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?

68. Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld

I have long been a fan of Sittenfeld's writing (since I read Prep, although not everything she's done quite hits the mark) and I absolutely loved this "what if" version of Hillary Clinton's life. The first third is a fictionalised version of reality, as Hillary meets and falls in love with Bill Clinton - but the final two thirds veer away from reality. Sittenfeld always does a great job of inhabiting the women she writes about, and this is no exception. I haven't been able to get into many books over the last couple of months, but I raced through this and breathed a massive, satisfied sigh at the end. Comfort reading of the best kind.

I read Perfume about 20 years ago too, and it has stuck in my memory although I don't think I exactly liked it. I thought it was good., though.

125. The Runaway Girls by Jacqueline Wilson. I don't usually read her historical stories, as they are just too much children's books for me now (though I think I would have enjoyed them as a child), but I did enjoy this; it's kind of total wish fulfillment fantasy of poor neglected rich girl who teams up with confident streetwise pauper and has adventures in Victorian London. At 8 or 9 I think I would have loved it! It reminded me a little of the ridiculous girls comic books I read in the 70s, with romantic gypsies and totally implausible plot lines - I loved those too!

[quote PermanentTemporary]@EineReiseDurchDieZeit surely the Books board should have a thread where people link to their dissertations?? Id like to read yours.[/quote]
Mine was on a computer from way back when and I cant find the USB.

94. Snow by John banville

I don't read crime fiction at all so I've no idea how this compares to other books of this genre, I don't think this was a particularly well plotted crime as there were a few plot holes and the reveal at the end sort of limped in.

However I did overall enjoy this, I liked the writing and the setting, perfect for December with all the snow.

95. Truevine by Beth Macy

Non- fiction about two black albino brothers in Virginia around the turn of the century who were 'kidnapped' and made to perform in the freak shows of the circus. The book details the brothers life and their mother's fight to get them back and legal battle to make sure they were paid.

This was an article which was expanded into a book and the author pads it out with the history of Virginia at that time with regards to black people lives, the history of the freak show and circus and the background of all the main people on the book. The padding is however relevant so didn't feel like it had been wedged it and the brothers story was the main focus. Interesting for anyone with an interest in this history.

96. Machines like me by Ian McEwan

This is a AI book, a man purchases one of the newly released AI by the name of Adam and as the book progresses it becomes known that the other AI are self- destroying themselves.

This is one that will likely stay with me, for most of the book I had no idea where it was going and the ending and explanation of why the AIs were destroying themselves was a very satisfying conclusion.

This is also set in an alternative 80s where we lost the Falklands war and Tony Benn becomes PM and this was woven throughout really well

56. Court Number One: the Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant. An interesting book bringing together 12 trials taking place in court number one of the Old Bailey over the last century. Grant tries to avoid covering only the most notorious crimes, and instead chooses interesting cases (eg the last woman to be put to death in England, a widely recognised miscarriage of justice, a case in which the defendants were found not guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence against them). This includes some interesting discussions, especially about the pros and cons of trial by jury and the impact of a barrister or judge's personality on the outcome of a case.

57. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. A classic set in California in the second half of the 19th century and up to the last year of WWI, this follows the lives of the Trask family - Cyrus, his sons Adam and Charles, and Adam's wife Cathy and sons Aron and Cal. Exploring the theme of whether humans are born good and evil or whether they have the free will to become so, this is an epic novel and a wonderful read. I had never read it before (or in fact any of Steinbeck's novels, although I have seen a performance of Of Mice and Men) and I enjoyed it very much.

46. The Last Thing He Told Me, by Laura Dave. Workmanlike mystery - this had an enjoyable plot but the characters were very flat. It took forever to get going, and I wasn't a fan of the way the narrator kept repeating the bloody obvious. I think it was intended to make her sound wise but I found it deeply annoying.

Wasn't sure I would make my 50 but now I think I will because I've just tested positive for FUCKING Covid and will have nowt else to do for the next 9 days but read

Ah, sorry to hear that, noodle. Hope you don't feel too ill with it and may you find the right books to keep you company.

I've been lurking and reading the posts about The Dark is Rising. Would this series be suitable for a 15 year old boy?

Oh noodle, I'm sorry

TattiePants I'd say so, but with the caveat that it might perhaps seem quite old-fashioned nowadays.....maybe that's just me, though? What do others think? It seems to me the kind of book I devoured in my childhood (60s/70s - when the series was written, in fact, although I didn't actually read it then!).

@TattiePants

I've been lurking and reading the posts about The Dark is Rising. Would this series be suitable for a 15 year old boy?

My DS read TDIR series. He was about 13 maybe when he read them. 15 is maybe a bit cynically teenage stage , possibly...

Hope you get through OK noodle. What a bummer.

@TattiePants no 'the dark is rising series' is aimed at a younger audience - I think I was about 11-12 when I read them. For a 15 year old I would recommend the 'Red Rising' series by Pierce Brown or even the 'Demon road' series by Derek Landy.

Sorry to hear that noodle hope you don’t feel too bad with it.

Exit by Belinda Bauer This was my first Bauer and it wasn’t at all what I’d expected. I’d expected a superior thriller - and whilst this was diverting, it wasn’t thrilling, more a jolly walking sticks comic cosy caper plus pathos. Some of the reviews compare it to Thursday Murder Club, which I really rated, but I’d say it has more of an A Man Called Ove kind of vibe. Perhaps I read it too soon after Thursday, or perhaps because it read like a different genre from what I’d expected, despite it being lighter and brighter than I’d imagined, I was a bit disappointed.

Thanks for advice. I did wonder whether they were more suited to slightly younger children. @2022HereWeCome DS loves Derek Landy (Skullduggery and Demon Rd). I already have the Pierce Brown series so that's a good shout for him to try next.

@sadik I started 84K this year but just could not get into it, I might give it another go at some point as I loved The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August.

@Welshwabbit I thought Rodham was brilliant too, it was one of my favourite reads this year and just made me think about how much more Hillary Rodham might have achieved than Hillary Clinton.

101. Circe by Madeline Miller

Much reviewed this year so I won’t go into detail about the plot. I’d been looking forward to reading this as it sounded right up my street but I found it just ok. I think that a large part of that was due to finding Circe herself really, really irritating. I didn’t think I was someone who needed to have a likeable character to enjoy a book but maybe I am. That said I found the depiction of early motherhood when her son was born to be one of the more realistic depictions in literature, as I also had a screaming baby who had to be constantly attached to me!

102. Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

The fourth in the Dark Tower series, which seemed to divide opinion a bit on here recently. I was in the (mostly) ‘loved it’ camp, although by the end of part one I NEVER wanted to hear another riddle in my life. I really enjoyed the back story and although I knew where some of the story was going I was still pretty shocked when we got there. I also loved the references to other King works and a certain classic film which happens to be one of my favourites. I’m reading a couple of other books before starting book 5 but can’t wait to read that one too.

103. Pines by Blake Crouch

This is the first in the Wayward Pines series which was adapted for TV a few years ago. Agent Blake wakes up after an accident in Wayward Pines, an idyllic town in Idaho. Although it seems like a perfect American town Ethan starts to question this when he cannot make contact with his boss or family and is unable to leave . I’ve read a few books by this author and this premise was as intriguing as his others. I thought I’d left it long enough after watching the TV series but it all came back to me as I started reading, which is a shame.

Currently listening to The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham and reading The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.

My dissertation was done on a fancy golf ball wotsit typewriter which was so state of the art when my Mum got it, that all the neighbours came to look. For some reason (possibly connected to arcane technological necessities connected to golf ball wotsit) the paper it's typed on is strange shiny glossy stuff. Almost like photographic paper.
(Compulsory Military Service in Spain should anyone ever fancy some light reading )

63. A Game of Soldiers - Jan Needle 3 children find a wounded Argentinian soldier on the moor during the Falklands War.

I remember watching a TV adaptation of this on the special telly on a trolley at school. It was in primary school so must have been made very shortly after the Falklands War. This is a very short but powerful book aimed at children, I haven't read it in years and very much enjoyed going over it again.

My thesis was about how cells stick together if anyone is interested.

Thank you biblio, Terps, Piggy (amazing name change!) and Cornish for the well wishes. I was feeling v sorry for myself but this thread is, as always, a balm.

TattiePants I agree with Terpsichore that The Dark is Rising is quite old fashioned, but if your 15 year old is a fan of fantasy or SF and willing to temporarily suspend cynicism and disbelief, he might love it. Alternatively he might need to wait til he's 30 and then he'll love it

My dissertation (undergraduate, I haven’t done any higher degrees) was about depictions of the Empress Livia in her own lifetime. Although she’s written up as the poisonous grandmother of I, Claudius by historians a couple of generations later, in the art of her own period she was a paragon of Roman matronly virtue. By the way, don’t touch the figs.

Oh, and it’s probably saved on a floppy disk if anyone has any method for reading those any more!

Mine was something about the economic theory of worker co-operatives. My lovely auntie typed it for me.

Having a second bash at The Thursday Murder Club and finding it quite enjoyable this time round.

Mine was on the impact of the Norman Conquest on crime and punishment. No idea where it is these days.

Undergrad was on interwar poverty and female criminality in Britain. I loved that dissertation.

Looking at mine right now, as weirdly I found it in a box yesterday.
"Policy responses to financial exclusion in the UK: do they do enough to tackle inequality?" (Spoiler alert: they didn't then, and don't now).