50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth 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, the fourth one here and the fifth one here.

So, we're now almost half way through the year - how's the first half of the year gone for you, reading-wise?

[quote BookWitch]**@BestIsWest* I just started 1927* on Audible today
I love Down Under as well.
Can't beat Bill Bryson for a comfort read (or listen)[/quote]
I like the Bryson books but the Audible reader he uses has a voice which really grates on me.

I'm wondering whether to cancel Audible, £3.99 (I got an offer after saying I was cancelling) it for 1 book a month is a bonus but at £80 a year for 12 books on the normal price is a lot compared to Kindle Unlimited for the same price with it's all you can read offering. Am I missing a trick?

EliotBliss Many thanks for the link and your great review of Jean Toomer.

So I was originally on the £7.99 plan, which is £95.88 a year with one credit doled out each month. I went on to £3.99 but it was 3 months only.

12 credits instantly for 1 year is £69.99

So you are effectively paying £25 more for the same product with less convenience.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit

So I was originally on the £7.99 plan, which is £95.88 a year with one credit doled out each month. I went on to £3.99 but it was 3 months only.

12 credits instantly for 1 year is £69.99

So you are effectively paying £25 more for the same product with less convenience.

I'm glad you are better at maths than me - it's been a long day!

I'm cancelling it.

I am TERRIBLE at maths and used a calculator

Innocent Whistling....

I just guesstimate...it's good enough for the primary school maths I have to do.

@bettsbattenburg I actually prefer William Roberts narrating Bill Bryson's books. I find the man himself a bit too softly spoken. I've noticed the more recent ones are all narrated by the man himself. I still love them though.

RE Audible- I pay £109 for 24 credits all at once. Works out about £4 per credit and I always buy in the 2 for 1 sales.

Does someone know, if I have the Kindle book, when it offers me narration for a small extra amount (usually about £3-4), is that narration the same as Audible? And do I play it through the Audible App?
And another small mystery I have never quite worked out. I read on the Kindle Fire (saving up for an Oasis). So I use the Kindle App, and I listen to Audible (on the App) on the same device, but I am listening to different books. I have noticed, that if I have been reading on Kindle and then switch to Audible, the book I am reading on Kindle is there ready to play. I have not bought it on Audible. I am worried about clicking on it, in case it uses a credit and then I have a faff to get it returned. Or is this the narration they offer me when I buy the Kindle book? Is it the same? If I start to play it will I be charged? By Amazon or by Audible (ultimately the same I know)
Does that question even make sense?

My issue with Kindle Unlimited has always been the limited choice available - aware of the irony in the name there
As I don't generally read "unputdownable" psychological thrillers with a twist you'll never see coming, I could never see anything I fancied when I had a trial a while back. Is there a lot more available now?

I just want to say that you are a terrible influence, I have just bought Black, listed, Rough Magic and Ratline. I am not supposed to be buying books

Bookwitch the kindle unlimited selection is still pretty rubbish in my opinion. I’m currently on a 2 month free trial. I have found a few things I want to read but not enough for me to continue. For that reason I don’t think it’s comparable to Audible - yes, for the same price you can read as many as you like compared to one Audible credit, but on Audible you can choose brand new bestsellers whereas kindle unlimited is generally relatively unknown authors.

On Audible I also do the 24 credit version so works out much cheaper and like you I also buy in the 2 for 1 sales so I get really good value for money.

I've often wondered about joining Audible as I have friends that love it, but I download so many good book podcasts that I find they use up my listening time anyway while I'm cooking etc.

Maybe I'm missing something good and should sign up for the free trial and just see ...

I love Audible, it has definitely increased the amount of books I get through. The narrator is important though, there are some shockers out there.
My favourite narrators are Jonathan Keeble, Davina Porter, Juliet Stephenson, Jenny Agutter and John Lee.

37. Expectation by Anna Hope

Sometimes there is a danger in buying books just because you know they will absolutely fit your groove. This one did - metropolitan group of friends, new motherhood, intersecting life stories, well written, a few moments where I thought "oh yes, she's got that exactly right". An enjoyable quick read. But will I remember it, or the characters, in a couple of months? Probably not. It got a few rave reviews, which I don't feel were particularly merited. After the (relative, because neither was bad) disappointments of the last Vera and this, I think I need to read something outside my comfort zone, but I'm not sure my attention span is up to it. Dilemmas!

I am a hopeless listener - I can’t even do Radio 4 as I just drift off so I’ve never got on with audio books very well. I’ve started to wonder f I should maybe try something though as Amazon keep sending me free Audible vouchers. Maybe something I DNF.

@BookWitch

If you pay to add narration, you are buying the audible yes. Click without fear!

I used to hate audiobooks but am really into them now. Definitely need to have a good narrator. I agree Juliet Stephenson is excellent. I think I'd listen to her read the phonebook tbh.

I know lots of people prefer nonfiction this way, I find this and any first person narrations best I think. I almost always speed up to match my reading speed.

@bookwitch the £3 top up on amazon is the audible version of the book.

I never return books after listening on audible although I know some people constantly exchange as I read that the author has to return that income even if the persons listened to the book.

27. The only Plane in the Sky: The Oral History of 9/11 by Garett Graff. This run's through the event's of 9/11 from different people's perspectives. It was very interesting to go back and remember that time and how it shaped the world.

The approach probably worked better on audio as sometimes it got a bit tiresome reading that the sky was blue from 10 perspectives. I also felt that the portion of the book given over to military action on the day was not too my taste. Everyone was just in awe of the president and his every move.

the personal stories were what worked best for me and despite knowing the outcome I felt these were hugely dramatic. the epilogue touched on peoples experiences after 9/11 but again only focused on those who were in awe of the USA, the response and how wonderful the military response was. I did revisit the Today Show from that day on youtube and it was very moving.

Thanks Boiledegg

Satsuki knew you meant Bob, his early stuff is brilliant, not so keen on later work! Although Daniel Kahn is providing my lockdown anthem, do you know him? He does this wonderful kind-of Brechtian, radical Klezmer and sings in English and Yiddish…This latest song is wonderful and Sveta Kundish has an amazing voice - although maybe need to share his grim sense of humour…

33. Winter in Sokcho, Elisa Shua Dusapin trans. Aneesa Abbas Higgins – A short novel set in Sokcho a seaside resort in South Korea close to the border with the North. It’s winter, bitterly cold, and the town is dominated by its fishing industry, smells, sounds, and sights; the streets lined with stalls selling its produce. The unnamed narrator is a young French-Korean woman, isolated because of her background as the child of a single mother, her French father long since vanished – in South Korean culture single parents are often ostracised as are their children – she works in a small, dilapidated guest-house, despite her degree from a university in Seoul. Her boyfriend Jun-Oh has left for Seoul in search of a modelling contract. There are few guests, a climber, and a couple in retreat while the woman recovers from the plastic surgery that’s so common in South Korea. An older Frenchman comes to stay, one of the few guests in the off-season. He’s an artist, a creator of graphic novels and hard to fathom, and for unknown reasons the narrator becomes fascinated by him, his craft, his presence…

Short, lyrical, this is a book that relies on atmosphere and detail rather than plot. I thought this was a beautifully written piece, at times the tone seemed almost meditative but every now and then that sense was shattered by an image that suggested a darker, more sinister undercurrent.

Palegreenstars I agree with not returning an audible book I’ve listened to in full. It feels immoral to me, like returning an outfit I’ve already worn (which I also wouldn’t do!). Fair enough to return something if you listen for a couple of minutes and can’t stand the narrator, but not something you have listened to all through. Just because audible does allow this doesn’t mean you should do it!

Yes I agree about not returning finished books, it does feel a bit wrong, though it is odd that they have created a returns system that can be so easily exploited. It doesn't seem to be good business sense.

I use my Audible credits mainly on recently published non-fiction, which makes it good value IMO. I'm on the yearly deal, so a credit costs me under £6, and I usually choose books that would be £12+ to buy in 'print'.

1. A simple favour by Darcey Bell

I had watched the film around October time and received the book for Christmas. I was busy until lockdown so finally had time to start reading it!

I rather enjoyed the film and loved the book much more. The different plot and plot twists and whatnot. Definitely preferred the ending of the book. It’s slightly dull at the beginning but once I got into it I couldn’t stop. Especially at part three, just read through that in just under an hour!

I've been using Audible since 2014 and I think I might have returned about 10 in the whole of that time, and never if I've listened to the whole thing. It has mostly been when I have bought non-fiction or an Autobiography and I have been a little while in, and realised I'd rather read the paperback and get the pictures in the middle.
The only one I have ever returned due to a shocking narrator was Nigel Planer reading the Colour Of Magic. He should have been great but he was awful. I awlays listen to the sample now.

I'm not getting on so well with recent Kindle purchases: A Prayer for Owen Meany and the journalist's book about shooting in the US (can't recall the name).

I sensibly downloaded the sample of The Ratline which sent me to sleep last night so probably a good job I didn't buy it.

Going to try this now:
The Marriage Pact by Jeffrey Eugenides

7. The castle of Otrano by Horace Walpole

Well...that was brutal. I’ve had it recommended by a few people and given it was the first gothic novel (and they had it for free on Apple Books ) couldn’t not read it.

Tells the story of Manfred, the prince of Otrano awaiting the marriage of his heir, Conrad. Only for him to be crushed by a helmet. Manfred tries to marry his son’s fiancée and a few questionable events end up happening.

@EmGee I loved A Prayer for Owen Meany, though I am aware it is a bit of a marmite book.
It's a bit of a slow burner.

I looked at The Ratline but resisted, have a way to much I've not read yet