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?

Thanks betty

I think I may be heading for my 3rd DNF this year, I have already DNFd :

The Man Of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

and

Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James

On the verge of DNFing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michel Chabon. Over 100 pages in and very little enthusiasm for continuing.

Any encouragers out there?

Is there a recommended age best to read TTOD? I saw it in a shop yesterday and would’ve bought it but was a bit unsure that and I have too many other books to read first

Managed to go into Waterstones yesterday and it was absolutely amazing to be able to browse the shelves there

Great videos, Cote! I could bore on for hours about baroque ornamentation (in my misspent youth, I studied an early instrument at Trinity College of Music junior department), but I'll spare the rest of the 50 bookers...

Thanks for the feedback, Blackcountry. Sometimes I just need someone else to release me from the (ridiculous) sense of obligation I feel towards a book that I've started and then abandoned. You've helped give me that push and I won't feel guilty about not going back to it. As you say, there are so many better books out there!

@teaandcustardcreamsx

Is there a recommended age best to read TTOD? I saw it in a shop yesterday and would’ve bought it but was a bit unsure that and I have too many other books to read first

Managed to go into Waterstones yesterday and it was absolutely amazing to be able to browse the shelves there

I've just recommended it to my mature 15 year old, I don't think I'd go any younger than that as some of it is gruesome - a description of native people being shot at point blank range for example. It's not written with a view to being horrific in terms of a graphic description but the act is obviously horrific.

Yeah I would say older teens just because its written in that very ye olde type style that might not appeal unless the teen is into period pieces and classics.

Yes, that too - some of the words are ones I (even having studied English Literature) have had to look up

Cote and Mackerella, I'm happy for you to 'bore on' about Rameau, Charpentier and ornamentation any time you like (choral director specialising in early music here).

Thanks for the new(ish) thread, southeast (they move so quickly!). Here’s my list:

1. My Name is Why- Lemn Sissay
2. Damaged- Cathy Glass
3. Wonder- R.J. Palacio
4. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race- Reni Eddo-Lodge
5. Lost at Sea: the Jon Ronson Mysteries- John Ronson
6. Gotta Get Theroux This: My Life and Strange Times in Television- Louis Theroux
7. Birdsong- Sebastian Faulks
8. Lord of the Flies- William Golding
9. The Beatrix Potter Collection- Beatrix Potter

10. The Cold War: a History from Beginning to End- Hourly History 11. The Subtle Knife- Philip Pullman 12. The Amber Spyglass- Philip Pullman 13. Nine Perfect Strangers- Liane Moriarty 14. Brazil- Michael Palin 15. The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald 16. The Collector- John Fowles 17. Ready Player One- Ernest Cline 18. Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life- Peter Godfrey-Smith 19. Engleby- Sebastian Faulks 20. Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure- John Cleland 21. The Boy at the Back of the Class- Onjali Q. Rauf 22. Prison: A Survival Guide- Carl Cattermole 23. The Children- Alice Meynell 24. The Year of Reading Dangerously- Andy Miller 25. This is Going to Hurt- Adam Kay 26. Mummy Told Me Not to Tell- Cathy Glass 27. The Aerodynamics of Pork- Patrick Gale 28. Aztec Civilisation: A History from Beginning to End- Hourly History 29. Cannery Row- John Steinbeck 30. La Belle Sauvage- Philip Pullman 31. War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line- David Nott 32. The Bookshop that Floated Away- Sarah Henshaw 33. The Imperial Phase: The Rise & Fall of British Indie Music 1986-1997- Ray Dexter 34. Lunch with the Wild Frontiers: A History of Britpop and Excess in 13½ Chapters- Phill Savidge 35. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind- William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer 36. Frost in May- Antonia White 37. Lyra’s Oxford- Philip Pullman 38. Scrublands- Chris Hammer 39. A History of Loneliness- John Boyne 40. Here Comes the Clown: A Stumble Through Showbusiness- Dom Joly 41. Nickel and Dimed- Barbara Ehrenreich 42. Inside Broadmoor- Jonathan Levi & Emma French 43. The Bell Jar- Sylvia Plath 44. Doctor Sleep- Stephen King 45. The Lost World- Michael Crichton 46. The Catcher in the Rye- J.D. Salinger 47. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?- Jeanette Winterson 48. The Perfect Child- Lucinda Berry 49. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling 50. To Siri with Love- Judith Newman 51. Prognosis- Sarah Vallance 52. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit- Judith Kerr 53. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- J.K. Rowling 54. Another Forgotten Child- Cathy Glass 55. The Children Act- Ian McEwan 56. And the Ocean Was Our Sky- Patrick Ness 57. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child- J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne 58. In the City, by the Sea- Kamila Shamsie 59. Fleabag: The Special Edition- Phoebe Waller-Bridge 60. Winston Churchill: A Life from Beginning to End- Hourly History 61. The Rehearsal- Eleanor Catton 62. The Saddest Girl in the World- Cathy Glass 63. Sal- Mick Kitson 64. It’s Not About You- Tom Rath 65. The Nanny State Made Me- Stuart Maconie 66. Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor- Dave Haslam 67. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time- Mark Haddon 68. I Was Britpopped- Jenny Natasha & Tom Boniface-Webb 69. A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner- Chris Atkins 70. My Brother’s Name is Jessica- John Boyne 71. Unnatural Causes- Dr Richard Shepherd 72. Bookworm- Lucy Mangan 73. Innocent- Cathy Glass 74. Eye Can Write- Jonathan Bryan 75. The Covid Companion: 52 Ways to Be Happy in Isolation- Muzzammil Ali 76. Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division- Peter Hook 77. Strangeways: A Prison Officer’s Story- Neil Samworth 78. Finding Stevie- Cathy Glass 79. Horn Life, or What’s Your Proper Job?- John Pigneguy 80. Keeping On Keeping On- Alan Bennett 81. Julius Caesar: A Life from Beginning to End- Hourly History 82. Fun Home- Alison Bechdel 83. Swallowdale- Arthur Ransome 84. Inside Charlie’s Chocolate Factory- Lucy Mangan 85. The Scream: The Music, Myths and Misbehaviour of Primal Scream- Kris Needs 86. The Men Who Stare at Goats- Jon Ronson 87. 84 Charing Cross Road/The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street- Helene Hanff 88. Station Eleven- Emily St John Mandel 89. I Capture the Castle- Dodie Smith 90. Gaysia: Adventures in the Queer East- Benjamin Law 91. The Spanish Flu: A History from Beginning to End- Hourly History 92. Do it Like a Woman… and Change the World- Caroline Criado Perez 93. Broken Greek: A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs- Pete Paphides 94. The Chilbury Ladies Choir- Jennifer Ryan 95. Dear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island- Ben Aitken 96. Happier at Home- Gretchen Rubin 97. The Boy on the Bridge- M. R. Carey 98. Infection: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Novel- M. P. McDonald 99. Isolation- M. P. McDonald 100. Invasion- M.P. McDonald 101. Titanic: the Story of the Unsinkable Ship- Hourly History 102. Tastes of Honey: The Making of Shelagh Delaney and a Cultural Revolution- Selina Todd 103. Nerd Do Well- Simon Pegg 104. Alone at the End of the World- M. P. McDonald 105. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire- J. K. Rowling 106. Where Has Mummy Gone?- Cathy Glass 107. A Long Way from Home- Cathy Glass 108. How to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You- Leil Lowndes 109. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry- Rachel Joyce 110. All the Rage- Cara Hunter 111. Pandemic 1918- Catharine Arnold 112. John F. Kennedy: A Life from Beginning to End- Hourly History 113. The Star Outside My Window- Onjali Q. Rauf 114. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- J. K. Rowling 115. The Five- Hallie Rubenhold 116. Magpie Lane- Lucy Atkins 117. Charlotte’s Web- E. B. White 118. Forever- Judy Blume 119. The Body: A Guide for Occupants- Bill Bryson 120. Hired- James Bloodworth 121. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling 122. Troublesome Words- Bill Bryson 123. The Wombles- Elisabeth Beresford 124. All Points North- Simon Armitage 125. Confessions of a Bookseller- Shaun Bythell

and these are the ones I’ve read or listened to since my last update:

122. Troublesome Words- Bill Bryson This is in the form of a dictionary, made up of commonly misused or misspellt words (eg. forgo/forego, flammable/inflammable). It was most interesting and has led me to check definitions more frequently than I did before. The only disappointment was the appendix about punctuation. I was looking forward to a hilarious Bryson rant about the so-called ‘greengrocer’s apostrophe’, but it was entirely absent! Other apostrophe errors were included, but Bryson had obviously decided the ‘greengrocer’s apostrophe’ was far too obvious and left it out altogether.

123. The Wombles- Elisabeth Beresford A recent Audible Daily Deal, this was expertly read by the great Bernard Cribbins.

124. All Points North- Simon Armitage This is a touching memoir of Armitage's formative years in Marsden (the last village before Yorkshire becomes Lancashire) and what it means to be northern. His regular jaunts ‘Over the Top into Lancashire’ are described, including a lovely anecdote about working with John Peel. Armitage discusses the wonderful film ‘Kes’ and there is plenty about his two football teams Huddersfield Town and Leeds United. There is also a sweet description of a day trip to Iceland, from Leeds Bradford airport, with his mum. Unfortunately, the book is written in the second person, usually in the present tense, which spoilt my enjoyment a little.

125. Confessions of a Bookseller- Shaun Bythell I reviewed the book last year: this was the audiobook, which was equally enjoyable (if not more so) and had me laughing out loud a few times.

I liked but didn't love Kavalier and Clay. It took a while to get going and was rather strange throughout and much more depressing than I'd expected, but there was enough to keep me interested in terms of characters and their relationships.

FWIW, I'm also happy to hear about the French Baroque (I work in a music-related field).

I'm really struggling Remus but thats in general at the moment not the book (family issues) and its just the wrong headspace. Considering Kavalier is a would be escapologist, ironically, I need something much more escapist right now.

K&C is one of my favourites but I was fairly young when I read it. Not sure whether or not I'm brave enough to re-read - I'd be really sad to find that I no longer love it (and Joe Kavalier.... Swoon.....#teamjoe)

It is dark, and maybe not the best book for right now.

Eine hope you're ok

Thanks all, added TTOD to my list! I’m slightly older than your DD betts and I love period books and I’m trying to make my way through the classics!

for eine

49. The Dutch House - Ann Patchett

Much reviewed on here already. Tells the story of Danny who grew up in the Dutch House in Philadelphia (and is continually drawn back to it even after it ceases to be his home) and his relationships with his father, sister, mother and others. This is only my second Patchett having previously read Bel Canto which I loved. I enjoyed this but not as much as Bel Canto but would still recommend.

About to start Middlemarch next so I could be some time.....

K&C I liked but didn't love. Been along while since I read it but I remember lots of it just plodded along.

74 A Beautifully Foolish Endeavour by Hank Green

The sequel to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, in which giant statues of robots appeared simultaneously all over the world, and which ended with the presumed death of April-May, blogger become social media superstar. This took a while to get going, and had too much 20-something New Yorker angst going on for me to start with (it's one of dd's books). It picked up about a quarter of the way in though, with amongst other things a Bond-esq villain on a tropical island, cyberpunk style virtual world, and a (sort of) talking monkey. Overall a fun homage to SF and pulp that makes some serious points about technology and social media along the way. (It reminded me rather of a modern version of A White Merc With Fins if anyone remembers that from the 90s)

Yikes, sorry Keith and Pepe, I plead guilty to being someone who raved about The Most Fun We Ever Had, but I am a self-confessed fan of rambling novels where nothing much happens. I am the only person I know who thoroughly enjoyed the Vegas section of The Goldfinch...

I fully concur about the over privileged white people and the weird sex watching though. I didn't notice the sniffing, I may have to do a long, rambling re-read

I liked Kavalier and Clay but... see above re: love of rambling books, although there is maybe too much that happens in K&C rather than not enough. I do remember it being hard work at certain points. Eine if you're struggling perhaps set it aside and come back to it at another time, and for now perhaps a re-read or something comforting?

American Dirt is 99p on kindle today. What is TTOD?

1. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne

Nice to read a simple book occasionally that has a happy outlook on everything.

Thank you for the tip off RoseHarper, I'm looking forward to reading American Dirt.
TTOD is This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson.

Eine - sorry to hear things are difficult. Definitely put K& C down and read something lovely instead.

I'm reading and not loving Hamnet. It's present tense and very overwritten. She has a love of lists and a tendency to pile on three similes simultaneously, when just one well-chosen one would have been more pertinent and powerful. It's just not calling to me, and even being in Stratford isn't really helping me want to read it.

@Sully84

4. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne Nice to read a simple book occasionally that has a happy outlook on everything.

It certainly is. I suggest you don't read AA Milne's autobiography though I started it and did not finish it because it was so unrelentingly miserable and dull.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit

I'm really struggling Remus but thats in general at the moment not the book (family issues) and its just the wrong headspace. Considering Kavalier is a would be escapologist, ironically, I need something much more escapist right now.

Sorry you are having a hard time Eine. For something escapist may I suggest Rough Magic by Lara Prior Palmer which is one of the highlights of my reading year so far. It's a lovely read and she's quite a positive person but not irritatingly so:

The Mongol Derby is the world’s toughest horse race. A feat of endurance across the vast Mongolian plains once traversed by the people of Genghis Khan, competitors ride 25 horses across a distance of 1000km. Many riders don’t make it to the finish line.

In 2013 Lara Prior-Palmer – nineteen, underprepared but seeking the great unknown – decided to enter the race. Driven by her own restlessness, stubbornness, and a lifelong love of horses, she raced for seven days through extreme heat and terrifying storms, catching a few hours of sleep where she could at the homes of nomadic families. Battling bouts of illness and dehydration, exhaustion and bruising falls, she found she had nothing to lose, and tore through the field with her motley crew of horses. In one of the Derby’s most unexpected results, she became the youngest-ever champion and the first woman to win the race.

A tale of adventure, fortitude and poetry, Rough Magic is the extraordinary story of one young woman’s encounter with oblivion, and herself.

noodle you gave me hope, then dashed it away with mention of Goldfinch does Vegas. I’ll have to dive in and see. Maybe I’ll enjoy weird voyeuristic sex scenes and sniffing...

eine Hope you manage to get into something.

remus I didn’t get along with Hamnet either and DNF. Kept a low profile though as it seemed to be generally liked Also I saw an interview with the author where she said everyone was shocked to learn the name of Shakespeare’s son when she told them when I remember knowing this at school and didn’t think it was a big mystery. Not a criticism as such but an observation anyway. I hope you enjoy Stratford.

I got a few pages into Hamnet then stopped and read something else. I was thinking it was just my mood and I'll give it another shot, but I'm slightly relieved that it's not just me. I tend to be wary of modern literary fiction anyway.

bettsbattenburg, thank you for your review of Rough Magic. It sounds great and it's 99p at the moment so I've just bought the kindle version.