50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Two

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Books 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, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

Cote Thanks for the Damien Guillon, I'd not come across him before. Can I offer you some Iestyn in return....

www.google.com/search?q=listen+to+iestyn+davies&client=firefox-b-d&tbm=vid&sxsrf=AJOqlzUOaQHeULLFci1HIJdu3axAjUPrYQ:1674550731417&ei=y53PY-GPGZS78gKP2ICYCw&start=10&sa=N&ved=2ahUKEwihoYTM69_8AhWUnVwKHQ8sALMQ8tMDegQIDhAG&biw=1366&bih=643&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:d0a26581,vid:4fOJ0eNyPhk

And a bit more recently:

www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&sxsrf=AJOqlzXeeuemEX7pbPjkU9q5YoCvjkM4Eg:1674550636993&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwipiYGf69_8AhWRolwKHbaIC74Q_AUoAnoECAEQBA&q=listen%20to%20iestyn%20davies&biw=1366&bih=643&dpr=1#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a1e6734e,vid:mpMclQqMOD0

7 Menopausing: The Positive Roadmap to Your Second Spring by Davina McCall

I should have known this was going to grate from the use of “second spring” in the title (and because I generally find Davina a bit grating!). I haven’t watched her documentary about menopause, but know it has been talked about positively which influenced by decision to pick up the book. For disclosure, I’m technically post-menopausal having not had a period for well over a year before started HRT, and having been young, I’m one of the people whose symptoms were long dismissed. Possibly the target market for this then. But I found it hugely irritating. There were swathes of “comments” (mainly teeets) from other women and Davina was basically replying to them personally in the book - with loads of gushy, motivational “you go girl” type stuff. There wasn’t really a huge amount of real information in there, and nothing at all really about mourning the loss of fertility - something that many women who have reached menopause (distinct from peri-menopause) seem to feel, even when they previously felt their families were complete. But if you’re new to the peri-menopause journey, it’s possible you might get something out of it.

And finally for me…something really good…

8. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Already reviewed up thread, but I absolutely loved this. The characters are far from likeable a lot of the time, but I was invested in them anyway. I love books that are properly character driven and I care about what happens to them (“care” not always meaning that I want things to turn out well, just that their stories matter and I feel them in some way). This ticked those boxes for me. Being just a bit younger than the main characters, I also grew up on many of the video games mentioned, but there are lots of other references to the time as well and you don’t need to be in to video games to enjoy this. Personally I liked the “Pioneers” part, set within a game - I thought it was pretty clever.

@RomanMum The Haunted Hotel sounds really good, have added it to my wishlist

@Waawo that's good to hear thanks. I'll have a look at Blacklisted, and maybe check out the film too.

Also interested by The Haunted Hotel, which I got free on kindle.

List from last thread:

1 - The Colour of Magic - Terry Prachett
2 - The Storyteller - Dave Grohl
3 - What if?* *- Randall Monroe

New books:

4 - The Power - Naomi Alderman

Did not like this at all - skim read the last 100 pages, so not sure if I am allowed to count it. Can't muster the energy to explain why! Can't decide whether it is better or worse that it was written by a woman.

5 - 4000 Weeks - Oliver Burkeman

I really enjoyed this - I think I am definitely in a non-fiction phase. It is essentially a look at how we can best use our finite time on the planet - it is not about increasing productivity, but using time wisely and with the knowledge that it is finite and it is impossible to do everything. I found it very wise. I do lean towards thinking that modern life is bullshit in general though!

I've bought The Haunted Hotel, thank you for that. It looks very good!

I'm still reading Les Années by Annie Ernaux. I'm getting there, but it's taking years...

I finished book number 4, Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym, last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was funny in parts, and quite mordant in others. Very typically Pym, about a vicar's wife and her younger friend who met at during their studies at Oxford and their lives ten years on.

Sorry fir the double post - I didn't like The Power either, BigMadAdrian. I thought it was very disappointing although it got off to quite a good start. It could've been so much more!

I think it depends on where you are in your season, as the Americans say. I dont have children at home and to me that makes a huge difference. Its also difficult for my OH and I to agree on tv programmes, so I'm happy to sit with a book while he watches football/other sport.

I also travel quite a bit and prefer to read on my journeys, rather than watch a programme/film. Some of my books have been quite short, so that makes a difference too. I've decided to prioritise my reading this year. I read about 30 books last year. I've reserved books at my local library, so I am organised with what I'm going to read next. I also have a huge unread list on my kindle lol

@coolmum123 I have phases where I read a lot (am in one right now) and phases where I don't. I find it depends on what I have read recently - the last few books have been great, so I'm inspired to go and seek out more. If I have a run of less good books it takes me a while to get back into it. I've always read fast (not necessarily a good thing) and raced through books but am aware it is quality not quantity. I do a lot of reading in the spaces between things - I read a few pages this morning while waiting for my egg to cook, and will probably do ten minutes at lunch as a break from work and tidying. But my children are older and don't need as much time from me as they used to (they need a whole lot more attention but that's a different story) so I often find a have a few hours at the weekend to devote to reading. The only competition for my time then is my phone - I'm trying to get a handle on my social media use, with limited success.

I read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher a few years ago @DuPainDuVinDuFromage when it was very hyped up and I thought it was... ok, but not as good as all the hype?! Still interesting to hear that Constance lived such a long time afterwards though and never (or presumably never!) told anyone exactly what happened.

I remember loving Labyrinth too @ChessieFL but struggle to remember anything at all about it now, although to be fair having DC in the meantime has turned my brain to mush... Carcassonne was a lovely place to visit for the weekend though (also pre-DC, so I remember some of that!).

The Alex Rider books got me through many a long, interminably dull evening/ night trying to get my DTs to sleep when they were smaller @ICrunchCrispsNotNumbers and @Natsku - they were entertaining and undemanding (the books, not the twin toddlers!). In fact they may be due a re-read now I get more than 4 hours of sleep per night

I thought the Haunted Hotel looked great @RomanMum - I really like The Woman in White - checked my Kindle and it's been on there for 10 years without me getting round to reading it hopefully this year!

My list:

1: EC Bateman - Death at the Auction
2: Sophie Irwin - A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting
3: Deanna Raybourn - Night of a Thousand Stars
4: Lynn Messina - A Brazen Curiosity
5: Lynn Messina - A Scandalous Deception
6: Lynn Messina - An Infamous Betrayal
7: Lynn Messina - A Nefarious Engagement
8: Richard Armitage - Geneva (audiobook)

9: Hazel Holt - Death of a Dean

After my frequent moans about Americanisms creeping into supposedly English texts, I thought I'd re-read a Mrs Malory, where a middle-aged widow solves cosy crimes in quintessentially English settings. Lovely, I love a Mrs Malory... except I'd managed to get hold of an American copy somehow. FFS!! Anyhow, always a pleasure to read these except they make me hungry, as everyone's always enjoying tea and cake!

On to Richard Osman - The Bullet that Missed - I thought the first two were pleasant and entertaining enough but have only a vague idea what actually happened. Oh well.

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl Perhaps a reread of the Alex Rider books in time for when the next one is released? Some time this year I think (DD is waiting very impatiently - I have more patience, and a lot of books to read first anyway)

Ooh, Clara, another Hazel Holt fan! The cosiest of cosy crime. I've seen the author describe washing her net curtains at greater length and emotion than the murder that was supposedly the point of the book

#10 You Think It, I'll Say It – Curtis Sittenfeld - I've only read Rodham by CS, so I was intrigued to read this collection of short stories. The one featured Hillary Clinton was fantastic, really enjoyed. The rest...hmmm. They all seemed to be about women wanting to have affairs. One would be fine, but not all. I do want to read the book allegedly based on Laura Bush, but my library doesnt have it. I have loads to get through anyway.

#11 Need You Dead - Peter James - Part of the Det Supt Roy Grace series. I do enjoy Peter James' writing. He's one of the few crime writers that I have come across who makes references to previous cases. I like that its more procedurely correct in that way. So Det Supt Grace will be prepping for a court case from the previous book while an ongoing cases is unfolding.

I've reserved House of Glass from the library, but it will take about a week to arrive, so in the meantime, I am determined to finish Slow Horses by Mick Heron and not be distracted by the excellent tv series! I'll probably fit in a Chalet School book too and see who is kidnapped this book lol.

Mr Bowling Buys A Newspaper by Donald Henderson

I can’t remember where I first heard about this - possibly previous incarnations of this thread or may have seen it in a bookshop or in an article. Anyway, I didn’t really like it. It’s written and set during WW2 and features a man who keeps killing people and then buying newspapers to see what’s mentioned about the murders because he wants to be caught. It’s described as ‘darkly satirical’ and I expected it to be funnier than it was. It was, apparently, Raymond Chandler’s favourite book so if you like him you might like this.

@BigMadAdrian I hated The Power too. In fact I think it was a DNF for me. I read it at a time when everyone was raving about it and it all felt a bit Emperor’s New Clothes!

Good thinking @Natsku, I've downloaded Stormbreaker now from our library app have you seen the Amazon Prime series? I remember discussing it on here but cannot for the life of me think who else was watching it anyhow, I very much enjoy it (and am actually even quite fond of the Stormbreaker film, despite Alicia Silverstone being very irritating in it). The third series should be out later this year, yippee!

Oh yes, I love a Mrs Malory @bibliomania, but there's definitely more emotion goes into things like getting cakes exactly right than the actual murder - got to get your priorities right! I particularly like the way she solves cases merely by bumping into people in the Buttery or the supermarket and just having a nice chat. My sort of crimefighting!

Two more DNFs for me which I forgot:

Philippa Gregory - Dawnlands

I used to love a PG book, particularly The Other Boleyn Girl and the like - this one I just found too rambling. Possibly I'm just too impatient nowadays?

India Holton - The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Thought this would be just my cup of tea. Couldn't make head nor tail of it

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl No haven't seen the series, not available to watch in my country, bloody Amazon

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl did you like the first two in that Philippa Gregory series? I’ve got them on my TBR, must get round to them at some point! I went to see PG talk about Dawnlands recently and it sounds interesting but I need to read the others first.

1. Spare by Prince Harry

Got sucked into the hype on this one and used a free audible trial to listen. I'm not a big reader of biographies or particularly interested in the Royal family but all the coverage and mumsnet threads got me interested. Am sure most people have their own opinion ahead of reading and will interpret the book to match what they expect to hear so I won't go into any of that really. I thought it was interesting and fairly well written and the difference between what was written in the book and how the media reported it was fascinating. The first part was the most interesting for me about their childhood, the rest did drag a little.

Have used my second free credit on another autobiography, Tom Felton's book which seems good so far.

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl there was a thread about The AR TV series on here. Apparently the first series was shown on E4 during Christmas 2020.

I got into the books though watching the series and I think both are brilliant. I've seen the film version of Stormbreaker too, but I didn't like it at all.

I've met Anthony Horowitz as well. Wonderful man 🙂

Anyone here read Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books and can advise on reading them in order? I did an impulse reserve from the library on one of the books after a recommendation but it's not the first in the series.

Definitely reread them, @Clara. They are fab. I remember when I first read the last one (Nightshade) I literally couldn't do anything until I finished the book!

I've got Horowitz's 'Power of Five' series on by TBR list too because I've never got round to reading them.