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?

Oooh a 50 bookers romance! ❤️

far too chilly for me too! I would definitely have fucked off indoors again.

Nothing much in the monthly deals for me either.

Quite a nice morning here. Just sayin'.

I don't get the Jilly Cooper reference 😂

Dunno why that posted itself either! Was about to say that we call it the "lusty month of May" which (iirc) is a song from a musical.
Off to look at the deals.

Always remember that 1st of May Jilly rhyme Chessie & it looks like she's spot on with the rain this year.

Back from the Kindle offers.
I think we need to add the word "silence" or "silent" to our teashoppe-swirly-covers-Kabul Venn diagram...
I have bought
A couple of Ann Cleeves' that I didn't have
Minette Walters
Some Kids I taught (which I will either apparently weep real tears at or chuck at the wall for middle class smuggery)
Rory Stewart walking across Afghanistan. (Fear not, I'll be on the lookout for teashoppes and people going upstairs away from the camera as I go!)

@Hushabyelullaby Hi, I finished Things We Never Said a week or so ago.

I enjoyed it and it was the break from thriller that I needed! I enjoyed the wave of Shaun’s emotions and it felt as though he was still in a relationship which was a nice feel to the book.

I did keep thinking that Mags had another motive and the potential for more secrets to spill out. However, on reflection I think that it because I’ve been wrapped up in “twisty turny” thrillers

I liked the end and by the end of the book I was definitely rooting for that ending!

@SOLINVICTUS it’s from Rivals - a lovely romantic little poem that Rupert Campbell-Black recites to Cameron Cook as he’s trying to woo her:

First of May, first of May
Outdoor fucking starts today
But as usual it do rain
So we fucks off indoors again!

How do you find the Kindle monthly deals these days? I used to google ‘Kindle monthly deals’ but do sent seem to lead me anywhere.

Best - There's no specific link to monthly deals anymore, just a whole terrible section of deals. It gets worse every month and today's is particularly dire.

Ta Remus. I’ve found it now. You’re right, dire. Nothing I want.

There was a book on the Irish Civil War I quite fancied but resisted as my non-fiction pile is huge.
I got Gaudy Night on yesterday’s daily deal so have that at least.

27. Regeneration by Pat Barker

Somewhat unimpressed myself for not having read this before, even though it's been sitting on my bookshelf for years. It really does deserve all the praise it has received since its publication 30 years ago. Barker explores the effects of WWI in the setting of a psychiatric hospital run by Dr Rivers, one of many genuine historical characters in the novel. We see the war and its impact through the stories of his patients, some real (Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen) and others imagined (Billy Prior), along with a few characters who are based on Rivers' case notes so occupy a kind of hybrid space in between. Barker's writing is so good and at the same time so natural that there is no discernible line between the real and the imagined. Rivers is a great and hugely sympathetic character, who draws you into the story, and you come to care both about him and the increasing difficulty he has in reconciling his role to get soldiers fit and back to the front with his conflicting feelings about the war. I don't know a great deal about the war poets, but I knew enough to find the stories of Sassoon and Owen engrossing. Prior, a character from a more working class background, is prickly and difficult to like, and I understand he features more in the later volumes. I am not sure how I'll feel about that as he is less engaging than the others; but I am going to move straight on to the next book in the trilogy.

Welshwabbit, I have just read the Regeneration trilogy and did them back-to-back. I found the middle book the weakest/least enjoyable as too much Billy Prior and he was (to me) quite objectionable in it....

You know I've never read a Jilly or a Georgette Heyer where should I start?

Jilly? start with Rivals or Riders and stop there too Riders is better written, Rivals is funnier.

Georgette Heyer? Depends what else you like. You could start with one of the worse ones then be pleased when they get better . I think Cotillion is the funniest, Venetia or Civil Contract are about the best, These Old Shades is more dramatic. Hard to pick the worst but I'd probably say April Lady or Sprig Muslin.

I’ve never read Heyer so don’t know about that. For Jilly Cooper you need to start with Riders. Warning though - it was published in the early 80s and set through the 70s so there are some sexist attitudes portrayed, but those aside it’s good fun. Rivals (quoted above!) comes after Riders.

Fucking Billy Prior again. I hated that second book so much.

My first Heyer was Sprig Muslin and I enjoyed it enough (even if not one of her best) to carry on and read others. I’ve read April Lady but can’t recall it (which probably speaks for itself) - agree on Venetia and Cotillion.

With Jilly Cooper you have to start with Riders so you have the background to Rupert before moving onto Rivals. Hugely entertaining, although as Chessie says they are from a different era and there are some outdated attitudes and behaviour ...

[quote ChessieFL]@SOLINVICTUS it’s from Rivals - a lovely romantic little poem that Rupert Campbell-Black recites to Cameron Cook as he’s trying to woo her:

First of May, first of May
Outdoor fucking starts today
But as usual it do rain
So we fucks off indoors again![/quote]
Hah! Thank you! I have all the horsey JCs but it was about twenty years ago that I read them.

17. American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins

Felt initially a little mixed about this read. I was looking forward to reading it as soon as it came out in paperback, but then read about the controversy surrounding the book. A number of Latino based groups in American have raised concerns over a white woman writing a book like this and there is isn't enough representation of their community in the publishing industry, both publishing and authors. That point I could take on, but it also seems there has been some distasteful events surrounding the publicity e.g. barbed wire centrepieces and the author getting a book jacket 'mani' again featuring barbed wire and calling it pretty. Feels rather insensitive and a very dumb thing to say really!

Onto the book, it's the story of a woman fleeing Mexico with her 8 year old son, after the death of her family. I found the first half of the book dragged somewhat and didn't feel the urge to pick it up. Still the last half covering the actual border crossing, and I was invested in wanting to read what would be the eventual outcome for her and the wider party travelling together. Without obviously adding spoilers, I felt the ending was fair and did justice to the people undertaking such dangerous journeys. Overall, I would recommend.

Not sure what I'm reading next but likely to go for a shorter and more cheery one next!

16. Fall: The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell, by John Preston. I vaguely remember Robert Maxwell disappearing from his yacht, but I had no idea of his backstory. This is completely fascinating and definitely one of those books where fact is stranger than fiction. Gossipy, fast paced and pretty jaw dropping - loved it.

17. Pickard County Atlas, by Chris Harding Thornton. Set in small-town Nebraska over 6 days of summer in the late '70s, this is the story of longstanding tension between the town deputy and a local family that finally boils over. Very atmospheric and menacing - I think this one will stick with me for a while.

I did grab a few things in the monthly deals, including Charlie Gilmour's Featherhood, which I expect to be either brilliant or infuriating (or perhaps both).

Oh I forgot one! 18. The Appeal, by Janice Hallett which I think a few people have reviewed recently - I skipped the reviews in case of spoilers so I don't know if people liked it or not!

I found it a bit confusing towards the end but I really loved the construct of the story told via email, text and letters.

I picked up All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks (an activist during the aids crisis) in the monthly deals - I’ve heard good things.

Thanks Palegreenstars - that's on my TBR and I'd missed that it was in the sale.