Page 13 | 50 Books Challenge 2023 Part One

Southeastdweller · 2023-01-01T08:17:17+00:00

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?

agnesmartin · 04/01/2023 10:40

Hello - I started on this thread last year but soon lost track of what I’d been reading.Shall try harder this year!

Books so far (I tend to have a few on the go at the same time):

1. The Ink Black Heart - Robert Galbraith
I’ve tended to listen to crime on audible over the last year or two but I really enjoyed reading a physical book. It’s now how I tempt myself out of bed in the dark mornings - crime and coffee 👌. I enjoyed it. I did have an inkling about who done it as there was an early sentence that kept repeating in my mind. Did anyone else have that? If it wasn’t such a tome I might try and find it again to see why it stood out to me.

2. Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
Really enjoyed this. A great holiday read. Finished in less than in a day.

3. Fieldwork - Bella Bathurst
A very interesting look into the nooks and crannies of farming life. Not much romanticising here. Big farms, little farms, live stock, dead stock, succession and dating. She covers a lot, sensitively, and writes well. I’ve heard good things about her book on the Lighthouse Stevensons as well.

If you enjoy reading about farming then I’d also recommend ‘Rooted’ by Sarah Langford. Read last year. She looks at a number of farmers who farm regeneratively (focusing on building healthy soil and ecosystems) in the UK and how they got there. Some of the stories about the mental & emotional toll that commercial farming took on the humans involved was quite heartbreaking, and not something I’d really considered before.

I am listening to Exit by Belinda Bauer on Audible but I tend to listen as I fall asleep and last night I forgot to put a stop time on it so woke up every half hour or so with it playing in my ears! Enjoying it - but right now I feel as though I have an Exit hangover. Brain feels very fuzzy and I have disjointed and nonsensical images and sentences popping into my head. Will have to 'rewind' and listen again!

Tarragon123 · 04/01/2023 10:48

SolInvictus · 04/01/2023 10:29

@Janedownourlane Don't go. TRoTD (I've not read it or seen the film as I try to avoid AH films because I think he is a repugnant human being) is a marmite book on here, as are others. We often have splendidly heated rows about them.

1. The Murder Room by PD James

This is the first book I've stayed up to finish in a very long time. It is so much more than one more book in a detective series. It covers love, hate, feminism, 20th century UK politics. the rich, the poor, the past, segues effortlessly into sexual quirkiness with masks of the glitterati reminiscent of Profumo meets Eyes Wide Shut and is just very very good. Absolute 5 stars. Best PD James I've read. It's the 12th Adam Dalgliesh and there were only two more written before she died. I did start reading them in order (last year I think) but they don't need to be read in order, and I think I'll read the last 2 first. The first ones are beautifully written (no creative writing classes needed for Phyllis) but very much of their time (early 60s onwards) whereas this was much more relatable. Still fundamentally about ordinary people driven to do not ordinary things because of circumstance.
Google tells me there was a TV adaptation starring the delicious Martin Shaw. Who I imagine makes a better Dalgliesh than Roy Marsden or the new fella. Must find it to watch.

I think Roy Marsden is the better Dalgleish, but I'm not sure how much of that is nostalgia? Channel 5 also did a short series with Bertie Cavell as Dalgleish and they chose to set it in the 1970s. The Murder Room is going to be in the new series. I liked Bertie Cavell, but I got annoyed by varies things, such as the wrong epulettes on Kate Miskin while she is still in uniform.

BestIsWest · 04/01/2023 10:54

I love PD James Dalgliesh (Roy is the best) and fancy a re-read but want to put a word in here for Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford who is my all time favourite detective.

Knee deep in a re-read of the magnificent Into The Silence at the moment. I may be some time.

Tarragon123 · 04/01/2023 11:45

1/50 - The Beautiful Visit - Elizabeth Jane Howard

So this was a complete change for me, from the Dated Thread. It was interesting and I did enjoy it, but I did find the narrator irritating at times. Will expand more on the Dated Thread.

I'm now moving onto Rizzio by Denise Mina as recommended by someone on here. eatingcrisps, was it you?

Tarragon123 · 04/01/2023 11:47

@Passmethecrisps bah! I got your username wrong in my post above!

SolInvictus · 04/01/2023 11:47

Oh, yes, have lots of Wexfords too. And remember an excellent adaptation - Simsola- which was out around the time of the first Prime Suspects, when TV crime dramas literally held the whole country with bated breath. Only things to come close in recent decades I suppose would be Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Between the Lines. Never formulaic, never only having middle class women called Libby as their vics. Golden era.
@Tarragon123 I don't think I've seen Bertie Cavill in anything, but RD (serendipitously, according to Wiki, the person who persuaded Antony Hopkins to go to Rada!) just never seemed like a poet!

DuPainDuVinDuFromage · 04/01/2023 12:08

@WinterFoxes that’s good to know - I’ve got another of hers reserved at the library 😊

Tarragon123 · 04/01/2023 12:23

SolInvictus · 04/01/2023 11:47

Oh, yes, have lots of Wexfords too. And remember an excellent adaptation - Simsola- which was out around the time of the first Prime Suspects, when TV crime dramas literally held the whole country with bated breath. Only things to come close in recent decades I suppose would be Broadchurch, Happy Valley, Between the Lines. Never formulaic, never only having middle class women called Libby as their vics. Golden era.
@Tarragon123 I don't think I've seen Bertie Cavill in anything, but RD (serendipitously, according to Wiki, the person who persuaded Antony Hopkins to go to Rada!) just never seemed like a poet!

Goodness, you live and learn! Lol

Panda89 · 04/01/2023 12:31

Hey! I've lurked around this thread in previous years but never posted. Last year I only managed 26 'real' books as I got into a bit of a fanfiction phase :D Going for 50 proper reads this year. I tend to stick to Fantasy, Sci Fi, YA and a few Thrillers as page turning palette cleansers after some of the really chunky fantasy bricks.

Just finished 1/50 - Hide and Seek - Andrea Mara - This was a 99p Kindle sale recommendation, it was a good page turner but I felt the characters acted quite unnaturally at times, I enjoyed the twists though.

Now reading 2/50 - Secret Project 1 - Brandon Sanderson (Apparently I'm not supposed to share the real book name until 10th Jan as it was a Kickstarter)

Really good so far, I am enjoying it.

Palegreenstars · 04/01/2023 12:40

@agnesmartin ive read and enjoyed Lessons In Chemistry, am reading The Ink Black Heart and have *Fieldwork close to the top of my tbr which is odd.

im tempted to sack off TIBH though, the chat room dialogue is awful going to give it a few more days.

Brontosaurus · 04/01/2023 13:29

Really enjoying the reviews so far.

Thank you @Terpsichore for teaching me the word "lachrymose"

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 04/01/2023 13:36

Janedownourlane · 04/01/2023 08:21

Thanks for the comments. After one day I’ve decided to leave the thread. Sorry to be boring.

I didn't intend any offence, I'm really shocked if I've upset you. His books are a source of debate here, it's all very good natured in intent, please don't leave

agnesmartin · 04/01/2023 13:47

Palegreenstars · 04/01/2023 12:40

@agnesmartin ive read and enjoyed Lessons In Chemistry, am reading The Ink Black Heart and have *Fieldwork close to the top of my tbr which is odd.

im tempted to sack off TIBH though, the chat room dialogue is awful going to give it a few more days.

Ha! Reading simpaticos! :) I'd avoided TIBH in audio because of feedback on the chat dialogues and tbf if I hadn't been reading it in good chunks over Xmas and didn't love Robert Garlbraith, I might've chucked it.

As someone who isn't a gamer and hasn't spent loads of time in chat rooms, it was kind of interesting but could've done with 80% less. 😆

Don't think it was her best and figure that she was writing / processing her way through her recent experiences online. Enjoyed it though. But as I think people have said previously could've done with a brave editor.

Welshwabbit · 04/01/2023 13:48

@Janedownourlane I got a bit of a shock on here the first time I posted about Never Let Me Go! For some reason Ishiguro is our flashpoint and it's become a bit of a running joke. If you otherwise find the thread useful & enjoyable, don't let it put you off.

Terpsichore · 04/01/2023 14:11

@Brontosaurus 😭 😂

BigMadAdrian · 04/01/2023 14:14

We met a labrador called Ishiguro when out walking over Christmas! I like him, but not that much!

I didn't like Never Let Me Go that much, but did very much enjoy The Buried Giant, which I know lots of people didn't like at all!

TheAnswerIsCake · 04/01/2023 15:04

SolInvictus · 04/01/2023 10:31

Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton is in the 99ps today. The last one I read in one day. Well worth it for a psych-thriller-tense wotsit. Just avoid her other books which are pretty shit. (I always feel guilty about saying that as I reviewed Three Hours and she herself sent me a lovely message. Then I read the others and slunk away in despair. )

I also loved Three Hours - it was one of my favourites in 2021, but the first of hers I’d read. Was also disappointed when I picked up another!

Another book that’s had a few mentions that is also 99p currently is A Terrible Kindness

Newyearhappy · 04/01/2023 15:17

Southeastdweller · 04/01/2023 09:25

The Remains of the Day is a masterpiece of fiction. The film is wonderful, too.

@Janedownourlane i don’t understand why you’re leaving?

I agree, it made me sob on the tube when I read it. I love his writing and can't wait to read Klara and the Sun.

TimeforaGandT · 04/01/2023 15:50

Don’t get me started on The Buried Giant! All that trudging and the constant “Princess” - never again…..

Palegreenstars · 04/01/2023 16:05

@agnesmartin i love the books and am extra grumpy because I thought the last one was her best since the first. Enjoying Strike and Robyn as ever.

Waawo · 04/01/2023 16:13

I loved The Unconsoled when I read it - but that was literally two decades ago. Who knows what I'd make of it now?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately - can there really be an objective opinion of a book, even by one person? "I really loved this" actually equals "I really loved reading this now" perhaps? Like, each "event" of reading a particular book (experiencing anything?) is the largest unit that can be judged or reviewed?

I'm sure I read someone either on this thread or late on the 2022 thread essentially asking the same question!

Passmethecrisps · 04/01/2023 16:25

This all reminds me of the Margaret Atwood discussion I blindly launched into about 2 years ago. It’s what makes this thread worth being on - I love reading actually fully formed opinions on writing.

I am in a bit of a bind actually. I have no very much enjoyed the novellas I have read since the New Year that I am a bit anxious about picking, and sticking with, a whole actual book. I think I had plumped for A Thousand Ships by Natalie Hayes. I bought this after absolutely loving Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls. My easy read, go to is crime writing/police procedural so I have also downloaded the first Ambrose Parry to
give that a go.

I also deleted all social media apps from
my phone screen to make it harder to access them. I will still use them but I want to retrain my brain away from repeatedly scrolling whenever my my wanders

satelliteheart · 04/01/2023 16:29

Me by Elton John This has been on my tbr since dh made me watch the movie Rocketman with him and I realised Elton has had quite an interesting life and I was interested in finding out more about it. This book was really good, I enjoyed it a lot. Probably my first bold of the year. I'm not normally interested in celebrity autobiographies, I don't really consider anyone interesting enough to want to hear about their depressing childhood, but this book is so candid and really well written. I actually googled last night to see if he used a ghostwriter, as otherwise he's a phenomenal author. But he did use a ghostwriter. Despite this, the book is funny, irreverent and from the few interviews I've seen of his, his own personality really shines through.

Passmethecrisps · 04/01/2023 16:29

Oh and thank you @Tarragon123 I have downloaded Panoptican as well. I had a look at my kindle wish list and it seems I had put Luckenbooth on their some time
ago so she had obviously caught my eye

TheAnswerIsCake · 04/01/2023 17:30

Waawo · 04/01/2023 16:13

I loved The Unconsoled when I read it - but that was literally two decades ago. Who knows what I'd make of it now?

I've been thinking a lot about this lately - can there really be an objective opinion of a book, even by one person? "I really loved this" actually equals "I really loved reading this now" perhaps? Like, each "event" of reading a particular book (experiencing anything?) is the largest unit that can be judged or reviewed?

I'm sure I read someone either on this thread or late on the 2022 thread essentially asking the same question!

Your question about an objective opinion brings to mind the introduction of John Green’s The Anthropocene Reviewed which has been in my TBR pile for a little while, but for which I have only so far read the introduction! However in it, he talks about the problem of reviews and how really they are a sort of memoir of one’s experience. I think you are right to further that, they are a memoir of one’s experience in that moment. All sorts of external influences affect how a perceive a book, and those influences vary from time to time. Hence a book I loved at age 25 might bore me to tears now. Doesn’t mean I didn’t love it then.

This is why I love recommendations room others, but I don’t feel bad if I don’t like things that other people do. It’s all so very personal.