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50 Book Challenge 2021 Part Eight

783 replies

southeastdweller · 22/11/2021 23:21

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?

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24
BestIsWest · 04/12/2021 08:34

Unlike everyone else I really liked the last Strike. It dealt with a family bereavement and I’d just lost my Dad and it was very timely. I didn’t mind the ending.
Lethal White was awful though and I didn’t like The Silkworm either.
I think they are very hit and miss.

Been up since six finishing Persuasion which was, as always, perfection.

StColumbofNavron · 04/12/2021 08:40

@VikingNorthUtsire I’m in too.

I’m going to try for Hard Times as well.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 04/12/2021 09:03

The Silkworm was truly terrible. I hated Lethal White too. I really liked lots of the last one and was prepared to give it a really positive review, until the stupid (embarrassingly bad imo) revelation. I loved the trip to the Ritz bar and it's made me really want to visit one day.

Sadik · 04/12/2021 10:04

Also interested in both Hard Times and W&P readalongs - though going for both possibly a bit optimistic. Maybe I'll start both & see :)

  1. We are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker Teenage David comes home from his private school begging his mothers Val & Julie to get him the latest fad - a Pilot brain implant that increases attention, and helps students excel in their studies. They hold out for a while, but very soon it's obvious that all his classmates who've signed up are racing ahead. Next, Julie realises that all the young employees in her office working for a congressman have the little flashing blue light showing they've been Piloted, and she starts to worry about being left behind. Younger daugher Sophie 'isn't suited' to the implant, as she has epileptic seizures, but very soon she and Val are a shrinking minority in their wealthy town. I really enjoyed this, though it wasn't quite what I'd expected. The setup sounds very much like an exploration of advantage vs disadvantage, what might happen with 'designer babies' etc, but in fact it turns very quickly into a much more plot driven story than I'd expected. It's a great plot that rattles along though, & I'd definitely look for more of her books.
EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 04/12/2021 10:04

I found the first Strike a bit cringe and didn't continue, I also strongly disliked Casual Vacancy

I also agree about every Potter from #4 onwards being badly in need of an edit.

I still love JK and the Wizarding World though

Palegreenstars · 04/12/2021 10:09

I just ordered the illustrated Philospher’s Stone to read with my 5 year old. One of the things I looked forward to most about being a parent if I’m honest!

Strike’s are a bit hit and miss for me - Silkworm almost made me give up but I loved Lethal White although the most recent seems so long, I worry.

J.K. Also did an amazing speech about failure which is one of my fave things to watch when I’m feeling crap!

DesdamonasHandkerchief · 04/12/2021 10:42

I thought the Anthony Briggs translation of W&P was very approachable. I tried the Louise and Aylmer Maud translation, which was free on kindle, but in the end paid the very reasonable £2.99 for the Briggs, which is considered more up to date.

PermanentTemporary · 04/12/2021 10:58

*60. Beatles '66 by Steve Turner
Both a fan book and trying to be more than that. But I'd be amazed if this could be interesting unless you were at the very least someone who grew up with the Beatles. Once you're over that, a great format - 1966 really was a fascinating year and this gives a close-grained perspective on events in UK music, art and marketing. As always with Beatles stuff I end this book meaning to read a biography of George Martin, who wasn't just the 5th Beatle but tbh the structure and enabler that meant they happened at all.

Midnightstar76 · 04/12/2021 12:41

Thank you @southeastdweller

Have not made 50 books but really enjoyed trying!

My list is as follows

  1. The Face of Trespass by Ruth Rendell 2) The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
  2. My Darling by Amanda Robson
  3. The adventure of the three students by Arthur Conan Doyle
  4. The End of her by Shari Lapena
  5. The Dead Harlequin by Agatha Christie
  6. Sing a Song of Sixpence by Agatha Christie 8) Farewell to the EastEnd by Jennifer Worth
  7. Confessions of a Forty-Something F##k up by Alexandra Potter
  8. The Familiars by Stacey Hall’s
  9. The Saturday Morning Park Run by Jules Wake
  10. Life’s journey to the top of Everest by Ben Fogle and Marina Fogle
  11. The Other Daughter by Caroline Bishop
  12. Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
  13. Where Rainbow’s End by Cecelia Ahern 16) Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward
  14. Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
  15. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley
  16. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
  17. The Foundling by Stacey Halls
  18. Buried by Lynda La Plante
  19. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  20. It Ends With Us Colleen Hoover

And currently listening to Judas Horse by Lynda La Plante so will be able to squeeze this one in before the year is out.

Also reading The Ghost Tree by Barbara Erskine and enjoying this so far, only three chapters in so a good sign if I am enjoying it at this point.

StColumbofNavron · 04/12/2021 13:22

@DesdamonasHandkerchief I read the Briggs version. It was very accessible.

StColumbofNavron · 04/12/2021 13:24

@Midnightstar76 if you enjoyed The Five you might like The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey by Julia Laite. It’s a social history of early twentieth century trafficking, prostitution, the police force. I’d argue that it’s much better than The Five (though I really enjoyed that too).

TimeforaGandT · 04/12/2021 17:36

I have not read Lethal White or Troubled Blood but have read the first three Cormoran Strike books - the other two are on my list to read. I like the characters but agree that some of JKR books could benefit from editing.

82. The Red Prince: John of Gaunt - Helen Carr

I think this was in a recent daily or monthly deal. One of my favourite books from teenage years is Katherine by Anya Seton so I was interested to read more about the period. I have to say it was exhausting reading as John seemed to spend most of his adult life quelling uprisings in Scotland, defending English holdings in France or fighting for the throne in Castile. It was very much about his life as a statesman and his military and political roles and fairly light on his personal life. An interesting read but I would have liked to know more about his family relationships - his daughters warrant about two sentences each - but I accept that it may well be there is nothing from the period to draw upon for these relationships.

bibliomania · 04/12/2021 21:20

111. Saving Time, by Jodi Taylor
I enjoyed this, but as a pp said, she is blatantly using the device *Oh no, so-and-so is dead. But oh look, they're not!" Still fun though, and I enjoyed Grint's attempts at romance.

112. The Maidens, Alex Michaelides
Dire crime fiction set in Cambridge. Who is killing young women? A group therapist decides she is uniquely well qualified to investigate the matter and embarks on the task with all the forensic rigour of Nancy Drew. Clunky and unconvincing. Forget the murders, I'm trying to work out how one character managed to push a bike, eat an apple and carry a stash of papers under his arm. Three pages later, another character is lighting a cigarette while carrying a bucket of cleaning products and a feather duster. Why doesn't she put the bucket down? How many arms do these people have?

Boiledeggandtoast · 04/12/2021 21:24

I'd also like to give W&P a try.

I'm old enough to remember the 1972 BBC adaptation with Anthony Hopkins as Pierre Bezhukov, but have never got round to reading it.

YolandiFuckinVisser · 04/12/2021 22:58
  1. The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper Will is an ordinary boy living an ordinary 1970s kind of life until his 11th birthday, midwinter's day, when he comes of age as an Old One and is obliged to fulfil his quest to seek out the Signs of The Light in order to vanquish The Dark.

I last read this in 2011, I know this because it was the year when snow fell throughout December, the rivers froze and for the first time in my life there was snow for my birthday (2 days after Will's) and it was more than ever a Christmassy kind of book to read. I've loved this one since I was a child, although I believe I have always preferred the passages concerning Will's ordinary life, where dogs need feeding, Christmas presents need wrapping and the cosy world of Carol singing and Christmas Dinner.

Terpsichore · 04/12/2021 23:10

That's such a timely review, Yolandi, because finally today I managed to locate the complete set of Susan Cooper books which DH gave me for Christmas several years ago, and which I've been searching for in vain for ages in order to read them at the appropriate time. You've really made me look forward to starting now Smile

MegBusset · 05/12/2021 01:20
  1. The Expendable Man - Dorothy B Hughes

Can't say too much about the plot of this thriller without giving it away; the twists are cleverly done, but I found it a bit more dated and not quite on a par with her excellent In A Lonely Place.

JaninaDuszejko · 05/12/2021 05:40

I'm just starting The Dark is Rising as well!

CoteDAzur · 05/12/2021 07:30

bumpy - "I also like Anna Karenina, but not as much as W&P. The problem is the main characters are all so unlikeable!"

In AK or in W&P?

MamaNewtNewt · 05/12/2021 08:37

I'd love to do a War and Peace read along too. I read it when I was 18 and loved it. I thought the BBC series was just great but I think Paul Dano is one of the best actors of his generation.

I might try the chapter a day approach to some of the other longer books too.

Sadik · 05/12/2021 10:51

Can anyone recommend a translation (available on kindle) of Anna Karenina? Following earlier reviews I'm keen to read it on the promise of farming content Grin

SapatSea · 05/12/2021 10:58

The Observer has "Best books of 2021" chosen by various authors:
www.theguardian.com/books/2021/dec/05/the-best-books-of-2021-chosen-by-our-guest-authors

Yet more books to add to my "list"

SapatSea · 05/12/2021 11:34

55. Love Marriage - Monica Ali This was a light, easy read. The first few chapters were a bit slow and pedestrian but it really perked up.

Yasmin, a junior doctor met Joe, also a doctor on a dating app just six months ago. He is "perfect" and they are trying to arrange their "love marriage." Yasmin's parents who are from India also had a "love marriage." Her mother was from a wealthy family and her father a poor former chai wallah who worked his way up to go to medical school and then move to London as a GP to live the "dream" in a semi detached house with a driveway and garage in a London Suburb. However, as the story of Yasmin, Joe and their families unfold things are revealed to not be so perfect and that the "Love marriages" are not what they seem.

TheTurn0fTheScrew · 05/12/2021 12:32

I have never before read The Dark Is Rising, but have just started reading it to DC2. She is not a big booklover, and so progress will be slow, as she usually only wants half a chapter here and there.

34. London, Burning by Anthony Quinn
The Callaghan administration is crumbling, and we follow journalist Hannah, lecturer Callum, theatre director Freddie, and police detective Vicky as their paths repeatedly cross. Police corruption and the IRA mainline bombing campaign are gripping plot lines, but not at the expense of the main quartet of characters, and although the subject matter is often dark Quinn's wit is deft and sensitively used. Recommended.