50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 and the second one here.

What are you reading?

Most recent read is left over from my year of rereading last year, and is one of the best fiction books ever written imo:

1. Libra - Don Delillo

It's Delillo's take on the assassination of JFK, and for anyone interested in the event, or American history, or pitch-perfect thriller writing, I just can't recommend it enough. James Ellroy also described it as his favourite book ever. It's taut, intense, moving and just brilliant.

On to Mantel now, with Wolf Hall first!

1. Alice Peterson - One Step Closer to You an easy read. Alice Peterson always has characters with a range of disabilities and, although her books are easy reads, this adds an extra dimension.

I've fallen behind on reading at the moment, but with selling a house, illness and being told that my job is at risk of redundancy I have had a triple whammy and my mind has been elsewhere.

@MegBusset Libra sounds really good, just added to my wish list.

Great review @ShakeItOff2000 looking forward to getting to this. Sissay is curating Brighton festival this year and really hoping to see him at some point.

16. The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy

    This was a good read and quite funny in places.It is a collection of anecdotes about Emma's family holidays in the 1970s. Emma is a bit older than me, but a lot of it brought back memorie of being packed in the car surrounded by equipment. Emma was an only child with a Welsh father and an English mother who fancies herself as a bit of a Bohemian. They have some disastrous attempts at camping in Wales (trying to set up camp in a force 9 gale with a 70 year old grandmother with a bad hip is the one that sticks in my mind the most), before embarking on a love-hate relationship with camping in France, which involved Emma falling into toilets, eating food of dubious origin, escapades with French shopkeepers refusing to sell them chickens (due to their lack of French and the inside knowledge that they need to pre-order them).
    Refusing to camp one year, after a disastrous holiday the previous year, they rent a gite and are cursed with ants nests, strange night time noises and a house that seems to be turning on them. They try the Isle of Wight as a safe option one year, and nearly drown.
    Needless to say, Emma doesn't really think much of holidays and sees them very much as an annual endurance.
    Well written and enjoyable

17. Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson
    I do enjoy Bill Bryson and as an English teacher, I did anticipate enjoying this one.

I certainly enjoyed the early chapters, especially about earlier developments in the English language and how Anglo Saxon "Old English"and the French brought by the Normans after th 1066 conquest have assimilated into the English language we recognise today. In particular how words for formal and legal situations have evolved mostly from the French, whereas words for everyday things have endured from the Anglo Saxon, for some reason even after 1000 years, we somehow feel more comfortable receiving a "warm welcome" than a "cordial reception".

It did feel it drifted a bit towards the end, I was less interested in chapters on spelling and pronunciation, but the chapter in how American, British and Australian English looked like it might split into separate languages was very interesting, but the advent of international movies and easier world travel makes that unlikely. It was written in the early 1990s. It would be interesting to read an update on how the internet and other aspects of globalisation have affected English as a global language.

Interesting read

18. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson Back to my comfort reading Bryson travel ramblings. This time he is hiking along the Appalachian Trail, which is the world's longest continuous footpath, which stretches about 2000 miles (the length varies depending on which map you are reading - much to Bryson's frustration). He realises early on that he is never going to be able to hike the whole length, so he walks it in sections over several months. He is accompanied sometimes by his friend Katz, who has the alarming habit of throwing out food and equipment along the way when he thinks his pack is too heavy. An early casualty to this habit were the coffee filters. forcing them to filter coffee through toilet paper, and having coffee with flecks of tissue for the remaining part of that trip. According to Bryson, you can get over this after a few days in the wilderness.

It is typical Bryson, a mixture of anecdotes of trying not to die outdoors, fascinating facts about the history of the Appalachian Trail, and characters he meets along the way.

Going to have a Bill Bryson break for a few weeks now

26: A Question of Upbringing - Anthony Powell

Somewhat ambitiously, one of our book group members has gone for the first volume of A Dance to the Music of Time as their next choice. Tbh this suits me as DH and I have long intended to read it, have collected the set, and promptly done nothing further to actually read it

I enjoyed this, though if I hadn’t known it was the first of 12 volumes, I’m not sure I’d have been so drawn in.... a lot of my curiosity and interest came from knowing that I’ll be following the characters for a long time.

Did others find this? I know a lot of you have completed the cycle so I’d be interested to know. It seems a bit of an odd thing to pick for a book group, perhaps.

@BookWitch I really enjoyed the Emma Kennedy book too! I didn't realise there was a BBC programme made based on it, and now can't find anywhere to watch it I've reserved her other travel book at the library, waiting for that to arrive.

I enjoyed A Walk in the Woods as well and must re-read Mother Tongue. I do remember feeling slightly bemused by Bill Bryson's evident love of language and where all the vast English vocabulary came from, then him defending American words against (as he saw it) British people attacking their language...

I couldn't get into the Ladies Detective Agency books either

Remus, might you fancy I Capture The Castle by Dodie Smith? One of my favourite comfort reads but it might be a bit of a marmite book.

I also often re-read 84 Charing Cross Road in times of crisis.

I second I capture the Castle. It's a truly lovely read. Or something by Alison Uttley?

There's also Mary Webb's Precious Bane. Beautiful book.

I love, 84. Have read I Capture several times. Have read few of the others mentioned too. Can't remember if I've read Precious Ba ne - will check.n

Have started Underland which I'm loving, but it's a hardback and no good for commuting.

Anyone got their book people order yet?

48. Red at the Bone - Jacqueline Woodson Multiple POV inter generational story about a black family and the weight of expectations from one generation to the next and how decisions made in the past can echo down a family tree.

Beautifully written and covering themes of teen pregnancy, race, education and family ties. It was only quite short at under 200 pages but it jumped around a lot between narrators and time frames capturing several perspectives. The writing is very subtle rather than bashing you over the head with the issues.

49. Nightingale Point - Luan Goldie Follows 5 residents of a London residential tower block before, during and after a tragic accident. Set in 1996 it looks at the effects a major incident can have on individuals.

This is based on a real tragedy that happened in Amsterdam in 1992. The author captures each different voice perfectly and the time in which it is set. It's hard to think back to a time pre-mobile phone and social media. It concentrates on the characters rather than the events or issues surrounding it. I don't think the writing is quite of the same quality of some of the other Women's Prize finalists and it misses a trick in providing a serious commentary on the wider issues, however I couldn't put it down.

It iS a bit quiet here at the moment isn't it? I wonder if it's because everyone's tied up with The Mirror and the Light? I'm reading Say Nothing which is 500 pages long and, while very readable, quite heavy going.

AnUnlikelyWorldofInvisibleShad Our book people order was delivered today.
Although we just ordered books for the DC. The only adult books I was interested in had sold out by the time I went on the website.

Thanks for those reviews Fortuna - they've both gone on The List.

I am not reading The Mirror and the Light. Just thought I'd say.

Also...

19. What Red Was by Rosie Price

Price was apparently only 26 when she wrote this and it is an impressively accomplished book - although I found it fully convincing only in parts. It fits with the "me too" zeitgeist, although I won't go into the central event, and Price's descriptions of that event and its trickling aftermath were unflinching and hard hitting. I particularly liked the way the characters' responses to Kate, the protagonist's eventual descriptions of what happened to her were shown through the lens of their own experiences. I did feel, though, that Price took on too much - the book felt like it was trying to be a sort of family saga as well, and that didn't really work. There were too many characters with too many storylines when really what I wanted to know about was Kate and the core of people around her.

Yes I'm on the TMATL train

About a quarter in

I’m not reading it either. Though I am setting out on Wolf Hall with markedly more success than on any other occasion.
I’m behind with my reviews - have been caught up in resilience planning at work and teenage dramas at home, but am planning a restorative and calm weekend of reading and catching up on life.

Not reading TMATL yet, I like the series but not desperately, will wait til it comes out in paperback.

Oh that's good news StitchesinTime. Hopefully it wont be long before I hear about mine then.

1. Pet Semetary by Stephen King (2/5)
2. The Outsider by Albert Camus (5/5)
3. Somebody's Mother, Somebody's Daughter by Carol Ann Lee (3/5)
4. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. (4/5)
5. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. (5/5)
6. 4321 by Paul Auster. (4/5)
7. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. (3/5)
8. The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffrey Deaver. (1/5)
9. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. (3/5)

10. What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge. (4/5) 11. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 12. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 13. Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay. (1/5) 14. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. (3/5) 15. The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub. (2/5) 16. Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade. (3/5) 17. Black Ice by Michael Connelly. (2/5) 18. In the Woods by Tana French. (3/5) 19. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. (3/5)

20. Red Ribbons by Louise Phillips. I've not been having much luck with crime / thriller books recently but the random generator must be obeyed and I thought the fact there was a female criminal psychologist might make this one interesting. Reader, it did not. It was boring, formulaic and riddled with cliches and my pet hate of characters using the name of other characters in every single sentence. The ending was really abrupt too, mind you by that point I was glad it was done with. (1/5).

Catching up

I have never read a Hilary Mantel and have no urge to do so.
Not sure which book wins my worst read but I need to talk about Kevin is up there.
I don’t think I have my copy of The Butterfly Ball but I do have The Tiger Voyage.

9 Trustee from the Toolroom loved this gain although a bit mor poignant this time. My father died in Tahiti when he was on holiday there a few years ago, and my DS was a bit older than Janice when DH died and actually behaved in exactly the same way. It was a beautiful gentle read and glad that i re read it.

Can’t remember who is reading The Outsiders but I am half way through that as well.

I've been quiet because I have been diligently reading a rather dense offering from Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust, as I was due to go to a talk by her later this month. However, she's just cancelled, and I can't say I blame her. Was due to go with my 81 year old mum, by public transport, into nearest big city, so was feeling a bit twitchy about it anyway. Shall plough on with the book regardless, despite it having the tiniest typeface, which has resulted in me having to buy reading glasses from the pound shop.

@MegBusset like the sound of Libra too

I’m reading the Mantel although not as much as I’d like to as have had other things going on and can’t carry it around with me. Nice to have it to dip into when the news gets too much.

Also finished

101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith

Read this to my daughter and it was lovely. I’m also a huge fan of I Capture the Castle and recently bought it as a gift for a teenager. I was struck by things in this that I hadn’t been as a child, the sense of a battle between good and evil that sits beyond the doggy derring do, and the unpreachy yet highly Christian message that is woven in lightly, about lending a helping paw to others, offering hospitality to strangers, and turning the other cheek even when you’re tempted to bite someone, all with an arched eyebrow toward the Church that people might visit more often if they could bring their dogs. I am not religious, but the times I have come close to the feeling of it have come from art rather than from the pulpit, and the image of a puppy entranced by a Nativity scene without knowing why I found quite moving and one of those moments, and it may be nostalgic or just deeply silly but there it is. It also contains one of my favourite scenes in possibly any book; the two Dalmatians eating hot buttered toast and drinking milky tea by the fire, then being mistaken for the canine companions of an elderly man’s youth. Honestly beautiful. Oh there’s dated stuff in there but it’s still a classic.

I ordered from the Book People on 1st March and it arrived yesterday.

I’ve been quiet on here because I can’t seem to find anything I actually want to read. I’ve given up on two books in a row which is very unlike me! It may be the books rather than me but even looking at my shelves I can’t find anything I fancy except my usual comfort rereads. Non fiction feels more appealing than fiction at the moment so will try that.

I do have a few updates though:

54. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Listened to this on Audible. I read it at A level and hated it so have been meaning for a while to revisit it as an adult. I did enjoy it more this time, but didn’t love it. I enjoyed it up to the theatricals, then it got a bit dull in the middle but picked up again once Fanny went to Portsmouth. I think there were two reasons I didn’t enjoy it as a teen - firstly we were told that one of the alternatives was Wuthering Heights which I already loved so I really wanted to study that, and secondly we were told it’s about a woman having an affair (very scandalous at that time) which of course does happen but not until the very end and is not the main plot of the book, so I felt let down by that. I’ll probably read it again at some point in the future but not my favourite Austen.

55. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Flora returns to her childhood home to take care of her father after an accident. We also get the story, told through letters, of her parents’ marriage from her mother’s point of view. Her mother disappeared when Flora was a child. This was ok but I didn’t really engage with any of the characters and I didn’t like the ambiguous ending.

56. Hidden London by David Bownes

Part of London Transport’s current exhibition about abandoned Tube stations and what’s happened to them. For some reason, despite having no interest in trains or stations generally, I do find the underground quite fascinating particularly the idea of closed stations just sitting there unused. Some have been repurposed with tunnels used as bat sanctuaries or growing salad, and some are used for filming. Others are just abandoned and used for access or storage. I found this really interesting but it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

57. The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium by Gerald Durrell

An old favourite comfort read. A collection of short stories, two of which feature his family. Very funny.