50 Books Challenge 2022 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth thread of the 50 Books 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.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here and the third one here.

What are you reading?

Hmmm. I haven't wanted to read The Book of Form and Emptiness because I found A Tale for the Time Being so annoying. (That's not how quantum physics works!!) Maybe I should forgive and forget and give her new book a chance.

I finished The Book of Form and Emptiness at the weekend. It’s not usually the type of book I would read, but out of the 4 of the shortlist I have read so far it was number 2. I loved Great Circle, didn’t want to finish it! My least favourite was Island of Missing Trees, couldn’t get on with the tree being a character. I found Sorrow and Bliss over hyped and found characters very frustrating.
@FortunaMajor thank you for your reviews and inspiring me to try and read all the shortlist.
I have been lurking on this board all year, but didn’t want to post in case I didn’t reach 50.

Tarahumara I have put her on a list with Ali Smith. I can recognise the talent in the writing, but I don't particularly like reading it. I don't think she's in the same league as Smith, but she's doing something elevated to a lot of others.

I was surprised she won, not because it wasn't a good book, but because the judges often make some odd choices. This is why I do the manic read of the longlist every year to make up my own mind. I then do my list and a list of what I think they will do. I'm glad to be wrong.

The Night Manager - John le Carré
Set in the early 90s at the end of the Cold War. A former soldier turned hotelier slips information to British intelligence about an arms deal that results in his lover being murdered. Some time later while working in another hotel, he comes face to face with the arms dealer he knows is responsible and tries to bring him down. He is then at the mercy of the British and American security services who do not work in his best interests.

I have vague memories of watching an adaptation of this a few years ago which I really enjoyed. Also enjoyed the book. It felt a bit Bondesque to me, but more sophisticated in the writing. I haven't read any le Carré before but this has made me want to read more. I used to read a lot of blokey books years ago, but then got out of the habit.

DisposablePlates we're here for a love of books and nobody really gives a stuff about the numbers, it's just a target to inspire more reading. You're very welcome to post and join in regardless of your total. Glad you've given the shortlist a go. I agree with your thoughts on the books you've read so far. Island of Missing Trees was very hard work.

I agree with Fortuna - please join in Disposable, regardless of numbers. 50 books is a target for those who want one, not a threshold for posting. Same to any lurkers - we're here for the book chat, not the number-crunching.

Currently on Summer Half, by Angela Thirkell. I'm pretty sure I read this one a few years ago as it seems very familiar, but her world usually does. It's a 1930s summer in the Home Counties, and we're in a small community from the professional middle classes who're busying themselves with picnics and tea parties, against a backdrop of summer term at a boys' boarding school. It's all very Arcadian, with the only real suffering attributable to the pangs of love. Nobody could accuse Thirkell of gritty realism or enlightened social attitudes, but at her best, she's good at portraying her characters with affectionate humour, especially adolescents, for whom she has a lot of liking and sympathy. It's enjoyable summer escapism.

From the standpoint of nearly 90 years later, I notice the strong sense of being part of a multi-generational group that socializes together - certain members may be infuriating at times, but there's a cosy sense of belonging. (Admittedly, in her worst books, this sense of belonging is not extended to the ghastly oiks who try to gatecrash groups made up of their social superiors).

Thank you for the review of The Night Manager, FortunaMajor. I think I'd enjoy* *that. I started reading LeCarré recently.

I liked The Island of Missing Trees. The character* *of The Tree was certainly strange, but I decided to consider the book as part fantasy and got on with it. I thought the ending came together nicely. Overall I thought the book was good; good story and well written and I would read more by the author.

Thanks to everyone for their reviews of the Women's Prize winner, it's one of the ones I haven't read but glad it seems like a good choice.

Following all the recommendations here, I read 3 of Joanne Harris' school based psychological thrillers:

29. Gentlemen and Players
30. Different Class
31. A Narrow Door

I think there's a 4th one too set in the same 'world' but not really involving the school, which didn't interest me as much.

I enjoyed these. A Narrow Door was probably my favourite - I thought it was very tightly plotted and I liked the deep character study of Rebecca Buckfast who was a great narrator. In G+P I guessed the twist pretty early on and found it a little dull after that, Different Class I liked but I thought the plot lost its way a bit towards the end.

All of them could have done with a bit less tedious discussion of timetables and blackboards!

On the whole they were good books though and I'd read any more that she writes in the same vein.

GrannieMainland (I'm guessing you are a Katie Morag fan? Me too) I have Gentlemen and Players waiting to be read this summer. DH got very enthusiastic when he saw the cover but I'm not sure how much chess figures in the story .. it's about third or fourth on my tbr pile so we'll see.

I am still catching up with my reviews having strugglesd to keep up to date and will post about April's books soon.

26 In a Good Light by Clare Chambers.

I liked this but preferred Small Pleasures by the same author. Both deal with women of a certain age leading restricted lives, with love affairs that don't really meet their needs, although there's a lot more to her writing than that. I was engaged by the interesting, eccentric characters, and CC writes well about childhood and the bonds within families. There's humour too. An easy enjoyable read.

27 Trans by Helen Joyce.

How you react to this will depend on your position within the whole trans debate. I found it informative and in places infuriating. I don't read much non-fiction but it was pressed on me by a friend. The trouble is I haven't managed to retain any of the many facts to call upon in discussions in future ..

28 Blood and Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Set in the slaving port of Deptford in the late 18th century, a story of deception, fraud, brutality, and torture as war hero Captain Harry Corsham tries to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Tad, his abolitionist friend, risking his own life in the process. I've read a fair few novels dealing with the horrors of the slave trade but this one taught me something new (and horrifying). An excellent first novel and a real page-turner.

29 Home Stretch by Graham Norton.

Having watched Holding on TV and enjoyed it (and been amazed at the versatility of the Game of Thrones actor in it) I thought I'd give another of GN's novels a go. A small town family story as a young man's life is changed by one tragic incident. I assumed GN wrote this book himself; a friend is adamant he uses a ghost writer; very readable in any case.

Fell off the thread again, need to go back and catch up. It's been a disjointed few weeks with lots of travelling. There was a caravan holiday in there, but as always with my toddler believing that sleep is for the weak, not as much time to read I'd I'd have liked.

I did manage to read 24. Foster by Claire Keegan. I picked this up when it was reduced on kindle thanks to recommendations on this thread. Wasn't disappointed, I thought it was great and it has made me want to look for more of Keegan's work. The writing was beautiful, and I loved the slightly ambiguous note - I felt a bit unsettled at first like it could have gone anywhere, and though I might have wished for a different ending it was very fitting.

I've also, despite being determined that I was done with it, finally managed to finish 25. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I know I started a discussion about giving up on it here, and lots of others either gave up too or never started, but for some reason I persevered in the end. I was on my last chance of renewal on the borrow box app, and didn't want to be defeated haha. Plus over 2000 pages in (not real pages - how they were displayed on the app, I realise it's not that long in real life, just feels it) it finally started to develop something resembling a plot. I managed to pick up the pace a bit and power through to the end. Actually now it's done there was quite a lot I enjoyed, it is not one I'll ever go back to though!

I'm just about to finish 26. Carry On Jeeves - PG Wodehouse - the audible version which kept me company on the 8 hour round trip to a work event this week. Lovely stuff, and thought the narrator was great too.

@highlandcoo you'll be glad to know chess features not at all beyond chapter headings!

And yep - my baby daughter was given a set of Katie Morag books for Christmas and I'm excited to re-discover them with her when she's a bit older

I keep forgetting to read this thread while I am on a book, and then I have pages to catch up on and missed the discussion!

DNF 4 Hour Week by Tim Feriss
**
I might have already posted that I didn't finish it, but I can't remember. It started strongly with a bit of reimagining of how to do work but turned into detailed dross with specifics of which apps I should use which are of course all hopelessly out of date post corona virus and the boom in home working.

Feriss recommends hiring a virtual assistant in India to pick up all your life admin. I can't decide if I am horrified by this or if it's genius...

28. The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
**
This is the story of Kirabo and her family who live in Uganda in the 70s (or maybe 80s, I can't remember) and how she relates to other woman and faces the challenges in her life. It's very feminist and I was cheering for Kirabo on several occasions.

I wanted to really like it but found it a little hard to follow and so for me it was only ok.

I think the problem is with me. I get stuck into phases of books and then eventually over do it completely. I did it with World War Two fiction, easy reading chick lit and now I think I've come to an end of my reading on other cultures, at least for now. Hopefully it will just be more naturally a part of my reading to choose authors of different races now.

I loved The Island of Missing Trees but I have a weird sentimentality about islands, figs, trees and Turkish stuff in general so it just spoke to me. I really loved the idea of the tree narrator, but I also like magical realism which I guess this was in that regard, but I never really thought of it that way. I just accepted the tree was narrating without question. I’m a Şafak fan though too which maybe also clouds my judgement as I want to like her work - I genuinely like them but she also writes about things that interest me, like Sufism in Forty Rules of Love, which I didn’t think anyone else was interested in, even if I didn’t think it was the greatest book.

I didn’t guess the twist in G&P, but I also had no idea what it was about or that I should expect a twist since I don’t read many twisty things.

I caught a TV review of the new Irish-language film of Foster, which they've retitled 'The Quiet Girl'. It looks really good and has won lots of awards already. Looking forward to seeing it.

I caught a TV review of the new Irish-language film of Foster, which they've retitled 'The Quiet Girl'. It looks really good and has won lots of awards already. Looking forward to seeing it.

Sorry, MN is up to its double-posting tricks again…..

Welcome Disposableplates and please don't worry about numbers. I've been on the thread for some years and have never yet managed to make it to 50 in a year.

Terpsichore I'd be really interested to hear what you make of the film. My own mental images are so firmly established that I'm not sure that I'll go to see it.

Har, yes: I posted a review in February 2021 and then didn't read another book all year
Currently avoiding reading Freakonomics though I couldn't explain why.

I didn't really rate Freakonomics - lots of people seem to though.

I loved Blood and Sugar and went on to read about the real life slaves on board The Zong that the book was inspired by. There is a second book called Daughters of Night that follows Caroline Corsham - it's sitting on my TBR pile!

Thanks all, I have recently got back into reading in the past year, joined a book group and rediscovered the library!

40 The Bread and the Devil Knead by Lisa Allen-Agostini* *I am still processing this book, I did enjoy it but was harder to read than I expected. It’s the book group pick this month, so will be interesting to see how well it’s received.

41 You and me on vacation by Emily Henry. A good easy read, you know what’s going to happen from the back, but what I needed to switch off, and I do enjoy a light romance novel. Just bought Book Lovers by the same author on the kindle monthly deals.

Ratking by Michael Dibdin
The first in a crime series set in Italy, of which I've read one other. Must admit I didn't enjoy this much - too many characters and too long, with quite a few rambling diversions that added nothing to the whole. And, as so often happens, a descent into stupidity in the revelations about whodunnit.

33. More Fool Me - Stephen Fry

The third of his memoirs: after a brief recap on his life so far (as covered in the first two books) this skips about a bit but concentrated on the early 1990s when he seemed to be ubiquitous. Just reading his diary entries for a period in 1993 made me exhausted. Just right for my Covid-addled brain.

41. Falls the Shadow - Sharon Penman

This is the second book in her “Welsh Princes” trilogy. I read the first (Here be Dragons) a few years ago which focused on Joanna, daughter of King John, who married Llywelyn the Great. In this book Joanna and Llywelyn are nearing the end of the lives and there are succession issues as Welsh law and tradition required all sons to inherit equally (I.e. to split land and all rules small fiefdoms) but this would be disastrous for Wales and an invitation to the English to invade. Llywelyn names his son Dafydd as his heir which leads to Gruffydd, his other son, openly rebelling. Gruffydd’s sons are also divided as Owain is imprisoned with his father and his younger brother Llywelyn remains loyal to his grandfather and his decision. Meanwhile, England is under the rule of Henry III (Joanna’s half brother) and Henry’s sister, Eleanor, marries Simon de Montfort. Henry is a weak ruler who lacks judgment. Simon is everything which Henry is not and becomes the most powerful man in England allying himself with the Welsh. Lots of action on the battlefields but also domestic life and I loved it but much more focus on Simon de Montfort and English issues than I expected. Apparently the focus returns to Wales in the final book. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys historical literature (but read Here Be Dragons first).