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

Matilda, you need a space between the dot after the number and the first star for it to work.

I think we might struggle to find one universally read book. We have a lot of different ages, cultures and backgrounds on here. For me the joy of this thread is the varied tastes of so many different readers. It's wonderful.

9th already?!

1. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
2. An inspector calls
3. Macbeth - Shakespeare 4. The Road to Avalon - Joan wolf 5. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 6. A little life - Hanya Yanaghira
4. The castle of otrano - Horace Walpole
5. A simple favour - Darcey Bell
6. The trauma of everyday life - Mark Epstein
7. Dracula by Bram Stoker 11. Miss Perigrine’s home for peculiar children by Ranson Riggs 12. Labyrinth - Kate Moss
8. Food and Nutrition
9. Biology for Cambridge IGCSE
10. Edexcel IGCSE Geography
11. Cambridge IGCSE history option B
12. Wuthering heights by Emily Bronte 18. The catcher in the rye - J.D Salinger 19. Gone with the wind - Margaret Mitchell
13. ASOUE, the bad beginning by Lemony Snicket 21. The picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
14. ASOUE the reptile room - Lemony Snicket
15. The enchanted village - Jeanne Willis 24. Star Wars The Force Awakens - Michael Kogge 25. The dragon’s call - Simon Forward
16. Valiant - Simon Forward 27. Islands of mercy - Rose Tremain - audiobook narrated by Katie McGrath
17. The mark of Nimeuh - Jason Loborik
18. The nightmare begins - Ben Vanston 30. To kill a mockingbird - Harper lee 31. The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
19. Wind in the willows - Kenneth Grahame
20. The labyrinth of Gedfref - Mike Tucker

For me the joy of this thread is the variety of books and tastes (not to mention the good nature- it is honestly the nicest corner of the internet)

I am on a couple of the big FB book groups, and they are good but they can degenerate into bum fights and they go over the same issues and books again and again:

1. what do you think of Where the Crawdads Sing?
2. do you prefer real books or a kindle?
3. are audio books cheating?

It's like Groundhog Day a lot of the time

How about Murder on The Orient Express? Or The Tale of Peter Rabbit? For a book we might all have read!

58. Once by Morris Gleitzman I read this aloud to my class and I cannot recommend it enough, they were gripped. I thought at first it was going to be rather generic, and maybe even trite (I hated the boy in the striped pyjamas for its manipulativeness and unlikeliness), but after the first few chapters this just got better and better, and I nearly cried twice! Not sure if I would have enjoyed as much without seeing how gripped the children were, but if you need a read aloud for 10 and 11 year olds, definitely pick this!

I haven’t read 1984. Read of mice and men back in year nine and that ending just killed me read all of the Harry Potter books too, to kill a mockingbird, LOTR is on my list to read at some point, just started little women and 50 shades I’ll get to at some point

Just realised my typo- BUN fights not bum fights obv

I wouldn't bother with 50 Shades @teaandcustardcreamsx

@BookWitch

I wouldn't bother with 50 Shades *@teaandcustardcreamsx*

I did find the movie pretty shit tbh but most of the time the book tends to be better! But then again it seems to romanticise abuse so

For me the joy of this thread is the variety of books and tastes (not to mention the good nature- it is honestly the nicest corner of the internet)

Yes! After my Dad died this thread really helped more than just about anywhere else.

Have read Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, 50 Shades, Da Vinci Code, Jane Eyre. Can't recall if I've read Little Women and have Gatsby on my reading wish list.

Hello all, and thanks for the new thread, southeast!

Here's my list:

1. Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler
2. Festive Spirits by Kate Atkinson
3. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel
4. The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths
5. Angel With Two Faces by Nicola Upson
6. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie
7. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
8. The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths
9. The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

10. The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves 11. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths 12. Normal People by Sally Rooney 13. The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths 14. The Herring Seller's Apprentice by L. C. Tyler 15. To Siri With Love by Judith Newman 16. The Screaming Staircase (Lockwood & Co) by Jonathan Stroud 17. 9th and 13th by Jonathan Coe 18. Literary Life by Posy Simmonds 19. Bach by Denis Arnold 20. The Constant Nymph by Margaret Kennedy 21. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones 22. Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert 23. England's Finest by Christopher Fowler 24. How Not To Be A Boy by Robert Webb 25. The Quest for the Golden Hare by Bamber Gascoigne 26. Masquerade by Kit Williams 27. Vermeer to Eternity by Anthony Horowitz 28. Wine and Punishment by Sarah Fox 29. Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler 30. True Love by Posy Simmonds 31. Airhead by Emily Maitlis 32. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes 33. The Porpoise by Mark Haddon 34. Annabel Scheme by Robin Sloan 35. The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah 36. Noble Savages by Sarah Watling 37. Coffin, Scarcely Used by Colin Watson 38. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells 39. Look Who's Back by Timur Vermes 40. Where Do Comedians Go When They Die? by Milton Jones 41. Mount! by Jilly Cooper 42. Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe 43. The Hoarder by Jess Kidd 44. One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake 45. The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards 46. Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi 47. The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss 48. Gentlemen & Players by Joanne Harris 49. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley 50. Slow Horses by Mick Herron 51. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 52. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling 53. The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend 54. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 55. Northbridge Rectory by Angela Thirkell 56. Apricots on the Nile by Colette Rossant 57. Chasing the Dram by Rachel McCormack 58. Growing Up by Angela Thirkell 59. Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah 60. Winter by Ali Smith 61. Tales from the Folly by Ben Aaronovitch 62. The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow

63. Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa
Shortish but hard-hitting novel set in war-torn Syria. Shortly before he dies, Abdul Latif makes his son Bolbol promise to take his body from Damascus back to their hometown of Anabiya for burial. Bolbol is joined on this journey by his estranged siblings Hussein and Fatima, and the novel lurches into black comedy (and sometimes grotesque surrealism) as their quest is beset with problems - whether it's dealing with Kafkaesque bureaucracy at checkpoints or stopping to visit Bolbol's ex-girlfriend from University, who is now a supporter of the anti-government rebels. A journey that should have taken a few hours ends up taking days, and all the while the siblings' last few family ties fray, their van is bombed and attacked by wild dogs, and their father's body starts to decompose. The memory of his forbidding presence hangs over Bolbol like the stench of his decaying corpse, and the backstories of all the characters (not just Bolbol and Abdul Latif) are told in snapshots and flashbacks. It's a slightly bewildering storytelling technique (I found myself getting quite disoriented by the changes in time and point of view), but mirrors the chaos of the Syrian landscape quite effectively. There are a few laughs (at one point, Bolbol reflects how nobody would believe his father has died from mere old age, when so many around them are dying in war), but the tone is mostly downbeat, and at times pretty grim. Nobody comes out of it well! Despite, this, it's a book that's remained in my memory long after I read it, and I'll definitely seek out more of Khaled Khalifa's writing.

64. The Zig-Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
65. Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths
As I've read (nearly) all the Ruth Galloway books, I thought I'd try Elly Griffiths' other series, which is set in 1950s Brighton. It was great light relief after Death Is Hard Work! The mysteries are quite guessable but still contained enough twists to be entertaining, and Griffiths has clearly done a lot of research into the period and milieu (there's loads of enjoyable detail about theatrical life in the 1950s), but the novels wear this learning pretty lightly. Fun, cosy reads.

66. The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young
This is very short, but still slightly outstayed its welcome for me! The author is an organic dairy farmer, who has made a close study of the cows she's known over the last few decades. She tells their stories and attempts to show us that cows are individuals just as much as people are. The book starts with a spirited defence of organic farming, and of seeing the cows on their own terms rather than anthropomorphising them, but then left me wondering how much she was doing just that in the anecdotes that followed. (We've only got her word for it that her interpretation of the cows' behaviour is the right one!). It was mildly entertaining, but no James Herriot .

67. Me by Elton John
This, on the other hand, was just what I needed as I was going through a rough patch at work and feeling in need of a pick-me-up. Gloriously gossipy and full of riotous anecdotes about Elton's outrageous shopping, snorting and shagging habits. It could easily have been too smug (now that he's sober/clean) or too maudlin (I lost count of the number of times he says he burst into tears), but is saved by his self-awareness (probably helped hugely by Alexis Petridis, who ghostwrote the book and did a lot to keep the story on track and make sure the tone was light and witty). Elton is clearly devoted to his husband and children but I did raise an eyebrow at his claims that he now lives a boring family life (although I was tickled by idea of him chatting about nativity costumes at the school gates, or planning his concert schedule around his sons' GCSE exams, or retiring from touring so he can spend more time taking the kids to Pizza Express on a Saturday.)

68. Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards
Martin Edwards is the current president of the Detection Club, and wrote the history of the club that I enjoyed earlier this year (no. 45 on my list). He writes golden age-style detective fiction, and this is the second in his series featuring Rachel Savernake, an enigmatic amateur detective who lives a reclusive life with her devoted friends/retainers (they're both simultaneously, in the best tradition of Magersfontein Lugg and Mervyn Bunter). She's helped in this by Jacob Flint, crime reporter for the Clarion newspaper. This particular story was complex and detailed, taking in the Necropolis Railway, a clandestine club where partygoers could enjoy bisexual liaisons, a shadowy government department whose employees operate in a brutal and secretive way, and three separate trials for murder that might have resulted in miscarriages of justice. The ultimate setting is (of course) an uneasy gathering in a remote country house set on the cliffs...

This was all quite fun, but also weirdly unengaging, as if the author was more concerned with the puzzle aspects than with actually making his characters human. And I found the character of Rachel herself a bit over-egged - too much of a paragon, always right in her deductions, and eye-rollingly attractive in her person.

I’d have though Da Vinci Code was a good shout just because even if somewhere has no books it’s hard to avoid this one and as readers sometimes it’s better to be reading drivel then nothing at all.

I once had a mortifying experience on the train discussing Desert Island Discs. Judy Murray had been on and of all the books in the world she picked The Da Vinci Code to take to the island which I thought was bonkers and loudly voice my opinion. Only to spot the woman opposite me with a copy looking cross!

I see Peter Rabbit as a 'middle class read' as well. And I don't think Murder on the Orient Express will have been read by anywhere near everyone on here - although I bet most of us who've read it will have read it more than once!

Yes, I agree this is a lovely thread

Tanaqui I'm currently reading Once to my (just) 11yo! We are enjoying it.

I've read most of the books suggested as universal, except Extreme and Day of the Triffids. I don't think I've read Of Mice and Men either. I was too traumatised to read it after seeing my big brother act the part of Lenny in a school production

I enjoyed Da Vinci Code and Angels and demons. A guilty pleasure read when I want something easy.
His later ones were really shite though (Inferno a complete waste of my life)

Palegreen that's brilliant and exactly the sort of thing that would happen to me. You weren't wrong though!

What about Roald Dahl (maybe the BFG?) or Narnia? I bet most of us have read those.

I have read 1 and 1/2 Harry Potters, didn't really get on with them.

Enid Blyton was out of fashion (at least with my parents) when I was a small child in the 80s.

I have read 1 and 1/2 Harry Potters, didn't really get on with them

Oh come now, you didn't put the effort in, I'd have expected you to read at least 9&3/4 of them.....

I've read the BFG and Narnia, loved them both. Danny the Champion of the world was probably my favourite Dahl: I can still remember how to poach trout and catch a pheasant.

.

Thanks for the new thread southeast

Here's my updated list:

1. The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley
2. The Unexpected Joy of being Sober – Catherine Gray
3. Ta deuxième vie commence quand tu comprends que tu n’en as qu’une – Raphaëlle Giordano
4. L’élégance du hérisson – Muriel Barbery
5. Three things about Elsie – Joanna Cannon
6. Restoration – Rose Tremain
7. The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth – William Boyd
8. The girl you left behind – Jojo Moyes
9. Antigone – Jean Anouilh
10. The Light Years – Elizabeth Jane Howard
11. Scissors, Paper, Stone – Elizabeth Day
12. Standard Deviation – Katherine Heiny
13. Behind the scenes at the museum – Kate Atkinson
14. The Well-Kept Kitchen – Gervase Markham
15. The Passion of Artemisia – Susan Vreeland
16. Lord of the Flies – William Golding
17. Marking Time – Elizabeth Jane Howard
18. Smoke gets in your eyes – Caitlin Doughty
19. American Heart – Laura Moriarty
20. Sing, Unburied, Sing – Jesmyn Ward
21. An American Marriage – Tayari Jones
22. Beloved – Toni Morrison
23. Ultimate Care – J M Farmer
24. Still Alice – Lisa Genova
25. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens
26. Transcription – Kate Atkinson
27. 84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
28. The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street – Helene Hanff
29. The Buddha in the Attic – Julie Otsuka
30. The Bookshop on the Shore – Jenny Colgan
31. Run – Ann Patchett
32. I am, I am, I am – Maggie Farrell
33. Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain – Sarah Jayne Blakemore
34. The Sealwoman’s Gift – Sally Magnusson
35. By the light of my Father’s Smile – Alice Walker
36. Where the crawdads sing – Delia Owens
37. Charlotte – David Foenkinos
38. Girl – Edna O’Brien
39. Silver Bay – Jojo Moyes
40. The travelling cat chronicles – Hiro Arikawa
41. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

Currently reading Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi

Catch a pheasant by sewing something in a raisin right @betts?

@Palegreenstars

Catch a pheasant by sewing something in a raisin right *@betts*?

A crushed up sleeping tablet I think? Then put it at the bottom of a cone.

Yes to Little Women, Harry Potter, Roald Dahl, The Great Gatsby (just!), Of Mice and Men, Da Vinci Code, 50 shades, Enid Blyton, Murder on the Orient Express, Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Animal Farm, Charlotte’s Web, Little House on the Prairie….
What about Shakespeare? Midsummer Night’s Dream?

Interesting. Have read Pride and Prejudice, 1984, Of Mice and Men, Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code, Jane Eyre, Orient s, Animal Farm, Little Women and Gatsby.
Not read Ballet Shoes, Railway Children, Charlotte’s Web or 50 shades.

Someone needs to do a spreadsheet.

Betts

I remember my mum reading me George's Marvellous Medicine at a very young age. Possibly because she wouldn't have been too upset if I did poison my Grandma...

@InMyOwnParticularIdiom

Betts

I remember my mum reading me George's Marvellous Medicine at a very young age. Possibly because she wouldn't have been too upset if I did poison my Grandma...

GMM isn't one I remember reading as a child, I didn't read it to my own children either. For some reason it was never on my radar, I only heard of it when I was an adult - same with The Twits and Esio Trot. Maybe it's an age thing and I was a bit too old for them.