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?

"Wentworth went off in a strop for years though"

But she turned him down! He accepted her answer and took it as given - No Means No. Correct behaviour, both then and now, surely?

Mr Knightly is a grown man grooming a teenager in my reading - I mean, it's not the main reason I hate Emma (that'd be because Emma is obnoxious) but still deeply dubious.

That aspect is not great in today’s eyes, but there was so much propriety in behaviour then, and Knightley is shown to be extremely annoyed with Frank Churchill for potentially calling into question a woman’s reputation (for buying a piano!) that we know his behaviour beforehand would have been governed by the same integrity. He didn’t look at her in that way at all until she was an adult and he thought she was to marry someone else. I get the impression that if she had stuck to her intended wish to never marry he would have been content to continue as her friend.

Wentworth had no money or prospects and was willing to drag Anne into an uncertain, unstable future. He was right to accept the “no”, but he was angry at her for making the decision, didn’t give her any credit for it herself and his own pride kept him away for 8 years. He could have accepted her refusal graciously and returned much earlier when he was actually in a position to marry, but he didn’t. He blamed her for being easily led, rather than seeing her as making a sensible decision that was in keeping with the reasons he loved her, and then paraded a flirtation with a younger girl in front of her. I mean, I still would. It’s the uniform.

Sorry sadik didn’t mean to be so full on but have reread both recently and dwelt a bit on those aspects, having thought differently of them on earlier readings myself, so it’s all fresh in my mind

I’ve just discovered the wonder of audiobooks currently listening to Katie McGrath’s narration of Island’s of Mercy and I freaking love it! Went ahead and subscribed to audible as I love audio books now!

I love Audible, I've been listening since 2014 and it has easily increased the amount I read by a third.
I listen when I am doing housework, driving, sewing etc.

I have the 24 credit a year for 110 pounds, which makes each credit about 4 pounds, and I buy in every BOGOF sale.
Audible gets a bad rap in the Facebook book groups, who tell you to use the free Audio service at the library, but our library's selection is very limited.
I've just downloaded Troubled Blood - 31 hours!

This is my first year with Audible and I am enjoying it immensely.

I have sent several back for having irritating voices though

I love audible, but I do find that my attention can drift easily so I tend to use it to ‘reread’ old favourites so it doesn’t matter too much if I miss a bit! I like having a story read to me while I’m doing something else.

I'm another one who loved Daisy for a bit of light relief. I have another of hers, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo which sounds like it might also be good for a light diversion - very much needed as every day of 2020 seems to bring worse news (RBG, sob).

The Stand is 1.99 on Kindle today. Do I dare?!

I've always thought that Tilney is actually gay, and marries Catherine as a cover up. He's never seemed terribly convincing to me as a lover.

I love audible too, it also means my son 'reads' books that he otherwise wouldn't.
I currently have 2 books on the go on audible - Half of a Yellow Sun and 50 more things that made the modern economy.

Oh thanks noodle I might go for The Stand

I like Audible for non fiction as find it hard to get into on paper. I’m listening to Square Haunting on it at the moment and really enjoying it, although the narrator keeps making strange pronunciations and says the dates like this “on three January 1918 they” and it’s a bit weird!

I use Audible and the library audiobooks service as well - I have the 12 books a year sub, and use it when I can't find anything I fancy through the library.

I see the Gill Sims books ( Why Mummy Drinks & sequels ) are all on deal today - definitely good Bridget Jones-esq light relief at 99p :)

I'd hate Audible. I can't even cope with the radio. Detest being read to/spoken at by DJs.

I’m exactly the same Remus, I just zone out. I’m fine with music in the background but anything spoken doesn’t work for me at all.

With you on that, Remus.

Bought The Stand, thanks noodle!

I can't zone out - I'm too irritated by it and just end up snarling and teeth-grinding.

Biblio - have you read The Stand before? Looking forward to your review if not. It's too long, but there are some spectacular moments in it, imo.

122. Breakfast At Tiffany's by Truman Capote

Edition also contains 3 short stories, House Of Flowers, The Diamond Guitar, and A Christmas Memory.

Breakfast At Tiffany's is really only a short story of itself, and I'm damned if I know what the fuss is all about. Holly Golightly is a forerunner of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" trope the kind of woman that men fall all over and women are like

The end.

But she lives long in the memory of men because she was just so... etc

The short stories aren't very impactful although the one were the bloke ties his wife to a tree to pacify his vengeful mothers ghost was fairly diverting.

I read and was impressed by In Cold Blood years ago otherwise I think I'd be wondering what the fuss was.

Having read Swan Song does put an interesting slant on his work also.

Considering it Ticked Off my TBR but nothing remarkable other than that for me.

the narrator keeps making strange pronunciations and says the dates like this “on three January 1918"

This is partly why I can't do audiobooks. As a fully-subscribed pedant, it would just drive me crazy.

The date thing would drive me bonkers, too.

Eine - I love Breakfast at T's. I fear you and I are going to be almost as divided as Cote and I.

Very hard to get my head round the fact that Breakfast at Tiffany’s was written by the author of In Cold Blood. At the risk of further enraging you, Remus, after confessing to not being a no fan of IT, I will say I had a strong preference for one over the other.

But Remus its only like 90 pages

I think it packs a lot into a short book. Would far rather have short and sweet than bloated, boring, badly needing editing crap like Lethal White for example.

Alright biblio, if you're going for The Stand then it would be rude not to join you