50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

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

What are you reading?

44. A Luminous Republic – Andres Barba

The unreliable narrator, an unnamed civil servant considers his role in events which occurred a number of years previously, in an attempt to rationalise them.

He reflects on the sudden, unexplained appearance and subsequent disappearance of a group of 32 street children in the small subtropical Argentinian town of San Cristobal.

I enjoyed this one very much. It’s a short, powerful piece of writing which is multi-layered and thought provoking. It has the page turning structure of a thriller mixed with the foreboding, cautionary tone of a particularly brutal fairy tale.

Civilisation feels precarious in this book; the jungle surrounding the town is wild and threatening, the gang of children who invade the town are anarchic and unpredictable. The mass hysteria which bubbles under the surface of the town as the violence committed by the children escalates has a dark, claustrophobic quality. Even the narrator's pet dog is a mildly threatening semi-wild stray who comes and goes as she pleases.

Fascinating, disturbing and thought provoking. If you enjoy feeling slightly unsettled by what you read, this one's for you.

Just a quick update before the end of the thread:

46. I Carried a Watermelon - Katy Brand
    Katy Brand reflects on what Dirty Dancing means to her. Good nostalgic fun for fans of the film.

47. Dead Famous - Greg Jenner

48. The Safe Place - Anna Downes
    Thriller set on a secluded estate in the South of France. Recommended if you like the genre and also for the setting.

49. The Accidental Dictionary - Paul Anthony Jones
    Unexpected etymologies. Worth it for "bumpf" alone, though unfortunately that was the highpoint and the book is laid out alphabetically.

50. Lockdown - Peter May
    This is the one where the PM dies in St Thomas's (real events prompting a hasty retrieval of the manuscript from the bottom drawer, no doubt). Not my usual thing and horribly gory in places, but tightly written.

51. Party Girls Die In Pearls - Plum Sykes
    I was all set to slate this, but it was okay as an easy read. Love the references to 80s fashions. The plot is very well explained, multiple times, just in case you don't get it the first time .

I have just read the very light little Scribbles In The Margin by Daniel Gray, a kind of paean to books and reading in 50 little short thoughts or sketches. I quite liked the one about squeezing books on to a shelf, which might appeal to 50 bookers but otherwise it is one of those stocking filler type, very slight books (I know he has done a similar one about football). Not sure if that's a compliment. Sorry, Daniel!

Thanks for teaching me a new word today, piggy.

I had never heard of a paean before this evening.

Glad to be of service!

Congratulations on reaching 50, Welsh!

Thank for a wonderful review, Indigo

I'm currently halfway through Dead Famous (another 99p impulse buy!) - what did you think of it, Harlan?

74. Uhura’s Song by Janet Kagan

A Star Trek novel featuring the cast of the original series. A nasty deadly plague has struck a planet of cat-like people, turns out humans can catch it too. The Enterprise is off on a mission, following clues in some songs Uhura’s heard, to find the cat people’s planet of origin and a possible cure.

This was an entertaining easy read, as long as you don’t think too hard about certain bits. And Uhura doesn’t get as much story time as you might think, given the title.

75. Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly

Lisa’s friend’s daughter goes missing - on the day she was supposed to be at a sleepover at Lisa’s house. Only Lisa’s daughter was off school ill, and Lisa forgot all about the sleepover.....

This was all a bit meh.

113. Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine

Frenetic memoir of life in the 70's Punk Scene

Much reviewed, much loved and I can only echo previous reviews full of praise.

Is this 'the hit of the thread' 2020?

I’ve got samples of The Ascent of Rum Doodle Empire Falls Ask Again Yes and I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron in the monthly deals. They also had the latest Shardlake, a smattering of Sebastian Barrys from which I could recommend Days Without End, Milkman which I loved but hesitate to recommend as I know others didn’t get on with it so well, so enter at your own risk.

One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown

I loved this. A patchwork history of the Beatles, told anecdotally through present day reflections on their legacy by the author and past reminiscences of people whose lives intersected with theirs during their early lives and on through the height of their fame. Funny, sad, kind of jarring at times, it was fascinating and uplifting and sent me right back to the music. Insights into their individual personalities and the forces which shaped their success jostle alongside gossip and notes from fans from the girl who grabbed a setlist at a gig and found herself sitting on a fortune, to Springsteen, Updike, Dylan. Much told in their own words. Some lovely stuff from behind the music, a full history of Hey Jude, from conception to the ecstatic culmination of the “nah nah nah nahs” recorded in a sea of fans at Twickenham. Also wonderful background on A Day in the Life. It darts around in time and place, but the last chapter, grounded in the life and times of Brian Epstein, told in reverse from his death to his first meeting with the Fab Four, was unexpectedly moving and a powerful ending to a fun and enlightening book. This is a really delightful way to approach biography, and doesn’t shy away from the darkness at the edges of the light. I think there is interest here for both the dedicated Beatles follower and the casual fan. I listened on Audible and it was fantastic, the characters brought wonderfully to life by Kate Robbins and Mark McGann with interludes from the author himself. Very easy to dip in and out of and a nice companion these last months. The only thing is there are no chapter titles and as it covers so much ground it is hard to flip back and forth. I will probably buy the paperback when it is released next year.

Lovely review, Satsuki. That's been on my wish list since it came out - I'm watching like a hawk for when (if) it drops in price!

Also dying to read the Beatles in Time. Love their music.

Mackerella I really enjoyed Dead Famous. I think it was a smart move to avoid discussing modern celebrities almost entirely, because it leaves room for figures who were hugely famous in their day but are now barely remembered. Many of the stories have sad endings so maybe this should be required reading for reality TV candidates. On the plus side you have to admire the sheer resilience/chutzpah/brass neck of some of the people discussed.

The monthly deals are disappointing, although I have bought A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, The Ascent of Rum Doodle, Brixton Hill and the second Cazalet book.

terpsichore I tried to order it from my local bookshop at the start of lockdown in a massive splurge but they hadn’t got it yet. I couldn’t wait and was so happy when I realised I still had an Audible credit. I would like to own the book still when it comes down in price too but it did really come alive on audio. I saw Paul live a few years ago and listening to this in a time where concerts seem a mad fever dream made me more glad of it happening than ever.

best it’s very good. Equal parts silly and serious and kind of straight to the interesting bits. I didn’t read his Princess Margaret book but quite fancy it after this.

Satsuki The Princess Margaret book is very good and has an interesting mix of straight biography and fictionalised episodes (maybe imagined is a better word, as the incidents are not necessarily made up). The Beatles book sounds similar in that he manipulates the timeline the better to tell the story. Thank you for your review of that, I will look out for an affordable copy.

30. Queen Bee - Jane Fallon. This is a slightly above average chick lit novel about a newcomer to an exclusive Close in an affluent part of North London who finds herself ostracised from the community by 'Queen Bee' Stella and her neighbours after her husband says that Laura sent him a signed book to hide his affair. This was entertaining for the most part, just a bit overlong. I find her books very diverting and this one is in the current Kindle Monthly Deal for 99p.

Also in this month's Kindle sale is the latest book by Susie Steiner, Remain Silent, which Fortuna really liked.

Milkman is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea (unlike the Viv Albertine, Eine, which may indeed have been universally loved). But well worth a punt if it is reduced, I’d say.

I really enjoyed the Princess Margaret book but I know not everyone did. I do like Craig Brown, though, and his Private Eye Diary column makes me snort with laughter in a regular basis.

ON a regular basis! WHY does autocorrect do that?!

Worst Monthly Deal since I joined the thread

It's for the best really

Harlan I love A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush and can also recommend Love and War in the Apennines.

A new thread for a new month - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/what_were_reading/4011491-50-Book-Challenge-2020-Part-Eight?watched=1

Thank you, Boiledegg. I'm currently reading Land of the Dawn-lit Mountains by Antonia Bolingbroke-Kent, which is about Arunachal Pradesh, so I won't read the Eric Newby for a bit. I was very sceptical of the AB-K book because it looked like another neurotic-posho-takes-on-the-mountains book (with apologies to any poshos on here). But she writes very well, she's funny and she seems to approach the people she meets with genuine warmth and humility.