50 Books Challenge 2022 Part six

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth 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.

What are you reading?

@FortunaMajor I saw that The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida
by Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker!

It's nice to have a Sri Lankan author win, but I don't think I'm going to read this book. I find stories about the violence of war really difficult to read unless I'm in a particularly good headspace. And then I read that the whole book is written in the 2nd person -- another mode I find difficult. So it sounds like too effortful a read for me at this point in time 😬

Anil’s Ghost by Michael Ondaatje is a more-conventionally realist - and gruelling - book about the Sri Lankan civil war.

Oh , I loved Anil's Ghost.

Thanks Cassandre I hadn't seen that yet. It's a decent choice for a winner, but not one I would have picked myself. It does cover some pretty violent stuff, so would agree it's better left until you have the right frame of mind.

I haven't seen this mentioned before so will add it to the list. Thank you.

Another vote for Anil's Ghost here.

V for Victory by Lissa Evans

Third in the trilogy about the orphaned Noel who is now living in his house next to Hampstead Heath with his 'aunt'. I love these easy reading books, they are a joyful read with flawed but decent characters. It's the last days of the war and our characters all find some hope in their relationships despite the horrors they have endured. Like a warm hug.

41. Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keane

Massive thanks to @PepeLePew and @CluelessMama for their reviews without which I would never have come across this book.

As it has been reviewed already, I will just say I found this intricate, complex and engrossing. I was surprised by what I didn't already know and the overall effect was rather unsettling.

I will be looking to read Empire Of Pain at some point in the future.

Patrick Radden Keefe dammit

Thanks to all who recommended Anil's Ghost -- another book to add to my TBR list!

Oh dear, my reading rate has fallen off a cliff with all the real-life drama going on, but I have managed to finish something at last…

78: The Devil You Know: Encounters in Forensic Psychiatry
- Dr Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne

I heard Dr Adshead reading some of this on Radio 4 last year (I think). Her career as a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist included working at Broadmoor for long periods, and the book consists of case histories of patients she treated, many of whom had committed serious crimes. Interesting and thought-provoking - and at times depressing, not least her reflections on the ironic fact that in-patients at long-term secure hospitals - having committed offences - get much readier access to the kind of therapy that might have helped them not offend in the first place, had it only been available to them at an earlier stage.

Finally caught up with the thread...

Sorry to all those going through hard times. Clueless & Razor, I have ordered Four Mums for a friend's Christmas present, collecting from the bookshop today.

55. Operation Mincemeat - Ben Macintyre

Much read by 50 bookers. A good read, taking longer than I thought but I was engrossed, as I had been with The Spy and the Traitor. I had known about the central role of Glyndwr Michael, what I didn't realise was the level of planning, both before and after the event, to ensure the documents reached the right people accidentally on purpose, and the lie that continued right up to the invasion itself. Well researched and well written.

Catching up again.
@bettbburg sending good wishes
@LadyFarquinMark welcome to the nicest thread on MN! I've cancelled my Audible subscription as I've finally accepted I can't do audio books justice. Saint Stephen Fry with his silly Hermione voice (and bizarre word stress) finally did it for me.
@ChessieFL I like the look of the Blurb book and have added it to wishlist. I hope there's a section on children going up stairs into the light with a suitable "best book I've read today" review from Marion Keyes!

I only have one completed to add:

35 A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin.

A newish Rebus. Does what Rebus does, despite him being retired now. Not a vintage Rebus by any stretch and maybe time for him to bow out. Getting a bit bored of Taggart-esque gangsters and molls cropping up in every book. Makes Scotland, rural and urban sound like every property developer is a crook sitting in a fancy apartment summoning potentially bent coppers on a daily basis to do his bidding.

In other news, and only a few decades behind (but that's me!) I'm halfway through The Secret History. It was one of Mr. B's Emporium choices for DD and she loved it. I'm sure there will be no need for a review, other than 5 stars. Sublime. Etc.

Ah, SolInvictus, I loved the Secret History and had a massive literary crush on Henry (I think).

I read The Secret History when it first came out and adored it. DD1 was just telling me one of her friends has read it so we've been talking about it. I've been wondering if it would stand up to a reread in my 50s so good to know you enjoyed it.

@SolInvictus there is a bit about authors giving reviews of other books although no names are mentioned!

I did start The Secret History once but didn’t get on with it and gave up. I should give it another go sometime.

Most recent three:

Bleeding Heart Yard, by Elly Griffiths
School reunion, oh no, someone is dead, could it possibly be linked to the mysterious death years ago when we were all young??? Very hackneyed device - it doesn't help that last month I recent the most recent Vera book by Ann Cleeves, which had a similar set-up. I mildly like her lead character but this was a bog-standard effort.

Undoctored, by Adam Kay
Describes his life after leaving medicine, trying to establish a new career, with flashbacks to his training days. There's a real sense of someone who was forced to wear a professional mask from a young age and who feels compelled to now be seen as his authentic self, without the mask. He doesn't pretend to be nicer than he is. There is some difficult stuff, including an eating disorder and a sexual assault. He is angry with a number of people, including his mother - in some ways, it feels like an adolescent book, as if he was frozen at a certain age when he entered medicine and needs to grow up as his real self. I know not everyone likes him, but I felt like he was looking to say something real here.

Small Fires: An Epic in the Kitchen, by Rebecca May Johnson
I knew she was a PhD student before she said it - her thought processes appear somewhat addled as a result of over-exposure to theorizing. This is a reflection on cooking and recipes - she dances around the kitchen, cooking and listening to music and thinking about the Not-I and Roland Barthes and various other things I didn't quite follow. There were a couple of bits I liked - how Audre Lord's mother challenged racial discrimination by insisting on feeding her family the best food: if you're not allowed into a Whites-only restaurant, then bring a picnic and make it the most elegant one possible. Another example - she mentions a recent female translator of The Odyssey who used the word "slaves" in place of the more traditional "maids", altering the reader's understanding of the relative power dynamic. Overall though, I don't think I'm quite as impressed with the author's cleverness as she herself is.

Glad you liked it, Eine. He writes wonderfully well. Empire of Pain is an extraordinary tale.

Betts, sorry to hear about the health problems. It's nice to see you back.

Pepe - it's given me a massive book hangover. Haven't started anything new and still thinking about it.

31 Headlong - Michael Frayn
A philosophy expert moves to his holiday home in the country with the aim of writing a book without the distractions of London around him, taking with him his equally-intellectual art historian wife and infant daughter. On discovering what he believes to be a lost Breugel at the home of his neighbour, he concocts a ludicrous plot to get the painting off his culturally ignorant neighbour and into the V&A, picking up fame and fortune for himself on the way.

This is heavy on art history and the turbulent background of the Netherlands in Breugel's day. Martin's research into the religious and political significance of Breugel's work is reasonably interesting if you like that kind of thing (I'm a bit of a fan so enjoyed these parts), the farcical storyline whereby he hopes to obtain the painting is entertaining. The only characters with any likeable traits are the baby and the dogs. Martin's wife appears to have no character at all, and nothing much is known about Pieter Breugel himself. However I enjoyed reading this tale of with intellectual obsession.

@SolInvictus The Secret History is my joint favourite book ever (the other being The Crow Road). I haven't re-read it for a couple of years now - maybe it's time!

Soll I picked up the new Rebus without realising that that one had been out before it, so I've now got that too. Not sure I want to read both in quick succession. I loved Rebus years ago, but felt the last few have been time to say goodbye. I know I'll keep reading, but I won't get any joy out of them. So obviously a cash cow at this point.

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman
Enjoyable, name dropping insight into the world of the actor. Nothing earth shattering and only a few bitchy comments, but oddly compelling.

True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey
Written as if a true account from the diary of the notorious outback outlaw Ned Kelly.
Atmospheric and interesting, but overlong. Gives a real insight into the hardship of frontier life in colonial Australia and the hatred of the Irish that went on at the time. I'm not convinced I'd have picked it as a Booker Winner, but hard to say without having read the full list that year.

The Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley
The start of a multi book saga about the lives of six adopted sisters, who live in a private enclave on Lake Geneva. Their adoptive father dies mysteriously leaving vague clues about where they came from. The oldest sets out to discover her past and the story diverges into 2 timelines of her and her great grandmother and the circumstances that led to her being adopted from Rio de Janeiro. The historical fiction element is set around the building of Christ the Redeemer. The romance element is obvious and predictable.
I picked this up because it is a hot favourite in the library. I am forever lugging absolutely whopping hardbacks around, dealing with requests for others in the series to be sent from other libraries, not to mention the drama of the 'queue' for the last one which has now been pushed back to a May release.

Gawd it was awful, clunky repetitive prose, wooden dialogue. At least 300 pages too long.

Watch Her Fall - Erin Kelly I picked this up because I enjoyed The Skeleton Key by the same author. God, it was dreadful. Set in the ballet world ( I know absolutely nothing about ballet but did enjoy reading the descriptions of the dancers), the whole plot was just ridiculous.

84 This Is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan
Looks at humans and their relationship with three mind altering plant derived substances: opium, caffeine & mescaline. The first section is a reprinted long magazine article, with some small additions, and the other two sections read very much the same way. Fine for an easy quick read, but nothing earth shattering

85 Mistletoe & Murder by Robin Stevens
Another in the Murder most Unladylike series - entertaining as always, though I didn't think it was one of the best

86 Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Fantasy / dystopian YA-ish steampunk, set in a universe where the Great Library of Alexandria wasn't destroyed but instead became a separate country Vatican style, and the pre-eminent world power. The Library controls all reading material, with private ownership of paper books outlawed, & all reading based on library sanctioned downloads to 'blanks' filled with a magic / tech process.
Sadly it's much less political (at least so far) than that description promises. Also, the worldbuilding is a bit flakey, and there's a fair few plot holes, but overall the story zipped along & I'll definitely read the next one & see how it goes.

I've also just started Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts in parallel, and they work rather nicely together, particularly as there's a lot of focus in Ink & Bone on the physical quality of original books (one of the main characters comes from a family of book smugglers).