50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2021, 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. Could everyone embolden their titles and/or authors as well, please, as it makes the books talked about easier to track?

The first thread of the year is here.

Thanks, southeast. That was a fast moving thread! Checking in but I shall not infuriate Remus at this early stage in the year by posting my list...

I do really want the working day to end today, as I'm about three quarters of the way through The World According to Garp and can't wait to get back to reading. It's the sort of good and engrossing read I haven't had in a while. I can't believe I never read it - I went through a John Irving phase in my early twenties but for some reason this passed me by completely, which is like reading all of Jane Austen apart from Pride and Prejudice (or all of William Golding apart from Lord of the Flies), to pick up on the previous thread...

That reminds me...

For anyone new to these threads - and anyone is very welcome to join - it's become a tradition to bring over lists of books read onto the next threads. Some people like it as they like to see what others have read and they can keep a record of what they themselves have read. As inferred above by Pepe, others have different opinions on these lists...

Blimey, that was quick! Thanks, southeast

6: The Haunting of Alma Fielding - Kate Summerscale

Non-fiction time again. This has been on my kindle watch-list for quite a while but it popped up on BorrowBox yesterday evening and I’ve whizzed through it. I ought to preface this by saying I’m not the slightest bit woo and I don’t believe in ghosts but I am weirdly interested in this sort of book so...anyway....

Summerscale explores the strange case of Alma Fielding, an apparently ‘normal’ housewife and mother in her 30s who seemed to become the focus of violent, inexplicable poltergeist activity at her London home in the 1930s. Hungarian-born psychical researcher Nandor Fodor conducted detailed investigations into the phenomena which Alma appeared to be producing, and which seemed to defy rational explanation. I won’t spoil this for anyone wanting to read it but I found this a fascinating book.

Thanks for the new thread southeastdweller

FortunaMajor loved your review of The Wife Upstairs will save my money

Oh, and I haven’t brought over my list (to add to southeast’s post above) purely because it’s still pretty short at the moment!

Thanks for the new thread southeast and the previous one belatedly. I normally post on my phone so find the bringing over of lists rather cumbersome, so am glad to hear it's not de rigeur. That said I will undoubtedly lose track of where I am and what I've read so far!

Bringing over my list as quarantining has got me off to a great start (my deepest apologies to Remus )

1.	Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally
2.	Behind The Scenes At The Museum by Kate Atkinson
3.	Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse by David Mitchell
4.	The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
5.	Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
6.	Dishonesty Is The Second Best Policy by David Mitchell
7.	Annie Dunne by Sebastian Barry
8.	Aquarium by David Vann
9.	The Enchantment Of Lily Dahl by Siri Hustvedt
10.	<strong>La’s Orchestra Saves The World</strong> by Alexander McCall Smith
11.	Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
12.	Tangerine by Christine Mangan
13.	<strong>Five Rivers Met On A Wooded Plain</strong> by Barney Norris
14.	The Inheritors by William Golding

2 for 14 so far....

Thanks for the new thread, southeast!

It wasn't Edinburgh, highlandcoo, but a different university in England. It's good to know that we weren't being uniquely tortured, though

If we're still on about cathedrals, I'd like to put in a good word for Norwich, Ely and Durham as well as the ones already mentioned. I have a soft spot for both Liverpools, especially the stunning glass in the RC one. When I was younger, I sang in the choir of a college chapel that had John Piper stained glass, and it made the otherwise starkly modern building a transcendentally beautiful place to be. I'm not religious, but I can see how it would add to the spiritual experience if you were.

Actually, I've got a book about John Piper's stained glass that I'd love to read again some time. Can we count books here if they're 50% photos?!

Thanks southeast. Is it a record to have got through thread one by 11th January?!

My list:

1. Coronation Everest - Jan Morris
2. Look Again - David Bailey

3. The Little Book of Humanism - Andrew Copson and Alice Roberts
This is a shortish primer on humanism with inspirational quotes from people including David Attenborough, Aneurin Bevan, Confucius and George Eliot. Many of these may not have been humanists or thought of themselves as such, but have insights to contribute to the humanist worldview. A short read which reminded me of the value of continued self-reflection.

4. The Dutch House - Ann Patchett this was okay. The to - ing and fro-ing in the timeline was mildly annoying but seems to be ubiquitus these days. I wasn't sure where it was heading or what it was about initially but I stuck with it and quite enjoyed.

Yay! A new thread. I couldn't see the old one and when I found it I couldn't post on it.

My list so far:

1. Born Lippy: How to do female, Jo Brand.
2. How to be a woman, Caitlin Moran.
3. Love will tear us apart, Holly Seddon.
4. I looked away, Jane Corry.

Born Lippy was funny, laugh out loud in places but horribly judgmental in others which put me off when it was in a chapter talking about #bekind. I expected better. 3/5

How to be a woman. Awful drivel, self centred, attention seeking rubbish. 0/5

Love will tear us apart An easy read about a couple who married at 30 after a childhood pact to marry then if they hadn't married anybody else. A bit good and a bit meh. 3/5

I Looked away Psychological thriller, at least that is how it's billed. It started off good but tailed off towards the end with a rushed ending. 3/5.

Thanks for shiny new thread Southeast :) I've learnt not to try to keep up beyond posting my books until about end february otherwise I don't have time to read

And as usual, I forgot to thank southeast

Thanks South. Enjoying all the reviews so far and going to try my best to keep up with all the threads and not fall off them as I usually do!!

Hello, checking in on the new thread, thank you southeastdweller

I'm enjoying the recommendations and reviews. I will compile my books read for the end of the month.

Thank you for the new thread. I'm halfway through Shuggie Bain. I grew up 5 miles away from Shuggie and passed his scheme often, but lived on a different planet!
I've also just got my copy of Jenni Fagan's new book, Luckenbooth, which I'm really looking forward to starting.

Thank you for the new thread @southeastdweller.
Sorry @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie, I tagged you by mistake- I meant @RavenclawesomeCrone! Fat fingers on the @ button!
Glad to see more Dick Francis fans!

@weebarra

Thank you for the new thread. I'm halfway through Shuggie Bain. I grew up 5 miles away from Shuggie and passed his scheme often, but lived on a different planet! I've also just got my copy of Jenni Fagan's new book, Luckenbooth, which I'm really looking forward to starting.

@weebarra Luckenbooth sounds interesting purely because of the title. I have a Scottish paperweight which I bought there on holiday some 30 years ago which is called Luckenbooth, it's a Scottish romantic love symbol meaning loyalty and love.

Thanks, southeast. It will clearly be a ft job creating new threads, so now may be a good time to hand in your notice at any other places of employment.

Thank you southeast. I won't do a list, as two items do not a list make.

Quick warning about today's daily deals. Do not be seduced by The Silk Roads; it's not very good and doesn't deliver on what it promises to be. However Fingers in the Sparkle Jar is far more worthy of your 99p, a beautifully written idiosyncratic read.

Bold fail - sorry didn't mean to shout about how bad it is!

Thanks for the new thread southeast.

My list is currently very short so think I can get away with posting it:

1. A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel
2. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor

I have just finished Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson. This tells the story of sisters Ruthie and Lucille. It’s set in the US and the sisters have had a dysfunctional upbringing having lived variously with their mother, their grandmother, two maiden great aunts and finally their Aunt Sylvie (who is very eccentric). The story is told from Ruthie’s perspective. A lot of time is spent on describing the fictional town of Fingerbone, the lake on which it sits and the surrounding area. The lake is almost a character in the book because of its significance in the local town and the amount of time the girls spend there. The descriptions of the lake and surrounding area reminded me a little of the writing in Reservoir 13. Most of the story focuses on Aunt Sylvie coming to live with them and the way their life unfolds together. The three of them live on the edge of the town and of society - Aunt Sylvie was homeless/a traveller before coming to care for the girls and has no wish to conform or integrate. This does not bother Ruthie but troubles Lucille. This is beautifully written and I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the lake. Events are sporadic so not one for those who like action-packed books....

Next up Banker by Dick Francis

Thanks for the shiny new thread, Southeast

Yes, the Luckenbooth brooch is a symbol of love but the word luckenbooth in Scots itself is a stall selling them.

Number 2 already! Thanks, South.