50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Eight

[southeastdweller]

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

What are you reading?

Great reviews Satsuki

Never too late karmatsunami85. This is my 3rd year on the thread and I might, just might, actually hit 50 this year.

@ karmatsunami85 Absolutely not to join - welcome!

Fortuna

Here to lower the tone.
58 Moon Over Mayfair Anton Du Beke
Guessing an editor wanted a novel to appeal to fans of Downton Abbey and Strictly. Set in a posh London hotel. Prose of the deepest purple. Would love to know what role his collaborator played.

Here is my list for 2020 - I'll only review the last couple briefly. Favourites highlighted in bold, and no real stinkers this year (yet) but I have italicised a couple that I found underwhelming/a bit dull but finished because they were short enough.

1. Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
2. This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El Mohtar
3. I Might Regret This - Abbi Jacobson

4. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng

1. The Cactus - Sarah Haywood

6. Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo

1. Story of a Soul - St Therese of Lisieux
2. Daisy Jones and the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Queenie - Candace Carty-Williams

10. Conviction - Denise Mina 11. Under the Dome - Stephen King 12. Still Lives - Maria Hummel 13. The Black Echo - Michael Connelly 14. The Wisdom of Compassion - The Dalai Lama 15. Black Ice - Michael Connelly 16. Watch Me Disappear - Janelle Brown 17. Fool's Assassin - Robin Hobb 18. Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb 19. Assassin's Fate - Robin Hobb 20. 11/22/63 - Stephen King 21. The Closer I Get - Paul Burston 22. Whisper Network - Chandler Baker 23. Elevation - Stephen King 24. The Outsider - Stephen King 25. Harrow the Ninth - Tamysn Muir 26. Mr Mercedes - Stephen King 27. Finders Keepers - Stephen King 28. End of Watch - Stephen King 29. The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley 30. My Lovely Wife - Samantha Downing 31. The Warehouse - Rob Hart 32. All Adults Here - Emma Straub

33. Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
That final page cracked my heart in half. So far, this is my book of the year. I think it's tied with Girl, Woman, Other because it also had that ending which left me in tears at the absolute rightness of it. When writing does that, reaches down inside you and pulls out emotion like that in one gasp, it stays with you long after. I'll be thinking about Hamnet for a while.

Currently reading Summer by Ali Smith, I've enjoyed her Seasonal Quartet although nothing has quite topped Autumn for me yet.

Hrmph seems I can't edit posts? Maybe I'm just being dense...meant to go back and post a thank you to all for your welcome! This thread is definitely one of my favourite places on the internet - a lovely bookish refuge!

I also meant to put Gideon the Ninth in bold as it's utterly brilliant, although the second book is vastly different in tone/perspective

No chance to edit now, but we discussed fairly recently that some of us change what's bold every time we post a list (roughly the start of each thread) so there's a chance to change it next time. My opinion of books changes frequently, some things stay with me and others I was swept up in at the time become forgettable later.

I'm in the queue for Summer at the library so need to get Spring read pronto.

Re Stephen King, having recently read The Stand, The Green Mile and just finished The* Institute all of which I enjoyed, I have to say I found 22.11.63* rather repetitive and irritatingly narrated on Audible, I personally wouldn't recommend it, although lots of people love it so I'm sure it's better In book form.
I think King could do with tighter editing and his characters are often misogynistic or racist, but they tend to be the baddies who get their just desserts so I've never seen it as a reflection of the authors beliefs. I haven't read It but I get Eines point about the impressions being offensive, although King would probably say it was written nearly 35 years ago and the world, and he, have moved on.

It's more the words used to describe the voices, these words are honestly so awful I wont post them for fear of upsetting someone.

I'm a Stephen King virgin. Do I want to....dabble?

(Reminds me of the old joke:
Young man to young lady: Do you like Kipling?
Young lady [excited]: I don't know, I've never kippled].)

If you are going to dabble I would say The Stand or Dolores Claiborne

Si, mi burro esta muerto tambien timeforagandt

(I did German at school)

Hi karma, welcome - and you can stay if even you don’t make 50

Thank you Satsuki

Before this year I had only read The Stand by Stephen King which I loved. This year though I've worked my way through quite a few of his more recent books and I really enjoyed 22.11.63. Reading Under the Dome I understand what Desdemona says about some of his characters and their use of racist/homophobic language. It's also evident throughout the Bill Hodges trilogy but it seems to be a somewhat blunt way of emphasising just how horrible the bad characters are.

The Stand is Huuuuuuuge though. I enjoyed It although I’m ambivalent about King in general. I’m not a listener though and there was enough there to keep me turning the pages. I’d say I preferred It to The Stand and to 23.11.63.

Welcome karma.

Glad it’s not just me in Spanish - I will stop faffing around with my settings and wait for the issue to be resolved by Amazon.

Welcome karma

Do I really want to read Girl, Woman, Other?
I downloaded the sample and was put off by the lack of punctuation. Also I’ve read a few reviews from people saying that it really reflects the London they live in - found that a bit offputting and exclusive.
Does it get better? Lots on here seem to love it.

Also, have to finish the new Strike first. Going well so far.

Welcome karma!

My Kindle store is still in English - feeling a bit left out .

Stephen King is a classic case of a writer who badly needs a strong editor. His short stories are very good, so might be a good starting point for newbies? He manages to rein in the mawkishness somewhat and he gets to the point quicker.

I've been getting very bogged down in my reading. I usually have three books on the go and one of those is currently Our Mutual Friend. I've decided to forego the readalong schedule and finish it by the end of October. My other two current reads are Daddy-Long-Legs, which I think was recommended up-thread, and A Very Expensive Poison, about Andrei Litvinenko's murder. I've had it on my shelf for some time and the Navalny affair reminded me it's still very relevant. The most shocking thing about it is that none of it will come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the Russian news in the past 25 years or so.

@nowanearlyNicemum

No entiendo por qué eso es un problema, es hora de un gin tonic.

El mío también está en español, pero todavía no puedo tomar gin-tonic porque tengo que conducir.

Do I really want to read Girl, Woman, Other?
I downloaded the sample and was put off by the lack of punctuation. Also I’ve read a few reviews from people saying that it really reflects the London they live in - found that a bit offputting and exclusive.

Long time lurker on here but just wanted to say about a third of it is set in the NE and I thought that was the best part. I live in the NE so might be biased!

Ah really CountFosco? Will I give it another go perhaps.

My Kindle store is also in Spanish. Very odd.

Richie Fucking Tozier - this made me laugh so much!
I like Richie! He appears briefly in the Kennedy one, with Beverley, and I welcomed him like an old friend.

I actually don't recall anything that I felt was King being racist, although obviously the abuse that Mike gets is horrific.

The sex scene is weird, but I don't think it had anything to do with a gang rape and was more to do with (not subtle and probably wrong) marking their journey into adulthood, but also marking them out as 'together' and therefore strong, in a way that 'It' couldn't touch.
The stuff at the end about Bill and his wife is imo unnecessary and should have been edited out.

Crosses Eine off my Christmas card list.

Biblio - I don't like Kipling, butI like the sound of having a kipple. Sounds like it might involve Bakewell tarts and French Fancies.

I also like the sound of having a kipple. Is it because it rhymes with tipple?

My spellcheck wanted 'nipple'.

well obviously!!!