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?

I'm having a bad run of real misery fest and dull books. May have to retreat to a "comfort read."

14. Widowland - MJ Carey. This is another "What if the Nazis..." with The Handmaid's Tale subjugation and stratification of women into csates and cartoon caricature Germans "who have ways of making you talk" thrown in. It's very poorly executed IMHO, reads like a bad fanfic. Older single women are condemned to live in "widowlands" given barely enough food to eat, live in derilect houes and work as cleaners. Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson are about to be crowned monarchs and the ailing Hitler is due to visit when graffiti quoting from Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication..." starts appearing on public buildings and our plucky "Geli" (highest caste English Rose) is sent to spy.

Run by Ann Patchett - I thought the Dutch House was okay so give this one a go on 99p Kindle offer but it's a mess. I really didn't connect with any oft he characters and it really didn't work. Glad when it ended.
Tip and Teddy, African American brothers were adopted as babies by white Irish American, Doyle a former mayor and his wife. One evening in a snowstorm theboys and Doyle are leaving a talk by Jesse Jackson when Tip is almost run over by a car. He has been pushed out of way by a woman who is gravely injured. Her young daughter left on the sidewalk reveals that all her life she and her mother have been "watching" the boys and their family and that she is her sister. Some Catholicism, Irish sentimentailty, a visit from a ghost explaining a lot of backstory and a quirky family is thrown into the pot. Anne Tyler-ish but the mix doesn't quite gel for me.

10. One of Them: From Albert Square to Parliament Square - Michael Cashman. I've had a soft spot for Michael since his EastEnders days in the mid-80s so I was very much looking forward to reading his memoir. He is a very empathic person, it seems, but I felt his empathy was misplaced when he was writing about the person who abused him as a child (which is heartbreaking to read) and his parents, who were negligent in their parenting. The book is too detailed at times, but there's some amusing stories and he's particularly strong on evocating the East End of the 50s and 60s, where he grew up.

Welcome @Lockdowntherabbithole

@bibliomania

Majority of the family were Junior/Leaving I always thought it was MUCH harder and MUCH more expensive in a way most Brits don't realise

Posting my list again to correct missing words in titles and spelling errors

1. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
2. The Testaments - Margaret Atwood
3. The Baby Group - Caroline Corcoran
4. Who Killed Ruby? - Camilla Way
5. The Angina Monologues - Samer Nashef
6. The Shelf - Helly Acton
7. Too Scared To Tell - Cathy Glass
8. I Can't Believe You Just Said That- Danny Wallace
9. No One Ever Has Sex On A Tuesday - Tracy Bloom

10. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds InThis Strange World - Elif Shafak 11. Her perfect Lies - Lana Newton 12. The Warning - Kathryn Croft 13. Between You And Me - Lisa Hall 14. Dead To Me - Lesley Pearse 15. Below The Big Blue Sky - Anna McPartlin 16. Unnatural Causes - Dr Richard Shepherd 17. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro 18. So.....anyway - John Clees 19. Of Mice And Men - John Steinbeck 20. We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver 21. Night Music - Jojo Moyes 22. The Road - Cormac McCarthy 23. 29 Seconds - T M Logan 24. DNF The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman 25. All That Remains - Sue Black 26. The Girl with the Louding Voice - Abi Dare 27. Johnny got his Gun - Dalton Trumbo 28. Last Night - Mhairi McFarlane

The Picture on the Fridge Ian W Sainsbury
This would be right up my alley normally, as after a couple of heavy reads I just wanted something I know i'd like, I have to say that i'd half guessed what was happening and because of this it left me a bit underwhelmed. There's nothing essentially wrong with it, I guess I was expecting more than what i'd guessed pretty early on.

Most of the books i've read this year are not books I would normally gravitate towards, so I've consciously been changing my reading habit: maybe this has had a more profound effect on my choice of reading material than I have previously realised.

I was thinking that, because we indicate favourite books by writing them in bold, it may be interesting to see other peoples strongly held dislikes too, maybe indicating them by writing them in italics?

Any thoughts?

Hushabye, I think some people have put stinkers in italics before now, iirc!

My next one is definitely worthy of bold:

40: The Land Where Lemons Grow - Helena Attlee

This is a great book. Helena Attlee goes in search of citrus fruit and its history, mainly in Italy and Sicily, and uncovers some entrancing stories about this ancient crop. It's not just lemons (including bergamots and citrons): she covers various types of oranges, including Sicily's blood oranges and the intensely bitter chinotti of Liguria that are an essential ingredient in making Campari. Add to that fascinating anecdotes about the perfume trade, marmalade-making, the Mafia (which actually came into being as a result of the citrus-growing trade) how citrus cured scurvy, and beautiful descriptions of landscape and food, and I was totally hooked. I just want to go to all these wonderful lemon- and orange-growing places now

@Hushabyelullaby

I was thinking that, because we indicate favourite books by writing them in bold, it may be interesting to see other peoples strongly held dislikes too, maybe indicating them by writing them in italics?

Any thoughts?

I think that was the case at one point but it didnt stick

@TimeforaGandT, I agree that the talking direct to the reader in Acts and Omissions was annoying, but like you I would like to read the next one!

33. The Appeal by Janice Hallett. Recently reviewed above (twice I think, but am on phone and it doesn't search well!), this sounded interesting and was available from the library- at first I wasn't sure about the voices in the various emails and texts; but I got hooked pretty quickly and read it in one sitting. A really good combo of epistolary novel and detective story, with a proper, sensible ending (unlike HBP!). Would recommend to anyone who likes light detective fiction.

I'm joining the challenge late as it is already mid April! Aiming for 15 rather than 50!

First one finished: Slammerkin by Emma Donahue. Excellent book, pretty harrowing in places but well-written, compelling and made me consider things like freedom and society.

Next up, Tidelands by Phillippa Gregory, The Wonder by Emma Donahue and The Guest List by someone I can't remember.

Welcome @Lockdowntherabbithole and @Cindy87

I always put my stinkers in italics in my lists and speaking of which:

1. All at Sea - Decca Aitkenhead
2. The Black Flamingo - Dean Atta
3. The Move - Felicity Everett
4. Apple of My Eye - Helene Hanff
5. Walking with Ghosts - Gabriel Byrne
6. Expectation - Anna Hope
7. My Therapist Says
8. Fat Cow, Fat Chance - Jenni Murray
9. Dear Reader - Cathy Rentzenbrink

10. One of Them: From Albert Square to Parliament Square - Michael Cashman

@Tanaqui, glad it wasn’t just me! It felt a bit contrived/artificial - but then I sometimes wonder if I am just becoming increasingly intolerant as I get older - which is quite possible!

Ahh ok, thanks all. I'm newish to the book challenge so hadn't seen it had been tried already

2*7. Feynman by Ottaviani and Myrick
*
This is a non-fiction graphic novel covering the work of the Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynman which I spotted when trailing around after DH in a comic book store a few years ago and thought it sounded interesting.

I'd heard of Feynman before and was aware of his work on the commission investigating the causes of the 1986 Challenger disaster and would've like to see more on this. For the most part I liked Feynman who seems to have lived his life without much compromise and with a sense of joy and wonder - although he clearly regretted his role in the Manhattan Project. There were elements where I felt he was a tad sexist, but some of this may be down to the context, yet in other scenarios (he was the one who encouraged his sister to study science like she wanted to in spite of opposition from his parents) he was somewhat ahead of his time.

The science was pretty complicated (as a cabbie in the book says, if he could explain it easily it wouldn't be worth a Nobel prize) but I got the gist of some of it and found it interesting. All in all I'd say this was a good but not great book about a (generally) good man.

48. Hungry by Grace Dent I think a few people have reviewed this - it's the food writer / columnist's autobiography, from her childhood in 1970s Carlisle through to the present day.
    I'm much the same age as her, and I loved the first part particularly - memories of Presto supermarkets (my mum made amazing bacon & onion roll with suet pastry from their cheap packs of bacon bits), Brownies & dodgy 70s/80s education. It's a delightful read throughout, though heartbreaking to watch her dad sliding into dementia & the family coping with it.

On another note, I have real books from the real library! Orders only for the moment, but we're promised browsing in a couple of weeks :) Both brand new, Prairie Fires as recommended on here, and Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Mind you, I also have to read my serious collection of online-library books too before they expire....

MamaNewtNewt, if you want to know more about Feynman, his own books (Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman and What Do You Care What Other People Think) are great fun and very accessible. His account death of his first wife is very moving; he clearly loved her very much. Genius by James Gleick is a good biography too. You’re right that his wonder at science is infectious and his enthusiasm for learning anything that caught his interest is inspiring. Re-reading these books recently I was struck by some of his attitudes - he certainly didn’t treat all women well, although he was a great champion of women in science as you say, and I suspect he’d be deeply irritating to have around. A complicated man, in many ways. But brilliant, without a doubt.

Epic bold fails throughout that post. Sorry, everyone.

Thanks @PepeLePew I'll have a look for those

Just popping in to say that the lovely Trustee from the Tool Room is in today's deals.

Sapatsea thanks for your review on Run, this is available on my elibrary and have it bookmarked but don't think I will be in a hurry to read it now, too many other wonderful books out there!

My reading pace has slowed down, other demands taking priority over the school hols and I now have a 2000 word essay due in next week (which I've yet to start) and an exam in three weeks. I look forward to spending lots of time reading once I have those out the way

Checking in with my latest read
The Last Thing to Burn - Will Dean
Am sure it’s been reviewed on here before, but this tells the story of “Jane” (not her real name) who has been trafficked and is living in human slavery on a remote farm with a man who is a monster. I thought the characterisation was good - Jane’s character is never patronised (as is sometimes the case when someone is writing from an immigrant viewpoint) and even the “baddie” is quite layered - with his obsessions over things being “how his mother did them”. The plot did feel a bit odd at times and felt a tad disjointed. But overall a pretty gripping read.

I’m really trying to look for something light next though as am feeling a bit fed up.

21. Dark Tower - Wastelands by Stephen King

The third in the Dark Tower series and much the same as the first two I found some parts dragged and other times I couldn't put it down. I think my biggest problem is that I don't much care about Roland and his quest. Some friends of mine count this series as among their most favourite books of all time, which leads me to believe I'm missing something.

Going to finish something unread on my Kindle next.

Thanks for your lovely review of the Lemons book, terps
I was so thrilled when it came up as a 99p kindle deal last month as I'd been wanting to read it for ages. Haven't got round to it yet but your review has certainly bumped it up the list!

Oh you must read it, nowanearlyNicemum, it really is fantastic, and I felt as though I'd been on a wonderful holiday afterwards! Actually I had the hard copy book and it was seeing it come up in the deals that finally pushed me to read it at last. Only problem was that there are no illustrations so I had to keep googling these rare varieties of lemon....

I'm a little bit obsessed with lemons in general and am lucky enough to have a little lemon tree in my garden. The one I'm dying to plant is what the French call 'la main de Bouddha' - it's amazing!!

I have a lot of books on the go at the moment but it's definitely next on my list now!

Yes, she talks quite a lot about the ‘Buddha’s hand’....I had to look up a picture of it: incredible.