50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

What are you reading?

Circe is an excellent read too timeforagandt.

Thanks Satuski. I will move Circe up my TBR pile. I was almost reluctant to read it in case it was a disappointment after A Song for Achilles

*Time", I don't understand the St Mary's timeline at all. I let that part wash over me.

bibliomania - that makes me feel better that I am not alone in my confusion!

@TimeforaGandT At the end of A Second Chance Max is moved into an alternate reality. Lots of things are the same so they have lots of shared experiences that happened the same I each reality but there are some differences too (eg who died). I think the next book helps to clarify a bit.

@TimeforaGandT

IIRC, re. St Mary’s, there’s some sort of weird history goddess nonsense that shifts Max from her original timeline into a second, slightly different timeline.

So timeline 1: Leon dies, timeline 2: Max dies. And then timeline 1 Max magically moves to timeline 2 to be reunited with the other Leon.

It’s a storyline that really annoyed me. It’s so inconsistent with the internal logic in the rest of the series. It felt like Taylor had written herself into a corner with the way the Troy trip turned out, so invented some mystical nonsense to get out of it and have her golden couple back again.

I try to ignore that bit as a general rule.

Thanks Mama - some clarification would definitely be appreciated!

I enjoyed both but thought Circe was far superior to Song of Achilles.

On the subject of Greek retellings...

80. A Thousand Ships - Natalie Haynes WPLL A retelling of the Trojan war and aftermath from an all female perspective.

I wanted this to be better than it was. The idea is wonderful but the execution sadly didn't quite live up to it. It was written in very bitty fashion with no cohesive whole. I can't help but feel this is a few years too late to the party where other people have done similar and better. There are a few women given a voice that don't usually come up, but largely it rehashes what Wilson, Miller, Barker, Atwood, Toibin and Fry have already provided with stronger voices and better writing.

Agree fortuna Circe had the edge, felt she stepped up a level in terms of the writing.

Loving the very honest reviews

55. JM Worgan - Life on the Spectrum. The Preschool Years. Getting the Help and Support You Need

DS1 has suspected ASD (I'm getting no further with an assessment at the moment, as you can imagine) and found this book really helpful. The author's son has ASD and a sibling close in age and the book is about the effect on the whole family including his brother, which I found interesting as I worry about DS2 and grew up with a disabled sibling myself. It came out in 2012 so perhaps things have moved on a bit but nevertheless, some helpful ideas and overall a message of hope. It could have done with a bit of editing (although I have a Kindle copy so it may not have transcribed well) but was a short and useful read.

Ive loved reading the library memories. A trip to the library was part of our Saturday afternoon every week, and then I'd read my first book that evening in the bath - for some reason I only had a bath once a week.

21. Once upon a time in the West Country, Tony Hawks

I've read most of Tony's (seems a bit familiar to just call him Tony, but I feel like I'm writing a school essay if I use just the surname) previous books, and sadly this isn't as good. It's a nice gentle read, for these not-so-gentle times though.

Tony and his wife decide to have a change of pace and move from London to Devon. Whilst there he also does one of his challenges (previous books saw him hitchhike round Ireland with a fridge and play the Moldovan football team at tennis) but this one is much less impressive than things he has done before and wasn't really the main focus of the book.

I feel like Tony is a nice guy, and I like his sense of humour but theres a sense of him doing things just because he knows it will make a good story afterwards. At times, and I feel horrible for saying this, but he came across a bit smug and preachy. I feel like the things he was preaching about, were values I shared (apart from his views on marriage) so I don't fully understand why I found them so grating.

Anyway, it was ok, and a couple of bits did make me laugh out loud, so not all bad!

I feel like the things he was preaching about, were values I shared (apart from his views on marriage) so I don't fully understand why I found them so grating

Ok, I have to know. What are Tony Hawkes'
controversial views on marriage?

Yes I loved Circe as well and if I had to choose I would say it had the edge over Song of Achilles.

I'm in the mood for more myths and legends just now. I have one more of my birthday/Christmas Waterstones vouchers left and was thinking of getting A Thousand Ships but maybe not now. Might get the Pat Barker one instead.

28. A Funny Thing Happened by Anthony Buckeridge.

Written in 1953 by the author of the Jennings series, this was my favourite book at the age of 9 or 10. I came across it in the attic and thought I would have a quick reread. Brother and sister Tim and Sally spend a week with Great Uncle Theodore, an insect collector, in a quaint English village peopled by locals with names like Obadiah Oldcorn and Jeremiah Finkwhistle. Much consternation about a lost marrow that should be starring at the village fete, people tripping and falling off boats into two feet of water, and absent-minded adults not being able to find their spectacles which turn out to be on top of their heads. I remember finding it hilarious at the time. Quite sweet and innocent however I don't feel the need to ever read it again.

29. Last Friends by Jane Gardam.

The final book in the Old Filth (Failed In London Try Hong Kong) trilogy. I have so enjoyed these books and Jane Gardam's intelligent exploration of her characters. The first volume focuses on Edward Feathers, the next on his wife Betty and the third on his arch-enemy and professional rival Veneering, with their individual stories interwoven in each. We learn so much about their childhoods, struggles, fears, loves and all the unseen, unspoken and misunderstood emotions that exist in long relationships; there is so much packed into just a few hundred pages.
Similar in tone to Sue Gee, Anne Tyler and especially Ann Patchett; I would highly recommend this trilogy.

Now I have to choose my next book and it's between Circe - much mentioned above and sounds interesting - Doctor Thorne to continue the Barchester Chronicles series, Big Sky or something else from my teetering TBR pile.

Off for a ponder ..

I agree that it was a plot device to get out the author out of the hole she had dug and I also just forget about the whole alternate reality and it's not really mentioned much after the next book.

@KeithLeMonde oh nothing that controversial I guess. I think it stems from both of their parents getting divorced and he says "...nor have I ever wanted to enter into a promise that I might not be able to keep" and goes on to say he doesn't want to make a commitment when they don't know what the future holds. Oh and " I'd pledged to love her till death did us part. The difference was that we had made the significant distinction between love and ownership. We'd decided that 'love' should be defined as 'wanting the other person to be happy'..... If not, we would acknowledge the change in our relationship and get on with building a solid and loving friendship"

So I guess a view shared by many.... although the the way it's all spelled out its a bit smug, and condescending to those that are married.

Thanks Stitches - it’s comforting to know I wasn’t missing something blindingly obvious you others!

Grr - to others not you others

44. Love Child by Allegra Huston

Many years ago I read a footnote somewhere about this Stranger Than Fiction true story and it piqued my interest. This book has been on my Wish List for ages.

Allegra was the daughter of ballerina Enrica Soma and the British aristocrat John Julius Norwich, but at her mothers sudden death when she was four she was claimed by her mothers estranged husband; the film director John Huston.

To say that John Huston then "brought her up" would be to massively overstate the case. Though she speaks of him with love and warmth, he was clearly both a terrible person and an absolutely lousy father.

Over the next 16 years, Allegra is passed from pillar to post, regularly living with just employees of her father, occasionally random relatives, with Anjelica stepping in as she gets older. She lives with John Huston at irregular short intervals and always only ever at the convenience of his love life. Eventually one of his many ex wives, whom he has abandoned Allegra with, tells her the truth.

One of his most disgusting moments comes when he decides to adopt another daughter, when Allegra is older. The child suffers extreme neglect and abuse and the adoption is short lived. It is only then we see some anger from Allegra.

How she retains ANY residual affection for him I have no idea. He's a megalomaniac monster.

As well as this, though surrounded by fame and fortune, on personal terms with the likes of Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando; she was not a spoiled Hollywood princess - there is a really upsetting part where she realises she has no childhood possessions; everything she had believed hers was actually Anjelica's, who was much older.

There is a really strong sense of "beggar at the feast" and your heart definitely aches for her, privileged as her life probably externally appeared, it was devoid of much which far less wealthy people take for granted.

A good read 5/5

Book 36 is The Stand. Lethal virus wipes out most of the world and the people who are left try to rebuild civilisation while grappling with the realisation that not everyone makes the same choices as them about what a good future looks like.

This was a re-read for me and not the first re-read. This time I was particularly drawn to the way King shades many of the characters - Lloyd Henreid is clearly a terrible person but you see doubt and fear and flashes of honesty and humanity, the Trashcan Kid is more sympathetic than I remember him being (though clearly still terrifying in his insanity), and then there is poor scared bitter Harold. It’s very hard to like him but it’s easy to feel for him, and desperately want him to make different choices.

This really is a terrific book. I say this every time it’s mentioned but I do think there is something quite special about it and the way it burrows into your brain. If you can cope with the first section (it was never easy reading but this time round it was particularly hard) then what unfolds is a real masterpiece of story telling, and a reminder of the importance of standing up for what you think is right, even if you don’t always make the right choice.

It’s certainly longer than it needs to be and the ending isn’t great (although it is one of King’s better ones). And the dialogue is clunkier than I remember - the endless civics lessons from Glen Bateman were not deftly done. But I really don’t care. This is still one of my favourite books and one I recommend all the time to people.

I do think it may be time to step away from plague fiction. This plus Defoe have got me back into the reading groove but it’s time for something different now.

Fortuna thanks for your WPLL reviews. I really enjoyed reading them and now feel inspired to try a few

Pepe - can you think of anything else that's as good as The Stand, with the same capacity to drag you in and keep you there and get you right in the gut as you go?

Catching up with the thread has been very educational this morning. Have made mental notes to:

1. Avoid Balham
2. Check my fish for signs of constipation
3. Be wary of Cusk

Thanks to @FortunaMajor for your reviews. Weather, How We
Disappeared, Saltwater and Guest
House for Young Widows have all be added to my tbr. Saltwater in particular sounds interesting.

@FranKatzenjammer Unnatural Causes sounds good. I enjoyed Stiff by Mary Roach a few years ago (if enjoyed is the right word) so I’ll add Shepherd’s book to my list for the next time I’m feeling morbid.

Book 27
Restoration by Rose Tremain

Absolutely loved this. Set in the reign of King Charles II it is the story of Merivel, who we meet as a medical student. By chance he is shown favour by the king and then offered a crucial position minding the king’s mistress. But it all goes wrong when Merivel’s careless charm, along with playing fast and loose with his new fancy lifestyle, loses his favoured position.

So witty, with delicious descriptive writing on every page. Merivel’s character is in turns hilarious, repellent and pitiable but I really liked the character as it changed throughout. Would definitely recommend this, as one of the best books I’ve read this year. If not one of my all time favourite reads in fact.