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

I loved the Over Sea, Under Stone series as a child @mackerella and had completely forgotten about them. Will have to add to my list for a reread.

As promised…

Both Treacle Walker and The Dark Forest (Three body problem book two) are on daily deals today!

And is well worth a read.

Little sweetie! @LadybirdDaphne ❤️

The Honjin Murders
The Inugami Curse
both by Seishi Yokomizo
1940s Japanese murder mysteries, the first of which draws heavily on locked room mysteries. These were readable enough - a bit meta with references to other books and a bit mannered. Some of the translations jarred - words like ‘wow’ and ‘yeah’ felt out of place and a couple of Americanisms including ‘ornery’ made me wince.

Oh and I’m definitely in this for the dog pics.

@LadybirdDaphne Gorgeous!

Thanks @BaruFisher one of my friends recently recommended How To Build A Boat so I've bought that.

57. Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews. Follow up and very similar to Saltwater which I read and enjoyed earlier this year. A young woman from the North East, recovering from an eating disorder, grapples with who she is and how much metaphorical space she takes up in London. When she follows her boyfriend to Barcelona it prompts more soul searching about what she really wants.

Not a lot happens but the writing is really beautiful and sensual, especially around falling in love and the physical feelings of being in a new city. I did find it a bit repetitive though, and almost identical to her first novel, so I'd like to see her write something a bit different.

58. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher. I read and loved Winter Solstice at Christmas so hoped this would be the same. Penelope Keeling is the daughter of a late famous artist whose works are suddenly selling for huge sums, and she comes under pressure from her adult children to put the paintings she has on the market. The book flashes back to her life in Cornwall during the war where she had a defining love affair.

The WW2 sections were pretty middling but I couldn't get enough of RP's version of 80s upper middle class life - the decor, the food, the drinking, the career women. As ever, the twists were predictable but satisfying. It does though have a particularly baffling and ableist storyline about a character who might have epilepsy, which made me raise my eyebrows.

Daphne what an absolute cutie. Adorable. Please give many snuggles and tummy rubs on my behalf.

I'm still toiling through the Booker list with 2 to go. I've not found anything that's wowed me yet, but I have really enjoyed 3 of my more recent reads. The Bee Sting which was mentioned upthread, All the Little Bird-Hearts and Pearl. I very nearly DNF How to Build a Boat.

I don't know how anyone else is finding the list, but it feels like a really weak year.

@Cherrypi thanks for highlighting that book club, I have downloaded the first episode and followed on Spotify.

I'm hoping for good things as I like Cariad Lloyd in Grief Cast (recommended for those struggling with a loss or just wanting to understand the feelings better) and I think Sarah Pasoce is on the Guilty Feminist podcast which I like (recommended for those who don't mind snorting with laughter at inappropriate jokes while listening to podcasts with headphones in).

Mind you I better not want to read all the books they talk about or I just my reading list will get bigger and bigger!! That thought is actually a little anxiety making. I'll go get a grip.

Afternoon all.

I'm back from my 6 week residential summer job (during which very little reading was done) and a week's holiday in Austria during which hills were climbed, huge meals were eaten and a bit of reading was done.

I'll save my list obvs till next thread!
Going to catch up with you all now!

Just popping on to let Strout fans know that Oh William is in the Daily Deals today.

Goooooorgeous puppy pics!

Tiny puppy !

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

It was Sir Trevor Macdonalds recommendation on Between The Covers it's been Wish List a while, now very daunted by the 1000 pages

118 Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

A British Ghanaian boy meets girl, it's very lyrical and poetic but the tone and style become a bit exhausting over just 145 pages, and I got a bit skimmy once it felt poncey and pretentious

Cringy fanboying over Zadiie Smith also

Hope you like it. I found it an easy, very interesting read a very long time ago.

43. The Good Friday Agreement By Siobhan Fenton

This was a rec from someone on here after I read Trespasses and realised I knew next to nothing about The Troubles. Thank you so much whoever it was! This is one of the most readable bon fiction books I have picked up in ages, probably because it tells a story. Highly recommended for anyone who like me wants a bit more context. I'm also watching Derry Girls with DH and we're loving that too. I do like a bit of deep dive into a topic, even when it's heart wrenching.

60. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho trans. Alan R. Clarke
    A young Spanish shepherd has a prophetic dream and meets a man who claims to be a king so he sets off to find treasure in Egypt. He encounters various setbacks and learns from the people he meets along the way.
    Very simplistic writing style, lots of annoying characters who speak like they fell out of a self-help book. Very clunky and over done message about following your dreams and looking for opportunities.

61. The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde by Eve Chase
    A dual timeline novel. In the 2010s Jessie, her husband, toddler and troubled teen step daughter, Bella move into Applecote, a large rundown house in the Cotswolds. In 1959 fifteen year old Margot and her sisters arrive at their Applecote to spend the summer with their aunt and uncle, the first time they've been there since their cousin, Audrey, disappeared five years ago. The novel switches between the story of the sisters, whose close relationship is being torn apart by the cloying atmosphere of the house and rivalry over two young men staying nearby, and Jessie who is worrying about her marriage and is concerned that Bella is becoming obsessed with Audrey Wilde.
    I liked the 1959 strand of this best, which portrays a long hot summer and Margot's coming of age really well. Jessie's story was a bit of a distraction from the real plot of the book.

62. Planet of Exile by Ursula K. Le Guin
    A dwindling group of people, known as farborns by the natives, have been stranded on an alien planet for centuries, desperately hoping they'll still be recognisable as human if rescue comes and living in an uneasy peace with a nearby group of humanoids they call hilfs (highly intelligent life forms). As the planet's long winter approaches and both groups come under attack farborn Jacob and hilf Rolery form a bond.
    Maybe not Le Guin at her best but still there was something about this novel, the world, the characters, the writing that I feel has somehow left its mark on me and I loved reading it.

63. Full by Julia Spiro
    Successful influencer and secret bulimic Ava drunkenly books herself onto a six week retreat for people dealing with difficult life problems. She thinks she can get away with keeping up the appearance of a perfect life online but someone is sending messages threatening to out her.
    Well written chick lit, looking at issues caused or exacerbated by social media.

64. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
    Difficult to review this one...
    Set in 17th century London, Jordan was found in the Thames as a baby by a huge woman, known as the Dog Woman. As an adult he leaves to travel the world. Time is jumbled up and fairy tales, like the twelve dancing princesses become part of the story, but altered and told from different perspective.
    I enjoyed this for its magic and strangeness.

@LadybirdDaphne such an adorable puppy!! Hope they're settling in well

I've unintentionally ended up reading three fairly similar books in a row - all non fiction travel books written by women. All good, but Tracks was a stand out.

39 Tracks by Robyn Davidson. This one is by far the best of the three. It was written in 1980, but DH and I recently enjoyed the 2013 film and bought the book as a result. Davidson's solo trek across the Australian desert, accompanied by her faithful dog, her recalcitrant but loveable camels, her own thoughts (which are captured in a very raw, honest way) and occasional visits from Rick the photographer, makes for an incredible story.

40 The Kingdom of Women by Choo Wiahong. While travelling in China the author visited the Mosuo tribe who live in a remote part of the Yunnan province. The Mosuo are unusual because they live in a matriarchal, matrilineal society, so name and property pass down the female line - very different from the rest of China, in which females are still considered inferior to males. Wiahong identifies with their outlook on life, and ends up building a house in the area and living with the Mosuo for six months of every year. This is an interesting book about the customs of the Mosuo and how their lives are changing from exposure to the outside world.

41 Walking with Nomads by Alice Morrison. We went to Morocco on holiday this summer (it was great!), so I read Morrison's Adventures in Morocco earlier this year and now this one. In the first book she lives in different parts of Morocco and writes about them, whereas this covers three treks through different parts of Morocco. I really enjoyed her stories about the challenges of the treks and the people and landscapes she encountered, but I think it suffered from my reading it so soon after Tracks (which is more of an adventure, because Davidson was alone rather than with guides). The camels and their huge personalities again feature strongly!

Kala by Colin Walsh
I thought this was excellent - definitely a bold. A teenage girl goes missing. Around 15 years later, a body is found. The only jarring note in this was that one of the narrative voices was in second person. Even the present tense stuff didn't annoy me. Highly recommended.

Thanks for sharing the puppy photos, hope the settling is going well!

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver My vitals: have seen a couple of David Copperfield adaptations over the years, enough to remember a few characters but not which book they were in, and, thankfully, to have an idea that things worked out ok for Dickens/David in the end. I loved Poisonwood Bible many years ago but wasn’t particularly taken with the couple of other books of hers that I’ve read since. I loved this. I loved Demon’s voice, the ups and downs, the bad characters and the good who nevertheless couldn’t do quite enough for Demon, the compassionate insight into the opioid crisis and a location I knew nothing about.

Glad you found a winner Remus!

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I started that last night thoroughly enjoying it

Archie (the puppy) was pretty good the first night, I think he was exhausted by the journey here which involved two flights from the North Island (of NZ). Tonight he’s so far woken me at 12 and 1 for toilet breaks - good in a way Now I’m sat on the floor by the c