50 Book Challenge 2021 Part One

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first 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, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

Who's in for this year?

I have Wintering on the Kindle and it sounds exactly like what Merry Midwinter isn't!
Thanks for the review. Once I've got over MM I'll go for it!

Satsuki I did indeed listen to the Christmas edition of Backlisted with my hot nature writing crush talking about The Dark is Rising. It did not disappoint!

Remus I agree, Mountains of the Mind is brilliant so far. I love a good mountain book.

Terpsichore I thought East West Street was a terrific book, both personal and universal; again, a gripping and harrowing read. His background on the laws invoked at the Nuremberg Trials was also fascinating. I haven't read The Ratline yet but it's on my TBR pile.

Mackarella I'm glad you're not labouring through book mountains as per the link but at the same time I find it heartwarming that there is availability in accessible formats. How old is your son? What sort of books does he enjoy?

I'm hoping to finish Ducks today and I'm making good headway with Three Hours. I've also remembered I need to read the bookclub choice soon which I really don't fancy.

Finished Names For The Sea yesterday. It held my interest to the end and I enjoyed her interviews with the ‘Hidden People’ and knitting expert.

Number 2 is The Wild Silence

I have Wintering on my pile too.

1. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny - this is the third book in the Inspector Gamache series. They are cosy mysteries, someone recommended on here and so far they have helped since I finished the Shetland series. Like popping your feet into a pair of old slippers, I find them really enjoyable and will continue to work my way through.

1. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano - a 12 year old boy is the soul survivor of a plane crash. I expected great things from this book, so whilst it was a lovely read, I finished it thinking that there was just something missing. Well worth a read though.

Juniperandrage I've just ordered Wintering using the last of a Christmas voucher as your review made it sound so fantastic, thank you!

I'm impressed that you've made such quick work of Ducks, Fortuna! I was daunted by the prospect of reading it but the favourable reviews on here are making me think it's more approachable than it seems. Are you listening to it - and if do, do you think it works in that format? There's a library audiobook available but I'm a bit worried that I might struggle to concentrate on it if it's all a bit stream-of-consciousy.

DS is 10 and very much enjoys books about magic, adventure, travel and trains. He's currently reading the second Adventures With Trains book, Kidnap on the California Comet, which ticks several of those boxes! I got him The London Eye Mystery for Christmas, which I hope will also hit the right spot (especially as he has Asperger's). He's also been listening to the first Percy Jackson book and to The Danger Gang. Any other suggestions gratefully received, though!

Far too many interesting sounding books on here already! No wonder my tbr pile just keeps growing.

2. Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer. I had very mixed feelings about this book- the writing is often lovely, but in that very self consciously literary way; the observations of family life are often painfully acute, but equally often painfully laboured; the insight into Jewish life was interesting but at times challenging for me as I don't have a lot of background knowledge of Judaism; and the insertion into the very current (iPhone, Google, etc) narrative of an earthquake and war in Israel no doubt made a point or a contrast that I am not clever enough to appreciate. In short, to me it seemed that there was a much better book in there, hidden by the literary wankiness, but maybe I am just too dull a reader to appreciate it!

I've returned both of the Jan Morris ones I got, for the crime of being too wittering. I'm not in the mood for somebody warbling along without either narrative order, or sections defined by time or place. I need some STRUCTURE, goddammit!

Mackerella, I was just wondering whether your DS would be old enough for Railhead by Philip Reeve, which I think would tick a few of his boxes but might be a little bit too old. I went looking to see whether it's available on CD and found this site - I assume you already know about it? www.calibre.org.uk/library.aspx?author=Philip+Reeve

It looks amazing!

remus

This is just to say
I have returned the Jan Morris
That were in the Kindle sale
Forgive me
They were too wittering
And I was not in the mood

I nearly bought these on a Kindle spree but I’m trying to abstain from impetuously buying things I think I should read but know I probably won’t read so feel like I made the right decision. Structure, goddammit!

Mackerella I'm finding Ducks a joy on audio. It's almost poetic in places. It's 45 hours. Increasing the speed took it to 30 and I have about 7 hours left. I didn't get any time this morning as I definitely didn't want to go back to work and stayed in bed rather than doing my 6am dog walk (too icy to be safe). I listened for most of the day on Saturday and a good chunk of Sunday while knitting and I found it mesmerising. It's a brilliant book and an astounding piece of writing. I don't think I'll quite finish tonight after all. I'll be sorry when I'm done.

For your son, I have quite a few Roald Dahl audio CDs that I'd be more than happy to post to you if he'd like them. They were free in one of the papers years ago and are begging for someone to want them. Drop me a PM with your address in if they are any use to him. I'd love to find a home for them.

I might follow your lead Fortuna and do the same 🤔

@SatsukiKusakabe

remus

This is just to say
I have returned the Jan Morris
That were in the Kindle sale
Forgive me
They were too wittering
And I was not in the mood

I nearly bought these on a Kindle spree but I’m trying to abstain from impetuously buying things I think I should read but know I probably won’t read so feel like I made the right decision. Structure, goddammit!

They were neither sweet nor juicy.

I'm in!
First three arrived today. Using Bookshop.org rather than Amazon which I'm boycotting this year. Yeah that's right. I'm gonna make them squeal!
I have no problem finding contemporary fiction and poetry which I'll enjoy but will keep my eyes peeled on this thread for nineteenth century and early twentieth goodies. I used to gorge on stuff like Trollope but haven't had the drive to go for similar stuff for decades now.

Hive is a good alternative to Amazon also

www.hive.co.uk/

Welcome to the new 50 bookers who have joined in the last day or two, hope you love it here as much as I do!

I've been avoiding Amazon too. My latest book orders have been via:

thereadingtree.co.uk
All books £2.50 each, although there is a delivery charge on orders below £25

Wordery.com
All orders include free delivery

Beesemporium.co.uk
Offer 4 random books for £10 including delivery

Worldofbooks.co.uk
Huge collection of second hand books

Thanks to whoever mentioned Mythos by
Stephen Fry. Really enjoying it.

2. Inventing Ourselves: The Secret Life of the Teenage Brain - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (Audible)

A neuroscientist explores the structural changes in the brain that underlie typical teenage foibles such as risk-taking and susceptibility to peer pressure. It was interesting to learn that adolescence is not just a social construct but is a 'real' scientifically measurable life stage in which the brain works differently from the brains of both children and adults. Teenagers weren't invented in the 1950s, and in fact this stage reaches far back into our evolutionary history: adolescent rats will take more risks and show more novelty-seeking behaviour than older ones.

Blakemore was strong in showing how limited our understanding of the brain still is, and explaining that correlation is not causation (e.g. teenagers with alcohol problems have different brains from their teetotal peers, but have their brains changed because of the alcohol, or did they take up drinking because they had a different brain set-up to start with?). However, this was pretty dry and not the entertaining type of popular science book, and also the detail of the brain scanning studies sometimes numbed my own brain - possibly this would have been better in print than on audio. Also, it's definitely not a parenting guide and doesn't have a lot to say on how we should apply the scientific findings to our interactions with teenagers, but that was ok for me as DD is only four!

Pleased to say that I haven’t ordered a paper book from Amazon since March. Kindle is an issue but I’m slowly moving over to library issued books on Libby. I don’t like reading on my phone so may invest a cheap Kobo or similar.
Hive is great and so is Wordery. Also click and collect from the local bookshop.

2. Exit Strategy: the Murderbot Diaries 4 - Martha Wells
and 3. Network Effect: a Murderbot Novel - Martha Wells

Murderbot is a cyborg security unit, who hacked his ‘governor module’ to give himself free will, and ran away from the company that treated him like equipment. As a killing machine he’s almost invincible (and has far more neural/processing capacity than humans), but he’s touchingly vulnerable in his attempts to understand his emotions and interact with humans as a person. His cynicism about human behaviour and love of soapy TV dramas are comically endearing.

In the fourth novella, the plot begun in the first is (more or less) concluded; I felt there was a bit too much action at the expense of character. The novel is much more satisfying, as Wells has the space to develop Murderbot’s relationships with others; in fact, despite the gripping action sequences, she doesn’t seem very interested in wrapping up the loose ends.

The main criticism of the series I have is how expensive it is, in any format, given that the first four books are only novellas. And you have to skim read a bit over all the references to ‘feeds’, scans, drones, hacking of security systems etc.

1. From The Shadows by Lisa Hartley

Number 2 is going to be Scott Mariani and his first novel in the Ben Hope series, called The Alchemist's Secret, which I think was recommended on last year's thread.

Mackerella has DS done the Cressida Cowell books? David Tennant's audible reading is genius. There are 12 How To Train Your Dragon ones and 3 (so far) in the Wizards of Once series, with a fourth coming on audible in May. Both series have a healthy dose of magic and humour. My two (aged 11 and 8) have loved them (and Dh & I are quite fond too).