50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

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

How're you getting on so far?

My library copy of Prairie Fires arrived yesterday. I'm a couple of chapters in and enjoying it so far but I hadn't realised quite what a doorstop it is!

Night Waking by Sarah Moss is good on domestic drudgery and gender roles too. She uses the overlaid narratives set in different time periods, and the concepts of archaeology and anthropology, to encourage the reader to question the relationship between the modern couple and the way each of them see their work and their role in the family. I think she's one of those writers whose books can be unsatisfactory when read at the surface level (plot, characters) but which open up to contain much more when you think about them more deeply. They're like a magic eye poster.

PepeLePew

My Antonia is my favourite Cather, its gorgeous. I haven't read all her stuff but have read 'the major works'

Oh, I love A Lost Lady. Or did when I was 17.

A quick pop in, as am very busy with work at the moment. I've bought Nigella's latest cookery book in the daily deals today and am just starting it. Oh, she writes like a dream. That is all.

26. In Bad Company by Viveca Sten

The latest in the Sandhamn murders series, and not my favourite. This one focuses on domestic abuse but there are criminal gangs threaded through it, plus the ongoing rocky relationship of Thomas and Pernilla, and Nora gaining experience in her new career as a prosecutor. There was just too much going on, too little of the escapism I love about this series and far too much doom and gloom between Thomas and Pernilla. Downbeat ending too. I hope the next one is cheerier (to be fair, that's probably a bit of a stupid thing to say about a crime novel!).

Well part 5 already. Thanks for the new thread @southeastdweller . Will try and catch up with some of the thread later. Right bringing my list over.

1. The Face of Trespass by Ruth Rendell 2) The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
2. My Darling by Amanda Robson
3. The adventure of the three students by Arthur Conan Doyle
4. The End of her by Shari Lapena
5. The Dead Harlequin by Agatha Christie
6. Sing a Song of Sixpence by Agatha Christie 8) Farewell to the EastEnd by Jennifer Worth
7. Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k up by Alexandra Potter
8. The Familiars by Stacey Hall’s
9. The Saturday Morning Park Run by Jules Wake
10. Life’s journey to the top of Everest by Ben Fogle and Marina Fogle

And to add to my list
13) The Other Daughter by Caroline Bishop
I enjoyed this. It touched on the subject the women’s rights movement and switched between 1976 and present day. It is about a young lady called Jessica who discovers a shocking secret about her birth. She travel’s to Switzerland where her mother wrote an article about the Women’s right movement.
It is about one woman seeking the truth about her birth and another woman desperately trying to succeed in a man’s world. Yes I would recommend this one.

Next was a DNF at 45% of the way in.Women of the Dunes by Sarah Maine Did not find this interesting at all. It is about an archaeologist Calle Libby Snow who does an excavation at Ullaness, on Scotland’s West Coast. It is a story that span’s the centuries, three women are linked together across history. Human remains are discovered in the Dune’s and Libby want’s to uncover the truth. I got so far with it and just found I was quite bored with it. It was dull. I have got to the point where I could not care less what happens to any of the characters so definitely a time to give up on it.

Have started listening to An Open House by Sam Carrington so far quite good

Just got the email, the short list is

Unsettled Ground
No One Is Talking About This
Piranesi
Transcendent Kingdom
Hope the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
The Vanishing Half

Thankfully none of the shockers have made it and it's a decent list.

Of the three Women's Prize books I've read I guessed correctly which two would make the shortlist (Brit Bennett and Claire Fuller) and I'm pleased to see them there. If I'd tried to guess which other 4 books would make it, I think I would have guessed Piranesi and Transcendent Kingdom too.

I have a Kindle daily deal purchase copy of Piranesi and an egalley of One Armed Sister. so this probably doesn't change my planned reading all that much.

I've lost where I'm up to with numbers and I'm in a post covid vax side effects funk so I've given up caring.

Cherry - Nico Walker
Auto-fiction. The author wrote this in prison. A young man falls in love, joins the army as a medic, gets sent to Iraq, comes home with PTSD and turns to drugs and starts doing armed robberies to fund his habit, which does nothing for the relationship he was clinging to to get him through.
This was readable and relatable for the military sections, but quite a bleak book with a lot of dark humour. It's definitely a "bloke book" full of crappy attitudes to women and a lot of woe is me that got quite tedious very quickly.

The Princess Spy - Larry Loftis
This is very similar to A Woman of No Importance in that it deals with the real life exploits of a woman in WW2 but written more in the manner of a novel rather than dry non-fic. I think if you enjoyed the former then you would like this, but her exploits are less impressive and mostly involved in Spanish high society. Interesting all the same.
The woman it deals with, Aline Griffith, wrote her own books about her time as a spy but are seen to be embellished and somewhat unreliable. This author has used various sources to try to get a more balanced view.

The first Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.
Started strong, but I was bored to tears by the end. A new copper is drafted into the "woo" department to deal with the magical elements of the London underbelly.

The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner
American in London goes mudlarking, finds a bottle with secrets inside and sets off to solve the mystery of a missing apothecary who used her trade to help women reap revenge on the men who wronged them. 2 time frames, 2 women dealing with similar issues in different ages.
All the trademarks mentioned in the vaguely historical faux gothic swirly covered bandwagon discussion upthread. Don't all rush at once.

Adding my latest books:

36. The Girl with the Louding Voice - Abi Dare

I know quite a few of you have read this book which is set in Nigeria. Adunni is 14 years old and looks after her father and brothers following her mother’s death. She would rather be pursuing her education than having to look after the house and family. She knows that an education will give her opportunities but her father cannot afford that option and doesn’t see the value in it anyway. Adunni’s value lies in her marriage portion which will save her family from being evicted. The story follows Adunni to her marital home and then to Lagos but I don’t want to include any spoilers. Once I adapted to Adunni’s voice and pattern of speech I really enjoyed this book. I don’t know how true to life it is but it was interesting to look at Nigerian society, the many disparities between sophisticated Lagos and Adunni’s home village/town and the similarities in their traditions and superstitions notwithstanding the wealth and relative sophistication of the Lagos residents. Recommended.

37. The Defence - Steve Cavanagh

NY conman turned lawyer, Eddie Flynn, is becoming one of my guilty pleasure reads. This is the first book although they can all be read as stand-alone stories but there are some recurring characters and background storylines. I read some of the later ones first which referenced some of this plot. Eddie has to defend a Russian mobster from a murder charge against his will because the mobster has taken Eddie’s daughter hostage. If one can suspend belief about the likelihood of this happening then it rattles along nicely and I do like Eddie.

38. Hot Money - Dick Francis

My latest Dick Francis read. Slightly different from most of his books as it focuses on an extended dysfunctional family (so extended there is a cast list at the beginning) and which of them is a murderer. More akin to an Agatha Christie but set in the racing world. Ian, one of the family, is an amateur jockey and takes on the task of investigating his family when the police are getting nowhere. I enjoyed it but it’s not vintage Francis.

39. The Plea - Steve Cavanagh

Couldn’t stop myself and read another Eddie Flynn story. Again, Eddie is defending under duress because his wife is implicated in a crime. This time his client is a social media billionaire charged with murdering his girlfriend. However, the defendant may also be able to help out the FBI on another matter and cut a deal which will also give Eddie’s wife immunity. This had too many plot strands for me - I would have been quite happy with just the murder trial!

@FortunaMajor

Just got the email, the short list is

Unsettled Ground
No One Is Talking About This
Piranesi
Transcendent Kingdom
Hope the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
The Vanishing Half

Thankfully none of the shockers have made it and it's a decent list.

I agree Fortuna, that's quite a respectable list! I'm pleased that four of my favourites made it on. I'm actually a bit surprised that No One Is Talking About This was shortlisted, as I thought it would be a marmite book and some people wouldn't get on with it at all, but I'm glad it's there.

The two that weren't on my list were Unsettled Ground and One-Armed Sister, but they're both impressive books in that they succeed in creating a vivid sense of a particular place/setting.

P.S. Feel better soon Fortuna!

@TimeforaGandT, I really like Hot Money, partlu because it is a bit different from the usual Francis style, but it never occurred to me that maybe that is because it is Christie- like, and I like a good Christie too.

39-41) Pressure Head, Hard Tail and Relief Valve by JL Merrow. More light gay romance, this time two detective stories and one straight romance, more escapism from work and life stress!

Eine, I’ve got My Antonìa on my wish list. Excited about it.
Fortuna, I’m half way through Rivers of London. Loving it so disappointed to hear that it becomes tedious. I love the concept and the execution and was excited at the idea of a series I could really get into.

Interesting shortlist and great to read your views on the books @FortunaMajor & @cassandre, even the one we don't mention. Out of the ones that made it, I've only read Piranesi, which would be a worthy winner. I would have liked to see Small Pleasures which I'm about a third of the way through and really enjoying. I did think Burnt Sugar might make it, as though I didn't love it, it seems a very prizey type of book. Anyway I'm going to try and read the others before the winner is announced in July.

@TimeforaGandT is Hot Money the one where he "wins" on the nod? I've always remembered that story line from when I read it as a teenager.

21. Ritual by Adam Nevill

Picked up for 99p I think at a point it was recommended on here. I hesitate to say I enjoyed it as the story is pretty dark and violent but it had me on the edge of my seat and scared so I guess it achieved the aim of the book.

Still struggling through a non-fiction book about Nazis on drugs which I am dipping into every so often but think I need to pick a fiction book with a deliberately lighter story next!

Interesting to see the love for Hot Money which I did enjoy, even though it’s not typical Francis, as I am also a fan of Agatha Christie.

Yes, @Stokey it is the one where the race is won “on the nod”! What a phenomenal memory you have....

Pepe, you might go on to love it, which I hope you do as there is nothing better than finding a series to get into. I had high hopes for it and really wanted to like it. I'm in a funny place at the moment so it's probably me rather than the book.

Thanks Cassandre. Today I feel slightly unwell which is a huge improvement on yesterday's hideously ill feeling. I'm hoping to be back to normal tomorrow if I can sleep tonight.

I'm pleased with the shortlist even if it doesn't match mine. I've always liked Claire Fuller's writing and I'm glad to see it recognised. I think No One will be under appreciated, but it tried do do something different and that made it an interesting read. I'd be pleased to see any of these win, all worthy contenders. I think Ali Smith is a victim of her own success, she doesn't always get considered because others feel she has already 'made it'.

Stokey I agree about Burnt Sugar screaming all of the prize stereotypes.

Glad you ‘liked’ The Ritual - it’s me who’s always bouncing up and down and recommended it.

Thinking of DNF on my current read Lost Boy by Christina Henry, it’s a Peter Pan retelling from Hook’s POV, the tension-building is brilliant. But here the Lost Boys are real little boys fighting and bashing each other and dying, in a Lord of the Flies type scenario, and one of them is only five which I can’t quite take when I’ve got a nearly-five year old at home. Before motherhood I would have loved it.

27. Longbourn by Jo Baker. I think this has had mixed reviews on this thread, but I'm broadly on the positive side. I liked the overall concept (Pride and Prejudice from the servants' perspective), and as a massive P&P fan I enjoyed following the parallels between the two stories. Perhaps a little slow-moving at times, but basically a good read.

Christina Henry’s twists on children’s literature are very dark LadybirdDaphne. I have to be in the mood for them.

@PepeLePew

Eine, I’ve got My Antonìa on my wish list. Excited about it. Fortuna, I’m half way through Rivers of London. Loving it so disappointed to hear that it becomes tedious. I love the concept and the execution and was excited at the idea of a series I could really get into.

Another voice that the Rivers Of London series goes rapidly downhill, sets up ideas in one book it doesn't so much as refer to in the next, and in one book I think its Foxglove Summer I found the "shades of Soham" element in poor taste.

Christina Henry’s twists on children’s literature are very dark

Yes, I read the one based on Alice in Wonderland and that was very disturbing. I didn’t enjoy it in the end. Used to love horror type books when I was younger but really struggle with them now.

@RazorstormUnicorn

21. Ritual by Adam Nevill

Picked up for 99p I think at a point it was recommended on here. I hesitate to say I enjoyed it as the story is pretty dark and violent but it had me on the edge of my seat and scared so I guess it achieved the aim of the book.

Still struggling through a non-fiction book about Nazis on drugs which I am dipping into every so often but think I need to pick a fiction book with a deliberately lighter story next!

I read a review about that Nazi drugs book (probably in the Guardian) that said lots of it was pretty much made up nonsense.

Well that is disappointing, Eine. If I’m signing up for world building I want it to be consistent. And I am not interested at all in any Soham-like plot threads. Too close to home.