50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Seven

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh 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, the second one here, the third one here here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, and the sixth one here

On Mieville I am in the love team. Yes to City and the City also a big fan of Perdito Street Station and The Scar

51 Even the Dogs Jon McGregor
I'll put a trigger warning here because this is a raw and harrowing read and left me wiped out unable to get it out of my head. It's relentless the experimental style of writing places you in the group of homeless drug addicts. The writing is brilliant.

After that I needed something light and silly so I read 52 Come Again Robert Webb This is a romp/caper a sort of mash up of Life on Mars and The Kingsman with plenty of tongue in cheek humour and a bit of pathos. A good bit of light entertainment with a rather off piste sub plot. Enjoyable but it could have been better developed it felt a bit under developed.

He is on the Booker judging panel.

I have waiting in the library In Ascension so looking forward to seeing how that goes and I have just decided that my current read of The Country of Others Leila Slimani is being consigned to DNF I found it didn't draw me in, the writing seems distant and detached and it reads like non-fiction rather than a gripping novel. Dull. Also feel it has an odd viewpoint. Characters feel flat.

80 The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
Thank you @terpsichore! This was a delight, and I have reviewed it on the other thread (Rather Dated Book Club). Would thoroughly recommend this story of four women getting to know each other in an Italian villa for maximum loveliness.

81 Stay With Me by Ayobámi Adébáyò
Some of you spoke very highly of this and I thought it was even better than A Spell Of Good Things. I have seen it described as Nigerian politics, polygamy, and procreation. And while that is true I’d say it is more about deception and disappointment in relationships. Very highly recommended.

82 Midwives, Witches and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English
More of a monograph than a book but I bought a bound copy in a bookshop so I’m claiming it as a book. Written at the height of second wave feminism it’s a fascinating examination of how the medical profession and the patriarchy have conspired (in so far as they are different) to remove women from medicine and shift them into the caring professions. It starts with medieval witch trials then skips to the US, where it focuses for much of the time. This had a lot going for it; I’d love a longer, more up to date version of this.

83 For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie
Everyone’s favourite medieval mystics, Margery Kempe and Julian of Norwich, tell their stories. If you’ve read their books - revolutionary and extraordinary still - there isn’t much that is new here but nonetheless I thought this was well worth the time. Margery brings - as you’d hope - all the drama (as DD who also read this observed, she fully leans into her shrieking era). Julian is much more measured though as she spends a large chunk of her life interred alone in a cell that is probably for the best.

@snowspider I felt that too about The Country of Others It was a DNF for me as well but I know many people really love it.

The Seventh Son - Sebastian Faulks

It's 2030 and Talissa, an American graduate needs finance to support her PhD. She studies ancient humans and in a journal reads about the Parn Institute which is financed by a billionaire who is offering remuneration to surrogate mothers on a programme in London. Talissa stays in London for a year and has a baby for a lovely, down to earth couple. However, unbeknown to any of them, Parn has bribed the head scientist to exchange the sperm in order to carry out a genetic experiement and monitor the child born from it.

I thought the premise was good and I liked the first few chapters . I was interested to see how it would play out. The book was overly long, yet the main characters didn't seem fleshed out enough. I felt the prose was rather cold and disconnected which I also felt with Ian McEwan's recent novel, Lessons (as did others here). Like Lessons, The Seventh Son had a lot of dead ends, extraneous details and stories about others that distracted from the main plot so that it felt unfocused. It was never made clear what Parn hoped to find out. It all just didn't feel how real people would act and react. Perhaps it's just a disconnect between me and middle aged male writers. Hmm...

I can't seem to quote posts but @SapatSea

@snowspiderI felt that too aboutThe Country of Others It was a DNF for me as well but I know many people really love it

I was disappointed as the idea of it appealed

35. Uncle Paul Celia Fremlin * * The second Fremlin I've read this year and another melodramatic thriller wrapped up in English domescity. Here we have three sisters holidaying on the coast worrying that Uncle Paul, a dark figure from their past, will make an unwelcome return. Just like in The Hours Before Dawn the picture of family life is relatable. Even though it was written in the late 50s, the challenges of a seaside holiday were very recognisable. Ive sat on many beaches in less than ideal weather with a flask of tea If you think too much about the plot it is a bit silly, but I was happy enough not to, and enjoy the journey. For me a fun (and seasonal) easy read.

98. Rose Madder by Stephen King

Not one of his better books but I did like it more than when I read it previously. The Green Mile is up next in my Stephen King readathon, which I’ve always loved.

I'm not feeling sold on any of the Booker offerings judging by reviews here. That's probably a positive though as I have far too many other books to read 🙈 I loved The City and The City and recently bought Perdido Street Station in a 99p deal, glad others seem to rate it.

That's me now hit book 50, which was Tolkien's The Two Towers on audio. Initially borrowed months ago, and now completed on my third loan due to its length. Just a 17 week wait for the final instalment in the series!

I didn't really like Lullaby,Leila Slimani's previous book, @snowspider. Her latest doesn't sound much better.

68. How to Build a Boat - Elaine Feeney. My second Booker Longlist novel, this is about a 13 year old neurodivergent boy Jamie. His mother died in childbirth and he has been brought up by his dad Eoin and gran Marie. He is starting secondary school, an old fashioned boys college run by a misogynistic head who wants the boys to conform to an antiquated ideal. English teacher Tess is struggling with infertility, her marriage and also has a mother who died young. A new woodwork teacher Tadhg who is also dealing with parental loss comes to the school and encourages Jamie to design a boat. I quite liked this, the writing is evocative and the story is both sad and sweet. It's perhaps a little twee in the end. Not sure exactly why it's made the Booker Longlist though, there's nothing that particularly stands out as original to me.

I adored The Country of Others and have the sequel on my TBR pile. Not read Lullaby but I know my sister loved it. Can see why others might not like her writing though.

Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada. Translated by Margaret Mitsutani.

Book two of Women in Translation month.

This novel is described by the publisher as cheery dystopia set at some point in the near future. 'The Land of Sushi' has disappeared (some sort of environmental disaster but we don't find out what), Hiruko was studying in Sweden at the time and with no country to return to she has moved across Scandinavia from job to job and making up a language she calls Panska that can be understood by all Scandinavians. She is searching for another native speaker of Japanese and picks up a group of new friends along the way who are all searching for something. Each chapter is from one character's viewpoint. Despite the descriptions of environmental damage elsewhere Europe is still recognisably our Europe, there is political stability and our characters fly about the continent in search of the other native speaker. This is both delightful and strange. It is apparently the first in a trilogy and I'll definitely read the next part when it comes out.

I didn't like Lullaby much, but have enjoyed her others including the new one.

Booker Prize update. I'm 70% into In Ascension. Shoot me now and put me out of my misery.
The House of Doors was ok, but again, struggling to see why it's on the list.

I've recently had a very interesting pairing. Suite Française which is a stunning piece of writing and The Postcard - Anne Berest which touches on a very similar experiences and references the first. Hard going emotionally so close together, but fascinating to see the observations of human nature in such circumstances.

Has anyone read Two Women in Rome. I didn't love it, but my book club absolutely hated it with a passion with most not getting past a few chapters. It made me think of other authors such as Rhys/Sparks.

We also had a lot of fun with Create Your Own Midlife Crisis - Marie Phillips which was a 'choose your own adventure' for adults. I got arrested twice and I couldn't resist the option to follow the man in the gimp suit. Never again!

@FortunaMajor
What happened when you followed the man in the gimp suit??

Toss a coin!

@FortunaMajor
Not pine air freshener. Even worse than lavender.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
I liked but didn’t love this. On the whole, I found it engaging and at times moving and I was kept gripped by the ‘Will they, won’t they?’ element. I was interested in some of the more minor characters and largely found the gaming stuff okay, although I’m not and have never been a gamer.

I thought it was overlong, disliked the Pioneers section and was a bit disappointed with the ending. Also found the Dov stuff very annoying.

I still can’t believe she did what she did to one of the characters!

So, overall, okay but definitely not a bold.

48 The Illearth War - Stephen Donaldson

Second in the Thomas Covenant fantasy series, and an improvement on the first one with better edited prose and some decent action. But slightly off putting is an odd slightly incestuous storyline which I’d totally wiped from my mind since the first time round.

Just updating on my sun lounger reads from last week:

50. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver

Much read and reviewed already. Thought it was great but a difficult read in places because of the content. Not read David Copperfield but will give it a go now and look for parallels.

51. Riders - Jilly Cooper

A blast from the past and an old favourite notwithstanding that some aspects of it have not aged well. High jinks on the showjumping circuit with lothario, Rupert Campbell-Black. Great fun.

52. Halloween Party - Agatha Christie

This has been sitting on my kindle for ages. A girl is drowned at a Halloween party in the bucket of bobbing apples. Poirot investigates. This was not one of her best in my view.

53. Rivals - Jilly Cooper

Rupert Campbell-Black has retired from showjumping and is now an MP and Minister of Sport. Lots of new characters (as well as a few familiar faces) as the focus is on television franchises. Very enjoyable.

54. The Cliff House - Chris Brookmyre

Recommended on here and a new author for me. A hen weekend on a remote Scottish island does not go to plan with dead bodies and dark secrets. Kept the tension going and would happily read more by him on basis of this one.

BLimey, I'm now reading so slowly that an entire 400 post thread has passed me by until now. As my list is so short I'm bringing it across despite the naysayers:

1. In a Good Light by Claire Chambers
2. Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes

*3. Lean, Fall, Stand by Jon McGregor *

1. The Juniper Tree by Barbara Comyns

*5. The End of Innocence: Britain in the Time of AIDS by Simon Garfield*

1. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
2. Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova

*8. Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett*

1. Reputation by Sarah Vaughan

10. Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates 11. This Must be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell *12. Giving up the Ghose by Hilary Mantel*

And I've just finished 13. Villager by Tom Cox. Set in the fictional West Country village of Underhill, this is an enjoyable ramble. Each chapter has a different voice, and they're set decades apart, but there are echoes of familiar characters or places in each new perspective. There's commentary on man's use and abuse of natural resources in the name of "progress" with a couple of ever so slightly dystopian future chapters. Quirky, funny, warm and enjoyable.

@TheTurn0fTheScrew you’ve reminded me I need to pick up Villager again. I contributed to the funding for it via Unbound but I was really disappointed in it, despite being a fan of his previous books (particularly Help The Witch and Ring The Hill). I need to give it another chance in case I just wasn’t in the mood for it.

@BoldFearlessGirl not sure how far you got, but I did think the opening slightly blokey/golfy chapter was the least successful, and not massively representative of the whole thing. I think because it's thematic rather than a linear plot I like it more the more I read IYSWIM.

@TimeforaGandT I recommend One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night for your next Brookmyre read. Very entertaining.

I have been reading very slowly the last few weeks and have missed most of this thread, so updating with my latest read before going off to catch up on the thread!

61. Cross Her Heart by Sarah Pinborough

Thriller.
Told from the alternating perspectives of Lisa, her 16 yr old daughter Ava, and her best friend Marilyn. They’ve all got secrets that they don’t want to get out.
But Lisa’s secret is the big one. She was an 11yr old child murderer who was given a new identity when released from custody, and now there’s someone out there who knows who she is and who’s after her.
It’s far fetched in parts but overall an ok thriller.

@FortunaMajor I used to love Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was little so I'm definitely grabbing this! It's only 1.84 on kindle (what a weird price) so it would be rude not to.

I can't keep up with you lot!

I was excited to see the Booker longlist published but am also feeling uninspired by the reviews posted so far. I might wait until somebody more diligent has read the list and then do some cherry-picking.

51. The Instant by Amy Liptrot I haven’t read Liptrot’s first book The Outrun, which is about how she recovered from drug and alcohol abuse by returning to her native Orkney to live in isolation. This is the successor, and tells how she decided (on a whim, seemingly) to move to Berlin - complete with intense love affair and gradual reintegration into the “normal world”.

I spent the first half of the book being very irritated by Liptrot - the millennial drifting, the navel-gazing, the whimsical obsession with the moon - and ended up being mostly won over by her subtle humour and poetic writing. The bits set in Berlin are actually quite interesting, especially the portrayal of a multinational demi-monde of artists and photographers and musicians who support their bohemian lifestyles through casual work in warehouses and factories while not engaging with the German language or way of life in any way at all. (My cousin moved to Berlin a few years ago and had a similar experience, so this all rang true for me.) I also realised partway through that each chapter is essentially an extended riff on a particular theme or metaphor - racoons (which have apparently become naturalised in Berlin), goshawks and hooded crows, but also traffic islands or being underwater - and the book made more sense after that, when I stopped looking for “truth” or “narrative” and just gave myself up to Liptrot’s beautifully written ponderings.

52. Never Mind the Quantocks: How Country Walking Can Change Your Life by Stuart Maconie The title makes it sound as if this is going to be a manifesto but it is, in fact, a collection of pieces from Maconie's monthly column in Country Walking magazine. Like all such compilations it can become repetitive at times - I think Maconie uses the same quote four times, which would be overlooked when the articles are read several months apart but becomes grating when they form successive chapters. Likewise, the fixed length of the chapters becomes a bit monotonous, and there were times when I wished he could become more expansive on a particular topic and break out of his rigid word limits. Having said that, Maconie's understated charm and deep love of country walking shine through and it did make me want to lace up my walking boots and get outside!

101. Chris Brookmyre - The Cliff House

Much reviewed on here. I enjoyed it but irritatingly my library doesn't have many of his other books!

102. Mark Wells - College of Shadows
103. Mark Wells - Gate of Shadows
104. Mark Wells - Legacy of Shadows

The Cambridge Gothic trilogy recommended by Jodi Taylor recently, set at St Johns College - I had a friend who studied here in the mid 1990s and vaguely remembered the layout from visiting her, which was nice. (There are also some John's College | Mark Wells (marknwells.com) lovely maps on the author's website). I got to halfway through the first book thinking it was a bit of a slog, then it all picked up and I was hooked essentially students have to deal with creatures coming through from another dimension and threatening the college, although sad to say I now I have more in common with the (elderly) college staff than the (oh so young!) students gosh I feel old

105. Lynn Messina - The Harlow Hoyden
106. Lynn Messina - The Other Harlow Girl

Mills & Boon type stories, aristocrat falls for young lady who is in some way unsuitable and they eventually get together. Very restful for my tired brain.

107. Jane Wetherby - A Dangerous Melody

Allegedly like the above stores but including a mystery. Wasn't that enjoyable or mysterious, but was at least quite short.

108. Lydia Travers - The Scottish Ladies' Detective Agency
109. Lydia Travers - Murder in the Scottish Hills
110. Lydia Travers - Mystery in the Highlands

Edwardian murder mysteries set around Edinburgh, Balmoral and other Scottish locations - got these via Kindle Unlimited, more fun than I thought they would be. I particularly liked the stirrings of working class unrest and society being on the cusp of big changes - the biggest change of course being the war, only a few years away. In the meantime the books also talk about women's rights and trying to find their own place in society without male disapproval, I'm not sure that much has changed in a hundred years in that respect...

111. MC Beaton - Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener (audiobook)

Just good fun really, I've read the books and very much like listening to Penelope Keith narrating these. It must be an early recording though as I noticed the accents change in later audiobooks!

Another Choose Your Own Adventure fan here @noodlezoodle and @FortunaMajor even though I always used to cheat as I didn't want to die horribly

It definitely felt like the end of an era at St Mary's @MamaNewtNewt and @StitchesInTime ! I noticed there's a pre-Christmas event run by Jodi Taylor books which looks great, but I just don't have the time/ money to go at the moment

@TattiePants definitely give the Time Police books a go, they are a lot more straightforward!! It did take me about half of the first book to properly switch from St Mary's to TPHQ mode, but after that it was all plain sailing and I actually prefer those now!