50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth 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, it's not too late to join, 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, the third one here and the fourth one here.

How're you getting on so far?

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie, I haven't read the other Flambards, but just read the first one, and now I really want to read the others. I think it really stands up as an enjoyable read, despite my dislike of hunting - I thought Christina's inner life was portrayed really well, and it was an interesting depiction of the old ways of life vs the new. I think the second book won the Carnegie medal.

I don't think I read all the Flambards, but I did love the Pennington books by the same author when I was a teen.

Thanks. Think I'll give them a try.

60. The Power by Naomi Alderman

I know this was much read a couple of years ago, and I am late to the party.

Overnight, girls develop a power that makes them physically superior to men, but what are the consequences?

Like Vox and other similar things, with the possible exception of Handmaids Tale I felt a high concept was lost to excessive concerns about continuance of established plot and character.

I would happily have thrown away the Allie/Roxy etc narratives for a time jump and a shot at looking at what a modern day matriarchy would look like, not just the process that made it possible and I think it would have been a better book for that, reallu

Just popping on to say The Five about the victims of Jack The Ripper is on kindle daily deals. It’s a great historical account and think it’s been popular with others too.

Yes, I thought it was excellent!

I saw that, Pale, and snapped it up. Very pleased.

I just came on to say about The Five too. I’ve bought it following the reviews on this thread.

Thank you Palegreen I’ve just snapped this up too! Been looking forward to The Five.

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade An account of five radical women who lived in Mecklenburgh Square, Bloomsbury, between the wars. I enjoyed this and found the lives of the classicist and translator Jane Ellen Harrison and the economic historian Eileen Power (neither of whom I had heard of) particularly interesting. They were both extremely intelligent women who had to be so determined in their fight against the prejudices and handicaps at that time in order to succeed in their chosen fields. Dorothy L Sayers was also interesting and learning about her has made me want to read her books - I had been unaware of how feminist her heroine Harriet Vane is. The modernist poet HD and Virginia Woolf are also covered and although I can appreciate their struggle to live and work independently, I found them somewhat less sympathetic.

Rosie: Scenes from a Vanished Life by Rose Tremain I can't better Terpsichore's review from 24 April, but would just say thank you for the recommendation, I thought it was a wonderful and compassionate read.

Thank you, Boiledegg, very kind of you to say so

Thanks too for the excellent review of Square Haunting, I have this on my wish list....I'm tempted to use some book-token money for it if I can't wait for it to drop in price.

Thank you @Palegreenstars, I've invested in The Five as well! And accidentally bought Elizabeth Chadwick - The Summer Queen at the same time

My DC's preschool may be closed but they're making some money from all my Amazon purchases!!

Terpsichore I got Square Haunting for my birthday and although I enjoyed it, I think if I were buying it for myself (having now read it) I might wait for the price drop. If you see what I mean!

23. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling.

This is to mark the end of the epic Harry Potter Read-a-Thon with DS2. We have oohed and aahed our way through the series and totally loved it! In fact, when we finished the last book he suggested starting at the beginning again! The mark of an excellent series..

24. The Making of Poetry by Adam Nicolson.

A DH birthday gift, this book is about the year in the late 1700’s that Coleridge, Wordsworth and Dorothy Wordsworth (W’s sister) spent together in the Quantock Hills, Somerset area. The brief to explore how much this relationship and the surrounding nature influenced their poetry and destiny. It feels like a very clever book, lots of old words, demonstrating his extensive knowledge, research and obvious ardour for this subject. There are extracts of poetry and also some striking drawings done from wood cuttings inspired by the poetry created from that time. I feel like it’s difficult to comment on the veracity of his thoughts as I know very little about Coleridge and Wordsworth or their poetry but his enthusiasm certainly shines through. An interesting read.

35. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Dummies by Rhena Branch and Rob Willson I think a few of us are working through books that have been on our Kindles for a while, and now seemed a good time to get to this one. It's practical and written in a breezy style. The kindle formatting was very poor and let it down badly, with e.g. forms and diagrams too small to read or sideways and not zoomable.

Thanks Boiledegg for the Square Haunting review, I was given this one too but only dipped into it so far. It’s a shame about the H.D. sections, I’m a bit of an H.D. fan so was quite excited to see her work being talked about more widely, was planning to reread some of her novels/memoirs before tackling the Wade. Although dipping into the Wade, I had the impression it was a little dry!

14. Pale Horse, Pale Rider and Other Stories by Katherine Anne Porter (1936/37/39) – three novellas/short stories, two centred on a young girl Miranda Gay. Old Mortality is a melancholy, coming of age story, leisurely but beautifully observed portrait of a society shot through with small slights, cruelties and repressive Southern values. In Pale Horse, Pale Rider Miranda has left home to become a writer, it’s the end of the war, and Miranda struck down by Spanish Flu is half-dreaming, half-waking of her lover Adam. These were the standout stories for me, I assume that Miranda is based in part on Porter’s own life, her time in a TB sanatorium and her near-death from Spanish Flu. On the strength of these I’m definitely going to track down her novel Ship of Fools.

BTW I read these in the Penguin edition but found them free online here, if anyone’s interested:

archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.184599/2015.184599.Pale-Horse-pale-Rider_djvu.txt

Although these are only two of Porter’s ‘Miranda’ pieces, and it’s a shame that there isn’t a readily available collection.

39. Believe Me by J P Delaney

A psychological thriller.
British drama student Claire is studying drama in New York, and to make ends meet, she’s got herself a job for a firm of divorce lawyers where she poses as an easy pick up in bars to entrap cheating husbands.

And then, one of her targets becomes a suspect after his wife is murdered. The police don’t have any solid evidence, so.... they ask Claire to help coax a confession out of the husband.

It’s readable enough, twists and all, but my major problem with this book was that I really struggled to believe the central idea. Surely no police force would really recruit drama students to entice confessions out of suspects like that?

40. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

A re-read of a childhood favourite. A lovely read.

I like H.D too younghill, especially her Trilogy but don’t know much of her bio.

Good review boiledegg

26. Ice Cold in Alex by Christopher Landon

This is one of my favourite films, so had to track down the novel when I discovered it was based on one. The story is much the same; Captain Anson has to get a motley crew of nurses and a South African hitchhiker across the desert in a rickety Ambulance, keeping clear of the German forces encroaching from all sides, and trying to keep body and soul together by imagining the cold beer he will treat them all to when the reach the bar in Alexandria. The military detail is interesting, and it makes for a good adventure story as they struggle against all the obstacles the hostile environment throws at them, shifting point of view between characters to give a varied though perhaps uneven picture of events. I enjoyed this but I do still feel the film elevated it, and will put it in the small folder of movies that are better than the book.

Two quick updates from me.

<strong>28.How to Marry Your Husband - Jacqueline Rohen</strong>

Rachel catches her husband cheating on her on their 15th wedding anniversary and knows their marriage is over... Until she discovers their destination wedding wasn't exactly legal. And so her and her friend plot a plan for revenge.

This was a nice book. I'd actually purchased it due to seeing a post about the author dying just days before her first book was published. It was an easy read but I wasn't gripped by seeing what happened next.

29.The Chain - Adrian McKinty
Your child has been kidnapped. The kidnapper has two demands, a ransom and that you kidnap the next person on The Chain. Once your victims parents kidnap another child yours will be released.

I found this a really interesting premise and was intrigued in this "what would you do" situation. However, I did feel it all tied up too nicely for a criminal enterprise.

Satsuki I haven’t either seen or read Ice Cold In Alex, but I wonder if your preference for the film is because that’s your first experience of the story so that’s what sticks in your mind as the ‘proper’ version?

Normally people read the book before the film and generally prefer the book, so I wonder if it’s simply a case of whichever comes first? Just musing, this is in no way a scientific theory and sure lots of people will come along now with their anecdotes that prove me wrong!

Yes chessie I think it might well be that. I also prefer the film of Remains of the Day more than the book and read that afterwards too. I did really enjoy the book and it added a lot of background detail that the film doesn’t have, however I felt the emotion of the life and death situation and developing friendships came over more powerfully in the film; I didn’t feel as moved by the book. Also instances of sexism (and one of racism) stood out more in the book which I don’t remember from the film. Male writers of a certain vintage can’t resist having a breast slip out of a shirt, you know, like they do all the time. The characters all have a great backstory explaining their psychological state coming into it but the woman character’s story is that her dad ran off with a snake charmer from the circus and then they both got blown up, which I found slightly hilarious. I want to watch the film again soon to compare properly, it just seemed more polished and I think John Mills really gave the lead character a lot of depth and sympathy. And you can SEE the beer!

Trying to think of other instances of book vs film and recently the Normal People adaptation on the BBC has been more enjoyable than the book for me, even coming after.

I didn’t like either the book or the programme of Normal People although to be fair I gave up on the TV programme halfway through the second episode so maybe it got better - I just couldn’t be bothered to persevere when I hadn’t really enjoyed the book much!

I’m only halfway - not loving it but I think the ability of the actors fills in some of the gaps in the story.

YounghillKang and Satsuki If you enjoy HD's work, you may well find the chapter about her more interesting as I understand she based many of her novels on her own experiences. I just didn't particularly warm to her as a person. I'd be happy to give her writing a go though - is there anything you'd particularly recommend to start with (poetry or prose)?

Forgot to add, thanks YounghillKang for the Katherine Porter review. I've not heard her but sounds interesting.