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?

Yes yes yes eine

The article is such a lovely story though not directly comparable to LOTF, interesting and heartwarming nonetheless.

Don't ask. Somebody who could make an argument out of air. It's all very dull. It's either walk away with a pithy retort, or be there being lectured for hours. Me, I choose to walk.

Everyone considered her the coward of the library...

That was a lovely article.

I read The Lord of the Flies years and years ago as a teenager, and found it a very disturbing read. I couldn’t help worrying that my classmates would cast me in Piggy’s role if we were cast away on an island like that (fortunately being abandoned indefinitely with my classmates was never going to be a likely scenario).

I’ve never wanted to re-read it.

The thing with Twitter is everyone thinks they’ve got the conch.

I’ve got Kenny Rogers in my head now, not unpleasantly.

Satsuki
Bollocks to the conch.

The thing with Twitter is everyone thinks they've got the conch Brilliant!

I should pipe up about Lord of the Flies with my user name! I have to declare an interest...

the fall through the air of a true wise friend called Piggy is one of the most devastatingly sad lines in literature.

But he didn't fall, Ralph. He was pushed.

Definitely was pushed.

I have just read I am An Island by Tamsin Callidas. It is the most wonderful, moving book, beautifully written. If you love nature and battles for survival, this is one for you. It is one of the best books I've read in years. It chronicles the struggle of moving from London to a Hebridean island and trying to integrate and survive. Most of all it is a testament to courage and the human spirit.

Dudes, 👀

I shall say no more eine , just silently weep.

It is a great book. Read it!

Eine - you must read it.

Just popping in to second (or more accurately fourth of fifth?) the recommendation to read Lord of the Flies. It's brilliant. Also thank you to whoever posted about the Joan Didion documentary on Netflix which looks right up my street.

27. Odds Against - Dick Francis

The first of the Sid Halley books. Whilst the plot contained all the usual components, I did not find this one as gripping as some of the previous books.

Oh knowledgeable booksters, I have an audible credit and am not used to using audio books. Any recommendations???

I was all fired up to get The Lost Words which was highly recommended as an audio read but then I saw it only lasts 45 minutes so felt it might not be the best use of my credit. Any advice??

Thanks for the new thread southeast. Here's my list so far with highlights in bold.

1. Anatomy of a Scandal – Sarah Vaughan
2. Childhood: The Copenhagen Trilogy 1 – Tove Ditlevsen
3. Persepolis – Marjane Satrapi
4. Animal Farm – George Orwell
5. Hazards of Time Travel – Joyce Carol Oates
6. Ghost Wall – Sarah Moss
7. Florida – Lauren Groff
8. This is Pleasure –Mary Gaitskill
9. Only Killers and Thieves – Paul Howarth
10. Milkman – Anna Burns
11. Ladder of Years – Anne Tyler
12. Youth: The Copenhagen Trilogy 2 – Tove Ditlevsen
13. Motherwell – Deborah Orr
14. The Nickel Boys – Colson Whitehead
15. The Five – Haillie Rubenhold
16. Slack-Tide – Elanor Dymot
17. Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel
18. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
19. A Thousand Moons – Sebastian Barry
20. The Garden of Evening Mists – Tan Twan Eng
21. Down and Out in Paris and London – George Orwell

nowanearlyNicemum I am fairly new to Audible, but so far I've enjoyed non-fiction more than fiction and can certainly recommend George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris in London if you like that sort of thing. Thanks to this thread, I plan to re-read some of Joan Didion's essays when I get my next credit.

Thank you for the new thread @southeastdweller! I really enjoy reading everyone's recommendations

My list so far is:

1. Dianne Freeman - A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder
2. Ali Sparkes - Frozen in Time
3. A Treacherous Curse - Deanna Raybourn
4. Christmas Calamity at the Vicarage - Emily Organ
5. Michelle Paver - Wakenhyrst
6. Darklight - Bella Forrest
7. Darkthirst - Bella Forrest
8. Darkworld - Bella Forrest
9. A Lady's Guide to Gossip & Murder - Dianne Freeman

10. Made in India, cooked in Britain - Meera Sodha 11. A Dangerous Collaboration - Deanna Raybourn 12. Raven's Gate - Anthony Horowitz 13. Where the Crawdads Sing - Delia Owens 14. The Inspector & Mrs Jeffries - Emily Brightwell 15. Mrs Jeffries and the one who got away - Emily Brightwell 16. Ghost Wall - Sarah Moss 17. Finale - Stephanie Garber 18. Five on a treasure island - Enid Blyton 19. Rewild - Simon Barnes 20. Queen of Hearts - Rhys Bowen 21. The Crocodile on the Sandbank - Elizabeth Peters 22. Black Arts - Prentice & Weil 23. One of Us is Lying - Karen McManus 24. State of Wonder - Ann Patchett 25. Two can keep a secret - Karen McManus 26. Enid Blyton - The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage 27. Terry Pratchett - Witches Abroad 28. Maskerade - Terry Pratchett 29. Carpe Jugulum - Terry Pratchett 30. Love and Death among the Cheetahs - Rhys Bowen 31. Best Dad, the Beginning: 1 family, 3 children, 800 stories - Mark Richards 32. Father, Son & the Pennine Way - Mark Richards 33. A Lovely Way to Burn - Louise Welsh 34. Death on a Shetland Isle - Marsali Taylor 35. A Murder to Die For - Stevyn Colgan 36. Wildcard - Ken McClure 37. The Secret - Ken McClure 38. PD James - Cover Her Face 39. Elizabeth Peters - The Curse of the Pharaohs 40. Clare Chase - Mystery on Hidden Lane 41. Rhys Bowen - Heirs & Graces 42. Emily Brightwell - Mrs Jeffries and the Missing Alibi 43. Clare Chase - Mystery at Apple Tree Cottage 44. Helena Dixon - Murder at the Dolphin Hotel 45. Helena Dixon - Murder at Enderley Hall 46. Ken McClure - White Death 47. Frances Lloyd - The Greek Island Killer 48. Frances Lloyd - The Bluebell Killer 49. Frances Lloyd - The Shetland Killer 50. Neil Forsyth - Delete This at Your Peril: The Bob Servant Emails 51. Lucie Whitehouse - Before We Met 52. Frances Lloyd - The Gallows Green Killer 53. Frances Lloyd - The Moon Killer 54. Bizarre England - David Long 55. JM Worgan - Life on the Spectrum. The Preschool Years. Getting the Help and Support You Need 56. Mark Richards - Father, Son & Return to the Pennine Way 57. Mark Richards - Father, Son & the Kerry Way 58. Alice Boardman - TOAST: Autism in the Early Years 59. Emily Organ - The Gang of St Bride's (Penny Green Series Book 9) 60. Laura Purcell - Bone China

And I need to add:

61. Elizabeth Edmondson - A Man of Some Repute
62. Elizabeth Edmondson - A Question of Inheritance
63. Elizabeth Edmondson - A Matter of Loyalty

The three books in the 'A Very English Mystery' series (the author sadly died before completing the last one, and it was co-authored by her son). Set in the English countryside in the 1950s and awash with spies, dodgy characters and murderers round every corner. Pleasant and untaxing reads.

64. Maureen Johnson - The Hand on the Wall

Aaarrggghhhh. I really wanted to like this - it's the final one in the Truly Devious series of YA books - but I just found it far-fetched and not as enjoyable as the others. Yes, it tied up some loose ends but not others, and there were some bits that I simply didn't understand or was very frustrated with (admittedly I'm well above the target audience's age!). But, I whizzed through it and am glad I read it.

@BestIsWest The Body was a DNF for me, I usually love Bill Bryson books but found this too stodgy and frankly not entertaining enough

Must confess that I bought the lute book on Kindle for 99p it saved me digging my paperback out of a box in the loft to read again about the exploits of The Best Lute Player/ Barowner in the World...

nowanearlyNicemum I tend to use my credits on recent non-fiction from my wish list. Non fiction just because I prefer that to listen to while working, and recent because it means it's things that are expensive to buy either in paper or on kindle.

It does depend what you like to listen to though - if you love poetry / plays, they may be a good purchase even if short, since you're likely to re-listen to them.

Also, it's also always worth checking if your library app has specific audiobooks that you can borrow for free. So for example all the Trollope books (which I know a lot of people like though personally I find them too slow on audio) are on our library app.

I've just downloaded Hidden Valley Road as my next listen, which I think was recommended on the previous thread (maybe? someone recommended it to me anyways)

nowanearlynicemum I have just downloaded OneTwoThreeFour: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown who wrote Ma’am Darling, the Princess Margaret book. I haven’t listened yet but it’s had good reviews. There are a lot of Robert MacFarlane on there if you like nature writing. It’s quite easy to exchange books on Audible as well if you don’t get on with them. I’ve only just started to get into Audible, but like Sadik I prefer non fiction but usually lighter entertaining stuff about film, music and writing. I’ve also been listening to Persuasion for free at stories.audible.com worth checking out for classics and old favourites.

It was me @Sadik I found it fascinating

Nowanearly, if you haven't read The Hearts Invisible Furies that's a great audio book, and it's long so good value! Who doesn't enjoy listening to a soft Irish brogue 🤷‍♀️

And having looked at my Audible choices from the last couple of years, apart from The Hearts Invisible Furies, Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies are beautifully narrated and much more accessible on Audible, The Green Mile is a wonderful story that is added to by the narrator and Circe was another standout.