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?

I'd forgotten that heartbreaking bit about the knitting, boiledegg, but yes....the part I remember for some reason was her dream of one day being rich enough to prepare potatoes and not bother about how thickly they were peeled

Oh gosh, yes, the potatoes. It was such a powerful and affecting read, and has obviously stayed with several of us.

Marking my place. I have been struggling with Neal Stephenson's Fall or Dodge in Hell but I might actually get through it this week because we're currently in lockdown around here.

Finished Dreadful Company, by Vivian Shaw. The heroine is a human who is a doctor to supernatural beings. On a trip to Paris, she is kidnapped by a wicked vampire group - will she save herself with the help of her allies? Reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett in having a moral core (do the right thing) but taking a playful approach to tired old genre tropes. It didn't feel entirely adult, but I enjoyed it as a light read.

Dark Water, by Parker Bilal. Part of a crime fiction series featuring a Sudanese hero living in exile in Cairo. Here the action moves to Istanbul, where our hero is asked to make contact with a renegade Iraqi scientist. The ghosts of his past make a return: is his long-lost daughter alive after all? It's more in the tradition of a spy thriller than crime fiction, and it's all nicely twisty, with a hero you really root for.

I’ve still got my Puffin Plus copy of The Endless Steppe, though I preferred Ilse Kohn’s Mischling Second Degree, maybe because I knew more about Nazi Germany than Stalinist Russia at the time.
Got my copy of TMATL (half price with Guardian voucher), but, in lunatic fashion, I have decided to read a book about late medieval religion as preparation. Only up to page 67, but I was very excited to see two chantry chapels on Saturday. DD(11) strangely not as interested.
22. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson
Finally read fifth Jackson Brodie. Still not sure how she manages to make her books so enjoyable when so much of the material is sad/disturbing. Lovely evocation of Yorkshire coast.
23. After a Funeral - Diana Athill
Athill was one of those writers so gifted that she could write about a trip to Asda and make it the truest thing you’d ever read. Having said that, this is a pretty gruelling read, as it concerns her friendship with an exiled Egyptian writer who committed suicide in her flat. She is utterly unsparing of herself in describing her attempts to support him through serious and untreated mental health problems. If you haven’t read anything by her, you should, but start with a different book than this.

bestiswest Yes she was so refreshingly quiet and serious, and loyal to a single good friend, and she didn’t make a big transformation either.

terpsichore I quite enjoyed A Question if Upbringing but stalled after that and never picked up the second. I do intend to though as I’m sure the rewards come with immersion in the whole series.

Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard

This story of an 11 year old boy surviving the war years in a POW camp in Shanghai was horribly exhilarating. Jim lives from moment to moment, constantly exhaustingly busying himself with the myriad small tasks which add up to the big task of staying alive, keeping his eye on the light which is sure to come at the end of the tunnel of war; but when it finally comes, is it the light of the sun or something more sinister? We see the horrors of war as Jim sees them, on the periphery of his vision, unsettling, yet not fully in focus. It is an intelligent and unsentimental exploration of the impact of history upon the individual, the fragility of civilisation and the blurred divisions between right and wrong when the bonds of family and community are swept aside. Ballard scatters beautiful sentences like glinting jewels throughout his prose, which otherwise hauls you alongside Jim with relentless efficiency.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

I reread this with my son and found it slower moving than perhaps I remembered, with so much dense descriptive text that I thought it would lose my son’s attention, being quite different from the things he reads usually to himself. However, that wasn’t the case, as I was assured near the end when he informed me he had “watery eyes” and had been following Bilbo’s adventures closely. We had many great conversations about moral quandaries which arose in the book which showed Tolkien’s power hasn’t diminished with the passing of generations. His work is also about the futility of war, told through the eyes of a hero who just wants to get home, to food and comfort and friendship, which is more dear than gold.

19 The House at the end of Hope Street Menna Van Praag . Three troubled women find themselves in a magical house in Cambridge which helps them make their dreams come true. I read this book after a recommendation, thinking it would be gentle and uplifting ,but it deals with some dark subjects . The descriptions of the house are very engaging but the characters and their actions belonged in a chick lit novel, which isn't my favourite genre. The main characters were stereotypes to introduce various issues .I was hoping for some vivid descriptions of Cambridge, which is one of my favourite places, but i didn't find them . Not for me.

Totally agree with EineReise about Death comes to Pemberley.

15. Red Bones by Ann Cleves - third book this year in her detective series set on Shetland. Local copper is home visiting his parents when he pops by to see his grandmother one evening and discovers her dead, in what appears to be a tragic accident. His boss is called in from the mainland and discovers bitter rivalries stretching back to WW2. I learnt a bit about Shetlands role in supporting Norway in the war and there were good character and scenery descriptions. 3/4

Did anyone read the retellings/sequels of What Katy Did and A Little Princess a few years ago? I liked Hilay McKays sequel to Princess, but wasn't sure about Jaqueline Wilson's Katy, although in general I like her as a writer.

17. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell I am surprised ii missed this when it came out as I have read a lot of fanfiction. If you have some idea of Harrry Ptter slash this is a clever interweaving of a story in a story, but very light and fluffy! I might read the sequel which is purportedly the fan fiction the main character in this is writing, based on a fictionalised Harry Potter, but is that just a step too far?!

Hello 50 Bookers. Would you mind if I joined you all? I've been watching these threads for years and years and have had so many wonderful recommendations from them.

Here's my list so far:

1. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak
2. The Body, Bill Bryson
3. The Man Who Was Thursday, G. K. Chesterton
4. Dishonesty is the Second Best Policy, David Mitchell
5. A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
6. The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
7. Notes From a Small Island, Bill Bryson
8. The Lost Man, Jane Harper
9. A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson

10. The Dutch House, Ann Patchett 11. The Girl With All the Gifts, M.R. Carey 12. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle 13. The Year of Reading Dangerously, Andy Miller 14. The Return of the King, J. R. R. Tolkien 15. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J. K. Rowling

I've enjoyed most of what I've read so far. Highlights would be The Book Thief, The Man Who Was Thursday (this is a bit mad but thoroughly enjoyable), A Walk in the Woods (one of my favourite books, reread many times), The Dutch House and The Return of the King.

That said, Stephen Fry's narration of the Sherlock stories has been wonderful, and I enjoyed revisiting Notes From a Small Island.

The Mitchell book was ok, but a bit forgettable. The Miller book should have been right up my street: I like books about books. But for some reason I didn't really connect with it as I thought I would.

The Girl With All the Gifts was fine, but I think there is probably a better book out there for this sort of thing. I'm currently listening to World War Z, which seems to be doing a better job of it.

50. The Most Fun We Ever Had - Claire Lombardo Epic multi generational tale spanning 50 years of the Sorenson family. Four very different adult daughters struggle to match their parents seemingly perfect relationship in their own lives. Secrets, sadness, love and laughter along the way as time shifts back and forth to bring to light what makes a family work.

This was beautifully written and captures the tiny things that go on in families. Well observed and I can really relate to the way the sisters interact with one another. It reminded me a lot of Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread and Ann Patchett's Commonwealth. Long winding family stories in which nothing particularly happens, but all the small things add up to a wonderful whole. It is quite long and could have withstood a bit of pruning in places but I really enjoyed it.

Nocti just jump in at any point, very few of us bite. The more the merrier.

The only rule is that if you read Never Let Me Go, please for the love of god, don't tell anyone.

Satsuki I loved Empire of the Sun and would put it in my top ten all time best reads.

Fortuna I adored The Most Fun We Ever Had, I didn't want it to end

noodle I knew someone had read it recently which is what made me bump it up my list. I was reluctant to start another long book at the same time as TMATL, but it was this or Dominicana, which didn't get as favourable a review. I was seriously hooked in and thought she did a great job of making all of the characters so distinct. I'll be looking out for her next book. I've read 9 of the 16 Women's Prize longlist and I'm not sure this is edgy or issue-ridden enough to win, but it's been one of the most enjoyable to read so far.

fortuna I finished it a week ago and have been thinking about it more and more. It was very powerful.

Welcome nocti sounds as if you’ve been a silent member for a while, happy you’ve decidedly to join in.

I enjoyed Carry On as a light fluffy read Tanaqui.

31. 99%: Mass Impoverishment by Mark Thomas This is really very good, one of those books that I want to press on all and sundry. A very clear, very calm exploration of increasing inequality in society, a look at where we are headed if current trends continue - ie potentially Victorian levels of absolute poverty. Unlike so many books on inequality MT also sets out a straightforward summary of how we could change this trajectory dramatically with some relatively minor political choices, while remaning within a capitalist / market-based society. (The author spent 15 years as head of strategy at PA Consulting, and before that was a corporate development director at UniChem, so very much coming from a moderate business friendly place.)

32 I Never Said I Loved You by Rhik Samadder
Memoir by the Guardian columnist. I'm reluctant to review this, it's well written in many ways, but I think the best thing to say is that it wasn't the right book for me right now.

33 The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles
Fantasy / romance - re-read as I keep starting overly heavy books & wanted a comfort read. (Currently part way through Red Rosa, graphic novel bio of Rosa Luxemburg)

@FortunaMajor Thanks! And don't worry, I've merrily watched many a NLMG battle over the years; I wouldn't wish to start another

Thank you @SatsukiKusakabe I have indeed! Since about 2014 I think. This Thing of Darkness is the recommendation I've been most grateful for so far, but there have been many others.

Satsuki - Did you know that Empire of the Sun is autobiographical? J G Ballard was interned in a Japanese camp in almost exactly the same circumstances.

"The only rule is that if you read Never Let Me Go, please for the love of god, don't tell anyone."

25. God Bless the NHS by Roger Taylor

Looks at recent government reforms of the NHS, reasons behind them, issues facing the NHS and so on. Informative.

26. Bring Me Back by B A Paris

Finn’s girlfriend Layla disappeared one night at a French service station. 12 years later, he’s built a new life, and is engaged to Layla’s sister Ellen.
And then, he starts receiving mysterious messages from someone claiming to be Layla. Is it her or isn’t it?

Very readable, although I didn’t find the ending entirely believable.

Bookworm by Lucy Mangan is 99p on kindle daily deal today. I loved this as I’m almost exactly the same age as the author and it was like reading about my childhood.

*Fortuna - {grin}

Bookworm by Lucy Mangan is 99p on kindle daily deal today.

Wouldn't you know it - I missed it when it was a daily deal first time around, then had it on my watchlist for an eternity waiting for it to reappear and finally cracked and got Dh to buy it for me for Christmas (amongst other books things). Grrr.

Thank you for the heads up about Bookworm. I've been wondering about it for a while. I'll give it a go.