50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Nine

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the ninth 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 still not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The previous threads of 2020:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Re Mirror I didn’t think the ending was rushed - I thought it was written that way for a reason, to have an effect on the reader that represented the effect of events on Cromwell himself, and for me it worked very well (without going into detail for those who haven’t read it yet!) It lacked the pace of BUTB and didn’t have the back and forth that you got with Anne Boleyn, but that was the height of his powers and this was the slow unravelling of the years and the style reflected it. I feel like I actually might have enjoyed it most out of the three, despite its length, even though I’m kind of surprising myself by saying that. Having had a month to sink in that’s what I think now when considering the whole series and the reading experience.

I think at 600 pages I would of liked it a lot more. Cromwell journey throughout 3 books is incredibly detailed and you feel like you know him.

I read this in physical form but had read the others on my kindle which did help my feelings as my arms ached so much it felt like a chore to pick it up when she was banging on about civil unrest.

Yes I ended spreading it out over a long period between other things as it was aggravating my shoulder - Mantel said she didn’t expect people to read it in one go and it could be read as separate books so I took that approach which was psychologically easier. Agree I was less interested in some of that stuff, but I suppose it showed the changing pressures around him.

I am so sorry for your loss Terpsichore.

59. Pale Rider by Laura Spinney Incredibly timely book on the Spanish Flu- well reviewed uptrend. This year has been so tough for so many of us; yet somehow people got through this, more vicious epidemic, plus the end of WW1- it was also to me, very interesting to reflect on how this may have affected the art and literature of the 1920s, something she touches on neat the end. Definitely worth reading.

63. Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid

I know that others have read this. Emira is young, black and juggling a regular babysitting job and part time office work in Philadelphia whilst worrying about not having a job that gives her heath insurance. She has great friends and loves the little girl, Briar, she regularly babysits. She is called one night whilst out with friends to come and take care of Briar away from the family home after an incident there. She takes Briar to the late night store to pass the time and is challenged by the security guard who does not think she is legitimately the adult in charge of Briar and events unfold. Briar’s mother, Alix, is extremely image conscious, upwardly mobile and manipulative. Emira is a great character and this was an easy read. However, I disliked Alix (or her behaviour) so much that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped but it was a clever look at class and race issues.

Just bringing over my list. I've been finding it hard to concentrate lately so not done too much reading.

1. Pet Semetary by Stephen King (2/5)
2. The Outsider by Albert Camus (5/5)
3. Somebody's Mother, Somebody's Daughter by Carol Ann Lee (3/5)
4. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. (4/5)
5. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. (5/5)
6. 4321 by Paul Auster. (4/5)
7. Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. (3/5)
8. The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffrey Deaver. (1/5)
9. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. (3/5)

10. What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge. (4/5) 11. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 12. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 13. Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay. (1/5) 14. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. (3/5) 15. The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub. (2/5) 16. Ayoade on Top by Richard Ayoade. (3/5) 17. Black Ice by Michael Connelly. (2/5) 18. In the Woods by Tana French. (3/5) 19. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. (3/5) 20. Red Ribbons by Louise Phillips. (1/5) 21. The Girl He Used to Know by Tracy Garvis Graves. (3/5) 22. The Other Us by Fiona Harper. (2/5) 23. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. (3/5) 24. The Crow Trap by Anne Cleeves. (3/5) 25. The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King. (3/5) 26. Guilt by Jussi Adler-Olsen. (3/5) 27. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. (4/5) 28. Just One Damn Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 29. The Very First Damn Thing by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 30. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 31. When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 32. Roman Holiday by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 33. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 34. Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 35. A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 36. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 37. The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths (3/5) 38. How to Stop Time by Matt Haig (1/5) 39. Thinner by Stephen King.(2/5) 40. What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor. (3/5). 41. Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor. (2/5) 42. My Name is Markham by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 43. Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor. (4/5) 44. The Great St Mary's Day Out by Jodi Taylor. (3/5) 45. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. (4/5) 46. The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish. (3/5) 47. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling. (3/5) 48. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves. (4/5) 49. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. (4/5) 50. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. (3/5) 51. Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. (2/5) 52.Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. (4/5) 53.It by Stephen King (4/5) 54. Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (4/5) 55. East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman (3/5) 56. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (5/5) 57. And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 58. Someone Out There by Catherine Hunt (1/5) 59. A Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor (2/5) 60. Christmas Past by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 61. An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 62. The Battersea Barricades by Jodi Taylor (3/5) 63. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (3/5) 64. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (3/5) 65. Look For Me by Lisa Gardner (2/5) 66. The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis (3/5) 67. The Steam Pump Jump by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 68. And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 69. Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor (4/5) 70. When Did You Last See Your Father? By Jodi Taylor (3/5) 71. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (4/5) 72. Enigma by Robert Harris (4/5) 73. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (3/5) 74. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (5/5) 75. Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan (2/5) 76. Red Bones by Ann Cleeves (3/5) 77. Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves (3/5) 78. Dead Water by Ann Cleeves (3/5)

216. Talking Heads by Alan Bennett

I did try watching these when they were on TV a couple of months ago, but while I was enjoying them I also found my attention wandering as I can never fully concentrate on TV programmes/films/audiobooks, so I decided to read these instead. They’re very well observed and while they’re not funny they can be a bit wry and some of the language reminded me a lot of Victoria Wood. I found that I could hear the voices of the actors as I read them which helped to set the scene.

I've just seen your post, Tanaqui - thank you for your kind wishes.

34. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
Like BookWitch and Best I really enjoyed this. I totally agree with BookWitch's review.
As the main case in the book is from almost 40 years ago, there's less action in some respects but there's lots for a reader to mull over alongside Strike and Robyn. Which witnesses lied in their statements at the time? Who is lying now? Why? And what can they rely on from the police notes of the inspecting officers, particularly Talbot who became obsessed with astrology and tarot but clearly had leads he was following even as his mental health deteriorated? There's a lot going on but it didn't feel like too much and the way it wrapped up didn't disappoint.
BookWitch mentioned the feminist thread and I felt this was done well, particularly in connection with the relationships between the two leads and their growing band of colleagues at the agency. There's also a recurring theme around children, serious within the context of the main case but lighter and with humour at times during chapters focused more on Robyn and Strike's private lives. Nationalism, linked to Scottish and Cornish independence, also pops up repeatedly, partly to anchor the action at the time of the Scottish indepence referendum and perhaps also to allow the author to weigh in?!
As others have said, I am mostly invested in the Robert Galbraith books because I am invested in Robyn and Strike and their relationship and I very much liked how it was handled in this book :)
I listened on Audible, as I have to all the Strike books, and Robert Glenister's brilliant narration is part of the experience for me. I haven't read many, if any, books as long and was glad I planned it for my week off work and am very much missing it now I am finished.
I have The Dutch House and Little Fires Everywhere out of the library, am halfway through Sightlines by Kathleen Jamie and have been lent The Boy at the Back of the Class . It's a shame I'll have to go back to work!

CluelessMama - I enjoyed The Dutch House - a good read.
I read Little Fires Everywhere a couple of years ago I seem to remember enjoying that too.

I like Robert Glenister narrating Strike as well, he's a good choice.
Like you, I think I enjoyed Troubled Blood because it was not the fast paced, people being chased around, but lots of talk, comparing statements from 40 years ago, who was lying them, who is lying now, who is lying and why, is it because they are the killer, or know who the killer is, or some other motive. I liked its complexity.

Stiff by Mary Roach is 99p on Kindle. I really liked it iirc.

So is The City and the City which has divided opinion both on here and in our house. I loved it.

Just finished The Giver by Lois Lowry
A YA book that apparently is very popular in America and Germany especially, and apparently taught in lots of schools. It's set in a community where everything is regulated, down to what people wear, when children are allowed their first bicycle, what babies are called etc. The central character, Jonas, lives happily and unquestioningly in this community.

And then he's chosen as an apprentice for a special job, and soon he'll realise that his community and even his family may not be as pleasant as they may seem.

This was okay. I'd have loved it aged 10 or 11.

This was okay. I'd have loved it aged 10 or 11.

I did love it at this exact age

213. Sad Janet - Lucie Britsch Janet is quite content being miserable. It's a way of life. Her family are desperate for her to change. They've been begging her for years to try antidepressants but she isn't interested until she sees a new short term pill marketed to get you through the holidays without wanting to stab your family. Can it possibly work?

This is a depression comedy apparently. It is mildly amusing in places but not laugh out loud funny. Janet is likeable enough and an interesting character. I think I'm a bit too old to be the target audience though.

214. America for Beginners - Leah Franqui After losing her husband, a Bangladeshi woman sets out for America to search for her estranged son who was studying there. Shortly after he came out to them her husband had told her he was dead. She isn't convinced and wants to find him. She books a cross country tour with a witless guide and an unsuitable chaperone and by learning about the US on the way, feels she understands her son more and can be more accepting of him when she finds him.

I quite liked this. It's a fairly heartwarming and poignant plot and not a bad attempt for a first novel. It was slow to get going though and the 'band of misfits does a road trip' element was a little OTT in places. I could see it working well as a film.

215. Manhattan Beach - Jennifer Egan During the war a woman becomes the first female diver at a naval dockyard repairing ships. She had a complicated upbringing with a disabled sister and her father has now vanished. By entering the world of the dockyard and seeing the underbelly of the Union environment she starts to understand why her father may have disappeared.

I know this is been much reviewed and liked on here the past few years. It really wasn't what I was expecting and while I liked it, I didn't love it. It was well written, but not the book I thought I was getting.

My experience with The City and the City was I ironically only read 50% of it. I just couldn’t get past the idea of it all being a bit silly and you have to really engage with the central premise for it to work.

Lois Lowry was one of my favourite writers when I was ten, she wrote a comedy series called Anastasia Krupnik that I loved but funnily I never read The Giver, even though it’s the one she’s known for.

I read The Giver when I wasn’t much older than 10 / 11.

I got massively hung up on the babies. IIRC, no family is allowed more than 2 babies, but not all the children are married off when they’re adults. Some adults remained single. I spent far too much time wondering if the intention was for the population to eventually shrink to nothing.

Looking back, I’m pretty sure that this wasn’t the bit of the book I was supposed to be focusing on 🤷‍♀️

I thought lots of things in The Giver were clever - drugs to combat the 'stirrings', 'release' ceremonies reminiscent of the idea of Boxer going off in the truck in Animal Farm, the farming out of babies.

What I couldn't understand was why the community wanted any of the 'old memories' retained at all, so the central idea didn't work terribly well for me, because surely even one person having those memories would be too dangerous to risk?

I think the central idea of the two cities in The City and the City isn't silly at all, but genius. It's essentially the idea of, 'The wall in the head' taken to its extreme. For me, the weakest part of the novel was its ending. I've given up on any of his others I've tried to read though.

Just rattled through Closing The Reading Gap by Alex Quigley. He is a really interesting educational writer : much more sincere and objective than many and very passionate about closing gaps through literacy, which he argues is the job of all teachers. Depressingly, I think most leadership teams don't understand this, and won't read this book. I attended (excellent!) training led by Alex and virtually every single teacher in the room (there were about 60 attendees) was an English teacher. Sigh.

I like the quotation he uses from Frederick Douglass (in the ongoing spirit of BHM):

Once you learn to read, you will forever be free

I remember the Anastasia books Satsuki - I reread them earlier this year (or possibly last year). I’ve never heard of The Giver though so I shall have to seek that out.

chessie yes I think I remember you reading them. I might try and get copies for my daughter at some stage, lots of it really stands out still in my memory.

remus wasn’t clear, I thought the idea was great but once in the world the execution of it didn’t really work for me and I couldn’t get absorbed in the idea.

The only China Mieville I have read is Embassytown - I did finish it but remember very little about it other than it was "scifi linguistics" and it was "very hard work"

The City and The City I don't know if I still have to give a second chance but I did DNF it early doors.

I liked The City and The City but didn't love it. Lois Lowry wrote a book I loved when I was about 13 or 14... it began with "When I look in to the mirror, the face I see looking back at me is beautiful.", but I can't remember the title!

I was very underwhelmed by the city and the city, I think because it had been hyped up to me