50 Book Challenge 2022 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2022, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

If possible, please can you embolden your titles (and maybe authors as well) of the books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track, especially when the threads move quickly at this time of the year.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

I read all the Kate Atkinson Jackson Brodie novels last year and really enjoyed them. Agree they are all standalone stories but Jackson's own story needs to be read in order. My favourite of them all is One Good Turn, set in Edinburgh at the time of the Festival. There's a lot of dark humour in them all, but I think this one's the best (Book 2 in the series).

I haven't read any Pratchett novels either. Or rather, I did try Good Omens, the one he wrote with Neil Gaiman, but couldn't get on with it. However I have read a few of Neil Gaiman's books and mostly liked them, so suspect it might be Terry Pratchett that's not doing it for me.

12. Where are you now? - Mary Higgins Clark A mystery about a young upper-class New York man who went missing ten years ago but calls home every Mother’s Day. A very lightweight read, nothing special but it kept me guessing until nearly the end. I hadn’t come across the author before but apparently she’s famous…I won’t seek out any of her other books but I wouldn’t be averse to getting one from the library if I was at a loose end.

Excuse the name change! I was on here with a very slightly different name before, then had a mini break / detox from Mumsnet, came back and had to change names.

Anyway;

7) Lamentation - C J Samson - audiobook

Loved this. I love Matthew Shardlake so much. The narrator was great as Shardlake, but a bit odd on some of the other characters. Nicholas didn't sound like he should have to me and Tamasin also sounded weird. But it was still great. Gripping story with snippets of real history. If you like Tudor historical fiction, this is great and quite easy listening.

Thanks to all PPs who gave Terry Pratchett recommendations. I'll let you know how I get on!

bibliomania I wouldn't know a fantasy trope if it came up and bit me on the bum, so I'll have to see how I get on from my position of ignorance .

IntermittentParps, re the Jackson Brodie books, I agree - read them in sequence. My favourite is When Will There Be Good News, the third in the series, as I loved the main characters, and I've reread it on its own, however first time round definitely stick to them in order.

@highlandcoo I adore Iain Banks, but I haven't read any of the space opera/SF ones - the ones he writes as Iain M Banks.

I love ALMOST all his others, apart from The Wasp Factory which was absolutely horrifying. If you fancy giving him another go, The Crow Road is one of my favourites.

1. Hungry by Grace Dent. Quite a few of you on this thread have already read this autobiography about Dent's childhood, her career as a columnist and food critic, and her father's descent into dementia. Dent has an appealing personality and this is very readable.

1. Rough Magic: Riding the World's Wildest Horse Race by Lara Prior-Palmer. In 2013, Prior-Palmer became the first woman and the youngest contestant to win the 1000km Mongol Derby billed as the toughest horse race in the world (not a spoiler - she mentions the outcome in the first chapter). It took me a little while to get into this - she has quite an unusual writing style, and indeed comes across as quite an unusual person - but I ended up really enjoying getting to know Lara and her horses and her mainly solo journey across the wild Mongolian steppe.

@noodlezoodle - totally agree with you on Iain Banks, The Wasp Factory was horrific, but The Crow Road is superb. I quite liked the series they made back in the 90s, with Peter Capaldi.

noodlezoodle and MamaNewtNewt yes, I've read quite a few Iain Banks over the years, just hadn't tried the IMB ones. I found out they're not for me, even though some of his other novels are among my all-time favourites.

I avoided The Wasp Factory for years as my husband had read it and reckoned I wouldn't be able to handle it. When I did read it, at the beginning of my attempt to read all IB's books, I thought it had some of the funniest lines I'd ever read, although obviously it's very dark and there is one horrific scene I still try very hard not to dwell on.

I love The Crow Road and also Espedair Street, which I always imagine as being based on Deacon Blue. I haven't read his last couple of books and must get round to them one day.

And yes, the TV series was really enjoyable, with a great cast. I had a soft spot for Preston and it was nice to see him popping up in Strictly a few years ago.

Apologies @highlandcoo, I misunderstood and thought you were saying you'd started with the Iain M Banks books. Like you and @MamaNewtNewt I also have a soft spot for the tv series of The Crow Road, and the casting was stellar. Hmmm, might be due for a rewatch.

I'm also due a re-read of Stonemouth which I seem to remember was not critically acclaimed, but I loved.

highlandcoo based on your comments I'm now also wondering if I should give The Wasp Factory another go. I read it when I was a teenager and remember speed-reading it to get to the end because I was so upset. Wondering if I might appreciate it more now I'm older and tougher

I think if you enjoy his dry, dark Scottish sense of humour you’d be OK noodlezoodle. If you’re old and tough like me all the better! Apart from the one horrific scene, I’m very glad I read it.

I wasn’t very clear in my original post. I thought because I’d liked his mainstream novels I would also enjoy the SF ones but I ground to a halt around the third or fourth. Still admire his versatility as a writer though.

I have Stonemouth on the shelf but haven’t read it yet - good to hear you enjoyed it.

The Survivors by Jane Harper I read this against my better judgment having said after Force of Nature that I would not read more of this author’s work. Whilst I preferred this to FoN, and the last quarter or so picked up, I mean it this time! It’s a shame as I think The Lost Man is really quite special and The Dry was pretty good too. This one had weaker echoes of some of the elements of those 2 books which didn’t help as it meant I could see the workings too much. I think of myself as a crime reader but am coming to realise that I’ve got quite strict boundaries, including that I like crimes presented as faits accomplis rather than dwelling on them - with this book you spend too long waiting for disaster. A couple of jarring plot points too. Not worth the ride in my opinion.

37. V for Victory by Lissa Evans

I picked this up in the monthly deals after enjoying Crooked Heart earlier this year. I liked this just as much. Here, Noel and Vera are now living in Noel’s old house, taking in lodgers to get by as the war comes to its end. Wonderful characters and great period detail.

38. The Victorian Chaise Longue by Marghanita Laski

I read this following Terpsichore’s recommendation upthread. I did like it, but there were too many unexplained loose ends for my liking.

39. Did They Steal A Million Yet? by James Crookes

This is the sequel to Do They Know It’s Christmas Yet? That I read last year. Both books feature siblings Tash and Jamie, who get sent back to 1984, mess things up, and have to put things right. It’s all very silly but good fun and I’ll definitely read the third in the series when it comes out.

40. The Shadow At The Door: Four Stories. Four Cases. One Connection.* by Tim Weaver

Weaver writes a series of thrillers featuring missing person investigator David Raker and they’re great books. This is, as the title says, four linked stories featuring Raker. I enjoyed the stories and looking for the connections between them.

41. Gone: A Girl, A Violin, A Life Unstrung by Min Kym

Kym was a child prodigy whose career was brought to a halt when her beloved Stradivarius violin was stolen from a station cafe. This book tells the story of her early career, the theft and the aftermath. As an erstwhile violinist I found the story interesting although she’s not a particularly good writer.

I read The Wasp Factory many years ago - probably when it was first published - and enjoyed it....never went back to read any more until a book club choice led to Canal Dreams, which is a strange but nevertheless enjoyable book.

It must be one of Banks's odder plots, though; the heroine's a mega-famous (female) Japanese classical cellist onboard a supertanker en route to Rotterdam (she can’t go by plane thanks to a terror of flying). Cue a ship invasion by guerilla pirates, and suddenly it all goes very Kill Bill. Utterly bonkers but excellent fun if you let yourself go along with it.

[quote noodlezoodle]@highlandcoo I adore Iain Banks, but I haven't read any of the space opera/SF ones - the ones he writes as Iain M Banks.

I love ALMOST all his others, apart from The Wasp Factory which was absolutely horrifying. If you fancy giving him another go, The Crow Road is one of my favourites.[/quote]

I'm so glad you've all said this. The Wasp Factory is the only Iain Banks I've read and it's put me right off him. Will consider The Crow Road now.

I'm still stuck with the Cazalets. I've gone for number 5, but I'm only 1/3 into it. Number 3 was dull, 4 fine. I wouldn't usually binge like this, but there are that many people I'd lose track of who is who if I leave any sort of gap.

I've read a few other books, but will come back when I can give them a bit more time.

I really like Iain M Banks books but I think I've only read The Crow Road. I enjoyed the TV series too but mainly because I had a crush on Joe McFadden at the time!
15. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Despite what I've written above, I've not read a lot of traditional sci fi, I definitely prefer urban fantasy. It took me a while to get into this one but I'm glad I read it.
It follows the story of a young girl, Nell, who gets hold of a copy of 'A young lady's illustrated' primer which is an interactive education guide which has been nano-engineered for two other girls from more elite 'tribes' on a futuristic Earth.
It's a really interesting book and I'd recommend it.
Now reading Death on the Nile.

13. The Life of Stuff by Susannah Walker After her mother's death, the author has to deal with her severely dilapidated house, packed to immobility with a mix of rubbish and possessions. The book is a mix of memoir, biography and meditation on the nature of 'stuff' and our relationship with it. The core of it is Walker's attempt to make sense of her mother's life, and of their family more widely. But there's also asides on the nature of museums (she has a background in museum curation), the role of possessions in forming identity, and lots of other things. This was a random find in the library, & I'm really glad I picked it up.

Sadik I read The Life of Stuff last year and thought it was an interesting read.

Shadowghast, Thomas Taylor

Middle-school book I read to DS3. It’s the third in the Eerie-on-Sea series that follows the adventures of Herbie and Violet. DS3 is a reluctant reader and this series changed everything for him and I’ve enjoyed them too. Eagerly waiting for no.4.

Lady Macbeth of Mtensk and Other Stories, Nikolai Leskov trans. By David McDuff

A compilation of novellas really as each story was at least 100 pages long. It’s a collection of 19th century Russian short stories and I enjoyed them overall. The titular story was a fantastic Madame Bovary type tale that I raced through. The others were slightly more bonkers with little or very odd things happening, but overall I enjoyed the whole collection. Musk-Ox and A Winter’s Day were quite witty but The Sealed Angel dragged a lot for me. A 3.5 for me.

6. To Oldly Go by various authors

This is a series of short travel memoirs written by adventurous in their sixties and older. I love a travel book but have noticed it is dominated by those younger and fitter and this easy read was a great antidote and reminder that adventures won't stop as I age. I'm only 39 but as I try and figure out if I might ever retire I do consider that sort of thing!

Adventurous = adventurers 😁

13. A Carribean Mystery by Agatha Christie. Perfect for a couple of hours stuck at the airport, a middling Miss Marple.

14. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. A massive belated thank you to those who recommended this a year or two ago, and even linked me to it on a 99p kindle deal. However, for some reason I never felt like starting it, even though I liked her Wayward Son trilogy. But this was great, a proper intense YA love story - set in the eighties, I did feel the sensibilities were a bit too 21st century at times (but probably most of her readers weren't pretty much the exact same age as the characters; and also I was rural British, not city American, so maybe it was different there) - but a completely absorbing read! Thank you.

10. The Lighthouse Witches by CJ Cooke I really enjoyed this one. The story told by several narrators as the mysteries of a small Scottish Island are uncovered. Somewhere around the middle it gave me the chills. But that faded again, I'd have liked the creepiness to have lasted a little longer. Would definitely look for other novels by Cooke.

8) Hungry - Grace Dent

Been mentioned on here a few times already - funny that it was my 8th book and also @Tarahumara's 8th book. Or maybe not that funny, but whatever.

I really liked this. I like Grace Dent and this just sounded so pile her. All about her career and life and her family. Enjoyed it a lot

I'm a big Iain Banks fan, both genres. Some of his earlier works are good but odd - Walking on Glass and The Bridge - but think he really got his fiction stride with The Crow Road, Complicity and Whit. If you're interested in trying his SF, Use of Weapons is good and not too long - his later Culture novels are vast. I also really like Feersum Enjinn which is non Culture and more experimental.

Just finished 9. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles. Much reviewed on these threads over the last few years, it follows Count Rostov who after the revolution is made to live under house arrest in the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. Its a fascinating read and the Count is charming. I did find it a bit slow moving in parts though and it's taken me a long time to get through.

@SarahJessicaPorker

8) Hungry - Grace Dent

Been mentioned on here a few times already - funny that it was my 8th book and also @Tarahumara's 8th book. Or maybe not that funny, but whatever.

I really liked this. I like Grace Dent and this just sounded so pile her. All about her career and life and her family. Enjoyed it a lot

So like her*