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?

Have fallen off this thread recently what with everything going on, but have read 3 books since Marian Keyes' Grown UPS.

10- The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read by Philippa Perry. Read as I'm currently having therapy sessions with a psychologist so my interest in psychology has really grown. A good book, I don't agree with everything she says but found a lot of good tips on how to deal with tantrums and how to provide better emotional support to my child.

11 - Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. One of my favourite books this year so far. Really thought provoking, with a lot of dry wit. Definitely recommend this to you all.

12 - The Devils Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea. A factual account garnered from survivors and Border Patrol of a tragedy in the Arizona desert when a group of Mexicans trying to cross the border are abandoned by their guide. Several die from the heat and dehydration. It makes for a grisly read but examines why people enter the states illegally, the trade in human trafficking, the job of patrolling the border and the pointlessness of the current rules. It was written in 2004 but still seems incredibly relevant, although it's depressing how little has really changed for the better for people from Mexico and Central America looking for a better life.

@cakebythepound1234, I also really enjoyed Such a Fun Age. One of my favourites read so far this year.

Hi all, just checking in as have not been reading (except a couple of chapters of David Copperfield). I am not in the UK and here I have half my students in school and half at home, so we are teaching and setting e learning which is tiring! Hope you are all staying safe

16. Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. A reread by audio. Thoroughly enjoyed this again. The audio narrator makes it much easier to follow than the book where I found it hard to tell who was talking. I prefer the sections at Austen Friars to the court intrigue but both lovely and felt very comforting at this challenging time. I did like how normal life continued mid plague - made me feel a bit hopeful for the end of all this.

@Tarahumara, I agree that Sue Klebold does come across as a very nice woman, but perhaps what I didn't convey very well was that her unimaginable grief has understandably skewed her own thinking.

A Mother's Reckoning will stay on my mind for a long time, I'm sure.

9. Antigone - Jean Anouilh
I thought I'd read this but in fact realised that I'd seen it at the theatre, in English. So now I've read it in French I'd like to see the play again! Gripping. Thought-provoking. Recommended.

The Five : Hallie Rubenhold.

I like learning more about Victorian social history and this is a very interesting read which refocuses the Jack the Ripper 'mythology' on the five canonical victims. It is an illuminating and meticulously researched book with an excoriating, angry conclusion. I agree with every word she says.

The only thing that I didn't like was her misuse of the word 'reticent'!

I seem to be on a feminist streak : have done Invisible Women, The Five and now embarking on an education book about girls, which looks to be a good counterpoint to the much lauded Boys Don't Try.

How did she misuse the word reticent, piggy?

Just wanted to add my two centimes to the The Blind Assassin chat. This is the only Atwood I have ever read and I can honestly say I disliked it immensely. Not enough to DNF but if I had my time I again I certainly wouldn't slog on the bitter end.

I do love our different reading experiences on this thread

Have almost finished my David Copperfield chapters for the month and have a couple of other books on the go too. Not managing to find much reading time as work is all-consuming - and outside of that I'm struggling to concentrate!!

She uses reticent as if it is reluctant. I was always taught you are 'reticent about' but 'reluctant to'.

I have two chaps of DC to go : tomorrow's job!

Ah yes. Me too piggy

I'm on my last DC chapter now. I've done my homework through the month this time, rather than rushing it all at the last minute as usual.

56. Long Bright River - Liz Moore A Philadelphia cop has concerns for her drug addict sister who has gone missing just before a string of murders of vulnerable women on her beat. Alternates between present day and their childhood.

I think someone else has read this recently and reviewed it favourably. I found it reasonably engaging but not the page turning suspense that was promised. I'm not entirely sure that I'm judging anything fairly at the moment as I am quite distracted by other things. I think I need to choose more mindless/ fluffy books for the foreseeable.

Have lost track somewhat of where I'm up to with book reviews, but will have a go at catching up anyway. Life has been weird recently and this is going to be a bit sketchy but hoping to be more focused soon!

13. Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Read for book group. Quite gentle, thoughtful epistolary novel. Not my usual sort of thing but I enjoyed it.

14. One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus.

Based on an interesting premise; that the Cheyenne chief, to save the annihilation of his people, asked the US President to agree that a large number of white women be sent to marry and have children with the men of the tribe. Some women go willingly; others go because it's their only means of escaping psychiatric hospital or prison.
Apparently this idea was actually discussed, although it didn't in fact take place. The novel imagines that it did however, and describes a time when the indigenous people of north America were being cheated, betrayed and finally slaughtered. A good read. with two further books in the series which I'll get round to at some point.

15. The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith.

Recommended by a PP on this thread .. thanks; I enjoyed this. A crime thriller combined with a lesbian love story. Fun to read and I have the next in the series on my TBR pile.

16. Started Early Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson.

Fourth in the Jackson Brodie series, reread in preparation for Big Sky. Enjoyable as always.

17. When All Is Said by Ann Griffin.

An elderly Irish man raises a toast to five people who have been significant in his life. I thought this was going to be mawkish and was expecting another Harold Fry type narrative but it was much better than that. I especially enjoyed the account of Maurice's childhood, the misery at school due to his unrecognised dyslexia and his warm relationship with his big brother. Worth a read.

18. Force of Nature by Jane Harper. Having thoroughly enjoyed The Lost Man by the same author, this was disappointingly less gripping, but still passed the time on a long journey.

19. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

I was underwhelmed by My Name is Mary Barton* recently, however this was very good. Really insightful about human relationship,; the compromises and frustrations that can exist in a long marriage; all the unspoken stuff that goes on in people's quiet, ordinary lives.

20. The Party by Elizabeth Day.

Another novel of relationships .. I need to get back to some crime I think! But an interesting account of the friendship between two very different individuals when boys, then men .. obligation, guilt, obsession, and an unreliable narrator which I do like in a book sometimes.

21. The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Banks.

Again, not my sort of book generally but I thought it would be an easy read in these difficult times. It was fine. If you like Norah Ephron and Helen Fielding you'll like this too.

Now going to have a go at The Age of Innocence and hoping my concentration has improved ..

Finally finished a book. The Visitor by Lee Child. Reacher slopes around saying nothing and looking tough, then solves a crime by thinking very hard and throwing some punches. Honestly, I couldn’t tell you if it was good or bad as I had to force myself through it. I won’t blame Lee Child for that as I do quite like a Jack Reacher most of the time. But everything else is too distracting right now.

I am also reading The Five

Adding that Jim Fergus one to my Wish List, sounds good.

I finished a book
9. Black River by Will Dean
Third in the series of books about Tuva Moodyson, journalist in rural Sweden. Tuva's best friend Tammy has gone missing so Tuva is back in Gavrik to try to find her. I enjoyed the previous books and this continues in the same style but with enough differences to keep it interesting. The descriptions of ice and snow from the previous books have been replaced by a Midsummer setting - endless light, oppressive warmth and a lot of vicious midges, wasps and ticks. I find the setting interesting, the cliffhanger chapter endings keep me reading and these are not challenging reads but have enough substance to hold my attention.
It took me two weeks to read the first 50% of this book and I read the second 50% today. Having gone through last week constantly watching news and this week constantly working/staying in touch with colleagues as we adjust (I'm a teacher), I feel like I am at the beginning of a new normal where the situation is grim but becoming more stable so less news checks and being always available for emails. And I'd like reading to be a big part of my next few weeks. Despite already having a pretty sizeable TBR pile, before restrictions I impulse bought a new book, borrowed one from Mum and got three out the library just before it closed. Grateful to be well, to be able to get outside and to be gradually recovering the ability to concentrate on a book.

To all the Agatha Christie fans... one of the joys of getting older is that I've forgotten whodunnit in most of the books and can happily re-read them

@ChessieFL I love the Robin Stevens books! They are in the YA adult section at my local library but I can browse whilst the DC are choosing their picture books just good fun all round.

And the Tudors and Danny Dyer programmes were definitely good fun @EineReiseDurchDieZeit! Did you watch the follow up ones where Danny experiences life as it would have been for his ancestors? It was amazing to watch him when he was told that he was a direct descendant of royalty, though!

@JollyYellaHumberElla I'll definitely put Bone China on my reading list, I enjoyed The Silent Companions although didn't sleep for a week after reading it. Unfortunately my local library isn't accepting reservations; I mean I know they're closed but thought I could put in online requests as usual... nope. And I have two books waiting for me to collect, who knows when I'll be able to get them

In the meantime, my recent additions are:

35. A Murder to Die For - Stevyn Colgan

The official description is 'a comedic murder mystery' which I'd agree with; a festival in a small village which pays tribute to a famous murder mystery author is itself targeted by a murderer. I enjoyed this although was a bit confused by the lack of a 'hero'/ detective figure as such. At the moment it's a stand alone book and not part of a series; perhaps if it was then there would have been clearer signals as to who the main character was.

36. Wildcard - Ken McClure
37. The Secret - Ken McClure

Both medical thrillers in the Dr Steven Dunbar series. Really good books which rattle along in a Michael Crichton style. There's a bit of medical/ technical details but easy to follow if (like me) you don't have a scientific background, the plotline is the main draw. I'd read more of these but the online library system seems to have removed some of them and the others have a waiting list

@PermanentTemporary 👏👏👏

We did it here too on Thursday!

Fortuna, I reviewed Long Bright River recently and Vanderly reviewed it before me. I loved it but found it quite hard to read and haunting, and I've certainly thought about it a lot since I read it. I thought it worked much better as a family portrait than as a suspense page turner. Definitely not very upbeat!

highlandcoo it was me who recommended The Blue Place - hope you like the next one too

I'm behind on both my reading and review posting, but still finding this thread my favourite place on the internet. Thanks all for making it such an excellent refuge.

Klaxon - all the shardlakes are 99p each on Kindle today. I am reading one right now and finding it a good distraction from current events.

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. (1/5) 21. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracy Garvis Graves. (3/5) 22. The Other Us by Fiona Harper. (2/5) 23. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. (3/5)

24. The Crow Trap by Anne Cleeves. This is the first book in the Vera Stanhope series. Three women who are completing an environmental survey from an isolated cottage in the north of England. When a suicide and suspicious death occur there are no shortage of suspects. It took a while to get going, but I did like the different viewpoints of the three women that established the story, each adding a layer of understanding. It took a while for Vera to show up but once she did the pace definitely picked up, I thought I had the 'who' and 'why' figured out but was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. (3/5)

Like others, I"m finding it hard to concentrate right now. I might try some non- fiction - made-up stories aren't cutting it right now.

29. An English Murder, Cyril Hate. Classic crime from 1951. Characters trapped in big house, complete with Butler, as someone starts to make free with the cyanide. Okay, but doesn't exactly transcend the genre.

30. To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
    Time travel caper, in which our hero ping-pongs between the near future, 1940 and the Victorian era, paying homage to Three Men in a Boat. Not bad - the author has fun with the Victorians in particular, so we have fake mediums and class tensions and jumble sales. I'm not finding it entirely absorbing, but as pps have said, that may not be the book's fault.

Hare not Hate

Hello everyone, I've also fallen behind with my reading what with work, homeschooling and everything going on. Haven't been into work since last Friday and though I am very pleased about that, my main reading time was on my commute! Anyway I have finally finished

20. Keeping an Eye Open by Julian Barnes

A collection of Barnes' essays about art. This was, as you would expect, extremely well written and Barnes is clearly both knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the artists he discusses. I enjoyed this partly because the period he loosely covers (mainly 19th and 20th century French art) is a period I know something about, but I wasn't familiar with some of the artists. Particularly enjoyed the essays on Vuillard and Vallotton (of whom I thought I had never heard, but I had in fact seen one of his paintings in Zurich I think). Of course I now want to go out and find some of the pictures - a luxury I would have taken for granted only a few weeks ago, with the National Gallery and the Courtauld less than five miles away....

Hope you are all keeping well and occupied in these difficult times.