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?

Coming to the end of free month's subscription to Kindle Unlimited so ploughed through some free books:

43. Dear Bill Bryson, by Ben Aitken
Young novice writer follows BB"s footsteps in Notes from a Small Island, 20 years later. Because he tries to recreate the journey exactly, it's more derivative and constrained than BB"s own The Road to Little Dribbling. The writing is quite amateurish, but it's nice to be reminded of what's it's like to sleep in n a b&b and wander around deciding where to eat.

44. Father, Son and the Kerry Way, by Mark Richards
45. Father, Son and the Pennine Way, by Mark Richards
More amateurish writing - he thinks he's funny but he's not - but s pleasing reminder of being out and about.

Finally concentrated on some proper literature, Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders. Lincoln grieves his lost son and feels the weight of all the other sons lost in the American Civil War in this novel narrated by the dead. Thought this would be heavy-going but it wasn't - flew through it to see if the boy would be set free. (Did anyone else think of Phoebe in Friends: "Go into the light, Mr Heckles!").

shakeitoff I like Slaughterhouse 5 too.

I liked State of Wonder but even got a bit frustrated with that in the middle, and that was the most interesting to me plot-wise. I’ve tried samples of others but I feel maybe she’s not for me generally.

10. Cold Storage by David Koepp

Near-apocalyptic novel about a mutant fungus that threatens to take over the world. It was generally OK - fast-paced and very well-informed about the chemistry behind fungus mutation & expansion, but I felt that the plot relied on too many coincidences. The author is the screenwriter of Jurassic Park, so can our together a story but I thought it was all a bit too neat.

I read Normal People and Conversation with Friends on the recommendation of a friend who raved about them: NP wasn't too bad and I might well have liked it when I was in my twenties, but CWF was just tiresome.

Chiming in with the Sally Rooney convos, I'm definitely too old for her writing. But there was a sort of horrified fascination for me in the sheer, relentless self-absorption of the characters in Conversations with Friends. It was like reading about an alien species, I'm afraid; I really couldn't connect.

Like most of the rest of you, I found Normal People more approachable, although Marianne was such a horribly damaged character - as though she'd wandered in from CWF.

One of the weaknesses for me was Marianne’s character - not well drawn felt like a stock female I’d seen many times, maybe it was intentional but not sure it quite worked either way. Connell I thought was much more believable.

NP was bought for me as a gift and I’ve not been tempted by CWF but I may well read another in future as she could have her best ahead of her.

Have read and admired both NP and CWF. I think Sally Rooney is a talented writer and there were certain paragraphs which I read more than once, just to enjoy the way she puts words together.

Her subject matter on the other hand does nothing for me. Too angsty and too self absorbed, it's difficult to care about the characters, even if she does write about them sublimely. I probably would have loved her books as a teenager. As a middle aged woman? Not so much.

Agree that I'm not interested in Sally Rooney's characters. I'll wait till she turns 40 and has something more interesting to say.

(A bit tongue in cheek but I mean it a bit too).

Just popping by to remind David Copperfield threaders that we meet tomorrow!

We had a great instalment for April.

Biblio I think you've got a point there.

Piggy I have dutifully done my homework. Looking forward to this one.

Piggy I am avoiding the DC thread in case of spoilers. Can you remind me which chapters we are reading this month please?

Phew, caught up. I'm not sure I'm up for reading about teaching much at the moment. I've just packed up all my old teaching books and resources and will be getting rid of them as soon as possible.

I'm still reading Sarum but have taken a break to read The Seed Woman by Petra Durst-Benning. I was introduced to one of her other books as it was free on Kindle Unlimited and really enjoyed it. The Seed Woman follows the same format as The Photographer as a woman ends up in a new town after a difficult journey and has to adapt to a new community in a time when it was unusual for women to be travelling alone. In The Seed Woman the protagonist is travelling to a small town in southern Germany for a specific reason and it's about what happens afterwards and the relationships she forms within her new community. It is quite formulaic but it's a enjoyable read and has been translated well from the original German text, I'll read the next one in this saga and her new one (the follow up to The Photographer when it comes out.

We have read up to the end of Chap 37 keith

I am looking forward to your pearls fortuna!

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. (3/5) 25. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. (3/5) 26. Guilt by Jussi Adler-Olsen. (3/5) 27. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. (4/5) 28. Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 29. The Very First Damn Thing by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 30. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 31. When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 32. Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 33. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 34. Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 35. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 36. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 37. The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths (3/5) 38. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (1/5) 39. Thinner by Stephen King.(2/5) 40. What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor. (3/5). 41. Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor. (2/5) 42. My Name is Markham by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 43. Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 44. The Great St Mary's Day Out by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 45. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. (4/5)

46. The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish. Christy moves into her dream house but finds herself growing obsessed with the mystery of the the abrupt departure of the previous owners, the surly next door neighbour who everyone else seems to hate for reasons they are forbidden from sharing with Christy. The book flips between Christy and the previous owner Amber. Although Amber wasn't a particularly likeable character I found her sections much more interesting and gave an internal sigh every time we moved back to Christy. Despite the fact that pretty much everyone was either dull or despicable this was an ok easy read. *(3/5)

47. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Well let me tell you all about this little known book about a wizard narrated by Stephen Fry. I've read this a few times but enjoyed listening while I was doing some work admin and have already started on the next one. (3/5)*

25, Saint Peter's Fair by Ellis Peters

This is the fourth of the well-loved Cadfael books. They are pretty well known and old now. They are basically medieval cosy mysteries. Brother Cadfael is a monk near Shrewsbury in the reign of King Stephen, more interested in herbs and remedies than religion and politics, and like the modern day Miss Marple keep getting drawn into murder cases. It’s almost like medieval Shrewsbury was a dangerous place to live, the rate at which local people are brutally murdered – kind of like an historical Midsommer!
This one is set around the annual St Peter’s Fair, which means merchants and visitors from all over Wales and England pouring into the town. The town’s tradesmen have a dispute with the Abbey about revenues from the fair, and before the fair even begins violence breaks out between visiting merchants and local townspeople, When the body of a wealthy visiting merchant is pulled from the river on the first day of the fair, Cadfael is called on to investigate.
I quite like them for easy reading, but I wouldn't put them in my favourite ever books
I am also reading David Copperfield on the read-along.

Bookwitch I liked the Cadfael books, it's been donkey's years since I read one though so I might need to sort that out. We seem to have quite similar reading tastes if our books mentioned on the historical books threads are anything to go by.

I've finished The Seed Woman, like you with Cadfael it was good for easy reading but it's not one of my favourite ever books.

Has anybody looked at the May offers for the Kindle yet? I've had a look at how much I've spent on resources for DS the last couple of weeks and am horrified - it's about £250 by the time I include printer ink, novels for English, replacement books, revision guides, materials for practical projects and so on . Such is the life of a year 10 student, still I'm happy to spend my overdraft money on the cause.

sorry, meant to say, I'm not looking at the kindle deals yet as a result. Please tell me they are all dreadful books

Not a lot on there for me this month. I know what you mean - mine are younger but we’re getting through ink and paper like nobody’s business.

I have been spending loads more on printing, craft stuff etc too plus constant demand for food/ snacks from the DC... good thing we can't actually go anywhere or I'd be completely skint! That said if the Hazel Holt Mrs Malory books ever go on special offer on Kindle I will be tempted to buy the lot

57. Alice Boardman - TOAST: Autism in the Early Years

Another book to try to help me with understanding DS1; I'm finding books written by parents more useful than the 'expert' ones. The author has two boys who both have autism but present differently, and it was really helpful for me to hear about what's worked for them.

58. Emily Organ - The Gang of St Bride's (Penny Green Series Book 9)

Penny Green is a newspaper columnist in Victorian London who also solves crimes (through her work, not professionally). I didn't find the mystery particularly enthralling but did enjoy the atmospheric descriptions of the time and the progression of Penny's personal and family life.

59. Laura Purcell - Bone China

Bought this on a Kindle special as I'd really enjoyed The Silent Companions. For me this was... not as good. I think if I'd read it first I wouldn't have been as disappointed; it's perfectly readable and kept me interested enough but not a pageturner like the other. Perhaps I just expected something more chilling after not being able to read the last one when I was alone in the house...

I didn't find the May deals massively exciting. Bought 7 days of us" which I saw reviewed a while back and is, appropriately, about a family in quarantine, plus a Mick Herron book and, on the Daily deal, Bone Clocks.

There is Mina van Praag in the deal - I think she has fans on here.

I've gone for:

The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton
The Conviction of Cora Burns - just the sample of this so far because it could be terrible
An Icelandic crime thing - just the sample to begin with

There are a few good things there. There's one about the last hermit in America which I enjoyed - can't remember the title but can find it, if anyone interested.
Old Baggage is there, which lots on here have liked (but which annoyed me)
The American Boy - I really liked this and it survived a re-read too

Menna van Praag is me...not her but I love her books. If it's The Sisters Grimm on offer then I'd snap it up as that's her new book. That said, I haven't read it yet - I'm saving it.