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.

My pet hate for the last 5 years trends have been :

The Occupation Of Location

The Female Relative of A Man with An Occupation

I will never read you

Off you fuck

Yes! My bugbear is thrillers called All The Something Somethings, which are weirdly twee titles for books about serial killers.

Yay, Pepe, so glad you're enjoying Acts and Omissions.. The author is a vicar's wife as well as an academic in her own right, so she knows whereof she speaks.

Remus Americanisms aside, one thing that did strike me about Dracul was the way Matilda joined them on their vampire hunt - one minute, the Stokers are having a conversation at a family dinner and Matilda’s parents are aghast at the impropriety of a male student joining her art class’s trip abroad.
And the next thing we know, Matilda has run off with Bram on a vampire hunt across Dublin, England and the continent, with not even a thought about what her parents will say about her vanishing for goodness knows how long
I know she’s 22 or so at the time, but given it’s set in the 1860’s, I was a bit surprised that no one felt the need to keep up appearances by making up some sort of excuse about Matilda helping her brother with his invalid wife or whatever.

What makes the red mist descend for me is ‘The Little Old Man Who....’

And/or

‘The Cosy Little Cafe/Library/Cinema/Electricity Sub-Station by the Sea/Lake/Reservoir/Puddle’ [supply own descriptor of choice, the more cringe-making the better]

@StitchesInTime

Remus Americanisms aside, one thing that did strike me about Dracul was the way Matilda joined them on their vampire hunt - one minute, the Stokers are having a conversation at a family dinner and Matilda’s parents are aghast at the impropriety of a male student joining her art class’s trip abroad. And the next thing we know, Matilda has run off with Bram on a vampire hunt across Dublin, England and the continent, with not even a thought about what her parents will say about her vanishing for goodness knows how long I know she’s 22 or so at the time, but given it’s set in the 1860’s, I was a bit surprised that no one felt the need to keep up appearances by making up some sort of excuse about Matilda helping her brother with his invalid wife or whatever.

I was going to say something very cutting about the lack of skill/thought of the writer, but that would be mean so my lips are (for once) sealed. I can't remember any details, just how bad I thought it was.

‘The Cosy Little Cafe/Library/Cinema/Electricity Sub-Station by the Sea/Lake/Reservoir/Puddle’ [supply own descriptor of choice, the more cringe-making the better]

Actually I quite like the side of The Cosy electricity sub-station by the puddle. Perhaps just move it to in the puddle and the sales will be electrifying.

^sound.

Boom boom finisterre!

Thanks for the new(ish) thread southeast and sorry to have fallen off! This was my list from the previous thread:

1. Why Mummy’s Sloshed- Gill Sims
2. Hungry- Grace Dent
3. Ballet Shoes- Noel Streatfeild
4. Notes on a Scandal- Zoë Heller
5. Stephen Fry in America- Stephen Fry

I haven’t been reading as much as usual, because work has been ridiculously busy due to the current lockdown and I’ve been struggling somewhat. But I've managed these:

6. Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger- Nigel Slater I’m not familiar with Nigel Slater’s work (I’m not a keen cook or a foodie), but I saw this in one of the Kindle Deals and thought it would make an interesting companion piece to Hungry by Grace Dent which I reviewed recently. Like that of Grace Dent, his life has had some difficulties and tragedy. Both of his parents died before he left home, and he had a very difficult relationship with his stepmother (in an interview, he later said that he regretted ‘oversharing’ about this). The sections about food are charming and, surprisingly, there are quite a few raunchy parts!

7. Kind Words for Unkind Days- Jayne Hardy This is a new book from the Blurt Foundation, whose website about depression and anxiety I really value. But this is poorly written and only contains a few helpful ideas: a great disappointment.

8. Poverty Safari- Darren McGarvey This has been reviewed many times, so I won’t add much. I found the parts about addiction and racism the most interesting, and I also enjoyed the many references to Glasgow (a place I know a bit). Although McGarvey obviously has a chip on his shoulder, he has the good grace to admit when he has been wrong about something. I plan to read Natives by Akala soon, to compare it.

Oh and Seashell Cafe Bollocks is an automatic FUCK OFF obviously.

finisterre Touché

The Seashell Cafe things to me SCREAMS :

A desperate DIL on the hunt for something that MIGHT suit the MIL with whom things are strained, but actually the DIL has always just tolerated her and never tried to know her.

She has heard MIL is a great reader and it seems to belong to her generation. This will do as a gift...

It goes straight to the charity shop within days of purchase, MIL is reading Jamaica Inn on her well loved Kindle and adds it to the lists of many slights she has against the DIL who always condescends to her. The outrage of it all.

A misfire indeed.

I'm late to the David Mitchell chat, but I am a big fan. I loved The Bone Clocks and snivelled like mad at the end - I hardly ever cry at books. But I have enjoyed all his books.

The Secret Garden is one of my favourite books ever. Having experienced traumatic bereavement (yes, I know, they are all traumatic, but .....) I find it such a comfort. The recovery from trauma, bereavement and loss is so beautifully pitched - sorry, I will not read a cynical or negative word about it.

Anyhoo, adjusts self and:

3. Platform Seven - Louise Doughy

Billed as a thriller which is not really my thing but I lisitened to it on my runs. The central premise of a ghost haunting the railway station did not really work for me. The central section on a controlling and abusive realtionship was well done, but there was a load of nonsense with the ghostly protagonist waxing lyrical about modern shopping habits. It passed the miles is the best I can say for it.

4. The Last Concubine - Lesley Downer

My mum pressed this on me and it is very well researched and brings to life a disappearing world, being set in 19th century Japan when a centuries old way of life was about to abruptly end with the intrusion of the West. I enjoyed the setting and history but the rambling and repetitive romance plot let it down a bit - it was a touch Mills & Boon for me. But an enjoyable enough read.

1. Such a fun age by Kiley Reid

Really wanted to love this but I hated it, I thought it had neither style nor substance. Such a shame. I've not read all the posts so apologies if it's been mentioned, and I'm interested what anyone else thought....

I’m quite fond of Seaside bookshop with cupcakes type books. Well Jenny Colgan anyway. Bit of escapism.

@BestIsWest

I’m quite fond of Seaside bookshop with cupcakes type books. Well Jenny Colgan anyway. Bit of escapism.

They are certainly good for situations when escapism and little deep thought is needed. I do take the mickey out of it but then I take the mickey out of anything when I am stressed - except 50bookers of course.

@HarlanWillYouStopNamingNuts
I might give that humanism book a go. Think I've lapsed lately!

Glad for the reminder of Housekeeping. One of my favourite books ever, not exactly cheerful though.

Okay, so brought over from the first thread:

1. The Foundling - Stacey Halls
2. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
3. Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

Then new finishes to add:

4. The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan Cosy, feel good read. Particularly enjoyed the dual timeline.
5. Scarlet - Marissa Mayer A futuristic re-imagining of Little Red Riding with cyborgs, androids and humans.
6. Picnic at Hanging Rock - Joan Lindsay Atmospheric Australian historical fiction.
7. Our Spoons Came From Woolworths - Barbara Comyns I found this in my TBR pile and decided to read it, as it met a prompt for a reading challenge I am doing. I have no idea where I bought it, or when, but what a little gem! A young and naive Sophie meets and marries Charles and they settle into life in Bohemian 1930s London, but art doesn't pay the bills and Sophie is soon dealing with pregnancy and poverty. I really enjoyed the almost stream of conscious narrative and the fact the story was drawn from Comyns' life experiences. It was a bit bleak in parts, and sections of it reminded me of Wintering - a novel of Sylvia Plath by Kate Moses. Only thing that spoilt it for me, was my version came with an introduction by Maggie O'Farrell which contained lots of spoilers. Why do they do that??

@WednesdayAllTheWay Haha, yes, me too! It's easy to remember what you don't do and sometimes harder to remember the positive side. It's all obvious stuff but it doesn't hurt to have a kick up the bum from David Attenborough.

WednesdayalltheWay I felt the same about Such a Fun age when I read it last year. Couldn't understand what all the praise and fuss was about. The storyline had plotlines like seive.

Aconvivialhost thanks for the review of Our spoon came from Woolworths its been on my wishlist for a while. Need to get through my TBR pile first though.

Just caught up with some of the previous pages.
magimedi I am very sorry about your DH. Sending hugs.

I've read a lot of classical myth reworkings so interested in your thoughts. I loved the Song of Achilles, but Circe was a huge disappointment, as was the Silence of the Girls. I thought both were utter drivel, though I did feel I had to struggle through the latter, as I'd seen her talking about it live!

magimedi I'm sorry, just seen your post.

SapatSea

WednesdayalltheWay I felt the same about Such a Fun age when I read it last year. Couldn't understand what all the praise and fuss was about. The storyline had plotlines like seive.

Exactly! And the characterisation was non existent. How did this get Booker longlisted?

@Misshapencha0s

15% through book no 3 and really not enjoying it. What is the general consensus on here...stick with it or move on to another book?

I always follow my A level English teacher's advice and get 50 pages in before giving up