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.

20. Wild and Free - Wendy Holden has often been my go-to writer in times of stress when I need something light, fluffy and amusing. So I wasn’t expecting great literature, but this was dire even on its own terms. Too many characters to care about go to a hipster festival full of skinny rich people, fat lower class people, narrative inconsistencies and daft marriage proposals.

18. The Life of Stuff by Susannah Walker

Seen on here, I knew I would love it and I did. The author's mother who was a hoarder died, and she had to sort and clean her house. The book is the story of her mother's life, her own grief and complicated emotions, and also about things. The author is a museum curator and also worked on The Life Laundry and has a lot to say about the stuff we own and what it means.

It has a couple of patches which lose focus - one of them, unfortunately, is the ending. But in general, speaking as someone who lost my husband and father in the past three years and whose family is far too preoccupied with 'stuff' (not hoarders though), I found this incredibly resonant and heartfelt about what it's like to grieve someone you had a complicated and difficult relationship with.

12. Sunfall by Jim Al-Khalili

I picked this book up because the author is a quantum physicist and an author of several non-fiction books about physics, and it was endorsed by many popular scientists and SF authors.

A large solar flare causes disasters and makes it clear that the earth's magnetic field is waning, leading up to a change in magnetic poles. Faced with an extinction-level event, scientists scramble to come up with a way to kickstart it while fighting politicians, bureaucracy, international rivalry, and a doomsday cult of terrorist who want them to fail.

The science part didn't disappoint. I very much enjoyed reading about different scenarios, possible ways to counter them, and why they wouldn't work. The solution that was finally discovered and carried out was also fascinating.

However, the author is just not a great fiction writer and I ended up feeling that the experience is somewhat similar to reading Da Vinci Code - You enjoy reading the details but the writing leaves much to be desired.

26. Small Pleasure - Clare Chambers

Recently reviewed by biblio and previously reviewed by others. It is set in the 1950s and tells the story of Jean, a spinster journalist who lives with her mother, and focuses on the story she is researching relating to a possible virgin birth. Jean builds a relationship with Gretchen, the mother claiming to have had a virgin birth, and her husband (Howard) and daughter (Margaret). I thought the characters and setting were all well done. biblio had prepared me for a disappointing ending so having had my expectations managed, I wasn’t actually too disappointed! Recommended.

82. The Village News by Tom Fort

Each chapter focuses on a different village in England and then talks about various things that have changed over time such as links to the ‘big house’, links to the church, schools etc. Took a bit of time to get into but quite interesting once I did get into it.

83. A Chip Shop In Poznań: My Unlikely Year In Poland by Ben Aitken

I really struggled with this - I’ve enjoyed his other books but this was just boring. There were odd funny moments, such as turning up at a stranger’s house on Christmas Eve to have dinner with them as it’s apparently a Polish tradition to set a place at the table in case a stranger appears, but generally I found it dull and didn’t learn anything much about Poland.

84. Small Pleasures by Claire Chambers

I’m another sheep who bought it on daily deal - nothing to add to other reviews.

Disappointed about Sunfall, Cote, as I was looking forward to that (although you aren't the first person I've seen say similar). I can handle dodgy science (not that I'd expect that from him) but not sure I've got any time for dodgy fiction. Perhaps it's one for a pool-side sun soaked holiday read, with ample sangrias to mask the pain. So 2025, maybe?

Pepe - I didn't mean to put you off reading it. Maybe my expectations were too high.

It would have been better if he put together a story with all the scientific details, and then gave it to a great SF author like Neal Stephenson or Stephen Baxter.

Talking about disappointments, I'm reading 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif "Shafak" (her surname is Şafak) and highlighting parts that make no sense. That is never a good sign - see Station 11 and On The Beach

@CoteDAzur I thought the same about Sunfall. Looking at my notes I thought it was an interesting concept but not that well written and the villain reveal was especially poor.

17. Boys Don’t Try: Rethinking Masculinity in Schools by Matt Pickett and Mark Roberts.

Audiobook. This is a book aimed at teachers but I found it helpful in thinking about gender issues in general. I would be interested to know if any of the teachers on this thread have read it and what your views are.

Well narrated, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this, sparking both conversations with my DH and conscious thinking about gender roles. In fact I keep wanting to talk to everyone about the issues in this book!

18. For Goodness Sex: Changing the way we talk to teens about Sexuality, Values and Health by Al Vernacchio.

I’ve been reading this slowly over the year inspired by podcasts and articles to seriously think how, and in what way, DH and I speak to my DSs about sex and values to include topics like porn, consent, virginity, peer pressure and gender roles. They are not teens yet but I thought I might be best getting in some prep as DS1 is not far off.

One of the things I enjoy about reading parenting books is that it reminds me what it is like to be young and thereby helps me to be more understanding (I hope). I try not to be too perfectionist about it and boil it down to the important messages I want to put across without too much sermonising so that I lose their attention. The aim is raise two feminist boys who treat all people well.

This book is written by an American so the analogies are USA-centric but there are some healthy universal messages about relationships that I wish my parents had talked to me about when I was growing up in the late 80s and 90s.

Food for thought.

I am currently reading Black and British and listening to Barrack Obama’s A Promised Land.

Been off the thread for a while making my way through book 15. Cage of Souls. Adrian Tchaikovsky after seeing a review on here a while back.
This is a sci fi novel set far into the future when humanity is dying out and the sun is old and starting to die. The last of the human race are living out their existence in the city of Shadrapar. The story is an account by Stefan of his imprisonment on a man made floating island prison ion, how he came to be there, his time there and what came after.
I really enjoyed this book, it is different to anything I have previously read sci fi or fantasy wise and while it took a while to get into, it was beautifully written with great descriptions.

22. Another Day in the Death of America by Gary Younge

On average, 6.7 children are killed each day as a result of gun violence in America. These deaths are so commonplace that often they warrant only a couple of lines in a local newspaper, or don’t make the news at all, so when the author (a Brit living in the US) decides to pick a day at random and write the stories of the child victims of gun violence from that day it’s not all that straightforward.

Younge expertly weaves the story of each person, speaking with friends and family where possible, with the circumstances of their death as well as examining the reasons why gun crime is so endemic. This was a heartbreaking read of murders, accidents, arguments, people in the wrong place at the wrong time as well as one or two who were targeted as a result of being involved in gangs. What comes through is the devastating impact gun crime has and the disproportionate impact on non-whites, he captures the spirit of each person, all of whom were loved and are not forgotten. I cried more than once.

23. The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Why, oh why do I keep doing this to myself? Thrilling read you say, with a mystery and / or twist, and all for 99p? Yep, that's the book for me even though I can't remember the last time I actually enjoyed a book of this type. And even when I see where we are heading, and can’t miss how poorly written the book is I plough on to the end. The Roanoke Girls of the title end up one of two ways, running away or dying, and no one in town seems to find this odd at all, no one? The reason for this 'death or the road' choice is established pretty quickly and the subject matter becomes more unpalatable and downright messed up as the book progresses. Lane was one of those who chose the run option and when her cousin disappears she comes back to Roanoke to find her. An awful book that I wish I could scrub from my mind. With bleach.

24. Klopp Actually by Laura Lexx

In the early days of the pandemic comic Laura Lexx tweeted out a few tweets about her imaginary life as the wife of Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp and their rather active sex life. I remember seeing the tweets at the time and finding them funny so when I saw she’d expanded the concept into a book and it was on offer I was in.

The book version of Klopp is honest, sensible, logical, supportive and kind which usually leads to a smutty joke about how attractive this is to the author. This book basically eroticises truth, logic and understated kindness which I am totally on board with. It was short, funny and I enjoyed it but would not be chuffed if I’d bought it full price as it’s a bit slight.

20. Escape the Diet Trap by Dr John Briffa

About losing weight. He’s arguing the case for a low carb diet.

21. In The Wake of The Plague by Norman F Cantor

About the impact of the Black Death on 14th century England. A bit patchy, interesting in places.

22. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

A short and somewhat strange book.
Keiko is not a normal woman, but she’s more or less managing to masquerade as normal and has built her life around her part time job in a convenience store. But her family and friends are putting increasing pressure on her to be more “normal” and find a better job or a husband.

23. The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

The idea behind this series is the Long Earth - a series of alternate Earths that humans can travel to with the aid of stepping devices.
Humans have been spreading out throughout the Long Earth for several decades now, and there’s potential conflict brewing between the US government on the original (datum) Earth, and the settlers on the alternate North America’s.

I struggled to maintain much interest in the whole “war” bit, which basically fizzles out anyway.
I liked the descriptions of the alternate Earth’s much more.

24. American War by Omar El Akkad

This is set in a future dystopian USA.
Global warming has been causing the oceans to rise, and civil war had broken out between the North and the South over a disputed ban on fossil fuels.
The book follows the story of Sarat Chestnut, a displaced child from Louisiana who becomes radicalised while growing up in a refugee camp.

It’s disturbing, brutal and violent, with some terrible things happening to Sarat and her family, but it’s a compelling read.

@nowanearlyNicemum

6. The Shipping News - Annie Proulx Thanks to whoever it was who read this recently and reminded me that I'd been meaning to read it for ages!! A part of the world and a way of life that I knew next to nothing about, some endearing characters and a wry sense of humour = many happy reading hours. I've heard the film was a bit of a flop. How could Kevin Spacey play the role of Quoyle??

Really pleased you enjoyed it NowanearlyNicemum; I think it was me who recommended it. I cared about the characters, thought it had a great sense of place and found it a welcome escape from my restricted life at the moment.

I agree; I don't fancy the film at all with KS in the main role. I struggle to watch him in anything these days, although he was brilliant as Keyser Soze in The Usual Suspects. DD came across him at work and, even before all the accusations became public, found him a deeply unpleasant and manipulative man.

I have so fallen behind with this thread and my reviews but will try to catch up at Easter. Still reading and enjoying everyone's comments. I was sorry to miss the Top FIve Books survey although my answers wouldn't have changed the result much .. there would have been another vote for A Fine Balance, Iain Banks and (of course) P&P. My other two choices I would have to reflect on for a long long time ...

Haven't just read it shake : I know the authors and the guy that does the podcast.

I am not sure what to say about them really other than they are disappointingly laddish. There was a 'situation' on Twitter.

I think the book is good on a first read. On reflection, half the chapters are not all that practical. Mark Roberts' chapters are better.

I wish they had got a woman on board at some stage too.

Who does the audiobook? Is it Mark Roberts?

@MamaNewtNewt

Another Day made my highlights last year

[quote EineReiseDurchDieZeit]@MamaNewtNewt

Another Day made my highlights last year [/quote]
I think it will be one of my 2021 highlights. I'm not much of a crier but this really got me, as much with frustration as sadness I think.

It's an amazing book.

@Piggywaspushed

Haven't just read it shake : I know the authors and the guy that does the podcast.

I am not sure what to say about them really other than they are disappointingly laddish. There was a 'situation' on Twitter.

I think the book is good on a first read. On reflection, half the chapters are not all that practical. Mark Roberts' chapters are better.

I wish they had got a woman on board at some stage too.

I haven't read it but got really bored of all the self-promotion on Twitter and thought one of them was a bit of a pillock.

Indeed he is.

1. Go set a watchman - Harper Lee

The story is set 10 to 15 years after To Kill a Mockingbird, which incidentally I love, and have reread recently as DD was studying it. I'm not sure how I feel about this instalment overall. I absolutely ached for 26-year-old Scout as she tries to find her place in the world, between home and away, between child and adult, between her ideals and 'a quiet life'. I thought this feeling was very well portrayed. However the difference between this older Atticus and the one Scout (and many readers) adore throughout TKAM seemed too vast to be true at times. I was also irritated by big chunks of Lee's writing. I lost count of the number of times she tried to get across the idea of 'general babble' by massive paragraphs of bits of speech strung together with '...' Drove me nuts! Altogether a disappointing sequel to (or 'first draft of' depending on who you listen to) a fantastic classic.

highlandcoo (and anyone else) - it's not too late to contribute to the Top Five Books list. I'm happy to add your votes and let you know if it changes anything!

Are you sure? Thanks so much - I will have to give it some serious thought now

9. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman. I know this has had an unethusiastic reception on this thread but I thought it was an absolute hoot and laughed out loud on almost every page. It was a little bit clunky in places, and became overly convoluted towards the end, but I really loved it. My parents moved into a 'naice' retirement village at the end of 2019 not long before we lost my mum, and so much of the setting rang true, which I think is why it struck such a chord with me.

10. The Less Dead, by Denise Mina. Margot's adoptive mother has recently died and Margot begins looking for her birth mother, only to find that her she was a sex worker murdered many years ago in Glasgow by a serial killer. Her aunt receives threatening letters from the killer who was never caught, and Margot then begins to receive threatening letters of her own. I know that sounds incredibly bleak and some of it was, but it was very well done and completely gripping. Mina's main characters are incredibly well written and feel like real, flawed, funny people. My only complaint is that it ended incredibly abruptly and I was expecting at least another chapter to bring some resolution to things.

11. The Searcher, by Tana French. Bliss. I love Tana French's writing but I think she sometimes loses her grip of things a bit towards the end of a book, with frustrating results. That's not the case with this book, which is a fantastic portrayal of an outsider discovering the undercurrents at work in a rural Irish village.

Looking at this lot I think I need to step away from the crime shelf for a while, which is a bit unfortunate because next up is Girl A which I have to crack on with as there's a long waitlist for it at the library.