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?

I enjoyed The Tidal Zone and loved Night Waking.

Sorry, betts

mackerella I hope you enjoy it. I love Gillian Tindall's writing anyway but this was a specially good one, I thought.

Ooh The House by the Thames sounds right up my river Terpsichore. I’ll look out for that. I love walking along the Thames.

I walked to my local library today as it reopened last week. It was SO NICE to go back in! I went in on the day it closed back in March and got 12 books, so I returned them.

It was all very controlled, limited numbers allowed inside, two staff at the door in visors taking track and trace details. Hand San station. One way system and strict distances at self serve screens. Staff swooping in with cleaning stuff. So all that was a bit weird, but then actually it was fine! Lots of space, all clutter moved, friendly staff helping etc.

I had a little browse as it was permitted and realised how much I’d missed just idling through the shelves at random. Chose 5 books and am now home flicking through them with a cuppa.

@Terpsichore

Sorry, betts

mackerella I hope you enjoy it. I love Gillian Tindall's writing anyway but this was a specially good one, I thought.

It's now on my list, hopefully the book fairy will reduce it to 99p some time soon. Terpsichore I'm sure I'll cope somehow.

Now I’m reconsidering Sarah Moss and I really have enough to be getting on with!

Satsuki if it's any help my view is that the only reconsideration one needs about Sarah Moss is whether to take the books to the charity shop or the recycling bin.

High Five betty

That’s more like it, thanks betty

My husband confiscated my phone and Kindle so I can’t purchase any in my sleep either.

Loving hearing everyone’s descriptions of their library experiences

nowanearlynicemum I suggested Our Mutual Friend for a readalong once the Copperfielders were finished as I’ve got it waiting and fancied some company. There were other suggestions as well though

I'm very envious of all your library experiences. Nothing doing at mine. I am checking the council website almost obsessively, but the announcement saying some libraries will open with restrictions from mid-July hasn't changed...

Are you planning on starting a thread Satsuki ? I am up for it.

Any of you with younger teens, I see The School for Good and Evil is on daily deal - it's a fun light fantasy read (I enjoyed it too when dd had it from the library :) )

Sorry to hear your bad news Chessie and Best

40. Miss Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

My second Taylor of the year, I much preferred this one. Her rather mannered style suited the subject matter - a group of elderly (mostly) ladies living out their twilight years in a faded hotel. There are very funny moments but also lots of pithy, beautifully written phrases that ring true and make you think. The overall tone is wistful and sometimes sombre, and the descriptions of day to day life are beautifully observed. Things happen, but smoothly, like well oiled furniture, so you hardly notice the story moving along. The book was ranked 87 on the Guardian's 100 best novels written in English - don't read that before you read it because SPOILERS - but I also disagree so entirely with the reviewer's analysis of the ending that I am unconvinced he had actually read it before writing. Anyway, read it, it's excellent, and falls to be added to my unexpectedly long list of "books I have read in 2020 that remind me of Muriel Spark". A nice contrast to Girl, Woman, Other as well.

@SatsukiKusakabe

That’s more like it, thanks betty

My husband confiscated my phone and Kindle so I can’t purchase any in my sleep either.

Eine High five back at you.

Satsuki your husband did what?! LTB!

Little bit behind on my updates:

59. A Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor. A short story in the Chronicles of St Mary's series which I have been working my way through this year. Not much in the way of history or time travel in this one, in fact I'm hard pushed to think of anything that did actually happen - definitely not one of my favourites. (2/5)

60. Christmas Past by Jodi Taylor. Another St Mary's short story and this one I did quite like. It was touching without being mawkish and I enjoyed festive setting and the interaction between Max and Matthew, oh and the baddy getting told and getting their comeuppance - the true sprit of Christmas. (3/5)

61. An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor. A full size St Mary's adventure this time and I loved it! I think it is to do with the fact that there was an extended period spent in the Middle Ages which gave a sense of what life was like then and it really brought the characters to life. A welcome distraction from the Ronan storyline which is getting a bit tedious. Get rid and get a new villain. (4/5)

62. The Battersea Barricades by Jodi Taylor. Yet another St Mary's short story which focuses on the civil war? unrest? that precedes the St Mary's series and that involved a number of the St Mary's staff. I was really looking forward to this having long wondered what had happened and it was interesting to an extent but was just too light and short to do justice to the story. (3/5)

63. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I've had this book on my shelves for years and haven't got round to reading it, but the random Number Generator spoke and I finally dived in. This is the story of Lily Melissa Owens whose mother died when she was young and who lives on a peach farm with her father, who only seems to notice her when it comes time to punish her for some minor infraction. Lily is cared for by a black woman and as this is set in the early 60s there's a fair amount of focus on Civil Rights, but this is as much a book about women / girls and a coming of age / coming to terms with the past as it is about race. The current climate made me a bit more alert to a few things and I was struck by the fact that pretty much the only white character was the central character and how often that is the default viewpoint, even when that is the minority voice. That said I did quite enjoy it although I can't see it being a book I return to. (3/5)

64. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling. Continuing my audio-book journey through the world of Harry Potter, I hit the longest and quite possibly the worst book of the series. I had forgotten just how irritating Harry is, the constant shouting, sulking and being annoyed with his friends about things that are nothing to do with them got very old, very quickly. Also his treatment of Luna and Neville was just awful. That said Harry has had a pretty crappy time of it and there were some good bits amongst the misery, I had a tear in my eye with the ending to the duel between Sirius and Bellatrix and when Fred and George made their triumphant exit from Hogwarts. One thing to thank the lord for was the fact that Tonks wasn't in this book much - every time Stephen Fry came out with his bad 'Mavis from Corrie' voice for her I felt the rage. Now onto the next one...! (3/5)

Thanks mackerella and Terpsichore, that's two more for the wishlist!

I think The Tidal Zone might suit me because I love a rambly family saga where nothing much happens - The Most Fun We Ever Had is one of my highlights of the year, and I love Tessa Hadley for the same reasons. I found Night Waking a bit of a mixed bag in that I liked the writing but wanted to slap all the characters but I'm prepared to give her a second go.

betts I put them on his side of the bed when I’ve finished with them so not quite as drastic as it sounds!

@SatsukiKusakabe

betts I put them on his side of the bed when I’ve finished with them so not quite as drastic as it sounds!

I'm quite impressed with night ordering- I can't imagine being that competent in my sleep!

46. Don't Know Jack by Diane Capri. This is a spin off from the Jack Reacher books, where two FBI agents go to investigate something that is allegedly linked to Reacher. Frankly I thought the link didn't bring anything to the story and it might have been better as a stand alone, so I'm not sure I'll read another (it's a series), but I wouldn't rule out reading her other (non Reacher) novels.

Recently stopped at a service station and they had so many books! There was rows and rows, spent around ten minutes browsing . Found a few I liked and they were only approx £3 but already gone over the book spending limit for this month

Thanks Satsuki. I wasn't sure whether a decision had been made. I would be up for an Our Mutual Friend dickensalong. I've really appreciated the speed at which we read David Copperfield. Plenty of time to enjoy the chapters, and to read other things alongside too.

Libraries have been open here for a couple of weeks. You can go in and browse, but they are limiting numbers that can go in, only two families in the children's area etc. You are only meant to stay for 30 mins max and to minimise touching books you aren't going to take out. The staff are behind screens and you're meant to use self-checkout as far as possible. You can also reserve books for free and they'll set them aside for you.

I've been in a couple of times and was chuffed to find the third of Robert Harris' Cicero books (I'm halfway through the second one on kindle at the mo).

25. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
Surely one of the most reviewed books on this year's 50 books threads, I listened to this on BorrowBox eAudio after seeing so many positive mentions. It was very interesting, really painting a picture of life in Victorian London and with an extraordinary amount of detail into the lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.
26. Scrublands by Chris Hammer
'Australian noir' crime novel. I've had false starts with a couple of books recently - they haven't grabbed me in the first couple of chapters so I've put them aside even though I know they are books I will try again. This novel opens with a scene in a small town in rural Australia - as locals gather at church one Sunday morning, the local priest shakes hands and chats, steps into the church, comes back out with a gun and shoots 5 men dead. I was hooked in the first two pages.
The main action centres on Martin Scarsden, journalist recovering from a traumatic event, who arrives a year later to write an article about the town and the shooting but becomes involved with the locals and tangled up in events which find him at the centre of a media storm as he tries to figure out what's going and what secrets the locals are hiding.
I really enjoyed this, particularly the setting and pace of events. I wondered if the author had maybe set up too many threads and found it was best to roll with the plot rather than thinking too much about whether it seemed likely. I wasn't convinced by the way the main character's personal life was handled at the end, but have since found out this is the first in a series so I'll forgive this ending as a trade off for having more of these to look forward to!
I've never reached 50 books in a year, and although I'm not quite on schedule, I feel like this year might be my best chance if I'm ever going to get there.

I’m a library worker so it’s very interesting to hear about all your experiences of returning to libraries!

We’re self-service only so people have to browse the shelves themselves and use the machines to loan and return books. We’re not doing click and collect as it was thought to be too labour intensive (very limited staff) however we’re a large building which means we don’t need to worry so much about how many people are coming in. Like Satuski’s library there’s no requests as so many books are out on loan and won’t be back for a while - quite a few people tell us they’ve travelled elsewhere or are shielding and won’t be able to return books for months. Lots of people want to know when they will be able to sit in the building/use the computers etc. but I’d imagine that’s some time away.

After working from home since March I’ve got a new feeling of wonder from being surrounded by thousands of books again!