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?

@eitak22 thank you, will definitely read it! But probably not till next year now, still ploughing through Gregory

13. A Change of Climate, Hilary Mantel * * Would like to thank @Welshwabbit, bought this on the strength of their review & it didn't disappoint.
    I was intrigued from the opening scene at a funeral where you are initially unsure who are to become the main characters. You are dropped into their world, and slowly learn more about the Eldred family and their life in 1980s Norfolk. The observations on relationships are acute, but alongside this is the mystery of what happened to the Eldreds during their time as expats in Africa years earlier. The revelation of what happened and it's reverberations are at the heart of the story. Mantel's writing means by the end you look back and see earlier episodes in a different light. Connections to what initially appeared inconsequential or unrelated events become apparent. Can't do it justice in this rather clumsy review - but would recommend.

That sounds good Owlbookend.

87 The End of Innocence - Britain in the Time of Aids by Simon Garfield
Something of a British equivalent to How To Survive a Plague I realised a little way into this that it's a re-issued edition of a book first published in 1994, and that I'd read it back then. It's interesting to revisit those times in the light of what has happened since, and to be honest I'd forgotten that even by the mid 90s effective treatment still wasn't available. Also of course in discussion of the public health response a lot of unavoidable parallels with Covid and the numbers that might have been saved with faster more effective action.

88 Paper & Fire by Rachel Caine
Sequel to Ink & Bone reviewed up thread. This remains a great idea for a series let down by the execution. In this instalment there's very little plot movement for 75% of the book, and far too much in the way of random co-incidences helping our heroes. However, it finally got going in the last quarter of the book, and I'll probably read the next one to see where things go.

18.. Ogres by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Whoa! This was brilliant This author is fast becoming one of my top 3 favourite SF authors of all time.

There are people living as peasants subject to their "Ogre" lords - powerful giants, aggressive and wilful meat-eaters who are ordained by God to rule. Our hero is the son of his village's chief, and his story begins when their Ogre lord visits with his eldest son. Soon, he is an outlaw and slowly begins to understand the history of how People have become servile to Ogres.

The story is very good and the twist at the end is well worth the sleepless hours I spent trying to finish it. Highly recommended!

Thanks for the review Cote that’s going on the list for dh for xmas!

46. The Pursuit Of William Abbey by Clare North

In a WW1 field hospital, a doctor tells his life story to a young nurse.
He tells that as a young doctor in South Africa, he became cursed after watching the death of a boy named Langa. The shadow of Langa now follows and when near he can tell the truth of mens hearts, and Langa will kill all he loves.

I didn't think this worked at all actually. It may be the fiction I have enjoyed least this year.

The field hospital stuff is all superfluous, and a pet hate, someone is portrayed as working class by having poor grammar.

The main thread of a group of people who all have shadows and are used as spies, is very very very repetitive. We are constantly told, Langa is coming but he never seems to arrive or do fuck all.

There are shades of Harry August with the group of folk with a strange ability. I loved Harry August and this isn't a patch. I read Touch a couple of years ago, and can't remember anything much about it. Maybe she was a one off?

I really found this turgid, I dragged myself through it and should've DNFd. The ending, after almost 500 pages is a waste of time. I have this thing were I feel that books that have a scifi or supernatural element, must stay believable within the parameters they have set themselves, because otherwise what's the point? And this failed that test.

It writes a cheque it can't cash basically.

47. A Spy Among Friends; Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre

This was awesome. Thing is, I love Ben Macintyre, I love books about the Cold War, so I'm finding it hard to give any objective view. But I think this is one of his better books, though the end is a bit weaker than some. I think what Macintyre does so well is take a story you may know in outline and say to you 'this really is significant, and here's the story, here's all the research that says why it matters, and by the way, it's also really funny'.

The astounding story of Kim Philby and two of his closest associates, Nicholas Elliott of MI6 and James Jesus Angleton of the CIA. Back when nobody believed that the insider's insider, the English gentleman and lover of cricket could possibly be betraying them to the Soviet Union. Except in fact he was under suspicion for years, and protected by the old school tie in a network of men to whom friendship was the ultimate password. The number of deaths directly caused by Philby is huge.

At a point where the entire British constitution looks to me as if it is long past any fitness for purpose, this reminds us of some of the weaknesses in what we are still sometimes told are strengths.

@sadik - I have added The End of Innocence to my wish list, I find the history of the AIDS epidemic fascinating in a horrified, enraged way and liked
How to Survive a Plague and And the Band Played On.

82. About Time by Jodi Taylor

The latest in the Time Police time travel series. I listened on audible and the narration by Zara Ramm was as great as ever, but the story was a bit patchy. I didn't think much of the last St Mary's book so am a bit worried that Jodi Taylor is all out of ideas now.

83. Hungry by Grace Dent

Much reviewed on the thread. I love Grace Dent, I love food, as as a fellow working class northerner, who moved to London in the 90s, I thought I was going to love this book, but somehow I didn't. There was nothing wrong with it, but barring the sections dealing with her parents' illnesses I found it a all a bit light.

The first eight Louise Penny/Inspector Gamache novels are 99p each today on Kindle in case anyone else has been waiting for them to drop for years because the library doesn't have the early ones.

@Gingerwarthog, I read Pure years ago and also loved it. I found the writing so wry and funny. There's that little scene when he's thinking about (my memory for the details is sketchy but I think) the woman he's in love with, and getting a bit hot under the collar, and to calm himself down he grabs his books and starts reading about something like the respiratory system of frogs, thinking 'Good. Excellent.'
I also loved the depiction of the French court; quite unpleasant in its excess, but also rather melancholy, with a sense that they were all a bit lost and trapped.

All The Light We Cannot See: Anthony Doerr.

This is the story of Marie-Laure, a blind girl who lives with her father, a locksmith, who works for the natural history museum in Paris. He is entrusted with a precious stone which he must hide from the Germans following the invasion of Paris by the Nazis. Marie-Laure is a plucky girl with a love of the natural world who doesn't let her disability hinder her when she becomes involved with the local resistance movement.

Marie-Laure's story runs in parallel with Werner's; an orphaned boy from a mining village in Germany. He has a gift for repairing wireless sets and he uses his talent to escape the fate of becoming a miner and enlists in the Youth Academy. While he doesn't like the brutality of the boys and teachers, he puts any moral qualms to one side. He keeps his head down and focuses on his work.

Their two stories come together gradually against the backdrop of the Anglo-American bombing of St. Malo.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the narration of the story from the perspective of the younger characters; the people who were powerless who struggled against the regime. The writing is beautiful and very rich in detail. I expected it to be a more compelling read than it was, however.

I think that the very short chapters, while beautifully written, beautifully crafted almost, made for a choppy reading experience. That and the constant switching from Marie-Laure to Werner's perspective stopped me from becoming totally immersed in the story. Every chapter has a title too which was a distraction for me as I kept scrolling to see where I was in the story. That might be 'a me problem' though as my DD likes to say.

Speaking of young people, the book almost has the feel of a story written for a younger audience. The structure of the story, the age of the protagonists and the villain of the piece, the evil Nazi with the cartoonish name of Rheinhold Von Rumpel made me think of YA fiction. Overall, it was a good read and the quality of the writing would encourage me to seek out another book by Doerr at some stage.

@Gingerwarthog - Mr B's sold Pure to me too! I completely agree, it's an excellent read.

@IsFuzzyBeagMise - Doerr's Cloud Cuckoo Land was brilliant, completely different though, was definitely not what I was expecting from this author

Thank you Yolandi! I'll put that on my wishlist.

43. Black Diamonds – Catherine Bailey

Highly recommended. Ostensibly the story of the Fitzwilliam family, owners of Wentworth House and the surrounding coal mines, it weaves in the social history of coalmining in the early twentieth century up to the closure of most of the mines a few decades later. As an idealistic teen I read a lot about the General Strike and working conditions around that time, but I had never put it together with the private ownership of the mines and the journey to nationalisation. Bailey is excellent at setting this against a background of individual stories from both sides, owners and mineworkers and their families. Very glad I read this – thank you to @satelliteheart for prompting me to pick this up.

44. A Love Letter to Europe

A collection of reminiscences, thoughts and musings about Europe immediately pre Brexit, written by dozens of writers, artists and commentators. For the most part these live up to the title, love letters, and are lovely to read. Most are not angry or even political, at least until the final section, which focuses on why the European Union came about. There are many tales of teenage trips to Germany and flirtations with French exchange students, reflecting how many people first encountered Europe. What strikes me is how much we haven’t lost, rather than what we have – European culture is still there for us, Europe ultimately is more than just the EU, and we are still a part of it. Michel Faber sums it up: “A love letter to Europe? I already wrote it, twenty-six years ago, to Britain, and I thought the answer was yes”.

@Gingerwarthog Thanks for the review of Pure - I have it on my Kindle and didn't really know what it was about. My old office overlooked a churchyard that was deconsecrated and the graves moved while I was there, so the subject matter is fascinating to me.

@IsFuzzyBeagMise I really liked All The Light We Cannot See - it’s not the sort of book I would usually pick up as I don’t like depressing novels or books set in wars, but I received it as a present and loved it! I would like to read something else by Doerr, I’ll look out for Cloud Cuckoo Land @YolandiFuckinVisser .

I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land but it's a complex book. Not a light read at all! Clever and rewarding.

I've been looking up Cloud Cuckoo Land.
It seems quite complex and reminded me of John Boyne's A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom in the way the story spans over time. (It might not be though).

I had it on my radar for a while @DuPainDuVinDuFromage as I like fiction set during the war years. I borrowed it through the library but I wouldn't have been disappointed if I had bought it.

33 The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureshi
A coming-of-age thing from the point of view of a mixed-race teenager growing up in the London suburbs in the 70s

I believe I first read this back in the 90s having fallen in love with Naveen Andrews portraying Karim in the TV series. It's still a good read. Karim is ready to try anything at the age of 17, we are party to his attitudes and opinions on music, drugs, sex, his father's affair and subsequent abandonment of his passive wife, his Indian relatives and his English relatives all living within a few miles of each other in Beckenham. By the end of the book we have lived through the 70s, the punk era is over and Karim is a young man on the cusp of a successful acting career. His impatience with others, prejudices and fears are honestly expressed. He's not really very nice, but then neither are any of his friends and relations (excepting Changez, a comical character who reveals hidden strengths as time passes)

Adding my latest reads:

71. The Jewel in the Crown - Paul Scott

I was complaining about this a couple of weeks ago but have finally finished it. Set in India during the Second World War and focusing on relations between the Indians and the British. Different sections of the book are narrated by different individuals. Some of the ground covered by them seems irrelevant or at least to have little connection to the other sections. Other sections cover similar ground to one another from different perspectives. At the heart of the book (although it takes a long time to get there) is the relationship between an Indian man (Hari) and an expat English woman, Daphne.
Hari was brought up and educated in England so is rejected by the Indians for being too anglicised but not accepted by most the British because he is Indian - Daphne is the exception. The book took a long time to get going and the first half felt very disjointed. I preferred the television adaptation!

72. The Toll Gate - Georgette Heyer

Some light relief after The Jewel in the Crown.

The key character is John, a former Captain in the army who misses the adventures of being in service. Whilst on his way to visit a friend he comes across a toll gate manned only by a frightened child whose father has disappeared. John takes over the toll gate and care of the child whilst trying to locate the missing father. He soon encounters Nell, the grand-daughter of the local landowner and falls for her. There is intrigue from a highwayman and Nell’s appalling cousin. More of an adventure than some Heyers and less of a social whirl.

73. The Secret of Chimneys - Agatha Christie

I read this as my Christie book for this month as the suggested challenge book is not actually an Agatha Christie but some new Miss Marple stories written by other authors.

No Poirot or Marple in this story which surprisingly didn’t annoy me. Briefly, it involves some memoirs which need to be suppressed/delivered to a publisher (depending on who you are), a missing jewel and missing jewel thief, the succession to a Balkan throne and a country house and its overnight guests. Inevitably, there are a couple of bodies. Not her best but trundled along well enough for me to enjoy it.

Just catching up on reviews.

I have enjoyed All the Light we Cannot See, Hungry, A Change of Climate and Pure. Quite a long time since I read Pure so perhaps worth a re-read.

I was looking at Cloud Cuckoo Land in the bookshop yesterday so good to hear positive things about it. Maybe I will invest.

Disappointed to hear that the latest Jodi Taylor books are not so good as I have enjoyed both series.

89 If It's Smart, It's Vulnerable by Mikko Hypponen
Increasing numbers of the devices in our homes are smart - connected to the internet, and often sending data back to their makers. In the future, this is only going to increase, with many goods likely connecting via 5G without any requirement for us to set them up & provide wifi passwords & access. This opens a whole new set of issues - just for starters, what happens if your robot vacuum provides a backdoor into your wifi that a hacker can exploit, and who is legally liable (answer, currently, not the manufacturer).
The book isn't just a discussion of Internet of Things though. The author has worked in cyber security since 1991, & he starts with a brief history of computer viruses & worms, looks at ransomware gangs, online intelligence & state sponsored cyber warfare, privacy issues in the age of Google, and much more.

My only slight disappointment, having heard a podcast interview with the author, is that the audio book isn't read by him (he has a wonderful Finnish accent). Definitely a stand out for me & I'll go back & listen to it again as there's a lot to take in.

Anyone got any good non-fiction recommendations that I might like on Audible? I've run out of my wishlist & got lots of credits to use.

Needs to be non-fiction (I don't get on with fiction as audio unless I've read it previously). I mostly like social science / politics / economics / social history, but also sometimes autobiography / biography depending on the subject, ditto popular science/maths.

Anyone got any good non-fiction recommendations that I might like on Audible? I've run out of my wishlist & got lots of credits to use.

Needs to be non-fiction (I don't get on with fiction as audio unless I've read it previously). I mostly like social science / politics / economics / social history, but also sometimes autobiography / biography depending on the subject, ditto popular science/maths.

Oops, sorry for double post. I'd thought of getting Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Southeran as my next listen but I think my dad might like it as a Christmas present (& we share a kindle library)