50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

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

So, we're now almost half way through the year - how's the first half of the year gone for you, reading-wise?

Two more for me:

35. My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. Already reviewed by many of you, this is the story of Vanessa who, many years ago, was in a sexual relationship with her male teacher which started when she was only 15 and he was 42. The timeline switches between the present, when a woman who used to go to the same school has come forward with abuse allegations against this man, and the past when we discover the details of what happened. This is compelling and disturbing stuff. I don't think it will quite make it to my bold list because I thought it was a bit too long.

36. How to Make the World Add Up by Tim Harford. Non-fiction about how to make sense of numbers we come across in news articles, infographics shared on social media etc, and how our personal biases inevitably play a part in how we interpret them. I really liked the way in which Harford has no particular axe to grind. He wants to help us understand when statistics and algorithms can be helpful, as well as when they can be misleading, and gives interesting examples of both cases. This is excellent and highly recommended.

The Land of Spices by Kate O'Brien Terpsichore (and others?) might recognise the author's name from Brief Encounter (Miss Lewis, the Boots librarian, sets aside the latest Kate O'Brien for Laura Jesson on her Thursday visit) or have read her books, but this was my first. It was written in 1942 and condemned for its "immorality" by the Irish Censorship Board. It tells the story of an English nun, brought up in Belgium, who is the Reverend Mother of an Irish convent of a French order at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th century, with all the conflicts of personalities, doctrine and politics that that involves! It also describes her relationship with the youngest boarder, Anna, which sustains them both.

I really enjoyed this; it tells a good story and I found it more philosophical than I had originally imagined. It has some wonderfully cutting observations but also touches on some serious sociological issues which must have seemed quite shocking at the time (and no doubt contributed to the Board's censure). I shall definitely read more Kate O'Brien and would welcome suggestions if anyone has read her books.

And thank you, elkie for the suggestion of The Conductor, I'd not heard of it before.

@DesdamonasHandkerchief

All The Lonely People sounds great Hushabye, it also passes the over 4* test on Goodreads. On the TBR pile it goes!

I hesitate to say it's absolutely worth it as everyone has different tastes, I loved it for all the reasons listed. It's definitely in my top books this year!

You've got me at nun fiction, boiledegg ! I haven't read any Kate O'Brien but The Land of Spices features on the Furrowed Middlebrow top-ranking fiction list. I'm intrigued now...

Kate O'Brien also had me intrigued (this thread throws up such interesting authors and ideas to follow, thanks everyone!). I looked at her Wikipedia page and realised that I vaguely remember reading some of her books. I know I definitely read a Virago green edition of Mary Lavelle 36 years ago almost to the week when I was in the "Fever hospital" in Ireland recovering from meningitis.

I was allowed to read for 20 minutes a day and watch TV for an hour but could listen to music on my Walkman. They had some notion that reading would "scramble my eyes and be too much for my brain". My bf at the time knew I liked women writers and left several Virago books for me at the gatehouse(he wasn't allowed in)and many mix tapes that had to be "aired" by an open window for a day before I was allowed them. Strange times!!

O'Brien was very popular in Ireland and the UK in the 40's. The Wiki page says Celia Johnson's character in A Brief Encounter mentions she has the latest Kate O'Brien reserved at the library!

Mary Lavelle is set in Ireland and Spain (on the brink of Civil War).

SapatSea Funnily enough, the introduction to my copy of The Land of Spices mentions that Mary Lavelle was the other of her novels to be condemned for its immorality!

Ps Your boyfriend sounds rather lovely, I'm not sure how many boys of my acquaintance from 36 years ago would have heard of Virago books.

33 Heartstopper Vol 4 by Alice Oseman

Waterstones didn't have Vol 3 so I jumped straight to this one (DD is being more restrained and is not reading this volume until I've bought her Vol 3). The further adventures of Nick and Charlie. Nick goes on holiday and Charlie struggles with his mental health.

34 Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym

My first Barbara Pym. Thanks to bibliomania for recommending, it may be a period piece but there's plenty about the academic world that was recognisable from my time in North Oxford 60 years later. Bliss. Will be adding Excellent Women et al to the TBR pile (along with Kate O'Brien, this thread is not good for cutting down TBR piles!).

Welcome to the Pym club, Janina. It is bliss

74. Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Being the child of a celebrity was not something the Riva children ever experienced, except in name only but they had their Mum and they had each other

Through their own merits their party is the must attend event of the summer, but this years will be the party to end all others.

Ok, Taylor Jenkins Reid books are the definition of Junk Food Literature, but I LOVE them ALWAYS frothy ALWAYS page turners.

58. The Renegades of Pern by Anne McCaffrey

A Dragonriders of Pern book.
This one has more of a focus on the “holdless” - the people who don’t have a secure home in a hold for one reason or another, and are so more vulnerable to the risks of Threadfall.
Plus at the end, there’s more important discoveries made about the original settlers of Pern.
An enjoyable re-read.

59. The Orphanage of Gods by Helena Coggan

A fantasy novel. 20 years ago, the humans came for their “gods” - superpowered individuals with silver blood, or grey blood if they were a half-god. The gods were all but wiped out.
The surviving free gods and half gods, who’ve formed a group calling themselves the Resistance, are hiding in the far north.
As all children are born with red blood, Orphans and foundlings were put into a high security orphanage, watched for any signs of unusual abilities, and kept there until adults, when a final blood test would determine whether they’re human or not. And any gods or half gods are taken off to a prison in the middle of nowhere and never heard of again.

Hero (half-god) and her brother Joshua (god) have escaped, and are off on a quest to rescue their sister Kestrel (human) from this prison. Which of course, isn’t going to be easy.

I liked the concept of this book, but ultimately it didn’t really work for me. Too many bits that didn’t make much sense. And the ending seemed far too neat and easy.

Yay, a Pym convert, Janina! Excellent Women is also, well, excellent, and I thoroughly recommend Some Tame Gazelle.

I read Land of Spices back in my teens and I remember being very impressed, although somewhat confused by the title at the time.

59. From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in Narnia with my Nine Year Old Self, by Katherine Langrish
I'm a sucker for the premise: author re-reads the Narnia series, juxtaposing her adult reading of it with her childhood understanding. I was a bit let down by the execution, as I didn't feel she brought much to the party - she didn't really offer any illuminating new perpectives or interesting personal anecdotes. Still, you never really regret a trip back to Narnia.

23. Sisters by Daisy Johnson

July and September are sisters, born 10 months apart but totally inseperable. They have blocked out their depressed mother who seems to avoid contact with them and they have developed their own language, rituals and life seperate from the rest of society. Something very bad has happened in their school in Oxford and their mother moves them up north to the coast to the sanctuary of a rather creepy house belonging to their dead father's sister.

The narrative was a bit difficult to navigate at first as he story is told through July's eyes, then in the third person (almost as if the house is speaking), then the mother and then July again. Through this we get an insight into what has really been happening. There are some twists in the plot so I won't spoiler. I was drawn into this book, so if you struggle at first, do perservere, it is worth it.

I think the co dependent relationship between the sisters is really well described, how the dominant September rules July and how disaster might strike if July follows her own path. Vaguely menacing and sinister with some powerful writing that captures the "outsider" feelings of youth.

38. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
I only ever read Heinlein when I have a boyfriend... anyway. Having watched the movie, I read the book. Reading this made me think even better of the film, which was a great action ride with a sly satirical take on what militarism leads to. The book isn't sly, satirical or action packed, but read very much like an early Tom Clancy, ie lots of heavy focus on the details of army life, plenty of men slapping each other on the back for being exceptional dudes, and lengthy lectures on the virtues of army discipline. But with cool space suits.

I have to admit I read right to the end. Heinlein does this; you want to know what happens, even when nothing is happening. The style is clean and direct. And I would still say he's a good sci-fi author, which I'm afraid tells you what I generally think of sci-fi.

In case anyone's tempted by the Kate O'Brien but perplexed by the title, The Land of Spices is from the last line of George Herbert's poem Prayer (1), link here: www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44371/prayer-i

It makes more sense in the context of the book.

I read Mary Lavelle as a teenager (I remember the excitement of walking round the corner from the teen shelves in the library and choosing from the adult shelves instead) and it really stayed with me. I was thrilled to pick up a green Virago paperback edition from a junk stall in the market a couple of years ago, but I haven't been back for a re-read yet.

61 The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Fantasy novel set in a remote, forested medieval-ish Russia, and drawing on Russian folk mythology. It follows Vasya, who can see & talk to the household and land spirits, & the conflct with a new priest sent to the village who wants to stamp out belief in such things.
I know a lot of people have liked this, but I thought it was OK but not great. Plus points for the setting, and the thought behind it (the extremely limited options open to women & girls, the hardship of winter even in prosperous households). Unfortunately though the whole thing felt promising, the characters never really came to life for me & the plot was just a bit flat.

I didn't enjoy it any where near as much as Naomi Novik's eastern European set alternate fairytales Uprooted & Spinning Silver, despite feeling like the author probably knew a lot more about Russian folklore.

62. Powder & Patch by Georgette Heyer I had my 2nd jab on Sunday, & it laid me low for 24 hours, so needed something zero effort to read. I love the first half of this, where country bumpkin Philip Jettan is despatched (by his father & the girl he loves) to Paris to become a gentleman. Unfortunately he really should have stayed there, and the second half where he returns to London is (a) rife with what optimistically be described as outdated attitudes and (b) tedious. Still, good enough to keep its place on my shelf though and come out from time to time.

Really interesting to see the different Potter influences. I'm not familiar with lot of them.

I appear to have cocked up my numbering somewhere, but I'm not really that fussed on totals this year after stressing myself out for the last two.

Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
First half of C20th sliding doors story of a family where one daughter lives multiple lives.

This was my second attempt. I got bored after about 100 pages the first time. I found it hard going until about 200 pages this time when it finally picked up. It could just be me but with books with very short chapters, I find them too easy to put down. This was a chore to finish. I know other have loved it, but I cant say I was that enamoured with it.

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A destitute former student commits a random murder and then plays cat and mouse with the police while his conscience starts to get the better of him.

This is a very complex and dense novel that took a lot of careful reading for me. I found it easy to get a bit lost and have to go back and reread sections. It's character driven rather than plot driven with a lot of themes and much to unpick. It's quite a heavy and atmospheric read, but very drawn out and ultimately a slog to get through. I could easily have ditched it at any point in the final third. It felt like a very dark Dickens with all the whimsy sucked out.

33. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

So yes, this is far too long, and yes, I understand the controversy, and, and, and....I really enjoyed it. It was just what I needed to soothe my poor, frazzled brain. The plot got very silly and over-intricate at points, I really do not like Rowling's Dickensian habit (also evident in HP) of "phonetically" transcribing the speech of people with particular accents - but I just didn't care about all that, because I was enjoying reading so much. JKR reminds me of Stephen King in some ways, because I think either of them could pretty much write anything and I'd be like yeah, fine, whatever, just let it wash over me in a delicious word wave. She gets away with everything else because I really like her characters and because they just do and think about ordinary things that ring true and are strangely comforting. Which is an odd thing to say about a book featuring a serial killer.

Anyway, the big controversy around this book was of course the fact that the serial killer character, Dennis Creed, sometimes donned women's clothing to appear less threatening. There was more of this than mentioned in the "minimising" reviews, and less of it than mentioned in the reviews condemning the book as transphobic. For me (hopefully without giving too much away) there was a theme running through the book of people disguising their true selves to achieve particular ends, of which this was just one example. It didn't feel to me like a comment on women's safe spaces - although it may have been, and I understand why it has been read in that way. But I didn't personally feel the references were intended to insert JKR's personal views on that issue into the book in the way many reviews have suggested, as they felt of a piece with the story.

It felt like a very dark Dickens with all the whimsy sucked out.
You are so right FortunaMajor

@FortunaMajor - if you were at 88 the other day, you've read 2 more, and you count The Worst Witch as well, 91. Not that it really matters.

Anyone read the Chimanda Ngozi Adiche article on social media? There's a thread on it over on feminist chat. It's interesting.

50. The girl with the louding voice - much reviewed already on here. I loved this story about Adunni and her trials, escaping from a terrible father to an even worse husband. It was sad but funny with a great c ntral character. A good book to get me to 50.

@Stokey

It made me think how everyone tries to ride the coattails of others success, mainly, how gaining fame gives other people the sense that you are fair game to be used.

46. The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer

The cat is set amongst the pigeons when Lord Darracott announces to his family that his heir is not amongst them but is the son of his long dead runaway black sheep son who married a weaver’s daughter. Lord Darracott is expecting his heir, Hugo, to join the family imminently and expects them all to help turn him into a gentleman and that his granddaughter should marry him. None of this news is well-received and nor is Hugo. Not one of my favourites but nevertheless enjoyable.

75. The Return Of The Native by Thomas Hardy (Audible)

Read by the much missed Alan Rickman (even if there was singing )

Diggory Venn loves Thomasin Yeobright
Thomas Yeobright loves Damon Wildeve
Damon Wildeve loves Eustacia Vye
Eustacia Vye loves Damon Wildeve until Clym Yeobright seems a better prospect.

Basically, several insufferable twats enter into doomed love affairs and make each others lives miserable.

Standard Hardy

Oddly, rather enjoyed it.