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?

Athos - The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs is great, it's one of those rare non-fiction page-turners that is as readable and draws you in as much as a novel. It's also perfectly pitched for intelligent non-scientists who maybe haven't read about dinosaurs since they were seven or so.

I'm a Margaret Atwood fan generally and have liked everything of hers I've read, with the exception of The Testaments which just felt like a bog-standard non-event. My favourite might be a lesser known one called The Robber Bride, about a group of women and their 'friend' who repeatedly steals their boyfriends/husbands.

A Place Called Winter was 3/5 for me, the main character was a bit of a nonentity and it tried to cram in too many issues with the asylum and native shaman bits.

To declare my other allegiances S11 is shite, I like Hilary Mantel and my favourite is Beyond Black, and I'm currently too scared to come within 20 nautical miles of TTOD. I also controversially like The Crimson Petal and the White and The Master and Margarita - just thought I'd throw that in.

12. The Big Six by Arthur Ransome

I started listening to this on Audible last year and finally finished today. This is one of my preferred ones of the Swallows and Amazons series, mainly because they did an adaptation of this and the other Norfolk Broads book, Coot Club, when I was a child which I loved. This doesn’t actually feature the Swallows or the Amazons, but it does feature The D’s (Dick and Dot) and the friends they made in Coot Club. Some of the boys are accused of setting boats lose, so they turn detective to find out who is really doing it. It’s a bit too long, but still good fun. Trying to decide now whether my next Audible will be the next Ransome or whether to try something else before going back to Ransome (I’m working my way through all 12 Swallows and Amazons books).

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

OnceUpon - I was joking (I think).

I’m too scared to risk it

Ok, books since NY (I’ve been on holiday or isolating for most of it)

1. Elizabeth George A Great Deliverance re read as I always enjoy this series and the balance of characters.

2. Elizabeth George A Suitable Vengence

3. Elizabeth George For the Sake of Elena

4. Elizabeth George Missing Joseph

5. Elizabeth George In the Presence of the Enemy

I know they’re totally out of order, but this series always drags me into it, and finding the next one in the giant pile would take forever, so I bounce about 😳

6. Prescription for Murder Harold Shipman biography. Another re read, fascinating case but find the handling a little off putting as it doesn’t proceed chronologically.

7. Summer of Night Dan Simmons very similar to It in the initial setup, group of young kids aware of something sinister in the town etc. I always get drawn in to his writing though, especially in his earlier books, which keeps me going even though I’ve read it before.

8. Elizabeth George again, A Traitor to Memory this time. I’m sure you all know the plot, violin virtuoso loses his musical memory and needs to delve into his past, but comes up against some surprising blanks. The timescale always manages to catch me out, so finished it then started again... (not counting it a second time, that would just be greedy )

Next one appears to be yet another EG, In Pursuit of the Proper Sinner this time... I’m sure I’ve read this but can’t remember it off hand.

Waiting for Turn of the Screw to arrive after that, thanks for the recommendations!

@LadybirdDaphne likewise a Margaret Atwood fan, especially her short stories. Never read The Handmaids Tale, not seen it... would you recommend?

I have Beyond Black somewhere in the tbr piles, hmmm, might go hunting if they don’t collapse on me, thanks.

1. Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

This was a gripping pageturner of a read. I read Sister by the same author a few years ago and wasn't blown away so I wouldn't have bothered with this if a friend hadn't insistently pressed it on me. It's miles better.

The story involves a siege/attack on a rural school. The descriptions of the setting are very well done and I could vividly picture the events unfolding. The characterisation of individual staff and pupils is excellent, and it's an involving thriller, perfect for passing a grey wintry afternoon by the fire.

3. Dark Matter - a ghost story by Michelle Paver. Gripping, given I've read it over two evenings! Really good but the ending was a bit 'Wait - what?!' for five stars. Feel like I need to go back over it to fully comprehend how it came to a head. It was very, sort of, quick, and so lost some of its clarity. I mean the end of The Woman in Black was quick, but it was obvious so it properly shocked me. Because this was quick and sort of inferred, rather than clearly stated, the shock element got muddied. I may be too stupid for the nuances though.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I know what you mean about supposed to like Atwood. I have a load of them on my shelf unread which is why I made it a New Years resolution to read them...as I felt she’s one of those authors everyone loves and I should like. Glad I’m not the only one who struggled with Alias Grace. Might leave it a bit before trying another 😊

Thank you @Boiledeggandtoast @RazorstormUnicorn and @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie for the climbing book recommendations. I can't wait to get started. They sound great. Happy reading days to come for me

@InTheCludgie

I need a bit of help fellow 50-bookers. I've just finished reading a book which had a bit of a depressing ending and was ready to start on Patrick Gale's A Place Called Winter but understand this book isn't the most uplifting of subject matter either so think I will give it a miss. Got killer PMT at the moment, which makes me feel overly emotional, so just don't feel up for another depressing read just now!

I have several unread books, mix of library and Kindle so will pick one of these, am hoping someone can recommend one that isn't too hard-going emotionally:

Paul Torbay - Girl on the Landing
Elizabeth Strout - Olive Kitteridge
Sally Magnusson - The Sealwoman's Gift
Philip Pullman - La Belle Sauvage
Rosamund Lupton - Three Hours
Ragnar Jonasson - Snow Blind

Doesn't need to be an 'uplifting' choice as such, but definitely not full of despair! Thanks

The only one of those I’ve read is La Belle Sauvage, and I loved it. It’s aimed at children so not too hard going, but still very enjoyable and well written.

11. Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

This is my third Waugh after Brideshead Revisited and A Handful Of Dust

At some point in the late 20's Waugh befriended The Mitford Sisters. This book is dedicated to Diana and her first husband Bryan and A Handful Of Dust (one of the strangest endings in literature) is said to be based on their divorce.

Bryan and Diana were part of the social set known as the 'Bright Young Things' and this novel is a "comic social satire" of this set.

I have no doubt it was "scandalous" and "a very big deal in its day" but its very much "of its time" eg a character called Fanny Throbbing.

Shallow and superficial. Tedious. Would venture to say its only still in print because Waugh's overall works are regarded significantly.

💩

Doing my best not to fall behind this year!

Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers
Not sure if this was a recommendation or not. Enjoyable enough but not a stand out read. Not sure it was that credible.

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare
Ooft! Could hardly put this book down. It’s the kind of book where you get so invested in the character you are willing a great outcome. So well-written. Emotionally wrung out by the time I finished.

Limitless by Tim Peake
A bit blokey but interesting story of how a seemingly ordinary chap got into space. Good enough.

Now reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters which has been on my TBR list for a while. Totally absorbing- I actually yelled out at one point I was so taken by surprise at a plot twist!

I really like Vile Bodies. Being shallow and superficial is exactly its point, I think.

Not a patch on the gloriously unsettling A Handful of Dust, of course.

@Mumtotwofurbabies re La Belle Sauvage "aimed at children" but has a rapey bit. I'm a bit divided about Philip Pullman's new series and it's appropriateness. Dd1 is in Y6 (11 just) and has finished His Dark Materials and is quite keen to move to the Book of Dust series. I think she'd probably be ok with La Belle Sauvage but wouldn't necessarily say it's aimed at children, and think she'd just find the Secret Commonwealth a bit long and depressing!

I struggled with La Belle. I just couldn't work out who he thought his target audience was.

OnceUpon - yes would definitely recommend Handmaid's Tale. Yes, it's dark, grim and violent, but it's an 'important' novel because it's largely based on real injustices which have inflicted on women in one culture / period of history or another. Also, it's such a massive influence on subsequent 'feminist' dystopian writing. And I like the way that despite the subject matter, it's still laced through with Atwood's trademark dark wit and humour.

1. Passing by Nella Larsen

Reviewed by a few people on last years threads, this follows Irene Redfield, a doctor's wife living in Harlem in the 1920s. She bumps into a childhood friend after many years, & discovers that Claire, the friend, is 'passing' as white, and married to a man who hates black people. Interesting, though quite short & doesn't really develop it's themes very far.

Olly, that's exactly how I felt reading Fingersmith, it totally took me by surprise!

OllyBJolly the twist in Fingersmith is wonderful, I didn't see it coming at all. Think it's my favourite of hers. Although interestingly I now mix the twist up with a similar plotline in a Wilkie Collins .

I do like Margaret Atwood, although the dystopic novels less so. Alias Grace is actually my favourite, I liked the open ending. Also loved The Robber Bride and Cats Eyes but hated The Edible Woman.

Olly that's just answered my question of which SW to read next. It was between that and Fingersmith.

I'm in a reading funk already this year. I had a clear 50 book plan last year, but decided to go with the flow this time. Can't decide what to start and I'm bored of looking at the same books.

1. The Giver of Stars - Jojo Moyes

A packhorse library is set up in rural Kentucky after the Depression. Most locals are sceptical about it so a band of misfit women are the only ones who can be persuaded to run it. Local officials and businessmen feel that allowing women access to reading materials is giving them ideas and all hell breaks loose when it's discovered they've been lending out Marie Stopes.

This is a lovely book about the triumph of female friendship and gives a good overview of the attitudes towards women at the time. The plot moves quickly, the characters are likeable, but the quality of the writing means it's nothing more than a bit of mindless entertainment. Nothing wrong with that, but I usually look for a little more from what I read. This was a book club choice that I wouldn't have touched with a bargepole otherwise, but it was good for what it was.

1. Honeymoon in Tehran - Azadeh Moaveni

A memoir of her return to Tehran to cover the 2005 election and the 2 years she spent there. She was a correspondent for Time magazine and found living under a constantly changing and inconsistent Iranian regime difficult after growing up in California. She does however meet and marry an Iranian/German dual national and finds the process of getting married fraught with red tape and problems. She is uniquely placed to give a fascinating insight into modern Iranian life and she looks at politics and society under a completely contradictory government/ religious regime which are often at odds with one another. The writing is excellent and it's really interesting. I particularly enjoyed this after recently Reading Lolita in Tehran as you can see what has and hasn't changed as time has gone on and the effect this has had on women's lives.

I meant between Fingersmith and The Little Stranger

Time for bed said Zebedee!

I read Fingersmith in one sitting, on til about 3am.

It's amazing and having now read all, head and shoulders above her others.

12. Tangerine by Christine Mangan

Alice has gone to live in Tangier, with her husband John. From nowhere, her former best friend from college arrives, but their relationship is not what it seems.

I was dreading this because it was taking a kicking on the thread around the time I joined. It was Not as bad as I was fearing in terms of it being quite undemanding as a read; HOWEVER it's just so fucking far fetched and implausible. No one surely could be as much of a drip as Alice?!

Night One : "John, I have no idea, I think she's a bit unstable, this is what happened in college, ask her to leave in the morning would you? I don't want to see her. Fuck, how awkward is this?! What a nightmare.

The. Fucking. End.

As if this story could be plausible.

That's the problem.

I'd love to join please, also a newbie.
I read far to many saucy books last year 😉 but I prefer them to also have a decent story and/or part thriller..
Befor that a lot of true stories..also brilliant but can also become a little to much sadnesses,
I also love a good belly laugh..so I've decided a few more of thoes after the past year..is the way to go..any recommendations greatly appreciated..(I'm also a kindle unlimited member)
This is no good when your favourite authors books are still a fiver each 😭🤦 lol.

@Stokey I agree with you about the Book of Dust series. I loved La Belle Sauvage & was gripped, but it's definitely darker. I thought it was The Secret Commonwealth that had the sexual assault but yes I remember now - it's the bit in the greenhouse. SC definitely had strong swearing, although that's probably de rigueur by Y6. I agree they're probably better for older children.

I'm going to write two does that count? By the way huge recommend. 'Eleanor Oliphant is just fine' Beautifully written. Heartwarming.