50 Books Challenge 2022 Part Five

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth 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, the third one here and the fourth one here.

What are you reading?

Thanks for all the detective book insights! As a Glaswegian ,I will look up Denise Mina.

Just a quick post before I head off to Cumbria for a week to say thank you to cassandre for the review of La Place. I'll be ordering it (in the English translation regrettably as my French is poor these days) as soon as I return.

Am I missing some gems or are the kindle deals atrocious this month? Seems to be nearly all kindle originals books.

@nowanearlyNicemum I know what you mean. I've read maybe 6 or 7 of her books now and I think they fall into a couple of categories - quite strange, psychological fiction, or more straightforward historical novels. I find the latter more enjoyable to read.

Yes, if anyone has hauled through the deals, any highlights? I can't ever find anything

The only thing I have bought in the so-called 'deals' is Reaper Man which I've read twice before, but is my favourite Pratchett.

53 Exposure - Helen Dunmore (audiobook) Thank you to everyone who recommended this! It sounded great, so I looked for it on BorrowBox and could only get the audiobook, so I reserved it in the hope that I would enjoy it in that format - I’ve never listened to an audiobook before (except for Matilda on tape in the car when my brother and I were kids 😂) and I hate radio plays (though I can cope with The Archers having been conditioned since a young age) so I was worried I would hate it. I do listen to podcasts a lot, but they’re always factual rather than dramas.

Anyway, I absolutely loved it, and the narrator was only occasionally slightly irritating - nothing that took away from the enjoyment. I loved the way it was a different take on the plot of The Railway Children, and I thought the characterisations and internal thoughts of the main characters was excellent. I’ll definitely look out for her other books, and will happily listen to more audiobooks. In fact I’ve reserved the one about the Sackler family which lots of people have been reviewing on here, and I actively chose the audio version instead of the written one 😊

Didn't buy anything in the deals. On the upside, I feel fiscally virtuous.

If anyone still hasn’t read it and wants to, The Only Plane in the Sky is in the deals.

For nun-fiction fans, Rumer Godden's wonderful Black Narcissus (I’d definitely recommend)

Helen Dunmore's The Betrayal is worth a punt at 99p.

Golden Hill was in the deal, and worth a go.

Also, The Thornbirds which, to my total surprise, I absolutely loved. Sexy priest who doesn't wank, as far as I can remember.

I got a Jodi Picoult who I used to love and read every one of her books until I got fed up of them being so similar. I've not read one for about three years though so hoping that's a long enough break to enjoy again!

I also got Beartown and another Adrian Tchaikovsky.

That was this morning and I thought I was done but then got Reaper Man just now. Thanks Remus!

I finally bought This is Your Brain on Music, which might be of interest if you're into music and/or neuroscience. Also Actress by Anne Enright and Checkout 19, which has good reviews from Roddy Doyle and a bunch of other people. Debating getting The Thorn Birds after Remus's reassuring report on the priest.

I got The people In the Trees by Hanya Yanigahara (a little life author). Nothing else and I made it to the end of the deals.

The Thornbirds is the original hot priest, love it. I've picked up the nun fiction too and Cage of Souls by Adrian Tschaikovsky. Was tempted by Golden Hill but also annoyed it wasn't 99p. The daily deals have been hopeless recently too. Am hoping they'll pick up soon.

Thanks all

I got Golden Hill (similarly annoyed on price) and People In The Trees - I've read The Thorn Birds years ago, remember loving it at the time.

Am not even going to look at the deals this month; I have so many books to read already. Even though I'm tempted by Black Narcissus...

Thanks Fortuna, might give the first a go (with some reservations)!

I haven't read any of them, somehow they have never quite appealed.

I've had a burst of reading this week with slow down and enjoy the ride by Alistair McGuiness about a repeat of the end to end cycle ride twenty years later.

Also The north island to starboard about sailing round the British isles, not New Zealand

48 The Anarchy - William Dalrymple

History of the East India Company, from its inception up to the point where it became the de facto ruling power of India. I knew next to nothing about this and found it particularly fascinating to read about the various power factions that were battling it out in the country - with some proper Game Of Thrones style epic power struggles between the Mughals, the Marathas, and various other warlords. I would have liked to know more about what happened next - how the EIC led to the British Raj and what that meant for the country. If anyone can recommend a book about this bit of history please do!

The Devil In The White City (reviewed down thread) is 99p in the Kindle deals.

I've re-read the Thorn Birds a couple of times since devouring both the book and the TV series in the 1980s. He's sexy for sure, but deeply unpleasant. Mind you, so is she. I don't even know why I liked it enough for more than one re-read! But I did, and do. I bought the DVD box set as well.

Another of Colleen McCullough's I'd like to re-read, as I found the concept fascinating, if bonkers, was Creed For The Third Millennium.

I haven't looked at the deals yet- they've been piss poor (imo) for months. I'm waiting till I'm back on the PC as on the phone everything is so unpleasant. <Old gimmer>

Yes - another good un.

Piggy 1979 - Val McDermid is another crime novel set in Glasgow. I quite liked it. I’m not generally a fan of hers but it was an easy read and I loved the list of music at the end. My teenage years right there. I think there’s another one due about now.

I’m not much enjoying Ink Black Heart so far. Hope it picks up.

27. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory My latest re-read in PG's Plantagenet /Tudor series. This is probably the most well known of her books after the movie adaptation with Scarlett Johanssen and Natalie Portman as Mary and Anne Boleyn. The book is told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, younger sister to Anne and tells the story of her love affair with Henry VIII and the way Anne "stole" Henry off her to eventually become his wife.

One of my favourites of the series, well-written and gives voice to another overlooked woman from history

Meg, I've had The Anarchy sitting on my shelf for months. A friend gave it to me and recommended it highly but it looks daunting and dense. It could be a good follow on to Empireland, though, so perhaps I will bump it up the list (there is no list, but there is a pile of books I think I will read in the near future).

Apologies to circle back, but I have to say congratulations @Piggywaspushed, very impressed that you cleared your TBR! Did you unearth any gems that you loved after they'd been waiting on your shelves for years? Is this the end of the random number generator?!

Thanks to those who have mentioned The Thorn Birds - a chat I had with my mum recently inspired her to reread it so I think I'll get it to read alongside her.
As well as Beartown which has already been mentioned, can I also recommend We Begin At The End which is also 99p? I really enjoyed it last year.