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.

21. The Prosecutor by Nazir Afzal The story of how Afzal became a lawyer, moved into prosecution and changed the system. He describes some of the big cases he wa involved with. That's a dry paragraph for a viscerally gripping book. It's full of passion and involvement and can be really shocking. Ghostwritten so it zips along smoothly. What an amazing man. I think the modern slavery case affected me most of all.

20. We All Know How This Ends by Anna Lyons and Louise Winter

This is a much needed book. Anna is an end of life doula and Louise is a progressive funeral director. Together they talk through all things death.

This book covers miscarriage, palliative care, what actually happens when someone dies, regrets and how to have difficult conversations.

They also explore funerals and what legally has to happen, as well as all the choices you might not know you could make eg direct cremation or being buried in your back garden.

It's all done in a really sensitive way and against the back drop of, if we all know how this ends, how should we live our lives?

I pointlessly wish I'd read this book before my dad died in January, but it was only released in March so not actually possible!

I was already starting on a crusade to get my friends to talk to their parents about funerals and wills, on the basis it's easier to do this while your loved one is alive, and now I have a reference book for the conversations.

This book won't take away your grief. Nothing can do that. But I think if we learn to talk about it more, it might take away some of the stress of not knowing what to do. And it gives us words to say in those really difficult conversations. It shows there are different funeral options than what has traditionally been handed down, ways of remembering a loved one that actually fits their life.

This book has actually altered my perspective on funerals and death and I am more inspired than ever to live brightly while I can.

Interesting discussion about book snobbery. I read widely from literary to sci fi - which gets a pretty bad name in the literary world - with a dash of crime & thrillers thrown in, & some "womens lit" thrown in. Totally agree with Janina that some of those so-called womens' writers would be challenging for prizes if they were men. But I am trying to wean myself off the 99p throwaway thrillers "I See You" types as I just feel a bit like I wasted my time after reading them, and suspect I'd feel the same about The tea-maker's daughter and such like.

30. The Camomile Lawn - Mary Wesley. Picked this up in the Kindle deals this month, it was a reread for me from about 20 years ago. It begins just before the start of the second world war and follows cousins Calypso, Polly, Walter, Oliver who are all 18 or thereabouts and little Sophy who is 10. They all go to Cornwall each year to stay with their one-legged Uncle Richard and his wife Helena who have adopted Sophy. This touches on an aspects of the war, the boys go off to fight, the girls stay in London and work in secretive jobs. The book follows various episodes with the cousins and others on leave. It brilliantly captures a different age with lots of quite shocking stuff happening in a very matter of fact way, there's a lot of affairs and complicated romances but all told with a light touch and humour. I kept thinking how the stories would look on AIBU or the relationship pages.... "AIBU to like my old uncle even though he sticks his hand up my skirt", "Help, I can't decide which twin to sleep with"! I'd recommend it and will probably read more of her stuff.

Kindle monthly deals look more in order now! Noticed Mr Loverman - Bernadine Evaristo is £1.99 on kindle - Really funny book I read recently about a Caribbean man in his 70s that has been hiding his homosexuality. Would highly recommend!

I seem to be becoming more of a book snob as I get older. I used to love a bit of chick lit (eg Adele Parks and Jane Green), now I find them boring (although I do still indulge sometimes!). I also read a lot more non-fiction than I used to, which ties in with what Piggy and BadSpella said above about learning from what we read.

Having said that, I'm currently halfway through a non-fiction book about early human evolution and finding it heavy going. I could really do with a nice bit of romance or infidelity among all the information about skull shapes and radiocarbon dating

RazorstormUnicorn that sounds very interesting. On similar topics, I highly recommend With the End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty. But you may have had enough of reading about death!

Apologies for the mammoth update- I haven’t really been in a state in which I could manage it, although I have continued to read:

28. How To Be Black- Baratunde Thurston I found the audiobook on BorrowBox and it was quite amusing (I am white).

29. More Than a Woman- Caitlin Moran This followed on well from her earlier books and was mildly amusing but became more tedious as it went on.

30. Hillsborough Voices: The Real Story Told by the People Themselves- Kevin Sampson As a Liverpool fan, I have read a few books about Hillsborough, including Phil Scraton’s seminal Hillsborough: The Truth. Sampson’s book is very informative about the scale of the tragedy and the outrageous cover-up, and is deeply affecting.

31. Who Am I, Again?- Lenny Henry I bought this in the Audible sale: it was amusing and touching.

32. The Prison Doctor: Women Inside- Dr Amanda Brown For some reason, I find all books about prison life fascinating. Here, there was some overlap with the author’s previous book, but it was still worth reading.

33. Just Like You- Nick Hornby I haven’t managed to read many novels recently, but I raced through this: it’s another ‘Brexit novel’ and is Hornby’s best work for a while.

34. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins I listened to this on BorrowBox and didn’t enjoy it as much as the first Hunger Games book.

35. Contemporary Choral Work with Boys- Martin Ashley I direct a boys’ choir and have read this before. It is very useful, particularly his thoughts on changing voices (what we used to call ‘breaking voices’).

36. How to Answer Interview Questions- Peggy McGee I had an interview recently: this book was pretty helpful, but I still didn’t get the job :(

37. Boris Johnson: The Gambler- Tom Bower This was in the Kindle Daily Deal recently and I raced through it. Love him or loathe him (I am in the latter category), Boris is certainly an interesting character and this biography was reasonably well balanced. The sections on Brexit and Covid went on for ever (just like in real life, ha ha). There was plenty of gossip about his various affairs.

38. How to Survive a Plague- The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS- David France Thanks to those who recommended this after many of us enjoyed ‘It’s a Sin’ on Channel 4. This was very illuminating. Particularly affecting were the sections detailing the gradual decline of individual men.

39. Columbine- Dave Cullen A recent Kindle Deal, this filled in some gaps in my knowledge. I would have preferred it to have been written in chronological order and without quite so many forewords, appendixes etc.

40. The Rotters’ Club- Jonathan Coe I read the trilogy in the wrong order and this was my least favourite.

41. Mudlarking- Lara Maiklem Much loved on these threads, I finally got round to listening to this on Audible. The author certainly has an interesting hobby and I particularly enjoyed the elements of history which were woven in.

42. Many Different Kinds of Love- Michael Rosen I devoured this short audiobook in a day and found it very moving.

43. Best Foot Forward- Adam Hills Suffering withdrawal symptoms since the most recent series of 'The Last Leg' finished, I decided to read this romp through Hills’ life in stand up, radio and TV. There is a little too much namedropping for my liking, but his writing about the Bejing Paralympics is very poignant.

44. The Lockdown Diary of Tom Cooper- Spencer Brown I had a feeling this wouldn’t be much cop, but I downloaded it anyway. Tom, a single parent, navigates his way through the first lockdown, with references to Joe Wicks, homeschooling, Zoom calls and clapping the NHS all present and correct. It raised the occasional chuckle.

45. The Song of the Lark- Willa Cather Thea is a young pianist who discovers her real talent lies in singing. I enjoyed all the parts about music but found the other sections a little dull, although it is well written.

46. The Boy Between: A Mother and Son’s Journey from a World Gone Grey- Amanda Prowse & Josiah Hartley Prowse and Hartley write alternate chapters detailing Hartley’s descent into- and gradual recovery from- severe depression. This gave me hope.

47. Gilead- Marilynne Robinson Before his death, a father writes to his young son. Not much happens, but this is beautifully written.

48. Q- Christina Dalcher The first half was excellent and set up a very interesting premise, but I felt the second half was rather rushed and disappointing.

49. Broken Greek- Pete Paphides I reviewed the book last year- this was the audiobook and was also very enjoyable.

Razorstorm sorry about your Dad. I’ve added to my TBR list.

@Tarahumara

RazorstormUnicorn that sounds very interesting. On similar topics, I highly recommend With the End in Mind by Kathryn Mannix and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty. But you may have had enough of reading about death!

Lovely review, Razor. Smoke Gets in your Eyes is excellent.

Razorstorm I too would have valued being able to read that book before losing my mum last year. Partly because I felt completely lost and with no support from anyone in the system when she was ill, despite struggling daily to get it; partly because the funeral directors after she died were monumentally shit.

Now it’s too late for me. But hopefully not for others. I now realise these are difficult but important things to face.

Razorstorm Sorry for your loss.

When my DH died last year I was lucky in that we had both discussed what we wanted the other one to do.

I would just say that one of the most important things to do is to inform any insurance company about the death - many of them (especially buildings & contents) have a clause that if you don't inform them within 2 weeks of the death the insurance becomes invalid. This is hidden away in all the small print.(Quelle surprise!)

We went for direct cremation & I rang several funeral directors - the difference in price was £2,000!! It did feel strange to be asking for quotes but I know DH would have wanted me to. I used the Co-Op in the end & they were very good.

I think there are times for reading 'good' literature & times for reading easy stuff. Since DH died I have mostly been re-reading comfort books & easy fiction. I just want to escape when I read & not be challenged atm.

Back to lurking, but I do read every post & really enjoy them.

Not to derail the thread but funnily enough magi it was the Co-op who were utterly terrible with us!

I hope you’re doing as well as possible

@magimedi lovely to see you, hope you are doing well.
@Terpsichore
@RazorstormUnicorn

Same here. My Mum died last June. Different country. No travel corridor. Talking to people over the phone and watching the funeral via webcast. Strange days. Surreal really.

to all.

, especially for those of you who have had to suffer loss in these extra challenging times.

On a lighter note, best Heyers- hard to pick, but The Grand Sophy, These Old Shades, Frederica, The Unknown Ajax and The Masqueraders all spring very quickly to mind!

Thoughts to all of you who have lost loved ones

Heyers - The Grand Sophy has some great characters, but be aware there's a very stereotyped/falling into anti-semitic portrait of a moneylender at one point in the story. I'd agree with Frederica & These Old Shades as classic Heyer, and would add Cotillion which is really charming and seems generally loved.

my sincerest condolences to all

At the moment I am facing the older generation of my family losing their friends and beginning to confront their mortality. It's a challenging idea. No one ever knows when but ages are being reached when the when is logically closer

@Sadik

Thoughts to all of you who have lost loved ones

Heyers - The Grand Sophy has some great characters, but be aware there's a very stereotyped/falling into anti-semitic portrait of a moneylender at one point in the story. I'd agree with Frederica & These Old Shades as classic Heyer, and would add Cotillion which is really charming and seems generally loved.

Yes - just re-read and that bit is pretty awful. Otherwise a great read though.

I'm now re-reading The Masqueraders and it's just wonderful.

RazorstormUnicorn thank you for that review, will definitely add that to my TBR. I'm in a similar boat to lots of others on this thread and wish I'd had that book a couple of years ago!

Sorry for all those who have lost loved ones over the last year-reading is one of the things that's seen me through my own grief and I am eternally grateful to everyone on this thread which I enjoy immensely
It's interesting reading about what people see as 'proper books' in that they supposedly have literary merit. I read and enjoy all sorts of books and based on what I'm reading on this thread am intrigued to give Heyer a go. I grew up reading Jean Plaidy as a teen and am still a sucker for historical novels- in particular the Shardlake series but also a bit of Philippa Gregory when I'm feeling under the weather. I also, like others on this thread, have a soft spot for Dick Francis. I don't think it's snobbishness to laugh at book titles-it's laughing at the publishers lack of imagination if anything.

Adding a couple of latest reads:

30. Giovanni’s Room - James Baldwin

I had never heard of this until someone kindly flagged it when it appeared in the Kindle daily deals - one of the reasons I love this thread. Set in Paris in the 1950s. Giovanni is a beautiful gay (or bisexual) Italian barman. David is an American who becomes obsessed with Giovanni whilst he and his girlfriend are physically separated/thinking about their relationship. The main focus of the book is David’s relationship with Giovanni and his mental struggle as he comes to terms with his love for Giovanni. I don’t want to spoil this for anyone by giving details but there is no happy ending. I found this completely engrossing but quite emotionally draining.

31. Regeneration - Pat Barker

First of the Regeneration trilogy which has been sitting on my Kindle for ages. Set during WW1 at a clinic in/near Edinburgh which treats soldiers who have mental health rather than physical issues. It’s based on fact so the doctor, Rivers, and the clinic existed. One of the patients is the poet Siegfried Sassoon. The book follows a number of patients with different issues from mutism, nightmares, vomiting etc. I found it really interesting that there was some focus on mental health at this time and liked that it was based on facts. Very well done (in my view).

I keep falling off of this thread but here’s my latest
17 Last One at the Party by Bethany Clift
I wish I hadn’t read this - it literally gave me nightmares and I’m not easily disturbed.

It’s a book about a woman who is the sole survivor of a pandemic which wipes out the human race.

With a chick lit style cover I was intrigued as to how exactly this would be positioned but it is horrifying and upsetting.

There is a very weird mixture of things going on in this book too - flashbacks to a life that I think is supposed to be ultimately unsatisfying but with odd friendships, anxiety etc.

A suddenly drug taking binge.

There are some flashes of humour and insight as to how one would behave if left in the world alone, but I cannot recommend this book - it’s just too awful and also incredibly all over the place.

Oddly I probably would read something else by the author but this one just gave me the heebie jeebies too much (and if you love animals - definitely avoid).

I forgot to give my take on the snobbery discussion. I read quite widely enjoying all of Georgette Heyer, Agatha Christie, Dick Francis, the Chronicles of St Mary’s, Katie Fforde etc but also reading classics (Trollope this year) and contemporary literature. I don’t think anyone has judged me for any of my reads (although some of them may be divisive) and there is always someone who is also a fan or who can suggest similar books. That’s one of the things I love about this thread is the lack of judgment on what we choose to read - although there may be strong views on our assessment of a book .. NLMG, Station Eleven - ahem, I’ll say no more....

One of the many reasons I like this thread is people can read and review on their own terms. If I decide I'm going to read something it's because it has meaning for me. However it's also true that books are different and serve different purposes. I don't think it's snobbish to notice a surge in a particular type of book, because it's always happening in a market-driven industry, and each type becomes formulaic in turn.

44. Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare CC definitely writes to a formula, but with engaging characters and plenty of plot to move things along I find her books enjoyable escapism. This one has even more than the usual quota of demonic possession, evil plotters, and outrageously good looking teenagers desperately in love with each other but kept apart by misunderstanding or circumstance, and ends with so many cliffhangers I'm not sure I remember what they all are, but good fun all the same.

I'm also finding the snobbery discussion interesting. If my bookshelves weren't currently covered in DS's birthday cards, I'd take a photo - I've got such eclectic tastes - horror, chick lit, books in other languages, young adult, old classics, modern classics. And they all get read, but it just depends on my mood. Even some of the daft title ones can be the right book at the time, although I must admit they tend to be library books as I'm less likely to want to re-read them.

But as someone said upthread, the important thing is reading. We've instilled this in DS - in the bath (his choice!) he reads books we feel he should read, and sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, but it opens him up to new authors and styles of writing. But without fail, he reads in bed every night - generally Rick Riordan on rotation, but it's his way of winding down before going to sleep, and I think that's such a lovely thing for a 10 year old to want to do, I'm certainly not going to be snobbish about what he's reading.