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 loved The tree that sat down and The stream that stood still by Beverly Nichols*. There was also one about a mountain, I think.

Still on children’s books - what about Smoky House by Elizabeth Goudge? I seem to recall this being great - historical and involved smugglers - did anyone else read it?

Slightly more in the mood for reading now but the light in my bedroom is awful! May need to use phone torch!

I've read some of those British Library Crime classics Satsuki.
They're a bit hit and miss, but I enjoyed The Cornish Coast Murder, Mystery in White and Crimson Snow.

The covers are always good though.

I've just bought Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell. I love High Rising so I'm looking forward to reading this.

Might re-read Moonfleet as well. Great book. Just thinking of the bit where John and Elzivir climb the Zig-Zag brings me out in a cold sweat!

Off to look up Smoky House...

27: A Buyer's Market - Anthony Powell

Finding it a bit difficult to concentrate at the moment, but I have managed Vol. 2 of A Dance to the Music of Time. I'm getting a bit more attuned to Powell's style, and am navigating my way through his epic sentences by dint of as much re-reading as necessary. Enjoyable, though, and as it seems I'll be spending a lot of time with Nick Jenkins, Widmerpool and the rest of the enormous cast, I've invested in Hilary Spurling's Invitation to the Dance, which will allow me to refresh my memory of who's who.

Thaks, all. I've read lots of these, particularly loved The Tree that Sat Down. I don't think I've read Moonfleet though. Will check all the others properly later - I have reading MN on the Kindle!

For dad (was it Satsuki asking?)
Rory Clements is a poor man's Shardlake but they're okay for light reading.
Andrew Taylor's Ashes of London series - not great but again, mildly entertaining
Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series - some are better than others

Are you okay Piggy- are you SI because you or a family member is ill? Best wishes if so.

Hello Nocti, I lurked for ages before I joined too! I loved World War Z, although maybe a bit worrying at the moment!

Remus, wandering away from childrens classics, have you read early Jean Ure (not her recent Jaqueline Wilson-esque stuff), but things like Dance For Two and Nicola Mimosa? Or the American author Caroline Cooney?

And 18) Carry On by Rsinbow Rowell Encouraged by Sadik and Plornish, this book is supposedly the slash fan fiction written by the heroine of Rowell's novel Fangirl, based on a lightly masked Harry Potter. Now I have in fact read quite a lot of Harry Potter fanfiction, making this a strange experience, as as HP fanfiction it was pretty good, but as "Simon Snow" fanfic you miss out on knowing if the characterisation is any good (which is part of the fun of fanfic). I liked some of her original ideas- I liked that magic is well spoken words that gain power, and I quite liked her adult characters, but basically it is a super fluffy read. I suspect I might have liked it better as H/D, and I can't help wondering if I have read Rowells fanfic at some point!

19. Pied Piper by Nevil Shute Inspired by one of you the other day I downloaded this expecting a comfort read- it was lovely and I enjoyed it but it was so sad too. Amazing to think it was written while the war was still going on. Have downloaded the Toolshed that was also recommended so thank you!

Oh I was OBSESSED with Among Friends by Caroline Cooney circa 1996 😂

Also would like to recommend Eleanor and Park again to Rainbow Rowell readers

Also recommend Back Home by Michelle Magorian as a gentle YA read

Thanks tanaqui. I am SI because I am ill. Not very ill so probably not CV but can't take risks as a teacher. My DH is classed as vulnerable so I have been very very anxious about both of us being sent into germ pools. Anxiety presents itself remarkably like Covid symptoms. But no anxiety on earth gives you a really high temp, so I Self Isolated. I say now I wasn't very ill but I did phone 11 three times...

So, I should be happy as a pig in the proverbial with my books but not been feeling it. Read a chapter of David Copperfield today. Twas weird. Day 4 tomorrow. Think I can break loose from my room on Day 7/

Am also reading Caroline Criado Perez but not sure she is the right choice for now with all her stuff about the healthcare system!

Thanks privatespidey - I’ve seen them about and the covers are really nice, I don’t read as much crime/mystery as dad likes to so find it hard choosing for him, but he doesn’t read unless I send him things so helps to have a recommendation from someone who’s read more. Though I only started reading Shardlake to test it for him and got hooked!

Thanks remus Rory Clements sounds good. I think I may have sent him a Bernie Gunther before on your rec, so I’ll have to check which one.

Oh I loved Caroline B Cooney. She was so good.

piggy that sounds horrible - My dh is high risk and I’ve had a tight feeling in my chest all week and it’s hard to think of anything else. To be ill at this time as well of course you’re anxious. Do look after yourself and I hope you feel better soon.

Thanks satsuki.

OH TimeforaGandT! The Little White Horse, by Elizabeth Goudge! Oh I loved that book, and I could not remember what it was called so I couldn't get it to read to dd....... Oh thank you for the mention of Elizabeth Goudge and leading me back to it!

The other Beverley Nichols is The Mountain of Magic.

Piggy I hope you begin to mend and recover quickly. It's a worrying time to be ill in any way at all. DH thinks I should isolate myself along with dd as we are both immuno-compromised, but he's not great himself either. Tons of stuff to do at home though. DD is lining things up for us!

Piggy I had to give up on the Caroline Criado-Perez, it made me too cross. I can't imagine reading it when you're under the weather! If you want some non-fiction that isn't rage-making and reads like a spy thriller, I highly recommend Bad Blood by John Carreyou.

I hope you feel better soon.

Remus have you read the Antonia Forest Kingscote school books? I loved those when I was a child and they have held up incredibly well. (Sorry if this is a repeat suggestion, I'm behind on the thread).

I also love the Terry Pratchett witches or guards Discworld books, which aren't YA but are both funny, diverting and strangely comforting.

Thanks jux and noodle. I know a few have enjoyed Bad Blood so will have a look!

I've been a very lazy 50-booker and not reviewed for two months. I'll post my reviews soon but for now I'll review my most recent read, a re-read of 84 Charing Cross Road, which was the pick up I needed. My thoughts on this gem haven't changed since I read it for the first time in 2015 and I've copied and pasted my review on here from then:

84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff

A wonderful book of letters between an American author in New York and a bookseller in London, which covers twenty years from the late 1940's. This was such a delightful read which made me feel very emotional at times, and the two voices complement each other beautifully. Highly recommended, especially for anyone after something light and short (95 pages). The film is pretty good but the book is much better.

Hope anyone in isolation is doing ok.
Piggy

Satsuki if your Dad likes crime/mystery type stuff would he fancy historical series? The Falco series is really enjoyable, as are the Cadfael books, but all quite old so he may long since have read them. Cadfael is C12th, so too early for plague but has the odd leper knocking about. Also if not too cliched as blokey books and again from the annals, the Hornblower and Sharpe series are fairly entertaining if he doesn't mind a bit of military derring-do.

51. Ask Again, Yes - Mary Beth Keane Two rookie cops on the same beat also find themselves as neighbours in the suburbs. Their children grow up with one another but an incident when the two teens start dating has implications for decades. Looks at the intimacies of marriage, parent/child relationships and how time can affect the ability to forgive.

This was ok, but I wouldn't rave about it.

Southeast I loved 84 CCR and and recommended it as a gentle read for my IRL book group. it's one of my favourite books.

Satsuki, I've only read the free sample but Across the Nightingale Floor is cheap on Kindle this month and might well be up your dad's street from the short extract that I have read? Was recommended by several people here.

16. Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe

This was long and fairly dense although very readable, hence lack of updates from me for a while.

It's described by some as a history of the Troubles but it isn't. It mainly concerns the IRA, certain key members of the organisation, some of their internal politics and the victims of one specific atrocity - the "disappearance" of Jean McConville. For a while you can't quite work out where the author is going as he switches between the McConville family, the Price sisters (two notorious young female paramilitaries who went on hunger strike), then to an older male IRA member, then back again, but in time it becomes clear and the various threads pull together (I don't have the book to hand but Keefe describes his work as a non-fiction story written as a novel or something along those lines - certainly the structure and pacing are those of a thriller, although he is never lacking in respect for the gravity of his topic). Raises, with subtle clarity, some really important questions about transitional justice and whether one should let sleeping dogs lie for the sake of lasting peace. An excellent read and highly recommended.

I started on 1984 which I have been meaning to read forever but the atmosphere of menace and paranoia was too much right now - am avoiding Hilary Mantel for the same reason. Instead I have picked up Mudlark which is absolutely lovely, especially if you are interested in London..... I can smell the mineral smell of the river just reading her beautiful descriptions, and it is making me feel nostalgic and safe - very welcome!

Just had a trip to the library to stock up (I have plenty of books but not necessarily the right type).

I’ve got

Transcription - Kate Atkinson
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer
The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver
The Pursuit of love - Nancy Mitford
Stephen Morris- Neville Shute

Also The Handmaid’s Tale, but primarily for DS1 who has developed a taste for dystopian fiction after reading Animal farm and the Hunger Games.

Second the Rosemary Sutcliffe books particularly Dawn Wind, Warrior Scarlet and the Eagle of the Ninth series. Also what about LeGuin’s Earthsea books or Laura Ingalls Wilder? Lots of stuff about toughing it out in the wilderness, plus The Long Winter’s looking particularly apt. When I can focus again, I’ve just lined up A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter. It’s from 1938 and it’s an account of her being stuck in a small shack on an Arctic island with limited supplies in the freezing cold, but also seems to have lots of upbeat descriptions of the scenery. Recently reissued but it’s out of print already but is on Kindle.

Thanks again for the recs, folks.

Other than you lot, mumsnet isn't making me very happy, so I've decided to disappear for a week or two. If anybody wants to stay in touch by email, DM me. I'm sick of all the misery and teacher bashing, and it's getting harder and harder to ignore it.

Big love, my wonderful book friends. xx

Satsuki, my dad recommends the Dead Cold Mysteries series by Blake Banner. He says the first one, An Ace and a Pair is currently free on kindle so nothing to lose! Dad has very wide ranging tastes, but likes mystery/detective novels for light reading. (He's also a big fan of the Falco novels if your dad hasn't tried them.)

Remus I'm also hiding from MN other than this thread - I've got it bookmarked so can just ignore everything else, don't know if that would work for you?

I'm only reading this thread, I've hidden AIBU and the CV topics.

Recent gentle reads, all of which I recommend are:

Two old fools down under Victoria Twead
The Telephone box library Rachael Lucas
Swell Jenny Landreth (brilliant book)