50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

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

Our teacher also read The Hobbit to us when I was 9. Loved it too.

Fortuna, I am in complete agreement with you on The Shadow King (interesting) and Real Lives (“Oppression Olympics list of issues with no plot” - perfect description).

The Shadow King sounds interesting, I think I read a review of it last year as well, I've got it in my kindle samples library. Maybe time to upgrade to the TBR pile.

@ShakeItOff2000

Fortuna, I am in complete agreement with you on The Shadow King (interesting) and Real Lives (“Oppression Olympics list of issues with no plot” - perfect description).

Shake I'm so glad you've said this about Real Lives. Sometimes you see the rave reviews on Goodreads and wonder if you've read the same book or fundamentally missed something. I know a lot of the early reviews have been freebie copies so it's in the reviewers interest to say something good and keep getting selected for new books, but still.

Janina it took me a few attempts to get into The Shadow King, but worth it in the end.

As a long time amateur reviewer, if I don't like a book I say so (at least when I get round to writing about books), though I'm probably not as critical a reader as some of you on here.

I think the difference between amateur reviewers and professional ones, eg journalists, and often other writers, who get rare paid gigs, is that those of us who are amateurs generally choose what we read and review. I do continue reading books when I should probably give up, and I have got very bad at actually writing formal reviews (blush) but some bloggers and amateur reviewers of books will just give up, or won't write a review if they don't have fairly positive things to say.

i don't necessarily take anyone's word for a recommendation but I will read the reviews and think about it.

Ive also bought or recommended books for other people that I wasn't that keen on myself but I thought they would enjoy or get something from. For example, some years ago I read a David Lodge novel that I didn't like nearly as much as previous books I've read by him but really helped me to understand my mum's husband's hearing problems, and I mentioned it to my mum saying I didn't enjoy reading but did find this bit useful. I think she and her dh did both read and enjoy the book more than I had.

79: The Professor and the Parson - Adam Sisman

Non-fiction. I've had this on the tbr pile for a while and kept forgetting I had it. Short and frankly gobsmacking account of the outrageously fraudulent career of Robert Parkins, aka Peters, aka 'the Romeo of the Church'. Over a long career Parkins inveigled himself into countless academic and church appointments despite never having taken a degree and regardless of the fact that he'd been both defrocked and jailed (and married numerous times, at least twice bigamously).

He was found out by the eminent historian Hugh Trevor-Roper (later to be humiliated for his endorsement of the fake 'Hitler Diaries'), who kept a dossier for years on Parkins' exploits across the world as he cut a fraudulent swathe through the UK, US, Australia, Canada and South Africa, lying prodigiously wherever he went.

The astonishing and depressing thing is that nobody actually managed to stop this man from committing fraud on an industrial scale, even though dozens, if not hundreds of people in his sphere of operation were fully aware of his existence and what he was apparently determined to do. They did usually manage to frustrate his constant attempts to land jobs he was in no way qualified for, and alert institutions to his trumped-up qualifications, but ultimately he made it to his 80s while still masquerading as an ordained priest and theological scholar. I suppose it just proves that if you're brazen enough you really can get away with anything.

39. The Only Plane in the Sky - Garrett M Graff

Much reviewed on this thread and highly recommended. At twenty years' distance my overwhelming feeling on reading this was sadness. In the mid to late 2000s I bought several books about 9/11 because I thought it was important to read about it, but at that time I found the subject matter so distressing I literally hid the books at the back of my bookshelves. Having watched one of the 9/11 documentaries on the BBC I realise there is another reason this kind of oral history is important. The wife of one of the pilots on United 93 spoke about how the narrative was almost entirely about the passengers. She understood why that narrative was what people needed to hear, but was angry that almost no-one realised that one of the pilots was black, as his story is just not pushed forward. It made me realise how a book like this one can give space to many more voices.

40. House of Trelawney - Hannah Rothschild

With apologies to Stokey, this was my recommendation, after reading a third of the book. Too much exposition and Mills & Boon sex and goes on a bit long.

To add to the chat on primary school reading experiences, in my small rural primary we used to get twice-yearly visits from the mobile library. We would each choose two books and put them in a big tea-chest, and then got to pick two books to take home every Friday. Happy memories.

I taught Billy Liar when I was a very young teacher, many years ago. I remember it very fondly.

Billy Liar certainly feels like a blast from the past!

Speaking of which, have just finished Crisis?What Crisis? Britain in the 1970s by historian Alwyn W Turner, who DS2 put me onto.

Soem of his popular culture references show his own tastes (slight obsession with sci fi, I, Claudius, and Til Death Us Do Part and went over my head, but it's an interesting book, with the premise that the 70s matter more than people give them credit for, squashed as they seem to be between the iconic decades. I did not realise, for example, that Callaghan could - and should- have called an election in 78 that he probably would have won, thus changing the path of history .

The most interesting chapters are the ones on the EEC referendum, and the chapter on Race. At the time of writing , Turner didn't foresee Brexit or the sort of 'anti woke ' political sentiments of the last two years and these chapters have an almost spooky resonance. In many respects, I am reflecting that we now actually live in a time quite akin to the 70s, with schisms in the Labour party and a growth of New Right libertarianism. It is definitely an intriguing read from that point of view. He has also written about the 80s, 90s and the 21st century so I will read all those at some point too!

If anyone wants to join in the Never Let Me Go discussions (bunfights) it’s 99p today along with most other Ishiguro books (not Klara and the Sun unfortunately). I’ve picked up a couple I haven’t read. I have a mixed relationship with Ishiguro - I love NLMG, was a bit bored by the butler (although enjoyed it more on a second reading) and thought The Unconsoled was the biggest pile of tosh I have ever read and I couldn’t finish it. Am intrigued to see what I make of his others!

I was about to post about Ishiguro deals. I've bought them all previously on offers - have read two of his books, Never Let Me Go and When We Were Orphans both with my library reading group, but do want to read the others. Especially Remains of the Day intrigues me - big house and period setting.

67. Dead Lions, Mick Herron

Second in the Slow Horses series. You have to be awake while reading these - everyone seems to be trying to double-cross one another and Herron avoids too much explanation, leaving the reader to join a fair few of the dots for themselves. Clever and enjoyable, although I could have done with fewer descriptions of Jackson Lamb farting.

68. Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell

Reviewed everywhere, including here. I have little to add except to say that I found it convincing, which meant it broke my heart.

69. The Familiars, Stacey Halls

Swirly gothic based on the real-life Pendle witch trials. I'd saved this as we were staying very close to the area where the "witches" lived and I was really hoping that the book and setting would add to one another.

Unfortunately a fail on this front. Firstly, I didn't think the book was particularly good. Writing and characterisation both clumsy, story surprisingly tedious considering the subject matter. I would have DNF-ed it before getting to 25% if I hadn't been determined to read it because of the location.

This area of Lancashire is stunning - beautiful and atmospheric. It would have made SUCH a great setting for a story of witchcraft and secrets but I didn't find anything in Halls' descriptions that conjured up (hah, sorry - not deliberate!) the local landscape, the elusiveness of mists and shifting light, the narrow valleys and stark moors on top of the hill. Such a missed opportunity; it could have been set anywhere.

On the plus side, I did pick up some context to the story of the witch trials, which dovetailed interestingly with Hamnet, set only 20 years before. The turmoil and paranoia around religious beliefs, and mistrust of Catholics. The importance of traditional medicines, as well as superstitious beliefs, and the different ways that these might be viewed. The role of women and the lack of power that they held within society. There are probably books which explore these issues more effectively than The Familiars, but certainly a consideration of the witch trials gave an interesting perspective on O'Farrell's depiction of Agnes in Hamnet.

70. The Unexpected Joy of the Ordinary, Catherine Gray

My mood in September tends to veer between new-term-new-pencils-must-improve-life resolutions and hopefulness, and end-of-summer melancholy as the days shorten and leaves start to turn. I picked this up hoping to find some tips on not letting myself get into a slump. I'd say this is more "Pop" than "Science" but I did get some good tips on appreciating life and staying positive.

71. The Chalet, Catherine Cooper

Psychological thriller very much in the vein of The Hunting Party. Two narratives, 22 years apart in the same ski resort. Two parties of unpleasant rich people, two weeks of terrible weather with white-outs and closed lifts, numerous tensions between the characters. Who will end up dead and why, and how are the two narratives interconnected? Not going to win the Booker any time soon but I enjoyed the escapist setting.

Also the discussion on primary school reading reminded me of this lovely story

picturebookden.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-gift-of-giving-by-pippa-goodhart.html

My love of reading came in part from my primary teacher reading us The Dark Is Rising and the Peter Dickinson books.

I don’t remember where I got to in terms of updates and can’t locate my list so will just go ahead with some of my recent reads…

69 Bay of Angels by Anita Brookner
I read my first Anita Brookner earlier this year and am rationing myself with her others as I enjoy them so much. I read a review that said, essentially, that all her books are the same but very different. There are certainly common themes across many of them; this reminded me of others such as Look At Me, with a young, even naïve, protagonist with few emotional connections, finding her way through challenging emotional relationships and (often) kicking around sparse dark flats in West London. In this, Zoe’s mother remarries and moves to the south of France. When things go awry, Zoe has to manage the challenges and opportunities that her mother’s relationship presents, while finding her own way in the world.
For me the appeal of Brookner isn’t the plots, or the predicaments, but the language and the way the characters move through the world. I like their distance, and detachment, and the sense of remoteness that Brookner creates – even while we are privy to their innermost thoughts, we never really understand them and I like that.

70 Learning to Swim by Clare Chambers
I know several of us (me included) have read and enjoyed Small Pleasures. This was a warmer and in some ways more traditional story but still with the same attention to detail and characterisation. Abigail is a cellist who bumps into a childhood sweetheart at a party. The majority of the story is about Abigail’s adolescence, her relationship with her parents, and with her friend Frances and her family. It’s very much a coming of age novel, with humour and affection and some darker themes as well. I found it incredibly easy to read, and deeply satisfying. I enjoyed the nostalgic detail of Abigail’s childhood which really reminded me of mine.

71 House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild
I think Stokey nailed this – good in parts but a bit of a mess overall. I didn’t really believe the long-lost daughter plot or have any real insight into her and her motivations. And a lot of the other characters felt very two dimensional. I felt a lot of sympathy for poor Jane, trying to make things work in desperately trying circumstances but there was far too much chat about her mince recipes.

72 The Fortnight In September by RC Sherriff
This is going to be one of my highlights of the year. Sherriff wrote Journey's End which lots of us will remember from English lessons, but this is completely different, and is a million years away from the anguish and tedium of the WW1 trenches. It’s a simple story about a family going on holiday to Bognor Regis, as they do every year. The story starts the day before and takes us through each day they spend together. It was written in 1931 but so much of it still felt so fresh and relevant – the excitement of a holiday, the jeopardy of the journey, the choices you make about how to spend your time and money and the consequences of those choices, the early enthusiasm then the languor as you settle in and finally the dread of returning to real life as the end approaches. This is the most wonderful, gentle, perceptive story I’ve read in ages, and I loved every paragraph of it.

I have The Fortnight in September on my list to read. I'm really enjoying reading books from the 1930s - simpler times but by no means simple.

Agree also with your thoughts on House of Trelawney, Pepe. The Ayesha subplot seemed pretty pointless. I thought she might turn out to be the daughter of one of the other characters, but ... no. Jane was the only properly filled out character, I thought.

As her editor, Maud, I'd have suggested ditching all the other perspectives and telling the whole story through Jane's eyes. We'd have lost a bit of insight into the financial crash but to be honest apart from some fairly leaden exposition we didn't really get that much anyway and I think it would have been largely incomprehensible to me if I didn't know a lot about it already.

Yes, exactly. I love reading about economics but not when they're shoe-horned into a family saga.

I happened to half-hear the first episode of The Fortnight in September being read on R4 as their book at midday this week. It's on my tbr pile too and I actually started it about a year ago, put it down after a couple of chapters and just never got round to carrying on - I really must finish it!

94. Nothing To Envy by Barbara Demick (Audible)

(Eagle eyed will notice I have messed up on numbers and its by consistently leaving the same book off my list, I am definitely now on 94)

This book, chronicling the lives of those in North Korea, is an informative and insightful read but it just didn't work for me as an audio, I didn't care for the narrator at all which of course made all 12 hours a real struggle.

I think part of my issue was that I couldn't see the formatting and I just think as a whole its better suited as an actual read.

Susanna Clarke has won the Women's Prize for Fiction with Piranesi.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/sep/08/womens-prize-for-fiction-goes-to-susanna-clarkes-mind-bending-piranesi?CMP=ShareiOSAppp_Other

A worthy winner there for me. It's the one that stood out the most and has remained the most memorable.

A worthy winner there for me. It's the one that stood out the most and has remained the most memorable

Agreed, I read it around January and it's stuck with me

The Fortnight in September is the serial that is currently broadcast on R4 at midday and at 10.45 pm as "Book at Bedtime". It should be available to catch up via Sounds for at least a few days. I read and enjoyed it a couple of years ago. I haven't read any of his other work, even at school.

I knew it was an old book but didn't particularly think of the period when it was set - I read quite a lot of books set in the 1930s - many historical but some witten at the time as well, and many of even the contemporary ones don't read as being about a simpler time at all! Perhaps my favourite 1930s novel is Winifred Holtby's final and best one, South Riding as she sadly died very young of Bright's disease between finishing this novel and its publication. Its themes include education and local government - central characters include a 40 year old headteacher of a girls' school, and an older Conservative county councillor in East Yorkshire (both women).

I was coming on here to say the same about Piranesi. I was really drawn into the world she created.

No need to apologise @MaudOfTheMarches, there's always hits and misses, agree that a good editor could have worked wonders with it.