Stevenson
     This probably needs no introduction as it is one of those stories that has become part of the culture, however as I often find when this is the case that I feel a bit let down in the actual telling. A story so well known by retelling that the original seems lacking of something, although I can't fault the writing. I felt the same about Dracula. It's probably just me.

187. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
     Stream of consciousness. A young woman preparing for a party and her observations leading up to and during the event. Dealing with themes of forbidden love and social taboos.

The writing is beautiful in parts and I understand where and why this fits into the literary canon, but it did absolutely nothing for me. I appreciate it must have been quite revolutionary for the time, but I feel like I have seriously missed something. Possibly one for a reread in print at another time, but I won't be in a hurry to do it.

188. A Girl is a Half Formed Thing Stream of consciousness of a young woman looking at the relationship with her brother with a brain tumour, sexual abuse as a young teen and sex as self abuse as a student set against the backdrop of a deeply religious Catholic family in Ireland.

After saying Woolf does nothing for me, I appreciate this novel could not exist without her. This is one of the most challenging things I have read this year, not just in content but also in form. Resisting grammar as we know it, this is a sort of prose poetry that assaults you with every line. This will not be for everyone, both due to content that is not shy in the telling (I read it blind) and the unusual prose, but it is worth it for the experience of the writing style. I think I would have struggled with this in print form but the audio version read by the author is amazing. It took a little while to get into the flow of it as the style was unexpected but I don't think I will ever forget this book or the experience of listening to it. A definite stand out for me.

95 The Whicharts by Noel Streatfeild

Very many thanks for the heads up on this one Tanaqui, I enjoyed it immensely. I won't review more now as lots of others are reading it, but I thought it was an ideal light pre-Christmas read (I guess kind of the chick-lit of its day). Any recommendations amongst her other adult novels?

The Witcharts

I really liked this. A very different book to Ballet Shoes in that it was much more cynical and didn't tie everything up into a happy ending. It was far less in awe of the world of theatre and presented a much grubbier view of dance classes, pantomime etc.

Really interesting to see how the characters were adapted for 'Ballet Shoes' and the slight raunchiness and cynicism removed. There's a couple of lovely bitchy moments which were worthy of Truman Capote, my favourite of which was a knicker ripping scene which really made me laugh.

Thanks so much, Tanaqui for the rec. Which one should I get next? Don't say Saplings because I can't get on with it. Have tried several times to read it, but it bores me senseless and I can't get beyond about 80 pages.

Crossed reviews, Sadik!

Agree that it was an excellent pre-Christmas read.

142. I Never Said I Love You, by Rhik Samadder
Memoir dealing with some tough stuff - a sad family backstory, child sex abuse, self-harm but written with a delicate touch and a vein of humour. I was impressed.

Long time lurker here. Sadik and fortuna....how do you read so much?? Very impressive.

On another note I see Nigella published some reading recs on Sunday in the Times. I can’t access this where I am. Anyone read the article ? Any recommendations? I believe she is a big reader.

I'm miles behind in my reading AND my posting. Have accepted I'm not going to get to 50 this year but will hopefully get a couple more in before the end of December.

35. Inheritance, by Dani Shapiro. I loved this. I read one of Dani Shapiro's memoirs about her marriage earlier this year and her writing is beautiful. This is about her discovery that the man she thought was her father was not her biological father, and her investigations to find the man who was. Recommended if you enjoy memoirs.

36. She Said, by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey. The story of how Kantor and Twohey reported on Harvey Weinstein's long history of sexual assualts and harrassment, and the Me Too movement. This was horribly fascinating and the detail about how they investigated and put the story together was really compelling.

37. The Vanity Fair Diaries, by Tina Brown. I've been reading this on plane journeys all year, and finally finished it. Very enjoyable, frothy fun, about Tina's time as Vanity Fair editor and her life in New York.

38. The River, by Peter Heller. Heller's book Celine was one of my favourites of last year, so I was looking forward to this. This is the story of Wynn and Jack, two college friends on a canoe trip in the Canadian wilderness, who run into a serious of hazards and disasters. Very enjoyable and has the same beautiful nature writing found in Heller's other books - my only problem with this was that in places it seems very deliberately written as a potential film, but that aside I still thought it was a great read.

39. State of the Union, by Nick Hornby. Short book in ten chapters about a couple going to marriage counselling. Mostly written in dialogue, hugely enjoyable with some very wince-making points about relationships. I haven't seen the TV version of this but will try and watch it because I imagine it translates really well.

89: The Children of Dynmouth - William Trevor

I’ve meant to read this for ages and finally saw and grabbed a copy in my local Oxfam bookshop. A short but powerful novel set in the sleepy Devon seaside resort of Dynmouth, where lonely, awkward 15-year-old Timothy Gedge roams the streets, striking unease into the hearts of all who encounter him. His dreams of stardom on Opportunity Knocks involve a deeply-inappropriate ‘turn’ at the town’s annual talent contest, and as the novel progresses his obsession uncovers the darkest secrets of some of the apparently-respectable residents. Trevor builds a sense of increasing horror at Timothy’s relentless appearances and cries of ‘Cheers’ - I think we’ve probably all had that sense of impotent rage at someone we just can’t shake off - and yet what a terrible and sad life this boy led. A quiet masterpiece.

68. Our Lady of the Nile – Scholastique Mukasonga

I picked this one up second hand after seeing a review on this thread. I’m sorry but I can’t remember the reviewer but thank you, I really liked this one.

Set in an elite convent school for girls in rural Rwanda 15 years before the Rwandan genocide, this was a deceptively gentle read which builds to a horrifying conclusion, foretelling the devastating events which were to take place nationally. I’ve seen this described as a sort of female Lord of the Flies but for me this was more similar in tone to something like Frost in May - another convent school classic which isn’t quite what it seems on the surface. For anyone interested in African history, a thought provoking read.

@emcla I read the article. Nigella recommended:

She Said
The Dutch House
Invisible Women
Idaho
Frankissstein
Fleishman Is in Trouble
The Nickel Boys
Dreyer’s English
A Song for Summer
The Morning Gift
The Secret Countess
A Company of Swans
Magic Flutes
Journey to the River Sea
The Star of Kazan
Diana Henry’s From the Oven to the Table

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie @Sadik, I think the only other adult one I have read is Parsons Nine, and that is sad, and although there are some general themes that come up again in the children's books, it's not related in the way The Whicharts is. I've been wary of reading them in case they spoil the children's books which I love.

Did you feel a tad disappointed by the end of The Whicharts? I wanted to know what happened to the pawn ticket; and whether they ever thank ed Violet for basically paying for their lessons (and why did she do that?). Also, how did the Harrises make their money, and how did their daughter end up a dancer?! I also was surprised how small a part Daisy had in the story, compared to Posy in Ballet Shoes (and how classist Streatfeild's views were- Daisy clearly inherited "common" from her grandparents! But I liked Maimie's religious phase, and her fairly realistic squandering of her teenage earnings on cheap clothes and tat!

Thanks south for responding and taking the time to type the list. Now I must get on and stop faffing about and catch up on some reading.

Agree re the ending of The Whicharts but wondered if she left it with a follow up in mind, perhaps. The pawn ticket thing just seemed pointless if it wasn't going to be returned to.

indigosalt, that was me. I’m so glad you felt the same way about it that I did. Funny and then horrifying. An extraordinary book.

I think she paid off the pawn ticket quite quickly - there was mention of being money over after the £15 was repaid. But I agree it did seem like the setup for something much more significant. I actually rather liked the way things didn't always have significance or resolve themselves (I don't think anyone ever realised the extent of Violet's contribution).
I thought the ending was pretty good - everyone got an OK deal but not too neatly tied up - and agree it did feel like the setup for a sequel

63. The Speed of Sound by Eric Bernt Harmony House is a home where autistic people use their skills to develop new technologies. Eddie has lived there since he was 11 and is close to making a breakthrough in acoustic archaeology with his invention of an echo box that can reconstruct sounds from the past. A new doctor, Skylar, is hired as just the person who can inspire him to complete his project. But Harmony House is not as benign as it seems, and is in its turn being watched by a network of shady organisations. Pacy thriller which exceeded expectations as a cheapo chance purchase on kindle, and handled the autistic savant trope pretty well. The ending was definitely meant to lead seamlessly into a follow up, which exists, and sounds like a re-hash of this, but I'll probably read it anyway.

Ah, it was you PepeLePew - thanks again. It's one of the great things about this thread, hearing about books I'd probably never consider myself!

58. The Handsome Man’s Deluxe Cafe Alexander McCall Smith 15 in the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series which I did enjoy at first but dear lord this was tedious, barely even a case and nothing new or interesting to say about any of the characters or about anything really. Think I’m done with the series now.