50 Books Challenge 2023 Part One

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2023, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

If possible, please can you embolden your titles and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track, especially when the threads move quickly at this time of the year.

Who's in for this year?

Just finished my first book of the year, Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys which I found to be quite Wodehousian; the aristocracy, big country houses, lots of dashing about and a certain lightness of tone. A bit more like the Tuppence and Tommy stories I've read than the Marples or Poirots. I liked it a lot, but it wasn't at all what I expected.

Have added the Hillsborough books to my wishlist.
I was at university in Manchester at the time, am from Nottingham and was in a friend's room watching the match. Not until I moved to Liverpool a couple of years later did I truly understand what I'd watched. There used to be a MNer who had been there that day, and wrote very beautifully and harrowingly about it. I haven't seen her around for years so I won't name her, but her posts were stunningly damning. If that makes sense.

I feel awful saying this, given the subject matter, but I read Hillsborough Voices last year and didn't rate it that highly. Yes it was harrowing and infuriating but I felt that the relatively small number of contributors meant this didn't have the depth that it could have had.

I love Val McDermid. I'd recommend the Karen Pirie series, very enjoyable.

I completed my first yesterday, Small Things Like These. I really enjoyed it...somewhat wished it had continued a little further, but I also understand why it didn't.

I'm now going to start making my way through lots of half-finished non-fiction that have been sat around for ages. I guess it's cheating slightly, but I also had a moment of "what have I done?" when I realised 50 books a year basically = 1 a week!

1. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

When her mother dies, Mary Yellen goes to live with her Aunt and Uncle at Jamaica Inn on Bodmin Moor. Despite numerous warnings, as well as the aggression of her Uncle and the terror of her Aunt, Mary is unable to ignore the strange comings and goings at the Inn.

I last read this book a good few years ago and loved it, and this re-read has done nothing to dampen my love. The description of the wild moor brought it alive in such a way that it was almost another character. I found the ending slightly disappointing now that I am a bit older, not in the way it was written, but more in terms of what I now see as a happy ending with the perspective of middle age.

2. Boy in a China Shop: Life, Clay and Everything - Keith Brymer Jones

I feel conscious of easing my way rather gently into 2023 with my first two reads. I bought this on a whim as it was 99p and I like watching the endearingly lachrymose Keith on The Great Pottery Throw-Down, but it’s a moderately-entertaining ramble through his life at best (and ghost-written, as an end credit makes plain). However, I enjoyed learning about his days singing in a pre-punk band (google the videos for proof), his battles with anxiety and his workaholic tendencies, and his deep love of pottery shines through from start to finish.

Checking in - I fell off the thread for the last couple of months of 2022 but managed to read 81 books. Below are the books I read in 2022 which I got from recommendations from this thread - thank you to everyone for the top recommendations.

Why we eat too much by Andrew Jenkinson (thanks to the poster that reviewed this – I found this fascinating
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
Becoming Unbecoming by Una
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Nothing to Envy: Real lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry
A Christmas Cornucopia by Mark Forsyth

Pepe & others who like music memoirs, Chris Blackwell's book The Islander was one of my standouts for last year, I'd definitely recommend it. Though it's definitely more about the music than his life - so the reverse of Good Pop Bad Pop (which I prefer, I enjoy books that inspire me to listen to new music & revisit old favourites).

3 Good Pop, Bad Pop - Jarvis Cocker

Going against the grain here, I really loved this! Listened to on Audible, narrated by Jarvis, which might have made the difference as I love his speaking voice. I liked that it wasn't a traditional structure as I've read so many rock biogs that they tend to get a bit samey.

I've just bought Rizzio, thanks for the recommendation :)

Have finished my first 2 of the year (off to a racing start as I’m off work until Thursday - it all goes crazy busy after that so reading whilst I can!)

1. The Curfew by T.M. Logan
A formulaic thriller of the sort that are ten-a-penny at the moment - I read them because they demand little concentration and I get hooked not so much by the storyline as by wanting to see if the ending I worked out sometime before page 10 was correct (it usually is!). This one did at least have a few possible outcomes, however all the characters, including the police, were just so stupid that they were very unbelievable. Undemanding and reasonable of its genre though.

2. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
So, this one didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautifully and skilfully written and, especially given its short length, has a number of levels. It paints a picture of stark choices where neither is easy and sums up the horror of the Magdalen laundries that sits in such horrifyingly recent history. I can’t deny that it packs an emotional punch. But…. It was just a touch too mawkish and, more than that, I disliked the use of the trope of the male saviour - not the fact that the central character was male (he was well developed), but that he was a stand alone as a male character and in contrast the female characters were generally painted as complicit and unwilling to become involved. I would like to read more of her work though, and will probably try Foster in the near future.

I loved your review of the Christmas Nigel Slater Pepe, def among the reviews of the year!

I’ve started 2023 with How’s the Pain by Pascal Garnier, tr from French by Emily Boyce. Highly recommended by my local bookshop and I succumbed to temptation, but not a good match for me. Written in 2006 but the spare noir prose felt older so the references to mobile phones kept taking me by surprise. The writing is great, there’s lots of wit and surprise. Elements like the idea in the mind of an alcoholic that the woman on the label of a rum bottle is God and has created rum in her own image will stay with me. A young lad is taken under the wing of a man whose work being in pest control turns out to be a euphemism, and they go on a trip together. I did like and admire this and the ending was neat but I suppose I’m just not in the mood for noir.

Hi all, pleased to meet you.
Not the most auspicious of starts for me...
Mrs Miracle at Christmas by Deborah Maccomber
Have just done a World of Book order with some Christmas money based on another thread on here.

Looking forward to some great books this year.

1. Anything Is Possible: Elizabeth Strout.

This is the third 'Lucy Barton' book in the series, although I don't think it's necessary to read these in order. This one could certainly be read alone. I think I might go back and read the second one ('My Name is Lucy Barton') as there is a lot of conversation between Lucy and her mother about people from her home town which might make more sense now, having read this one.

This book is a collection of nine short stories of people from Lucy's home town of Amgash, Illinois. Lucy features in one of them when she returns home on a visit. You get the impression of small town life, everyone knowing the local gossip and where everyone comes from. The stories are interwoven with details of people who feature in other stories and it's skilfully done. It has the feel of a novel because of the connectivity between people.

I really admire Strout's writing. Her writing style is quite sparse, but it makes a deep impression. She always writes enough. One of the chatacters abhors verbosity (Dottie) and I think Strout does too. The individual stories are not easy to read. The subject matter is often bleak and disturbing, featuring extreme poverty, abuse, mental illness, abandonment and loneliness. The Vietnam War and its effects on survivors runs like a thread through some stories. Many characters are coming to terms with trauma from their childhoods and have to live with the scars as adults.

In spite of the seriousness and sadness, nearly every character makes a connection to someone or something else which shines like a beacon of hope and salvation. I particularly liked Patty Nicely's hopeful moment which was in the form of Lucy Barton's own book. Lucy helped her to realise that 'loving imperfectly' was enough to go on. I think 'Gift' was my favourite short story and a lovely conclusion to the book.

I recommend this book as a thoughtful read into the human condition in all its frailty. It made me think about how small everyday interactions can make an impact on people, for better or worse and to be considerate of people as we really don't know what others have to contend with.

Tagging @Owlbookend and @TattiePants as they commented on my earlier post.(Hope I got the names right!)

Thank you Sadik. I knew I'd seen a music book recommended here recently, and that was it. I am planning a BIG BOOK SHOP at the Big Book Shop (running joke with DD) later this month, so have added Islander to the list. I am also tempted by Bono's book - he's obviously the most irritating man imaginable on many levels but I find myself fighting to resist it. And am eyeing up the Keith Richards autobiography which I picked up on a station bookswap shelf a couple of years ago and haven't got round to reading - perhaps the two would cancel each other out if I did them back to back.

Placemarking to encourage myself to get back in the habit of reading on the train when commuting!

Thanks for the new thread and happy new year, everyone!
I just put a long post of my last few 2022 books on the previous thread. Just getting myself on this one for now.

I'd like to join this year. I have a lot of easy read books that I've collected mainly from Charity Shops and I want to clear them out so they are first on the list. They will be interpersed with books I've ordered from the library and audio books.
I like fiction and non fiction.
First was 1. Shari Lapena The End of Her. It rattled along. Easy read. Writing was fine but story was predictable.
Next up is 2. My Husband's Wife.. 530 pages so hope it rattles through too. I like to finish books but have recently decided to stop and redonate if I'm not gripped.
3 will be Kate Atkinson's Festive Spirits Three short stories. Very slim volume so should be able to finish.
4 will be Kate Harper's Force of Nature.

2 A Chip Shop In Poznan: My Unlikely Year In Poland by Ben Aitken. I was underwhelmed by this but pushed on to finish it for 2023. I really enjoyed his The Nan Tour and The Marmalade Diaries but found his ‘voice’ in this rather whiny and self indulgent. He also came across a bit stalkery towards the women he fancied. I learnt little about Poland, but too much about the author.
Reminded me of Tom Cox whose Ring The Hill and 21st Century Yokel are sweet and informative but the more I read the less I like either his style or him as a person.

@Terpsichore I read Boy In A China Shop last March, when I’d finally lost my game of Tig with Covid. It was a pleasant read while feeling crap, miserable and spaced-out and agree his passion for pottery shines through.

Aw @PepeLePew and @TheAnswerIsCake I feel like I've been unduly hard on Jarvis now! It's worth 99p for sure. It's just lightweight. I felt like he used the objects to create a remove and make his content broader and less personal, like he was afraid to let the reader in.

The question I suppose is would you give Jarvis Cocker 99p to show you some old chewing gum, a used up bar of Cussons soap and some ticket stubs? Go for it, if so!

That's so interesting @MegBusset because there are so many photos and pictures and it's so visual that are can't imagine it working as Audible. Is there are large amount of description

I've finished Marple, Twelve New Stories. I felt that some hit the spot and really were in the style of Agatha Christie, but that others missed the mark entirely.

Currently reading LJ Ross, The Infirmary.

I have followed this thread for a few years now, but decided to join in this time. Hoping to do more reading and less browsing online.

I'd pay him more than that for less! I love Jarvis Cocker. I need a better system for my TBR list - which doesn't really have a system, it's all a bit haphazard. But he's moved back up the list, however it works, on the strength of that comment.

Crikey, but this thread moves quickly! Good evening to 50 bookers old and new. Thanks to southeast for setting it up. This year may be interesting in terms of reading so I'm making the most of some free time while I have it.

1. A Year in the Life - Lucy Leonelli

Reviewed in last years 50 books. The author tries 26 different subcultures, taking one from each letter of the alphabet. Some, like Battle re-enactors, Goths, LARPers and Pagans seemed more of a subculture than others, but she went into the groups with an open mind and seemed genuinely interested in all they had to teach her about their passion. A fun read; a keeper.

2. The Labyrinth Makers - Anthony Price

Yeeees. This was awarded the CWA Silver Dagger award, but I can't for the life of me think why. Written in 1970, it starts with a wreck of a crashed RAF Dakota from 1945 being revealed in a drained lake. The plane was used to smuggle something out of Berlin to England, but what? Great premise, but boy was it dull. Readable, but not a thriller by any standards, even allowing for 1970s technology etc. This came from DM, and it's going straight back to the charity bag.

Would you give Jarvis Cocker 99p to show you some old chewing gum, a used up bar of Cussons soap and some ticket stubs?

If he'd do this in real life whilst talking to me in that gorgeous voice of his, I'd give him £999.