50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 and the second one here.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

A good start to the year for me with more books in January than several months in 2020!

1. Journals - Keith Vaughan

Been on my TBR list after being mentioned in Derek Jarman's Modern Nature which I loved. This covers from 1939 to his death by suicide in 1977 and is very much a book of two halves. The early years from his time as a Conscientious Objector during WW2 and beginning of his painting career are full of vitality with scenes and people beautifully described with his painter's eye for lighting, details, the beauty of the human form and the relationships between people. As you get to the latter decades sadly there is a steep decline as despite commercial success he becomes more isolated, less fulfilled and the sexual encounters take on a more sordid, sorry air. The end of the journal lacks the warmth and humour that Jarman's had even when he knew he was dying, but is an unflinching view of a self trapped in a loneliness of his own making.

Thank you southeast!

1. Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans
2. Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
3. A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell (A Dance to the Music of Time: Spring: 1)
4. The Land of Maybe by Tim Ecott
5. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
6. Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves (Shetland #7)

A good reading year so far, with no regrets about anything I've picked up. Found plenty to enjoy even in the one I somewhat slated.

Currently reading The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor. Should finish it in the next couple of days, despite it being a bit of a plod at times.

Thanks for the new thread southeast.

Just in case anyone is feeling like an inadequate 50-booker, here's my list:

1. Feel better in 5 - Dr Chatterjee

You're welcome

Work has been out of control during January. Sincerely hoping I'll have more reading time in February. Have been keeping up with the thread nonetheless.

I've been thinking about books and 16 year olds as I have one myself (a 16 year old, not a book!) as I'm giving him my old Kindle. I'm deleting stuff I know he won't want to read but other than that he's got free choice what he reads, I had the same myself at a much younger age because my parents kept their book shelves outside my bedroom.

They only censored one book which was one I found at a camp site we stayed at one year when I was 17, it'd been left in the communal lounge area. 35 years later I still remember the censored book (it really wasn't appropriate reading but didn't do me any harm) but I can't remember many of the ones of their books that I read and I doubt I'd have remembered the censored one if my Dad hadn't made a fuss about it, I'd probably have decided the sex scenes were boring.

Joining the new thread 🙂

Not making huge inroads to the target as am about a third of the way through

*A promised land - Barack Obama
*
As my second book. Enjoying it so far and hope to make up lost ground with a few short light reads soon.

Finished The Shift by Sam Baker
I bought this because I've always liked her, and I thought it was a book about coping with the menopause and coming out the other side. Well, it sort of is but it's mostly about Sam Baker. And there's only so many times you can read, "I still wear DMs" or, 'Fuck the patriarchy' before it all gets boring. Disappointing. Gave me nothing of use, and made me feel more miserable and angry than I actually am with it all.

Thanks for the new thread, south. Not sure what I'd do without this little corner of the internet, quite frankly. My list so far:

1: The Dead of Winter - Nicola Upson
2: The Ratline - Philippe Sands
3: The Truants - Kate Weinberg
4: London Fog: The Biography - Christine L. Corton
5: Under the Rainbow - Susan Scarlett
6: The Haunting of Alma Fielding - Kate Summerscale
7: Box 88 - Charles Cumming
8: Periodic Tales: The Curious Lives of the Elements - Hugh Aldersey-Williams
9: Mr Wilder and Me - Jonathan Coe
10: Stasiland - Anna Funder
11: Civil to Strangers - Barbara Pym
12: Quicksand Tales - Keggie Carew
13: Woman With Birthmark - Håkan Nesser
14: Just My Type - Simon Garfield
15: A Song for the Dark Times - Ian Rankin

I can't remember having had so many bolded reads so early in the year before but let's hope that continues. I'm also really enjoying my policy of one-fiction-book-followed-by-one-non-fiction. The only drawback is that I tend to race through the novels super-quickly and then spend ages on the non-fictions. But maybe that doesn't really matter...

That does sound disappointing Remus. People who say things like "I still wear dms" annoy me anyway, because, who cares? Does it somehow make you cooler than anyone else?

12. Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. Another book I had reserved before Christmas because I wanted something cheery but had to wait till January. Then I nearly didn't finish it because right near the beginning an ex boyfriend turns up and I thought all the cheerful charm might be about to disappear, but fortunately everything stayed lovely- I want my escapism kind! Tbh, these are probaby pretty one note now, but the first was original and funny, and I still enjoy them. Certainly a case of liking the characters making it all enjoyable.

Many thanks for new thread. Here is my list so far:

1. The Midnight Library - Matt Haig

1. The Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
2. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
3. Piranesi - Susannah Clark
4. Witch Bottle - Tom Fletcher
5. The City of Tears - Kate Mosse
6. The Shape of Darkness - Laura Purcell

Far and away the stand out of those was Piranesi, such an interesting and original work.

I also really like The City of Tears, which is a great escape from grim reality. I wonder if there will be an increase in people reading historical fiction.

Thanks for the new thread southeast - posted this by accident on the old thread . Here is my list so far:

1. The Pull of the Stars – Emma Donoghue
2. Half A World Away – Mike Gayle
3. Pine – Francine Toon
4. In A Dark Dark Wood – Ruth Ware
5. Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
6. The Girl on the Landing – Paul Torday
7. The Midnight Library – Matt Haig
8. The Silent Scream – Diane Hoh

I’ve almost finished The Thursday Murder Club on audio and reading The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. The first is an easy enough entertaining read, not sure if it’s worthy of the hype though. The second though, is much better in my opinion. This is by the same author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle which I also enjoyed (but finding his new one vastly superior).

It’s set in the 17th century on a trading vessel sailing from Batavia to Amsterdam. Before boarding, the passengers are given a warning by a leper that a demon is out to get them and while most don’t believe the warning, two of the passengers are a famous detective, Sammy Pipps, and his sidekick, Arent Hayes, who has past experience with demons. Things start happening on the ship after the journey begins that starts to change people’s minds about the presence of a demon and it’s up to Sammy and Arent to find out what’s going on.

I know we’re all of one month into 2021 but this is my stand-out read of the year so far.

I missed the second thread entirely! Which doesn't bode well for getting to 50 books this year...
Read so far:

1. Pine by Francine Toon
2. Secret Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell
3. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

1920s Russian dystopian fiction, forerunner of 1984 among others. Everyone has a number and lives in a glass cube, D-530 falls in love (or lust), probably due to his ancestral hairy hands, and the narrative becomes steadily more jumbled as he loses control over his previously ordered existence.

1. Wintering by Katherine May

I was underwhelmed by this, despite identifying with some of May's issues and loving nature writing, it was too navel-gazey for me, and I felt there could have been more depth to the topics discussed. I also read a review on Goodreads about the place of privilege it was written from and then couldn't forget that! Book 5 is The Overstory by Richard Power, an epic about lives and trees which I'm sure must have been discussed on here. I've just got to the end of the first section 'Roots' and am hoping this is where all the backstories get tied together as although I'm really enjoying it, I've already forgotten who some of them are.

Thank you for the new thread Southeast

@Welshwabbit Brassaville Beach is a great book, I also read Sweet Caress last year which I also really enjoyed.

Tanaqui - I gave up on my DMs, because they were too heavy! I'm not cool at all.

@chessieFL
You might like to try Rachel Cusk's trilogy starting with Outline. There's barely any plot but I found them utterly gripping.

@ForthFitzRoyFaroes
I'm a huge Lissa Evans fan so feel bound to tell you she's now written a sequel to Crooked Heart - V for Victory. There is also a prequel, Old Baggage

Apologies if you know this already!

Thank you for the new thread southeast.

Bringing my list over:

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

1. Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
2. Banker - Dick Francis
3. Old Baggage - Lissa Evans

6. Crooked Heart - Lissa Evans

1. The Guest List - Lucy Foley

8. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters

1. A Symphony of Echoes - Jodi Taylor

10. A Second Chance - Jodi Taylor

And I have just finished The Spy and the Traitor - Ben MacIntyre. This is the true story of a KGB agent and moves between Moscow, London and Copenhagen. Fascinating and I really enjoyed it - very tense at points.

I am ahead of where I usually am at this point in the year but all my books have been pretty short except A Place of Greater Safety (but that was split across December and January).

Eine I hope you are enjoying The Woman in White - I read it for the first time last year and it was one of my favourite reads of the year.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast! I have managed to add two whole books to my count as I am still wading through the brilliant Ducks, Newburyport which I am really enjoying but allowing myself to take breaks from every 25% of the way through or so.

1. The Hollow Ones - Chuck Hogan & Guillermo del Toro

2. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - Elizabeth Taylor

1. The Sisterhood - Penelope Friday
2. The Rules of Seeing - Joe Heap

5. Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow

1. Look at Me - Anita Brookner
2. Tell Me How You Really Feel - Aminah Mae Safi
3. Soon I Will Be Invincible - Austin Grossman
4. The Year of the Witching - Alexis Henderson

10. The Echo Wife - Sarah Gailey 11. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

Thanks for the Cusk recommendation Wednesday, will look those out

Thank you for the new thread .

1. The Woman in the White Kimono - Ana Johns
2. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
3. Intuitive Eating 4th Edition - Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
4. The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
5. The Shipping News - E. Annie Proulx (I'm about halfway through this and really like it)!

Thank you southeast and wow, things are moving fast!

My list:

1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. A Shadow Above, The Fall and Rise of the Raven by Joe Shute
4. Grace under Pressure by Sophie Walker

And number 5 to complete January is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The story of a scientist who finds the method to create life but is then horrified by what he has made. This nameless creature then haunts its creator and they pursue each other in turns through the book. It is set in and around Geneva and the lakes bordering Jura, where it’s clear Shelley knew the mountainous countryside well from her travels. (I’ve also spent time in Jura and enjoyed being reminded of the lakes and spectacular scenery).
The themes covered are immense, from grief, guilt, jealousy, revenge, love and redemption. The ‘monster’ both pitiable and terrible, narrates a large part of the story himself, which I hadn’t expected.

The truly astonishing thing for me, was acknowledging anew that Mary Shelley began writing this at age 18 and published the novel (anonymously) 2 years later in 1818. An absolute feat of genius and truly exceptional talent, even despite the times for a female author.

The language takes a bit of ‘getting your eye in’ but the descriptions and images are wonderful. Recommended as a classic read.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

Here is my list so far:

1. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare

2. The Body by Bill Bryson

3. The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

4. On Chapel Sands by Laura Cumming

5. The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

6. The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

7. Difficult Women- a history of feminism in 11 Fights by Helen Lewis

8. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mantel

9. How the Girl Guides Won the War by Janie Hampton
   As a Guide leader myself, I really enjoyed this. It is pretty much a history of the Girl Guides, not just in the UK but worldwide, with a focus on their role and experiences in WW2.
   There was a good account of the early days just after WW1 and the 1920s under Lord Baden-Powell's sister Agnes.
   Some of this I knew already but there were a lot of accounts and anecdotes I hadn't read before and found it very interesting.
   Some of the accounts of the Polish, Dutch and Channel Islands Guides under Nazi occupation and the Chefoo School Brownies and Guides in the Japanese Internment camps were particularly harrowing, but there were uplifting stories too, making me proud to be part of the Guiding family

I have only given it three stars though, because some parts seems quite disjointed and it didn't flow very well, but it was a worthwhile read.

Sadik how did you find The Story of Wales? I am looking for a decent history of Wales and can't decide between that one and Land of my Fathers or possibly The History of Wales by John Davies

Outline is the only Rachel Cusk book I have read but it sadly did not encourage me to read anything else by her - it felt, to me, as if she was trying too hard to be clever.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

Cludgie I loved The Devil and the Dark Water too. I was hooked straight away.

I can't believe how quickly we are moving this year. I'm finding myself very time poor to years past and also lacking in headspace. I've been going for easier reads as I think anything weighty would go in one ear and out the other. I also don't have a 'reading plan' for this year so I feel a little lost without one.

The list so far

1. Conjure Women – Afia Atakora
2. Prime Suspect – Lynda LaPLante
3. Ducks, Newburyport - Lucy Ellman
4. Three Hours – Rosamund Lupton
5. The Giver of Stars – Jojo Moyes
6. Honeymoon in Tehran – Aazadeh Moaveni
7. The Wife Upstairs – Rachel Hawkins
8. Fingersmith – Sarah Waters
9. The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt

10. Blue Ticket – Sophie Mackintosh 11. Death in Her Hands – Ottessa Moshfegh 12. The Art of Dying – Ambrose Parry 13. The Magician’s Assistant – Ann Patchett 14. Missing, Presumed – Susie Steiner 15. Persons Unknown – Susie Steiner

B1 A13 E1 W14 M0 T1 F14 NF0 M/AB1

11. Death in Her Hands – Ottessa Moshfegh
    An elderly widow living alone in a remote location finds a note in the woods "Her name was Magda. Nobody will ever know who killed her. It wasn’t me. Here is her dead body." Only there was no body. She sets out to discover who Magda was and what happened to her and in doing so becomes obsessed with the case. Her reliability as a narrator comes in to question as her own mental state declines. I have a bit of a love hate relationship with OM. I love her writing but hate her characters. She manages to write about very disagreeable people in a most wonderful way. Her books are some sort of bizarre car crash that I can't stop rubbernecking at.

12. The Art of Dying – Ambrose Parry
    Second in the series of an 1850s Edinburgh doctor solving mysteries in the seedy underbelly of the city. Good compelling reads. AP is the pen name of that Brookmyre bloke you all like and his doctor wife. These are really well done.

13. The Magician’s Assistant – Ann Patchett
    After the death of a magician, his assistant (and cover wife for his real relationship) becomes caught up in his family who she thought were dead. They develop a relationship as they unpick his early life and the reasons he became estranged from his family.
    While this is not the best of her work, AP manages to write a compelling tale that draws you in to family secrets and the unravelling of a life of lies.

14. Missing, Presumed – Susie Steiner

15. Persons Unknown – Susie Steiner
    First and second in a series of police procedurals. I accidentally read the third last year without realising, so it was a bit odd to go backwards. These very heavily feature the private life of the detective and her musings on life, love and relationships. The second was probably the weakest of the three, but they are incredibly well done. Fans of Ruth Galloway would also like these and I know they are already popular with a few others in the group. Well worth a read if you like this sort of thing and a better choice than punishing yourself with more Serailler.

Interesting to hear the divided views on Outline as am about to read it for book club. At first glance it doesn't sound like my kind of book, I do like a plot, but will give it a go.

@bettbattenburg your post about age inappropriate reading made me think of an article in today's Guardian about what I learnt from trashy books.

I also remember reading all the Virginia Andrews, Jilly Cooper's & Shirley Conran books as a young teenager.

I've been looking for books for Dd1 who's 11, as she's on the cusp of YA but some of them are less appropriate than others.

RavenclawesomeCrone it did the job well enough but was a bit pedestrian. I'd have gone for Land of My Fathers except that it was to share with my Dad who can only read on Kindle. (Also, it was 99p so figured little lost!)
Sticking with the Welsh theme, I'm currently reading The Prince's Pen by Horatio Clare, which is a one of a series of novellas retelling stories from the Mabinogion, and it's excellent.

@Terpsichore I feel we may have very similar non-fiction tastes. I snapped up both the ratline and stasiland when they were on the 99p kindle daily deal list. I find I want to read either all fiction or all non-fiction so great to see they have such good reviews for when I finally get to them.

Have you come across the radio 4 podcast that goes with the ratline? It was excellent and where I first came across the story.