50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2020, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

And agree that Restoration was excellent. So much fun - Merivel is a gem of a character. I've not read the sequel and would be interested in the review of anyone who has??

I’ve read Merivel. It’s very good, but I read it a while ago so can’t really do a proper review.
I enjoyed it as I gave it four stars. If I remember rightly I shed a few tears at the end (therefore, it’s good).

I've had Merivel on my TBR pile since it came out, as I've been waiting to find time to reread Restoration first. I remember loving it first time round.

Rose Tremain is such a versatile writer.

I'm liking the sound of Restoration and Merivel

Me too, going on the Wish List

I enjoyed Restoration when it came out, but remember very little about it.

11 One quiet Woman Anna Jacobs this dragged on and with two more in the series need a break so glad to move on to
12.The forgotten Child Richard Gallear based on a true story

1. Me - Elton John Honest, fun, Elton bares all. Grew on me.

Tarahumara Tomalin’s Pepys biography is excellent.

1. The heart goes last - Margaret Atwood

It’s basically a post apocalyptic landscape after the economy has failed and a couple move to a “project society” to try and get by. Completely hooked from the first page. Fantastic book

I found the book of Remains of the Day a bit dull, but the film is one of my all-time favourites. Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson both amazing.

Thanks BestIsWest - I'm trying to decide between that and Dickens!

I have never not been bored by a Kazuo Ishiguro book. And I feel as if I’ve probably read most of them at one time or another. He’s versatile - I will give him that - but they all seem to go on forever without any real point to them. Worst is probably The Unconsoled which actually made me weep from boredom on a long bus journey in Thailand years ago.

I have no view on Station 11. I know I have read it, so perhaps my lack of opinion is telling in itself!

9 Chernobyl Prayer by Svetlana Alexievich
Motivated to finish this which had been half read at the end of last year by a review here. These are testimonies from Chernobyl workers, Belorussian people, soldiers, journalists, politicians, children, collected and beautifully framed. There is real poetry and sadness and it feels somewhat otherworldly but it’s also brutal and shocking. Having watched Chernobyl last year I recognised some of the stories but this was nonetheless an absorbing and troubling book.

10 A Little Book of Language by David Crystal
Interesting and very accessible account of language learning, evolution and recent shifts because of technology.

11 Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes
I must make a note of who on this thread points me in the direction of things I wouldn’t have come across otherwise. This is a series of short essays on getting out into nature with waterproof trousers and noticing things you wouldn’t otherwise do. I couldn’t live in a more urban setting if I tried but I shall keep this book to hand for trips out of town and try and connect a little more with the natural world.

Popping in to say hello. I'm halfway through Middlemarch and starting to struggle. It's a bit of a slog. I don't think I've read anything this long for years.

As much as I liked NLMG I found RotD really dull. Sad to hear The Buried Giant is another potential dud as I have it on my bookcase.

I saw Mr Ishiguro in Hampstead once. He looked a perfectly nice man but I had to really hold myself back from bounding up to him and demanding that he must write something non-boring.

Fortuna, I’m revisiting Middlemarch as an audiobook. I hated it the first time I read it - I was young and in the middle of a jungle with nothing else to read and it was a horrible tussle. This time round I’m loving it. Though admittedly only a couple of hours in so far. Interesting how books land differently at different points in one’s life.

Yes, Pepe. I wasn't much of a Dickens fan when I was young, but my mum loved him - though she said she hadn't liked him much when she was young either. I haven't tried to revisit him because I'm sure I'll find she was right!

Reading this thread is making me think again though. What's so wrong with mum being rright? She usually was!

Merivel made me cry twice, so it must be pretty good. I reckon you would need to have read Restoration first though.

Middlemarch is one of my favourite novels ever - I love the power dynamics in the relationship between Dorothea, Mr Casaubon and Will Ladislaw. Admittedly it does go on a bit.

Pepe I loved the beginning too, but I'm flagging as I'm aware it isn't going to end any time soon. I wonder if it's a concentration thing as most books are considerably shorter. I'm finding myself a little fatigued by it and although I wouldn't say I'm not enjoying it, it isn't setting my world on fire either.

I find it interesting about books that work for you at different times of life. I've picked up a few 'must reads' from the charity shop that I've previously abandoned from the library as they might be something that will appeal at another time. One example being Gilead. I was half way through and ditched it as just being about some old bloke whinging on. I'm aware others have got a lot more from it. Maybe one day...

I've sidestepped into something a bit different with Edna O'Brien's The Country Girls as a half-time break.

So I love Gilead @FortunaMajor but what makes it work for me ultimately is its being read in combination with sister novel Home

If you read Home straight after Gilead the ending packs a devastating punch.

Home also made me cry about 4 times, for me its the better book, but reading Gilead first is a must because of the way the two endings line up.

@PepeLePew

Rewild yourself sounds great. I’m adding it on to my list. That suggestion has reminded me of:

The Shepherds Life by James Rebanks. It is in DP’s pile but will borrow it.

Will also add on The Dubliners by James Joyce as we have just booked a weekend in Dublin later this year.

@lastqueenofscotland

I’ll also be adding in The Heart Goes Last. I’m a big Atwood fan.

Have you read the Mandibles by Lionel Shriver? If you like dystopian fiction, you may like it.

Right, need to come up with a proper list but thank you all for the suggestions so far.

5. How to Stop Losing Your Shit with Your Kids - Carla Naumburg

Useful advice to help you recognise when you're getting stressed out, so that you can take better care of yourself and avoid outbursts. Very real and down to earth, although the American slang can be a little grating. I'm not a dragon but it's becoming increasingly apparent that DD is high maintenance and may perhaps not be neurotypical, so anything that helps me keep my cool is welcome.

1. Origin by Dan Brown

This started out cringetastically awful but then somewhat redeemed itself with a couple of twists and an OK conclusion. I finished it thinking that the author should definitely stop writing books but might consider doing TED talks.

15 the Choice by Edith eger.

This book is the memoirs of an Auschwitz survivor, but unlike other books on the topic I have read this one looks at what happened to her throughout the rest of her life and how her experiences had impacted the rest of her life.

@MuseumOfHam I also loved Jonathan Livingstone Seagull as a teenager- I suspect rereading it now would spoil it for me too though.

@Elise, His Bloody Project made me feel like Cote feels about Never Let Me Go- if you are going to write a crime novel, write a bloody crime novel, dont fail to give it an ending and call that literature! Really wound me up!
Thank you to those who commented on Wisting- I'm in Sweden so cant watch iplayer, but will hope to watch it one day!
7) The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid I enjoyed this- not quite as much as Daisy Jones and the 6, but a nice light read- I didnt think the framing story worked as well as the fictional biography did, but I would read more by her.