26-ish books in 2020

[drspouse]

A thread for those too busy or otherwise not able to aim for 50 books in a year!
I'm aiming for 12 from my shelves and 12 from a reading challenge

thebrokenspinedotnet.wordpress.com/2019/12/14/reading-classic-books-challenge/

There are loads of reading challenges here too

www.girlxoxo.com/the-master-list-of-2020-reading-challenges/

We are very laid back here, join any time, I imagine this thread will be open till Dec as it doesn't move too fast!

'Bebe Day by Day', Pamela Druckerman
A good and very fast read. (And there are recipes).

I just got myself this, trying to buy from small sellers to keep them open!

Hey, I found this really awesome Etsy listing at www.etsy.com/uk/listing/785965443/2020-bookshelf-tracker-bookmark-book

Hmm...

Did your account get hacked there?

10. The Foundling by Stacey Halls - a beautifully written historical fiction set in Georgian London. I recommend you do not read the blurb before reading the book (or no more than the first 1-2 sentences). I read it after and I'm glad I did, I think otherwise too much of the beginning of the story is given away.
Next is 11. Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

No, but I hadn't intended to post the cheery text with the link. I have, indeed, bought a cute colour-in bookmark for my books read this year.

The bookmark is very cute!

I'm taking my time reading The Children's Book. It's an intelligent and complex book about ideas and relationships and is taking a while to read because I have to think about every paragraph. The opposite of a page turner and all the better for it.

📚

I haven't updated in a while, so here goes:

Book 8: The Liars Daughter by Claire Allan I really quite enjoyed this book. A light read but kept me interested all the way through. I did predict the ending though....

Book 9 The Importance of Being Aisling this is the second book in the series and is a very light and at times funny read. I will keep an eye out for the third and final book.

Book 10 The Ex-Wife by Jess Ryder - it is billed as a psychological thriller but it's not really one. I found some aspects of the story a bit unbelievable but it was ok.

Book 11 Her Name was Rose by Claire Allan I got this from the library ebooks as I enjoyed her last book. This was a pretty good read as well, a light quick read. I think I've just read too many of the books in these type of genres though as I often find them a bit predictable now.

Book 12 Cilkas Journey by Heather Morris this is the second book after the Tattooist of Auschwitz, although this is a fictional story. I'm only about a quarter of the way in and will reserve judgement for now as I had very mixed opinions on the Tattooist.

Finished North and South, and also A Taste of Honey, so that's 3 Classics, 10 overall.
Really loved North and South - so interesting.

I forgot about this thread, mainly because it took me so long to finish the Goldfinch! Not as good as The Secret History but still a great read - so gripping and beautifully written.

My list so far

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (4/5)
2. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (3/5)
3. Daisy Jones and the Six (5/5)
4. The Last by Hanna Jameson (3/5)
5. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel (5/5)

I already posted on the separate thread about Station Eleven - what a great book and it's 99p on Kindle at the moment.

10 The Children's Book by AS Byatt
A complex and intelligent book of ideas book following several families from 1895 to 1918. Lots to think about creativity, work, politics, feminism, family relationships. And sentences that take your breath away with the very truth of them.

Took a while to get into, the first few chapters were introducing all the characters. It felt quite old fashioned, almost Victorian in style (this is a good thing) but also reminded me of Iris Murdock who AS Byatt was influenced by. There is a single all knowing authorial voice, which means you see two individuals talking to each other but are aware that both are saying something different to what they mean to say and misunderstanding what the other says at the same time. Even when there are romantic relationships the gaps between what couples understand about each other and their internal truth is constantly exposed. There are lots of digressions to discuss the historical background to the character's work lives, real characters are minor characters and I spent time while reading to find out more about Palissy and E Nesbit ('The Story of the Amulet' was apparently the first timeslip novel!). Not a page turner but a really interesting and though provoking read.

Next up a reread of 'Cold Comfort Farm'.

Thanks to whoever recommended Lisa Jewell on here, I've just finished Book 13 Then She Was Gone. I found it to be a real page turner, read it in 2 days. Will definitely be looking out for more of hers.

11. Us Against You by Fredrik Backman - I loved reading this book even though I was in tears a few times! Highly recommend this. (You don't need to read "Beartown" first but you might as well!)
12. How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee - starting this today.

10. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

This was ok. All the characters (yet again) were awful mostly. Two dimensional, not a single redeeming quality amongst them. I just wanted to see who died and who did it.

Not sure if it's my state of mind with this pandemic and lockdown but it's hard to concentrate and hard to find pleasure in reading lately.

1. Miss Austen by Gill Hornby

This is a semi-biographical novel about Jane Austen’s beloved sister, Cassandra. It is set in 1840 when, as an old woman, Cassandra sets out to destroy Jane’s private letters held by family friends. It looks back on their lives together. I’m a bit of a Jane Austen boffin having studied and taught her for many years and thoroughly enjoyed this.

8. Ring the Hill - Tom Cox
This is good, if you like the countryside and going for walks. Although it's not really about walks or the countryside. It's more of a stroll through the mind of the author. Which is a strange but somewhat amusing place. I think I would like to go for a beer with Tom Cox.

9. Bookworm - Lucy Mangan
I think this book has been done to death on MN. Either you like it and it's a joyful stroll down memory lane or you can't identify with it at all and find Mangan and her opinions annoying. I really liked it. In spite of her being slightly older than me, it seems I read almost everything Mangan did, except The Phantom Tollbooth, which this book inspired me to buy.

I haven't been reading nearly as much as I thought I would have been during this lockdown. As a PP has said, I'm also struggling to concentrate and get into any books properly.

1. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson

Good to be back in the company of Jackson Brodie again plus some of the characters we met in the earlier books. I particularly enjoyed hearing from Julia again (usually in Jackson's head. I like to imagine Julia is actually Kate herself, voicing her thoughts on whatever predicament Jackson finds himself in). I found the setting of North Yorkshire a bit bleak and much prefer the bustling city settings of previous novels (Edinburgh, Cambridge) and the story is quite dark which adds to the air of melancholy. Not my favourite Jackson novel but still worth a read if you enjoy his company.

1. Middle England by Jonathan Coe

Really thought I wasn't going to enjoy this - despite being a fan of Jonathan Coe's earlier books. It's a Brexit novel essentially and I nearly gave up on it early on as the Coronavirus panic began to set in and I felt I needed something a little more escapist in tone to distract me. But I stuck with it because I became invested in the characters, and I found it an enjoyable read in the end. Although I think I might have enjoyed it more with a few more year's perspective on the whole Brexit debacle.

11 Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
This is a reread, although it is years since I last read it so I only vaguely remembered the plot. Intended as a lighthearted read during the pandemic but I'd forgotten in the first sentence Flora Poste's parents died of 'the annual epidemic of the influenza or Spanish Plague'. Oops.

As I'm sure many of you know this is a very humorous read and everything ends happily. I particularly enjoyed the marking of 'the finer passages' (i.e. those that are most amusingly florid) with stars throughout the text.

1. Behind Closed Doors Gary Lineker & Danny Baker.

Essentially a book version of their podcast which I found entertaining as they haven't been able to record any new episodes recently.

1. The Gallow's Pole Benjamin Myers

I can't say I enjoyed this but I read it all because I felt committed enough once I'd started it. The story of Yorkshire coin clippers in the 18th century.

10. Small Island Andrea Levy Just fabulous.

Book 14 The Beekeeper of Aleppo wow what a read. Truly heart breaking and yet so beautifully written. This one will definitely stay with me.

Finished no 11, The Body on the Train by Frances Brody. That's no 5 of books I own. Lockdown reading isn't as fast as I hoped! Good murder mystery.

@SubtleInnuendo I feel the same, got lots of books I want to read but can't get into the right frame of mind. I'm trying to read he said/she said by Erin Kelly

Quickly finished The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin. No 12 overall, no 4 in Classics.

12 Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Beautifully written descriptions of the marsh, fascinating characters, tightly plotted (almost too neatly!). Made me well up with pity for Kya's loneliness. Looking forward to see what the author writes next.

13 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Read to DD. Really enjoyed this children's fantasy book about reading. More sophisticated than many adult books.

The Mirror and the Light is next.