50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Eight

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the eighth (and probably final) 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, it’s not too late to and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.The lurkers among you are also very welcome to come out of the woodwork and share with us what you've read!

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, the sixth one here and the seventh one here.

How have you got on this year?

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

The Broken House by Horst Kruger By a German journalist, and subtitled 'Growing up under Hitler.' Not great. A bit self indulgent and disjointed. Not really sure there was a great deal of point to it.

Remus I'm so glad you said this. I'm 50% in and struggling to see the point. I've been holding back on returning it to the library as I don't think anyone else should be subjected to it.

Glad it's not just me, Fortuna. Honestly, I'd just read the last couple of chapters and not bother with the rest of it.

@RazorstormUnicorn have you seen this thread?
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/what_were_reading/4418935-War-and-Peace-Readalong-thread-2022

It's obviously just me then!

Thanks @Tarahumara I hadn't spotted it

@Boiledeggandtoast

It's obviously just me then!

Boiledegg Not necessarily. For me, it's come in the midst of 5 other non-fiction books and 1 novel detailing the effect of the Nazis from the other side so it sounds a little bit whiny in comparison. I think I may not have had such a strong reaction to it if I hadn't been so full on immersed in that world at the moment.

From the blurb I thought it might have more to give as an understanding of the tiny creeping loss of civil liberties, but I didn't get far enough to feel it did anything other than be out of touch.

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I've just finished House of Glass - Hadley Freeman which explores her family history from 1901 via 2 wars to present day. Fascinating and very engaging. Thanks for the heads up on it recently - sorry I forget who said about it.

I could definitely do with something light hearted for the next few weeks as so much genocide doesn't really get you in the mood for Xmas.

Is there any way to request titles that are not available on Kindle? I have googled but just got info about Library Books on Kindle

38. Archangel - Robert Harris

Ludicrous but highly enjoyable page-turner set in a Yeltsin-era Russia, which already makes it feel like a period piece. Though the plot is daft (a quest for a secret notebook left by Stalin turns deadly), his prose is tight and the action rattles along at a satisfying pace.

I'm basically over Covid now but still have three days of isolation left so will see what else I can find to get me through.

Thanks Fortuna. I should first of all qualify that I'm writing this under the influence of post-Covid and menopausal brainfog. I do remember the writing coming across as quite cynical (or as noted - and I don't disagree - by Remus "self indulgent" and you "out of touch") in contrast to the more compassionate, sympathetic and emotionally engaging accounts written by victims of Nazi atrocities, but I think that was what I found interesting. If you can bear to, I would still recommend the "Day of Judgement" chapter before you give up on it completely.

I should perhaps have said interesting and unusual.

Boiledegg I'll definitely give that chapter a go. I still kept hold of it as I had a niggle about not finishing it. It was a book I really wanted to read.

I think we as a society are in a really precarious place with our current government that this felt like a timely book.

52 Frankenstein, Mary Shelley

This was a reread for me, but read as a sort of readalong with book club. We read in two halves and met each time. I loved it the first time I read it, but this time it was just not as engaging. Whether because I’ve read it, seen stage productions, films etc or just it wasn’t as good as I remember. I’m sure the story is well known. Victor Frankenstein creates a being that is aesthetically unattractive and he and the people that the creature comes across are appalled and scared by it. However, the creature begins as kind and intelligent but responds to the hurtful behaviour of people with violence. A number of things occur and Victor sets to tracking the creature. The second half told from the creature’s POV was far more interesting and Victor makes me angry. Some of the prose was wonderful and sometimes it dragged. A decent 3/5 for me.

53. The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events), Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)

I finished this last night after DS3 fell asleep so I will have to finish it again tonight. I feel like there were so many mysteries and loose ends that haven’t been tied up, but overall I have really enjoyed reading these with DS3. Lots of humour that goes over his head but makes me laugh, lots of literary reference points. I’m really glad I’ve read these books.

(For those not aware, the series follows the Baudelaire orphans who have a series of useless guardians and encounter many many unfortunate events).

Robert Harris’ Cicero trilogy is £1.99 today on kindle - well worth a look if you like historical fiction / political thrillers.

Funnily enough @LadybirdDaphne despite my Harris fandom, I couldn't get along with Cicero at all. I know lots love it though.

@FortunaMajor this made me snort out loud: I could definitely do with something light hearted for the next few weeks as so much genocide doesn't really get you in the mood for Xmas.

Just finished 45. Into Thin Air, by John Krakauer. I know this is fairly universally loved on this thread, and I found it gripping and compellingly written but the premise is so annoying. Manly men do lots of manning, with no regard for the lives of others or the environmental impact. I wonder what he thinks about the recent traffic jams at the top of Everest? It left me agreeing with Hillary that if you need a guide to climb Everest, you probably shouldn't be there.

I also wish I hadn't read the long epilogue of his squabble with Boukreev and DeWalt (who wrote The Climb) which no one comes out of very well.

My Antonia by Willa Cather Many thanks to Pepe for the recommendation. I absolutely loved this, it was like Little House on the Prairie for grown-ups.

Not a book but all you mountaineering fans should check out 14 Peaks on Netflix, really inspiring stuff.

Thanks Meg, I love a story of mountain madness. Will check it out, particularly as plans are being cancelled left, right and centre here at the moment. The weekend was busy and is now very much not busy!

And boiledegg, so glad you liked it. If you enjoyed it, then I would also recommend O, Pioneers! as another very satisfying read.

My Antonia is just 37p on Kindle btw.

Although be careful you don’t end up with this version

Thanks Pepe. Just ordered O, Pioneers!

Also, I'm sorry I can't remember who recommended the excellent Autumn Journal by Louis MacNeice last year, but there was a really interesting programme about MacNeice and his poems on Radio 3 last Sunday. Link here if you're interested:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0012gjf

I remember generally that the author of into thin air was quite scathing about the commercialising of everest, I remember at one point he was worried he didn't have enough experience and was genuinely shocked when he was one of the most experienced in the group.

90. Fierce bad rabbits by Clare Pollard

A look at the history of children's picture books. This was a lovely read, the lives of the the authors that were brought up were interesting including that the authors of the very hungry catapillar and the tiger that came to tea were both in Germany during wwII and then both wrote books involving wars lots of food!

92. The high house by Jessie Greengrass

A small family survive in a elevated house in the top of a hill after climate change has caused the sea level to rise. I haven't heard much about this one, I'm guessing because with everything people don't want to read something like this? I absolutely loved it, it's not a preachy book at all and instead focuses on the events leading up to it and the survival and running out of supplies as they try to Becomre self sufficient. It reminded me abut of the last section of the bone clocks like David Mitchell, similar tone to that.

93. Little dorrit by Charles dickens

Id say this was near the top in terms of dickens for me

62. Manhunt: The Night Stalker by Colin Sutton
True crime being one of my guilty pleasures, I recommend this to other prurient curtain-twitchers like me. I'd seen the excellent ITV drama, which turned out to be remarkably close to the book (or was the book written after the script? No matter). Anyway, as a library borrow while flopped on a sofa with the cold from hell, it was an excellent 2 hours.

I have read the majority, if not all, of Willa Cather and My Antonia is without a doubt by favourite.