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:

1
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.

"The top 10 never changes much does it? I do wonder how much of it is because these are the types of books even people who read very little say are their favourite"

Most of them are books that people read at school. I get the feeling that they are consistently said to be top favourites because most people just don't read any literature (i.e. books they would NOT be embarrassed to say that they read and liked) after school.

Agreed. Although also I can see C5 gave viewers a list of 30 novels they had chosen to vote from and not to worry if their favourite wasn’t there just to vote for something else.

They chose the 30 from ‘sales figures, lists and reviews’ and probably what the producers liked at school.

I would love the BBC to do their Big Read again. Their top 100 gets trotted out again and again on those Book list challenges, but it would be interesting to see if any books published since 2003 now make the list. Maybe in 2023 to mark the 20th anniversary.
I remember loving it while it was on, and I bought the book.

Yes the bbc one was very well thought out and I think you could nominate what you wanted.

I actually liked the C5 approach. I thought it was nice to hear 'ordinary' celebs talking with such fondness about reading. Who knew Greg Wallace liked books so much?!

I like the fact they were all British and there were no kid's books which muddies the waters. One per novelist did mean no glut of Austen, too, although I think their Hardy was the wrong choice and probably the wrong Orwell in terms of 'much loved'.

It does feel a bit like cheating to declare something “Britain’s favourite novel” if people aren’t allowed to nominate their favourite book.

Although I do take the point about the channel 5 approach meaning no glut of Austen or Harry Potter books in there.

57. Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning in an Evolving Universe by Brian Greene. This book covers the whole of time - from the Big Bang to our theories for how the universe will end - and examines humanity's place in that universe. The author is a physicist so the discussion is firmly rooted in the laws of physics, rather than from a philosophical perspective. Interesting stuff.

I have just finished War And Peace after two years of on and off reading!

Well done me! It was a curate's egg. I certainly enjoyed any bits with Pierre in them.

But, my, when Leo starts philosophising (as with the whole final book) I literally fell asleep!

The Big Read is certainly out of date now.

I wish they would do another show similar to Bookworm with Griff Rhys Jones OR My Life In Books with Anne Robinson.

Isn't there a Sara Cox one, I havent caught it yet.

Yes there is !

Between The Covers, iPlayer, Book Banter, 7 half hour episodes

Joy!!!!

Exactly what I need right now.

Congrats on finishing W&P, Piggy!

I have yet to watch the greatest novel so I quickly skipped the top ten post up thread, I only caught up with Call the Midwife this morning when I sent DS on a wasted mission to the shop for milk - snow has stopped deliveries as the roads are bad.

I'm still going on short stories, I haven't read any of the Nick Alexander books but have a couple on TBR, I think I'll read them sooner as I enjoyed a short story of his The Other Son - it's a short story sequel to his novel The Other Son and has a spoiler warning which I ignored at silly o'clock during the night.

I've started watching the top 30 books so also skipped that post.
Spoiler alert I'm going to discuss the bottom of the list!

I thought it was an odd way for Ch5 to do it, insisting that people choose from the 30 books they dictated. (Plus who was voting, I certainly didn't see anything asking for votes and we're above average readers on this thread, did anyone cast a vote?) - I'm not sure how many people would be listing Lady Chatterly's Lover, for example, as a favourite book. Surely it just caused a stir at the time and was considered obscene by some. Not even the best book by Lawrence IMO.
I think the fact that it comes in at number 30 of 30 would suggest it wouldn't have been on many peoples lists, and if they wanted to avoid a list full of Austen or Harry Potter, for example,they could have just taken the top voted book by each author and given other books voted for an honourable mention when doing the piece about the most popular book by that author.

Well done Piggy!

84 Charing Cross Road Much enjoyed on this thread and with good reason.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink I've had this on my TBR pile for a few years and had put it off having watched the first 10 minutes of the film on television. Unlike those first 10 minutes, this was a terrific and compelling story of the narrator and an older woman who had taken part in Nazi atrocities. It covers so much more than just their relationship (although it does that movingly and sensitively) to examine issues of Germany's collective guilt across generations, individual motivations, forgiveness and other philosophical questions. I suspect many on here will have already read this, but I heartily recommend it to anyone who hasn't.

A Glass of Blessings by Barbara Pym Wonderful comfort read for these difficult days.

90. The Warmth of Other Sunshine by Isabel Wilkerson. This was reviewed upthread and is a very interesting historical but personal account of black people leaving the South (of the USA) for the North from 1915 to 1970, escaping from segregation and Jim Crow laws, but obviously facing challenges in the North too. I don't know very much about the historical context, so I found it really interesting and informative, but I do wish she hadn't recapped so often- it was like the "previously, on XYZ" at the start of TV shows, and I can generally remember what I read in the last chapter of a book! Really very thorough and worth reading though.

Ofgs autocorrect The Warmth of Other Suns not sunshine. Sorry!

71. Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden

Read ahead of the new adaptation on BBC1 (which I have recorded but not started watching yet). I love some of Rumer Godden's children's books - Little Plum is my personal favourite - but I'd never read any of her adult novels. This was very good, if not quite a standout read for me this year. For those of you who haven't seen the film or the current adaptation (I've not seen the film either), the book follows a group of nuns who are setting up an offshoot of their order, a school and a hospital in an abandoned palace in the Himalayas. The palace has seen off attempts to use it in a similar way (by an order of monks) in the past, and the atmosphere is full of foreboding from the outset. The setting is beautifully described by Godden, and she builds the sense of claustrophobia and thwarted erotic longing amongst (some of) the Sisters. The ending is fabulously melodramatic, which is a lot of fun, but does rather ruin the almost dreamlike atmosphere Godden has created. As I was reading it I thought it was going to be one of my best of the year, but I think the ending slightly spoiled that, and it's already beginning to drift out of my memory.

284. Mistletoe and Murder by Robin Stevens

Part of the Murder Most Unladylike series, about a detective society based in a girls’ boarding school in the 1930s. This wasn’t the best of the series but was suitable festive (apart from the murders).

285. Murder At The Cathedral by Frances Evesham

A deacon is murdered at Wells Cathedral and local chocolatier/busybody Libby investigates. Not bad.

286. Festive Spirits by Kate Atkinson

Three short stories with a Christmas theme. Enjoyed these.

287. Murder At The Bridge by Frances Evesham

Another in the series, not as good as previous ones

288. Quite by Claudia Winkleman

This is just Claudia musing on various topics. I did like it, but I don’t feel I know her any better after reading it.

289. Friends Forever: The One About The Episodes

This came out last year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Friends starting. This had a summary of some of the favourite episodes plus bits of backstage gossip, filming secrets etc. I would have preferred if it had covered every episode but this is still a good read for a Friends fan.

290. The House Mate by Nina Manning

Terrible kindle unlimited nonsense about a woman who becomes obsessed with a cleaning instagrammer and inexplicably decides to track down one of her trolls. The ending was just ridiculous.

291. The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

Written in Victorian times, an old curmudgeon decides to hire some children to cheer the house up for Christmas time (as you do). Unbeknownst to him the hired children are his estranged grandchildren and I’m sure you can guess where this goes. In the vein of A Christmas Carol. I did like this.

292. Practically Perfect: Life Lessons from Mary Poppins by Katy Brand

The comedian looks at the lessons that can be learnt from Mary Poppins (the books are mentioned but it’s mainly about the film). I’m not sure I agree with all her conclusions (e.g. the bit comparing Mary Poppins to John Wayne) but it’s a fun read and nostalgic to look back over the film.

I’ll probably manage one more this year but that will probably be it as I’m working for the next three days plus I have to read my chapters for the OMF readalong.

110. Artificial Condition Martha Wells The sequel to Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red - short but sweet novella following Murderbot as it tries to find out more about its past.

I reckon that'll be it now for me for the year, haven't got anything else ongoing & not quite sure what I'm going to start next but probably something longer.

In total of my 110 books:
60 were by women, 49 by men.

50 were non-fiction, 60 fiction
I read 27 as physical books, with 15 audiobooks & the rest kindle / e-library.

This years starred reads for me:

Adrian Tchaikovsky: Cage of Souls
Susan Coolidge: Clover
Richard Davies: Extreme Economies
Taylor Jenkins Reid: Daisy Jones and the Six
Annalee Newitz: Autonomous
Elton John: Me
BS Johnson: Christy Malry's Own Double entry
Melanie Reid: The World I Fell Out Of
Mark E Thomas: 99% Mass Impoverishment
Katharine Addison: The Goblin Emperor
Kerry Daines: The Dark Side of the Mind
Gretchen Rubin: Happier at Home
Diana Wynne Jones: Howls Moving Castle
Kevin Barry: Night Boat to Tangiers
Mervyn King & John Kay: Radical Uncertainty
Hallie Rubenhold: The Five
Robert Kolker: Hidden Valley Road
Nathan Filer: The Heartland
Janice Hadlow: The Other Bennet Sister
Christopher Wylie: Mindfck*
Byron Rogers: The Man Who Went Into the West
Kerry Hudson: Tony Hogan bought me an icecream float before he stole my ma
Kristin Kimball: Good Husbandry
Christie Watson: The Language of Kindness
Neal Stephenson: Anathem
Marc: Uwe Kling: Qualityland*
George Ewart Evans: Ask The Fellows Who Cut the Hay
Jill Lepore: If Then
Anne Glenconner: Lady in Waiting
Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Helen Oyeyemi: Gingerbread
Jeanette Winterson: Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal
Lemn Sissay: My Name is Why
Naomi Novik: A Deadly Education

@ChessieFL I read the Frances Evesham books on my Kindle Unlimited trial and had much the same opinion... pleasant enough (for murder mysteries ) but not the most riveting of reads!

to anyone who's having a tough time, Christmas can be hard work and after the year we've had so far, especially so in 2020! We are in tier 4, both DC have chicken pox and I've just developed an eye infection, but things could be worse...

162. Stuart Turton - The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

My goodness, this turned into a slog. I thought I'd really enjoy it but could easily have lost 100 pages and enjoyed it a lot more

Murder mystery written in the first person by a man who changes between characters in the same scenario trying to prevent a murder so he can leave. Who will he be next? Will he prevent/ solve the murder? Will he finally leave?! I can't say I cared very much at the end (and didn't think it tied up all the loose ends, although my brain may have been numbed by that point!) but it was reasonably interesting but a lot of editing would definitely have helped

163. Jodi Taylor - The Ordeal of the Haunted Room

Short story in the St Mary's series. About 1/5 of the length of Evelyn and probably 5x as interesting. What I needed really for my overtaxed brain!

164. Lucy Foley - The Guest List

Another 'locked room' type of mystery - a wedding guest is killed during an upmarket wedding on a remote island - whodunnit? I enjoyed the set up more than the actual crime/ solution, which piled coincidence on coincidence but at least it rattled along at a fair pace.

I fell off this thread way back in the year but I've been reading it again over the last few weeks. Just thought I'd pop on to post my list. I didnt think id even reach 50 so I'm really pleased with my total.

1. Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers: Mary Roach
2. Circe: Madeline Miller

3. The Girl with all the Gifts: M. R. Carey

1. Odd Girl Out: Laura James
2. Their Skeletons Speak: Sally M Walker and Douglas W Owsley
3. The Royal Art of Poison: Eleanor Herman
4. The Boy on the Bridge: M R Carey
5. Rivers of London: Ben Aaronovitch

9. The Handmaid's Tale: Margaret Atwood 10. The Vagina Bible: Dr Jen Gunter 11. Hormonal: Eleanor Morgan 12. Bosh! How To Live Vegan: Henry Firth and Ian Theasby 13. Ready Player One: Ernest Cline 14. I Am Legend: Richard Matheson 15. Oryx and Crake: Margaret Atwood 16. Women and Girls with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Sarah Hendrickx 17. The Year of the Flood: Margaret Atwood 18. The Hot Zone: Richard Preston 19. MaddAddam: Margaret Atwood 20. Station Eleven: Emily St John Mandel 21. The Extinction Trials: S. M. Wilson 22. The Extinction Trials Exile: S. M. Wilson 23. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: Gail Honeyman 24. The Extinction Trials Rebel: S. M. Wilson 25. A Discovery of Witches: Deborah Harkness 26. The Testaments: Margaret Atwood 27. Shadow of Night: Deborah Harkness 28. The Tyrannosaur Chronicles: David Hone 29. World War Z: Max Brooks 30. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes: Suzanne Collins 31. Five Hundred Miles from You: Jenny Colgan 32. The Book of Life: Deborah Harkness 33. The Passage: Justin Cronin 34. The End of the World Running Club: Adrian J Walker 35. The Twelve: Justin Cronin 36. Liar: Lesley Pearse 37. The City of Mirrors: Justin Cronin 38. A Game of Thrones: George R R Martin 39. The Rough Guide to the Titanic: Greg Ward 40. A Clash of Kings: George R R Martin 41. Midnight Sun: Stephanie Meyer 42. A Storm of Swords 1 Steel and Snow: George R R Martin 43. End Times: Bryan Walsh 44. A Storm of Swords 2 Blood and Gold: George R R Martin 45. A Natural History of Dragons: Marie Brennan 46. The Tropic of Serpents: Marie Brennan 47. My Autistic Fight Song: Rosie Weldon 48. Voyage of the Basilisk: Marie Brennan 49. In the Labyrinth of Drakes: Marie Brennan 50. Within the Sanctuary of Wings: Marie Brennan 51. Turning Darkness into Light: Marie Brennan 52. Christmas A Biography: Judith Flanders 53. Time's Convert: Deborah Harkness 54. Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe: Jenny Colgan 55. Christmas at the Cupcake Cafe: Jenny Colgan 56. Aspergers Syndrome: Tony Attwood 57. The Summer Seaside Kitchen: Jenny Colgan 58. The Endless Beach: Jenny Colgan 59. An Island Christmas: Jenny Colgan 60. Christmas at the Island Hotel: Jenny Colgan 61. How To Go Plastic Free: Caroline Jones 62. Period: Emma Barnett 63. How To Go Waste Free: Caroline Jones 64. Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery: Jenny Colgan 65. There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather: Linda Akeson McGurk 66. Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery: Jenny Colgan 67. Last Child in the Woods: Richard Louv 68. Last Christmas: Julia Williams 69. Balanced and Barefoot: Angela Hascom 70. A Merry Little Christmas: Julia Williams 71. The Midnight Library: Matt Haig 72. Postscript: Cecelia Ahern 73. Coming Home for Christmas: Julia Williams 74. Ready Player Two: Ernest Cline 75. The Night before Christmas: Scarlett Bailey 76. Married by Christmas: Scarlets Bailey 77. The Xmas Factor: Annie Sanders 78. Breakdown: Tatton Spiller 79. Spillover: David Quammen 80. Why Dinosaurs Matter: Kenneth Lacovara

Agree re Frances Evesham Clara, I’m only reading them because they’re set near where I live and I like spotting the local references! On that note:

293. Murder At The Castle by Frances Evesham

This one was set at Dunster Castle which I know well, so I did quite like this one.

Can I join this thread? I’m very excited by it! I set up a new MN account just to join. I’ve decided that in 2021, I’m going to hang out in the Books’ section of MN instead of the Relationships’ section. Like many others, 2020 was a rough year for me (my marriage ended); so I’m looking forward to a year of therapeutic reading in 2021.

Will there be a 50 Book Challenge for 2021? If so, count me in! 📚

Cheers.

Hi reading! I am 100% confident there will be a 2021 thread and we’d like to have you there. Sorry about your marriage - been there, done that. The quality and quantity of my reading improved markedly once I wasn’t having to babysit a massive man child all the time, so there is that! What do you like to read?