50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

Viking I've read two from the Jhalak prize list and would argue I enjoyed those more than the ones. I've read from the WP list.

What's Left of Me is Yours was really interesting.

To my shame I hadn't heard of the Jhalak prize; I'm glad to discover it.

In general I'm a big fan of the Women's Prize, even though some years obviously the choices 'click' with me more than others. This year I've already read 5 on the longlist, which is unusually good for me!

The ones I've read are Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi (just reviewed it on here, didn't love it); Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, Summer by Ali Smith (loved all three of these); and The Golden Rule by Amanda Craig (thoroughly enjoyed it but thought some sections were stronger than others).

I might have a go at reading the whole longlist; I've done this before. Have just been on the local library website and can see which books are the most popular based on how long the reservation queue is . The queues for Luster, The Vanishing Half and No One Is Talking About This are quite long.

Ah, just saw that you're reading the longlist too, Fortuna, brilliant!

I do reserve my sacred right to DNF anything on the list I find too excruciating. Last year that turned out to be Fleischman Is in Trouble. Fleischman's woes made my eyes well and truly glaze over

Thanks for the What's Left of Me rec.

Cassandre It was touch and go to make it last year as Hamnet wasn't out until the last day of March. I like to get my own shortlist in place before they do. I really disagreed with them last year and a lot of dross got through eg A Thousand Ships. I agree Fleishman was a boatload of bilge.

I'd be interested to compare shortlists with you.

I very much enjoyed The Mercies as well. From the WP list I have read

Summer
Luster
Consent
Piranesi
Transcendent Kingdom
The Vanishing Half

I'd rate Luster most highly of those, but haven't massively disliked any. I'm not a huge fan of Ali Smith, but appreciate she can write.

Interesting, Fortuna. I completely agree about A Thousand Ships.

Last year I came away from the longlist with the general impression that people were writing loads of novels in the present tense and that it was Too Much. Hilary Mantel writing in the present tense is one thing but just putting a story into the present tense doesn't make it literature, dammit! Nor does situating a story in the ancient world.

The Mercies looks like the kind of book I would like.

15. The Talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith

This was a DNF from a couple of years ago, and although I finished it this time round it was a bit of a slog even for a short book. I'm not sure why I didn't really click with it - Tom's character is incredibly skilfully written so you feel empathy, pity and revulsion for him all at once. But I thought the plot ran out of energy towards the end and it lacked a satisfactory denouement. Preferred the film I'm afraid!

Sue Black’s Written in Bone is 99p today, well worth a look if you’re interested in anatomy and/or forensics.

19. Laura Lake and the Luxury Press Trip - Wendy Holden
Short novella in the series about the Society (aka Tatler) journalist Laura Lake, passed an hour or so in a mindless and gently amusing fashion. I’ve temporarily reverted to the chick lit authors I liked in my 20s - was craving some escapism (not my normal escapism with vampire fairies or similar ).

I've just seen that the WP shortlist is due to be announced on 28 April. There's no way I will have read the longlist by then -- you're a marvel, Fortuna. I usually make it through the longlist by the time the winner is finally announced in summer

I keep seeing all the kindle deals on here and have decided that, once I've worked through all the books in my 'to read' pile, I'm treating myself to a kindle! So there

9. Dissolution - C J Samson

The first in the Shardlake series. I am a sucker for a crime drama / murder mystery and for historical fiction at the court of Henry VIII. This is set around the time of Thomas Cromwell's rise to power, but it was sadly lacking in glamour for me, as the whole story was based around a monastery in the sticks, not Henry's glamorous, but dangerous court.

I thought the characterisation was great, and the attention to detail too.

But, I found the mystery itself a bit meh. There were a few suspects, many deaths, (a bit 'Midsomer Murders' in that respect), some talk of sex, but no sex scenes, a romance. I found the romantic couple petulant and irksome tbh. But maybe that was deliberate. I liked Shardlake, despite myself. A bit like how you find yourself not hating Cromwell in parts of the Wolf Hall series. It's a bit of a whodunnit, but I have to say, by the end I just thought I didn't especially care whodunnit! I liked the characterisation but I didn't warm to any of the suspects really. A few I liked, but the rest were all similarly sinister tbh, so it didn't feel like a win when we found out who the killer was.

I quite liked the ending though when Shardlake visits the monastery again. I think it was a good choice to add that.

I've got the whole set of this series, which I will read this year, eventually.

Moving on to a non fiction now though.

When your tbr is finished, Paris? That's a synonym for never, in my case at least....

cassandre I thought The Mercies was a great book, would highly recommend it. ParisJeTAime I've fancied reading Dissolution for a while. Its been £1.99 on kindle for ages but I know that once the libraries open I can get my hands on it quickly, am showing great self-restraint here!

14. Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld. Modern take on Pride and Prejudice. I found it quite hard to 'suspend disbelief' and engage with this at first, but persevered because I think she is a great writer. And I did enjoy it more as it went on - there were some very funny one-liners from both Bennett parents. But overall, just OK for me, definitely her weakest novel in my opinion.

Can't bear to engage with the five books topic, just can't find a way in to it at all. Enjoying reading everyone else's views though!

@bibliomania

When your tbr is finished, Paris? That's a synonym for never, in my case at least....

Erm...yes, that is accurate for me too . Damn it! Will I never get a kindle?!

I have sold a load of books recently and have quite a modest bookcase now, (just one bookcase, which makes me feel way minimalist - previously it was a bookcase plus many more books which didn't fit in the bookcase, so were stacked against walls in my bedroom). If I don't buy any more books this year, maybe I'll get through what I haven't read yet... we'll see. Maybe it will be a Christmas present then, (boo - seems a long way away ).

Oh very restrained @InTheCludgie! I enjoyed it overall. I'm looking forward to more of the Shardlake character, as I thought he was great to listen to. It's written in the first person from his perspective. I also liked reading a novel set in Tudor times where I didn't know the outcome! I've got the last Hillary Mantel, Cromwell / Wolf Hall novel on audible for running, (i don't count my audiobooks as books read on here though, as sometimes, i don't really listen as too puffed), and I don't want to listen to it as I know what the ending will be iyswim! With Shardlake, there are new characters rather than historical figures written as fictional characters, but still with the backdrop of well known points in history. So I liked that about it.

@ParisJeTAime that's interesting about Dissolution - I tried starting it a couple of weeks ago but gave up after a few pages when Thomas Cromwell appeared as he wasn't the Cromwell of Wolf Hall!

Mantel has ruined Tudor fiction for me, she is SO much better than everyone else.

Don't let the Cromwell aspect put you off Dissolution @MegBusset, as he is barely in it! They do talk about him a lot and none of it is particularly nice, but the people doing the talking are mainly monks! The only reformists in the book are Shardlake and a couple of others. I think Cromwell is usually seen as one of history's bad guys though tbf. Mantel maybe writes about him with a bit more sympathy, but I think that's unusual.

I wonder if we'll see him in the next book. Depends on the timeline etc. In Dissolution, Jane Seymour has just died.

Jane Seymour dies????? No spoilers please

@nowanearlyNicemum.

I won't mention her predecessors either then 🤐

Better not!

@LadybirdDaphne

Sue Black’s Written in Bone is 99p today, well worth a look if you’re interested in anatomy and/or forensics.

19. Laura Lake and the Luxury Press Trip - Wendy Holden
Short novella in the series about the Society (aka Tatler) journalist Laura Lake, passed an hour or so in a mindless and gently amusing fashion. I’ve temporarily reverted to the chick lit authors I liked in my 20s - was craving some escapism (not my normal escapism with vampire fairies or similar ).

I've bought the Black. Thank you for the heads up.

@ParisJeTAime

Don't let the Cromwell aspect put you off Dissolution *@MegBusset*, as he is barely in it! They do talk about him a lot and none of it is particularly nice, but the people doing the talking are mainly monks! The only reformists in the book are Shardlake and a couple of others. I think Cromwell is usually seen as one of history's bad guys though tbf. Mantel maybe writes about him with a bit more sympathy, but I think that's unusual.

I wonder if we'll see him in the next book. Depends on the timeline etc. In Dissolution, Jane Seymour has just died.

And don't let the irritating lovey couple put you off, either.

In book two, you will meet Jack and your life will be complete.

Ah I love Jack Barack and Shardlake is a sweetheart too.

Oh, I'm excited about book 2 now! I'm 2 chapters into my new non fiction book though, so have to get through that first (boo).

I recommend having one fiction and one non-fiction on the go at the same time.

Later by Stephen King

A new King for the Hard Case Crime collection. It's deliberately a bit trashy, but was very much a book of two halves and a bit of a mash-mash of previously used ideas. Plenty of King tropes appear: a kid who is older than his years, a harassed single mum, a wise older guy, a baddie who's never quite fully realised but is very, very bad, a bad cop. There's an idea re-hashed straight out of 'It' and lots of focus on King's interest in books, as usual.

So far, so fine enough. But then the bad cop went real bad and it all went downhill from there, descending first into silly trashiness and then really, really silly and unnecessary nonsense at the end.

He sure does struggle with endings.

So, it wasn't utterly terrible but the ending was terrible and it's a far cry from King at his best.

I like to have one fiction and one non-fiction on the go.
I also quite like "old friends" popping up in books. When King Stephen and Maud from When Christ and his Saints Slept popped up in Pillars I was "oh! Stephen! Maud! Hello!"

Maybe that's what I'll do then; one non fiction, one fiction! Will get out the next Shardlake one. Why didn't I think of this before?!