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?

I'm very sorry about your mum noodlezoodle

When my mum was very ill I found myself reading easy cheerful stuff like the James Herriot vet stories. Not what I would usually go for but all I could manage at the time.

Maybe think of some old favourites to revisit?

I'm so sorry to hear about your mum @noodlezoodle, I know what you mean about difficulty reading as I'm the same since my dad died a few weeks ago for you. Just wanted to let you know you aren't alone in your grief.

I’m sorry to hear about your mum @noodlezoodle (and your dad @bettybattenburg).

For comfort reads I go for something like Bill Bryson, or Marian Keyes/Sophie Kinsella.

noodlezoodle, I am sorry for your loss.

So sorry to hear of your loss @noodlezoodle are there any old favourites you could revisit?

@noodlezoodle - very sorry to hear about your Mum.

For something light and heart-warming - I see you've been reading some Jenny Colgan - I would definitely recommend her Mure Island series (The Summer Seaside Kitchen, A Very Distant Shore, The Endless Beach, Christmas On the Island)

A handhold and for you, noodle

Thanks for the new thread southeastdweller. You lot are absolute lifesavers in these crazy times.

Bringing my list over:

1. The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
2. The Unexpected Joy of being Sober – Catherine Gray
3. Ta deuxième vie commence quand tu comprends que tu n’en as qu’une – Raphaëlle Giordano
4. L’élégance du hérisson – Muriel Barbery
5. Three things about Elsie – Joanna Cannon
6. Restoration – Rose Tremain
7. The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth – William Boyd
8. The girl you left behind – Jojo Moyes
9. Antigone – Jean Anouilh
10. The Light Years – Elizabeth Jane Howard

Just finished:
11. Scissors, Paper, Stone – Elizabeth Day
Charles is in a coma and as a result his wife and daughter are forced to come to terms with some uncomfortable truths. I found this to be quite a page-turner, which is no mean feat in our current situation.

As it deals with domestic abuse, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the families who are dealing with this on a daily basis right now and have no escape.

noodle so sorry to hear about your Mum.

So sorry to hear about your mum, noodlezoodle

Thanks for the new thread, southeast.

Here's my list:

1. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
2. 11.22.63 by Stephen King
3. The Yorkshire Shepherdess by Amanda Owen
4. Thomas Hardy: the Time-torn Man by Claire Tomalin
5. Lies Lies Lies by Adele Parks
6. The Dark Side of the Mind by Kerry Daynes
7. Back Story by David Mitchell
8. The Path by Malcolm McKay
9. Ulysses by James Joyce

10. The Mother of All Jobs: How to have Children and a Career and Stay Sane by Christine Armstrong 11. Wounds: A Memoir of War and Love by Fergal Keane 12. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss 13. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty 14. Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday 15. Eat, Drink, Run: How I Got Fit Without Going Too Mad by Bryony Gordon 16. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 17. To Throw Away Unopened Viv Albertine 18. I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron 19. Bring Me Back by B A Paris 20. My Lovely Wife: A Memoir of Madness and Hope by Mark Lukach

Oh, Noodle. I'm so very sorry about your mum. For comfort reads, my favourites are:
Ballet Shoes - I just got one called Party Shoes for 99p on Kindle
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
84 Charing Cross Road
The Little Women series
I'll even turn to Enid Blyton sometimes!I

Paula by Isabel Allende is a mother whose daughter has died, but it's just wonderful. Might be worth a try.

Also, cookery books with lots of writing - Nigella, Nigel Slater, for example. The Dishoom book has lots to read, and is a thing of beauty.

noodlezoodle I’m so sorry about your Mum

Thanks for the new thread Southeast.

1. Black Hammer Vol 1
2. Life Among the Savages
3. Comet in Moominland
4. Jim Henson’s Biography
5. Catch and Kill
6. A Spool of Blue Thread
7. Thin Air
8. 12 Rules for Life
9. The Sisters Brothers

10. The Pied Piper 11. The Empire of the Sun 12. The 101 Dalamatians 13. The Hobbit

I am currently reading a few things fitfully.

welshwabbit I’m glad you enjoyed Crooked Heart. Lissa Evans has just finished writing a sequel to it I believe.

noodle I’m currently reading The Railway Children to my daughter and it is very comforting and lovely and funnier and deeper than I remember as a child.

You lot are absolute lifesavers in these crazy times.

This, several times over.

Hi all and so sorry Noodle for your loss.

Probably like lots of people my reading concentration is a bit shot right now while attempting to juggle home schooling and working so I don't expect to get into high numbers this year! But I am finding reading a comfort and distraction, when I can manage it.

Anyway l'm rereading Mantel so just finished:

1. Wolf Hall - I don't think there's anything to say that hasn't been said already except that imo Mantel is the greatest living writer and this is an absolute masterpiece and pure joy to read.

Can I join? This thread is such a saviour, and reading such a brilliant escape at the moment.

@noodlezoodle so sorry about your mum. I found reading really difficult after my dad died - I agree with other posters, that finding your favourite comfort reads can help, even going back to childhood reads.

Here are my books so far:

1. On the up by Alice O'Keeffe*
2. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
3. To throw away unopened by Viv Albertine*
4. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
5. Unrest by Michelle Harrison
6. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgernstern
7. Under the Skin by Michel Faber
8. Reading Allowed by Chris Paling
9. Another Planet by Tracey Thorn*

10. Rosie by Rose Tremain* 11. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 12. Bearmouth by Liz Hyder* 13. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson* 14. The Years by Annie Ernoux 15. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo.*

Favourites are starred. Most disappointing read so far was The Starless Sea. I persisted, because i had loved The Night Circus so much, and it also started pretty promisingly. But I really stopped caring about any of the characters or even try to understand what was happening.

All E. Nesbit’s books are worth a read really. I absolutely loved Five Children and It when I was a child. Especially the bit when they wish themselves into a besieged castle in olden times, then realise they can’t eat any food because modern-day dinners have become invisible....until they discover the food’s still there when they bite into thin air and manage to get a slice of mutton in their mouths. This struck me as a wonderful idea when I was 9 or 10

Thank you!

I have had a little bit of a relapse with this sodding virus (if indeed that is what it is) so not sure if I'll get reading done today but am fairly determined to get The Night Circus done with!

@thereplycamefromanchorage

Welcome!

I spoke about The Starless Sea on the last thread. Gutting was not the word.

Poor world building
Poor characterisation
Nonsensical narrative strands
Unexplained motiveless antagonists
Hollow end reveal due to lack of investment
Nothing came together
Jumping form

I loved Night Circus too. It was such a disappointment - absolutely shocking

Sorry to hear that, Piggy. I believe from friend who has it that it does indeed come and go for quite a while. Hope you manage a restful day.

Thank you

Hope you’re on the up again soon piggy, rest as much as you can.

For all those who can’t concentrate remember Audible has some classics and children’s books up free at the moment at stories.audible.com. I might indulge in The Wind in the Willows

Welcome thereplycamefromanchorage

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit, you have summarised it better than me, but yes, absolutely. I really wondered where her editor was - somewhere in there I think there could have been a much shorter book that worked, but it needed a few more rewrites and a lot of cutting.

There was definitely a book in there, perhaps if she had stuck to just Hidden World, Magic Doors but what went to the publisher was an absolute shambles

@noodlezoodle How about a re-read of Inside Vogue? I remember you saying you enjoyed reading this a few years ago, as did I. And did you know she's got another book out this month?