50 Book Challenge 2020 Part Ten

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the tenth (and final?) 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:

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2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

I've just checked and these threads this year have moved more quickly than any other year since they started back in 2012! We'd never reached ten threads in any other year.

52 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

A festive re read - you all know the story. Only 49p on kindle, very short and enjoyable.

@karmatsunami85 we should probably have a Gideon support thread because I'm sure part three is going to be just as confusing!

93: War Doctor - David Nott

Not very festive, but compelling. I heard Dr David Nott's Desert Island Discs a few years ago and was transfixed and moved by his stories of his work with Médecins Sans Frontières and the Red Cross in war zones around the world, treating victims of conflict in (usually) appallingly stressful and inadequate conditions, but saving lives with absolute dedication. How he didn't get killed on numerous occasions is a miracle.

His single-mindedness is extraordinary; he's clearly someone drawn to extreme situations by his very nature - if being a surgeon performing heroic operations in battle-zones isn't enough, he flies planes for fun too - and a lot of the detail in this book isn't for the faint-hearted, but it's a humbling read. An extraordinary man.

184. Anyone For Edmund? by Simon Edge

Satire. Hannah is part of an archaeological dig which discovers St Edmund under a tennis court in Bury St Edmunds (shades of Richard in the car park) Her cousin Mark uses this opportunity as a PR stunt for his boss Marina Spencer MP, but things escalate out of hand.

Very "wishes it was The Thick Of It but it isn't' - wore thin very quickly. Best bits from POV of Edmund but these are few and far between. Ludicrous ending.

259. Seven Kinds Of People You Find In Bookshops by Shaun Bythell

Quick read following on from his two editions of diaries. Short but funny.

260. Another Fine Mess by Tim Moore

I usually enjoy USA travelogues, and I’ve enjoyed Moore’s books before. However I found this hard going. There are two hooks here - one is that he’s driving cross country in 2017 through areas that voted Trump, with the aim of trying to understand why. The other is that he’s doing it in a Model T Ford. The book, particularly the first half, is far more about the car than it is about America. There’s a lot about the history of the car, and a lot about it constantly breaking down and being fixed. Plus he almost never actually talks to anyone about Trump, just makes assumptions. I would have liked much more America, much less car. He is a good writer though.

261. We Didn’t Mean To Go To Sea by Arthur Ransome

Continuing my run through the Swallows and Amazons series. Here the Swallows end up sailing across the sea to the Netherlands when the boat they’re in loses its anchor in fog. I enjoyed it but did miss the Amazons and the Ds from previous books.

262. Murder At The Lighthouse by Frances Evesham

First in a series of murder mysteries based in a fictionalised version of a seaside town quite near where I grew up. I liked the references to local places. The story was fine - woman moves to small town, discovers a dead body and decides to get involved in solving the murder despite barely knowing anyone. Nothing particularly original but I will read others in the series just for the local references.

a rather fabulous right foot painted onto a left leg

Read quite a few lately

The inheritance of loss by kiran Desai

Set in a part of India I haven't read about before (Darjeling) I largely enjoyed this. The characters made their own choices rather than have things happen to them and it involved a period of history i didn't know much about.

The adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezan Camara

Shortlisted for the international booker I thought this was a hoot. Set in Argentina, two women (a scot and an Argentinan) travel across the landscape in their wagon in order to track down the Scottish womans husband. I liked this alot, the storyline was fun (and very x rated in parts!) and there are lots of descriptions of the countryside and flora and forna.

The bone clocks by David Mitchell

I went into this blind so wasn't expecting this to have a fantasy element at all. Enjoyed the ride this one went on.

The sea by John banville

Read this because I'm trying to read the full booker list. I've noticed a pattern in that alot of booker winners fall into the 'older white man looks back on his life' category. This isn't a bad book (far from it) but im done and bored with this. My favourite book recently that does come under this category is Warlight which I loved.

why be happy when you can be normal by Jeanette Winterson

Someone else in the thread has already read this recently (weird how that happens) and I echo their thoughts, recommended although preferred the first half overall.

Just concluded I,Ada by Julia gray. It is a book about Ada Byron, later Lovelace, an imagining of her childhood for teenage readers, I guess. It's OK. It seems disappointing to me that all the actual remarkable computational stuff is stuck in an afterword at the end. I think it tries to show the entrapment of young girls and women , but, actually, Ada had quite a lot of intellectual freedoms and, according to this writer found love in (at least early) marriage and domesticity. I did wonder how many younger readers would really know who Byron was. His reputation is hinted at frequently and not til later expounded upon : which could be a bit frustrating for anyone not in the know.

She is a fascinating figure and I am not sure this book quite captures that.

That's a shame Piggy . Have you read The Incredible Adventures of Lovelace & Babbage ? It's a fabulous graphic novel which starts more straightforwardly autobiographical then in later sections spins off into fantasy. It really captures the excitement of ideas I think.

I might give that a go!

I am annoyed. just read Duffy's Another Night Before Christmas. About two pages in , I thought 'Waaaaiiittt, I ahve read this' and indeed I have. Amazon (boo!) have packaged this and marketed it as a 2020 book but it's from about 2010. Naughty. Seems she hasn't written one this year. That's me £7.99 down for a book I already own!! regifting awaits for DStepM

Only took five minutes to read and is enchanting. On the plus side.

I've just had an offer from Amazon of 3 months free kindle unlimited but I'm struggling to find good books on it, now I know why I don't pay for it. Any recommendations of ones to read would be much appreciated please.

Do try it Piggy, it's fabulous :) (On checking, it's actually the Thrilling adventures!)

101 I Wanna Be Yours by John Cooper Clarke
Autobiography of the Salford poet. I loved the first part of this, I had it on Audible and of course (being a performance poet & all) his delivery is just perfect, & his descriptions of his childhood & early working life incredibly vivid. It lost track rather for me once he became famous & then increasingly heroin addicted - basically junkies are boring, & there's not a lot more to be said - then the later section is just recounting the ins and outs of his career reading poetry in different places & with different people. Still, a pleasant undemanding listen just for his fabulous voice. (Pleasingly, he credits his sec. mod. school English teacher for inspiring his love of poetry & determination to make it his career.)

I've just finished Katherine by Anya Seton and really enjoyed it. I most enjoy books where I learn something - if I'm googling whilst reading that's a good sign. Aside from Philippa Gregory any recommendations for similar?

263. Buried Beneath The Boarding House by Ryan Green

True crime book about a case I hadn’t heard of before. Dorothea Puente ran a boarding house and ended up killing a suspected 9 of her ‘guests’ and continuing to cash their benefits cheques. Gruesomely fascinating, although the book gives no references and presents everything as fact when some of it is clearly conjecture.

That’s one of my favourite books RoseHarper. Have you tried any Sharon Penman or Elizabeth Chadwick?

No, not come across them, will have a look. Thank you.

RoseHarper, I really liked A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury by Edith Pargeter (who wrote the Cadfael books as Ellis Peters). It basically covers the same ground as Henry IV Part I, and has a beautiful romantic element involving Henry Percy and a (fictional) woman named Julian.

185. The Diary Of A Provincial Lady by E.M Delafield.

This seems very popular on Mumsnet in general and has some similarities to Diary Of A Nobody but I'm afraid I just found this deeply irritating and not particularly funny.

A shame as I got the full collection on Kindle and really can't see myself going any further.

There Was Still Love - Favel Parret
Absolutely charming tale of family life in Prague before and after the war. Short but beautifully written and very evocative of the times.

27. An English Journey - Beryl Bainbridge

Picked up this slim volume at a charity shop at the weekend, and really glad I did as it was an absolute treat. I read The Birthday Boys a few years ago during an obsessive Captain Scott phase but wasn't really aware of Bainbridge as a journalist. This is a diary she wrote during the filming of a 1983 TV series of the same name, following in the footsteps of JB Priestley who travelled in 1933 through English towns and cities on a kind of state of the nation tour. Bainbridge travels from Southampton to Milton Keynes via cities like Bristol, Manchester and Newcastle in a time of economic depression and fears about nuclear destruction; the diary is a reminder of how much has changed since the 1980s particularly in the industrial North; it's also very funny and involves quite a lot of booze. Sadly only one of the TV episodes seems to have survived - the Newcastle one which is on YouTube - and well worth a watch.

186. Not The End Of The World by Kate Atkinson

Short Story Collection. Mixed bag as SS collections can be. Some I would have read full novels of and some I wasn't interested in at all.

Most diverting were 3 featuring Heidi, Trudi and Charlene which appeared to be taking place in an alternate universe.

Heidi adopts a kitten, who then becomes a menacing unusually large cat with some humanoid tendencies. Heidi then discovers she is carrying a litter.

187. The Order Of Time by Carlo Rovelli (Audible)

Massively frustrating. The farthest reaches of physics are a real interest of mine and this book is REALLY EXCELLENT at explaining the contradictions of time. Tried the sample and bought it based off it but in the end I found Benedict Cumberbatch's sotto voce approach really soporific and not remotely conducive to retaining the information. The content was good though I could tell, so this will reappear on next years list once I've got a physical copy and read it properly.

44. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. This is a book that will stay with me, I'm struggling to get into anything else since I put it down. In terms of cheerfulness it's right up there with A Little Life but for me was by far the better read. It deals with a time in Indian history I knew nothing about 'The Emergency' which lasted from June 1975 to March 1977. During this 'state of emergency' the corrupt Government used violence and oppression to rule the people with a rod of iron. 'The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass forced sterilisation campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Ghandhi, the Prime Minister's son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history' Mistry looks at the lives of four people who find themselves thrown together by the chaos and corruption that is playing out around them. In many ways they, and their families, are cyphers allowing the author to detail the many and various atrocities and injustices that took place in India at this time and historically. However despite this he makes them well rounded characters who you care about. You find yourself routing for them to find peace, happiness and a dignified way of life. Mistry however is not in the business of telling a fairy story and he allows the harsh reality of living in India at this time to play out in full. One of the minor characters gives the book its title stating; "You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair." Whilst it seems to me Mistry does not find that balance with this book, coming down firmly on the side of despair his intent is made clear by the Balzac quote he chooses as the novel's prologue: ‘Holding this book in your hand, sinking back in your soft armchair, you will say to yourself: perhaps it will amuse me. And after you have read this story of great misfortunes, you will no doubt dine well, blaming the author for your own insensitivity, accusing him of wild exaggeration and flights of fancy. But rest assured: this tragedy is not a fiction. All is true.’ Honoré de Balzac, Le Pète Goriot”

A Fine Balance is moving and affecting, a brilliantly written epic which will definitely be in my top five this year.

That sounds brilliant Des. I've got it sitting on a shelf, but haven't quite got round to picking it up. I'm popping it on my hitlist for next year.

Excellent review Desdemona. I have it on my kindle and you've just encouraged me to start it sooner rather than later.

I think A Fine Balance is one of the best novels I have ever read.