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?

Best wishes @bettbburg 💐.

60. The Left Handed Booksellers of London - Garth Nix

I thought this might be an urban fantasy in the same vein of Rivers of London/Neverwhere, but TBH I was a bit disappointed.

A good premise which didn't seem to be fulfilled - a sect of booksellers, the left-handed (fighters) and right-handed (thinkers) policing London and keeping the malevolent beings from Old London out, oh, and selling books along the way. Less London/British folklore and history than I was expecting, the characters seemed undeveloped and the plot went at a heck of a pace without stopping. I've since heard it described as a YA book so maybe I'm the wrong demographic 😁. It was a struggle to finish.

@bettbburg take care, you will be missed on here 💐

99. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
    In the future the moon is a former penal colony where a small group of people and a sentient super computer hatch a plot to free the moon from Earth's rule.
    I think I would have liked this much more if I had read it as a teenager when I would probably have just enjoyed the story of the revolution and not minded narrator Manny's odd way of speaking and overlooked the book's problematic views on women. I didn't really warm to any of the characters and felt like there wasn't much tension.

100. The Butterfly Isles by Patrick Barkham
     Barkham set out to spot every species of butterfly native to the UK during a single summer.
     There's lots of lovely nature writing as well as facts about butterflies and histories of collectors and research.
     A really nice book.

101. The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
     Eleanor is starting a new job as director of an artist's and writer's retreat in a former sanatorium. After a shocking start she realises there's a ghostly mystery to unravel that affects her and the retreat's guests.
     There's quite a bit of unnecessary info dumping in the first chapter and the spookiness is quite heavy handed at times but it was ok as a mildly chilling book to read at Halloween.

102. Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
     In the future humanity seems close to extinction as no babies are born anymore. Humans are dying spiritually too, relationships and reading are forbidden. It's told from the point of view of three characters, Spofforth a robot who has existed for centuries and can not forget or die, Paul, a man who discovers how to read, and Mary Lou, a woman who doesn't take the soporific drugs taken by everyone else.
     The book is sad and beautiful but also hopeful and thought provoking.

103. A Girl Made of Air by Nydia Hetherington
     Funambulist (tightrope walker) Mouse is writing down her life story for a journalist, from her childhood of neglect in a circus in England until Serendipity Wilson, a funambulist from the Isle of Man took her in, to the quest that brought her to New York.
     It didn't really get going until about half way through the story but it's quite enjoyable. I thought the chapters that recounted Manx folk tales were the best parts of the book.

104. Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher
     A short memoir, a collection of anecdotes from different times in Fisher's life. It's funny and self aware and touching in places. The chapter about Michael Jackson felt quite awkward though.

Farewell @bettbburg, we will think of you.

50. Le Freak by Nile Rodgers

Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah. A riot of a book to reach my 50. As soon as he gets sober the fun goes out of it (sorry Nile) but 'luckily' there is quite a lot of non-sober life making up most of this great read taking in practically everyone who was anyone in 70s or 80s US music. At one point Nile promises to make a playlist of all the music that influenced him and Bernard Rogers when writing for Chic, and I'll certainly look for that. Mostly I was so deeply shocked and I suppose entertained by his childhood, the story of which is told of course in a charming and upbeat way, but is completely terrifying. He only allows a few glimpses of the most frightening and heartbreaking parts, and somehow he was born with the ability to survive it and take something positive from the people and experiences he encountered.

33. How to raise an elephant Alexander Mccall Smith. Book 21 of the ladies detective agency and it has the normal heartwarming cosy feel of the others.

Planning to try and finish the series before Christmas too.

That sounds fantastic! I must read it. I was just thinking recently about how every piece of music Nile has been involved with is basically a stone cold classic. What a guy. And from those beginnings.

I saw Nile Rogers play last summer. He and his band were fantastic.

Rodgers

Sally-Ann
This is my third and final Susan Scarlett, for a while, at least. It was sweet enough and I didn't dislike it. It's got EXACTLY the same tropes as the others though: a girl who is poor but has brought up to be the apple of her family's eye and a model of moral virtue; a family who are proper salt of the earth working class and could teach some of their 'betters' a lot about good behaviour; somebody in the family who is very sick; a nice upper-class guy; a bitch or two; a happy ending. Too samey overall.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie That reminds me of one of my all time favourites Cinderella in Sunlight by Hermina Black. It’s got all that going on. It’s dreadful but I’ve read it at least once a year since I was 12. I love it so much. I must give Susan Scarlett a go.

@BestIsWest That must be a niche read! neither Amazon nor ABE seem to have heard of it!

My version of the, 'Quite dreadful but compelling childhood favourite which I re-read every year' is The Secret Island by Enid Blyton.

Oh I loved The Secret Island!
I suspect Cinderella in Sunlight was one of DMs 1970s jumble sale finds.

51. My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes by Gary Imlach
An elegy and an invocation for Imlach's dead father, a professional and Scottish international footballer in the 50s and 60s. Aims to capture the era as a story of rigid class structures that really do beggar belief now. I'd thought that the big issue in contracts of that era was the maximum wage, but in fact it was the retain-and-transfer system which kept an iron control on the careers of footballers among a cartel if clubs that simply excluded anyone who rebelled. It's true perhaps that the maximum wage stopped the players developing the kinds of resources that would allow them to break the system. That was the point - these were working class men selling their physical labour and punished if they dared to combine against the authorities, and their status as pitch fodder was reinforced at every turn. Absolutely Victorian. It couldn't last and this explains why it didn't, even if there is also regret at the inevitable separation of players from their own communities.

This is quite old now, published in 2005. I love Gary Imlach on the Tour de France and this subtly emotional and careful book seems very characteristic.

I have been a bit rubbish at updating recently so adding my latest reads:

74. The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O’Farrell

Set in sixteenth century Italy and based on the lives of real people. The book opens with Lucrezia, aged 16, fearing her husband is about to kill her and then tells the story of her life chronologically. Lucrezia is the youngest daughter of an Italian duke and is betrothed to Alfonso, heir to a dukedom at the age of 12. She replaces her sister, Maria, who died before she could marry Alfonso. She has no desire to be married but at the age of 15 she leaves her father’s court and becomes Alfonso’s wife and duchess. She has no wish to be a duchess - Lucrezia loves to paint and views the world through perspective, colour and textures and would be happy to be left alone to do that. Whilst Alfonso can be kind and generous to Lucrezia, he is also ruthless and expects strict obedience. His moods can change in an instant. I don’t want to include any spoilers so won’t say any more. I really enjoyed this - beautifully written.

75. The Game of Thrones - George RR Martin

First in the series. TV series was very faithful to the book. I was quite ambivalent about the television series but the book is a good read.

76. 4.50 from Paddington - Agatha Christie

This month’s challenge book. A friend of Miss Marple witnesses a murder on a train when her train runs parallel to it. But no death is reported and there is no body. Miss Marple investigates and her focus falls on Crackenthorpe Hall and the dysfunctional family to which it belongs including three sons and a son-in-law, all of whom fit the description of the murderer. A traditional satisfying Christie which I have read before but had still forgotten who dunnit!

The Marriage Portrait sounds good. Thanks for that TimeforaGandT. * *

56. Left for Dead: Jane Casey.

This is a novella that predates the Maeve Kerrigan series. Maeve is new to the force and is not yet the self-assured police officer that we see in later books.

This is a good introduction to the series for those who are thinking of getting into it. It's still a good read for existing fans of the series as it provides background to the character of Maeve and shows her motivation and her drive to become the best at her job in a tough working environment where misogyny is rife. Jane Casey's writing is always on point and while this is shorter than than usual, it is worth while.

PermanentTemporary Thanks for the Gary Imlach review, it sounds really interesting. I also love GI on the Tour de France (and hadn't realised he was of Scottish descent). Added to my wishlist.

I saw The Christmas Chronicles by Nigel Slater was available on Kindle Unlimited again. I read it before, maybe last year or year before but didn’t fully appreciate it, but I didn’t start till mid December that time and I wondered if sticking to the daily pattern would help - however we’re only half way through Novemember and already I’m finding him insufferable again with his vin santo and his bloody £90 candles. I’ll finish it though, I can’t help myself.

This means I’ve put Calm Christmas down again, probably to pick up in December.

Also have Good Behaviour by* Molly Keane on the go - I saw it compared to O Caledonia which I’ve just finished and was looking at reviews of to see what others thought, and it reminded me I’ve had it on my kindle for a while. Only a little way it but I can see where the comparison comes from, also Maggie O’Farrell *has written an intro to both (the kindle versions anyway).

Catching up (again). Sorry all.

Dark Fire, CJ Sansom
Second in the Shardlake Tudor mystery/crime series. Centres on 'Greek Fire', a strange substance supposedly made by the Ancient Greeks, which unscrupulous elements are now trying to replicate with the help of alchemists, to use for nefarious purposes.
The second plotline is about a young woman accused of murder and the countdown to her being tried in a kangaroo court and almost certainly hanged.
As with the first one, I liked the atmosphere and evocation of 16th-C life. It was quite surprisingly dark in the detail in places, which I found unsettling (not necessarily a bad thing). I am getting very fond of Shardlake and he has a sidekick in this one who I liked a lot too.

The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell
Already reviewed, so I won't repeat stuff. Have to say, I was a little underwhelmed with this. I couldn't shake the feeling that, rather than living the book with the characters, I was watching it take place; I felt very distanced from it all. It's well written though. I will say, I liked the ending very much; without spoilering anyone, I thought it had an element of wish-fulfilment and hope that I found moving.

A Spell of Winter, Helen Dunmore
Quite Gothic but definitely a literary read, set in turn-of-the-century England somewhere. Two siblings, Catherine and Rob, live with family shame about money, infidelity and illness. Can't say much more without possibly spoiling it. This was a weird one. I like grim, and I like difficult, and tortured, but there was an underlying unpleasant tone that was unpleasant in slightly the wrong way. I wouldn't say don't read it though, and I did mostly enjoy it. Just left a bit of an odd taste in my mouth.

Mother's Boy, Patrick Gale
Fictionalised retelling of the life of the poet Charles Causley, based on diaries, papers and poems. It covers from 1914, when his parents meet, to 1948, when he returns to his home town from the war.

There are some lovely and some worrying/unsettling/sad childhood events; the details of his home life are gone into lovingly but quite clearly (you get a sense of how hard life was on a day-to-day level), and we see how he develops into a creative person as well as his social and sexual awakenings.

I find Gale an odd writer, really. Some terrible things happen in this book, it being World War I and all. But the tone is sort of relentlessly warm and, not exactly light, but not gruelling. I tend to think that if Gale were a woman, he'd be a little less praised and a little more dismissed as 'just' a domestic or romantic writer. But it's certainly an enjoyable and a somewhat nostalgic read.

They had such great jumble sales in the 1970s!

@PermanentTemporary Thanks for the Gary Imlach review, sounds fascinating. Ages ago I read Left Foot in the Grave by Gary Nelson, about the end part of his career as a lower league footballer, when he was injured but still under contract and trying to work out what the heck came next. It was a real eye-opener and a great read.

Interesting to see two contrasting reviews of The Marriage Portrait. I was in the loved-Hamnet camp so will give it a go.

47. Why Did You Stay? - Rebecca Humphries

To my shame, my thought process when this came up on the daily deals was basically, "Hm, I love Strictly, this is about the time Katya Jones was papped kissing another woman's boyfriend, maybe I'll get some backstage info about the show". Rebecca, if you're on here, I'm sorry, because this is a brilliant account of a journey out of a cycle of emotionally abusive relationships and towards self-respect. Sean Walsh, the boyfriend, comes off manipulative and narcissistic, but Humphries recognises him as the latest, and hopefully the last, in a string of men who do her down so as to keep her compliant. As for Katya, I think she has come out of this pretty lightly, certainly more lightly than most Other Women would. I'm usually averse to the feelz but this is recommended. Must be getting soft in my old age.

@MaudOfTheMarches

I had looked at that and not put 2 and 2 together as to who she was. Interested. Thanks.

Neither did I, Eine, and she absolutely shouldn't be known as "that bloke off Strictly's ex-girlfriend". I really admire how she has made something positive out of it, and the book is well written, too.

82: Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder - Caroline Fraser

Ably-reviewed by others on here. I never read the Little House on the Prairie books, but the 70s TV series was a staple of my childhood. This book makes it clear that neither books nor series told the full picture of what life was actually like for the Wilder family - their American dream was in fact a gruelling hardscrabble life, blighted by a relentless parade of droughts, grasshopper invasions, dust-storms, near-starvation, storms, fires, bankruptcy, and encounters with the First Nation Indians whose land the settlers had, in many cases, squatted on and pillaged (the remorseless extermination of the Indians is one of the most enraging things about this book, along with the destruction of the prairie ecosystem wrought by the settlers ripping up the grassland to plant crops).

Wilder emerges as a tough, sometimes difficult character, and she had to be - after her Spartan childhood she married a farmer and proceeded to face exactly the same challenges all over again. She only started writing later in life and this book becomes a double biography with the larger-than-life presence of Wilder's daughter Rose, a journalist/novelist/hack-of-all-trades who was integral to the creation of the books, but comes across as wildly unstable, possibly bipolar, certainly deeply untrustworthy (not to mention anti-Semitic and ultra right-wing - if alive today she’d be an ardent Trumpist).

This is a long, very detailed book, fascinating and revelatory about the history of the settlement of the American mid-West, but I couldn’t help feeling depressed by the tale it told of the settlers' thoughtless, arrogant destruction of a pristine natural environment and the people who already lived there, and whose land it actually was. I’m afraid it didn’t make me warm to Laura Ingalls Wilder particularly, and her daughter was just appalling.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo- Taylor Jenkins Reid

Late to the party on this one I know. Light undemanding read, just what I needed.

Maggie O'Farrell is such a wonderful writer but, yes, I do agree that it can seem like distanced aloof observation. I felt like that with Girl With a Pearl Earring (and also Wolf Hall books but that's deliberate and definitely not in some passages about his children ) and The Miniaturist too so maybe it's also historical voice that seems a bit formal?