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

Oops sorry tired thumbs… I’m sitting on the floor by the crate waiting for him to stop making tiny pitiful meeps so I can go and snatch another 30 mins sleep. Worth it though!

I didn't think this thread could get much better but now it has added puppies?! More please LadybirdDaphne!

I've been reading - albeit a rather weird selection - but not reviewing, so this is a bit of a review dump.

27. The Wandering Fire, Guy Gavriel Kay. Second in trilogy; I described the first as not having aged well and having some dubious plotlines. This is more of the same, but less dubious and more entertaining.

28. Impossible People, by Julia Wertz. Graphic memoir about the author's journey to sobriety. I'm not familiar with her earlier work but this was great. I absolutely loved it - funny and heartfelt. I've never considered myself a graphic novel person, but in the last few years I'm reading and enjoying more and more graphic memoir.

29. The Darkest Road, by Guy Gavriel Kay. Sigh. Third in the trilogy I loved as a teenager, and again I'm very conflicted. There are lots of problems with it, not least of which is that if you don't buy into high fantasy tropes, it makes no sense - for example the character seeking the end of the world because he was rejected by a wood nymph (I know...) and Guinevere/Arthur/Lancelot sadly longing for each other - you all love each other, just be a throuple! There's a very common theme here which is that I probably need to stop re-reading things I loved as a teenager.

30. Bella, by Jilly Cooper. See above: Did not age well, but still one of my comfort go-to's.

31. Yellowface, by R.F. Kwang. What to make of this? An enormously fun satire, although at times I wasn't sure whether it really was satire, therapy, or an extended rant. She obviously had a great time writing it and it was a good read, but as it grew increasingly self-referential I found it a bit wearing. Anyway, hats off to her for creating a wildly successful book about the horrors of the publishing industry - would love to know what her publishers made of it when they read the first draft. I know a few people have reviewed this recently and I avoided the posts in case of spoilers, so will go back and see what they thought!

32. Emily, by Jilly Cooper. Once again, has not aged well! I really should stop re-reading these, but Rory Balniel was my first love (despite his appalling behaviour) and I still swoon over his navy sweater, paint-stained jeans and tousled black hair.

33. Lebron, by Jeff Benedict. Biography of Lebron James, who is either the basketball GOAT (Greatest of All Time), or a whiny baby, depending on which NBA fan you ask. Reading this turned me from a grudging admirer to a slightly-less-grudging admirer - I wasn't aware of the incredibly hard start he had in life, or the extent of his philanthropy. Despite being a very detailed page-turner, this suffers a bit by not having any direct interviews with Lebron - everything is sourced through public quotes, and once you notice this it leaves something lacking. It's also very strangely paced, with 2018 - 2023 covered in just 5 pages. Would have preferred less detail about his early years, and much more about the later years. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this and would recommend it to any basketball fans.

I've realised I missed out a book in my reviews - and a rather lovely one too.

67. The Butterfly Isles by Patrick Barkham I've had this as my bedside book since biblio's Taming the TBR thread back in March, after it sitting neglected on my shelves for probably ten years. It's the story of the author's quest to see all 59 species of British butterfly over the course of a year. The whole thing is very gentle and very low-stakes, & there's lots about the author's (happy) relationship with his father, who inspired his love of butterflies. I particularly enjoyed the trips that father & son made together.
    It's also really inspired me to pay much more attention to butterflies. I haven't seen any rarities as a result, but I've noticed (and can now name!) lots more species than I have before - including spotting five different ones within a few minutes on one row of courgettes earlier this summer :)

Sadik, I've been all about the butterflies over the past couple of days.
Soooo many have been attracted to our fig tree (presumably by the sweet liquidness of the figs) and have got stuck there. They are fluttering in a gooey mess and there's no way of saving them but I have to console myself with the fact that there are worse ways to go. The remainder of the butterfly population seems to have taken refuge in our house in search of dark.... cool... sadly, neither of which is provided by our humble abode. Currently 29 here over night and 34+ during the day. Heatwave due to break on Sunday and I can't flipping wait!!!

@nowanearlyNicemum sounds like where I am on holiday - debating how to spend a rainy Sunday!

@noodlezoodle I recently finished Yellow face and had similar thoughts.

73. The Curator - M W Craven. Decent crime book which ticked the right boxes - although the setting of a freezing cold Cumbrian Christmas was slightly at odds with current holiday weather.

74. Birnam Wood - Eleanor Catton. This is set in New Zealand and follows a cast of radical gardeners, as well as a doomsteader billionaire and a newly knighted NZ local. Mira Bunting is one of the founders of Birnam Wood, a guerilla gardening collective that takes public land and waste land and plants food on it. She's looking for the next big thing to expand her collective and pinpoints an estate in Thorndike that has recently been cut off by a landslide as the urgent place. The estate is owned by the recent Knight Sir Owen Dervish who is planning to sell it to American billionaire Robert Lemoine to build a bunker. Mira's best friend and flatmate Shelley does all the admin for Birnam Wood and is increasingly disillusioned by the whole project. Tony Gallo is one of the founders who has just returned after years traveling. The first part of the book is very slow moving and goes into in depth character analysis of the motives of Mira, Shelley, Tony and Robert. There's also a lot of lectures on capitalism and socialism particularly from mansplaining trust fund Tony. I guess these are meant to be satirical but I found them rather tiring. The action picks up in the second part where they all converge in Thorndike and then it becomes much more like a thriller with Tony hiding out in the woods in camo gear, drone and mobile phone surveillance and twisted coincidences. It ends very abruptly with the ending told by a peripheral character. This wasn't really for me, too much telling, the billionaire was a textbook psychopath, and I think the pacing was a bit off. I didn't really pay much attention to the Macbeth theme while reading it but I think the point was that any of the characters could be Macbeth as they're all self-serving.

Stokey the weather forecast has been very unreliable in recent months - rain forecast but never actually comes!! This time they seem very confident it will rain. Sorry for your hols but hurray for me and my poor scorched garden.

39. A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry
I read Days Without End a few years ago and remember being really wowed by some of the writing. This is the sequel and I enjoyed it but wasn't blown away. It's now the 1870s and former soldiers Thomas McNulty and John Cole are living on a farm in Tennessee. Where they took the lead in Days Without End, this novel centres on their adopted daughter Winona as she remembers her Lakota upbringing and strives to make her own life in a community where she is welcomed by some and looked down on by others, with fewer rights as an indigenous woman in a mixed but predominantly white area. I found the setting interesting and felt like I was reading a story I hadn't heard before, so I'm glad I read it but it wouldn't be a bold for me.
40, Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley
This I loved! Daunis is an 18 year old living on the USA-Canada border with her white mother and strong family ties with the local Ojibwe community through her father's family. After she witnesses the death of her best friend, Daunis is approached by investigators who ask her to be an undercover source of information. This is a YA novel, and there's a romantic plotline that felt YA, but there was more than enough to keep me hooked with small town family dynamics, racism, the effects of drugs on individuals and the community, mysterious deaths and ice hockey. The setting was fascinating - we're in the USA but right on the border with Canadian and French influences, and the culture and traditions of the Ojibwe come through strongly and I loved this aspect of the plot and setting. One of my top reads of the year.
41. The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny
Murder mystery, third in the series centred on Inspector Gamache and the fictional small town of Three Pines in eastern Canada. It was fine.
42. Ultra-Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
Non-fiction about the growth of ultra-processed 'food'. A really brilliant read. I listened to the podcast that this book grew from, enjoyed it and thought that maybe this book would cover the same ground. It went so much further, both in terms of depth (detailed, research based scientific exploration of how ultra-processing affects our bodies, for example) and in it's breadth (looking at the business of UPF production, aspects of worldwide food production, research methods, health trends, how eating habits have evolved through human history and so on). There's so much that I have learned, so much that I found fascinating and am still mulling over, so much that I'd like to read more about. May well be my top non-fiction read of the year.

48 A is for Arsenic: the poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

Like others on this thread, I am working through my paper TBR pile whilst on holiday. This clever and unusual book by a chemist goes through the poisons used by murderers in Agatha Christie novels and short stories in alphabetical order, explaining their properties, discussing real-life crimes in which they were involved and investigating the accuracy of Christie's plots and descriptions. As Christie fans may know, she worked in a dispensary during WWI and Harkup confirms that the mechanisms by which her poison victims met their end were generally well researched and in keeping with the chemical properties of the substances. I know nothing about toxicology or chemistry and this was pitched at the right level to be educational, but also to maintain my interest. There are a couple of spoilers in there (the chapter on Sad Cypress gives away the murderer without much warning) but if like me you're a Christie nut and have read them all several times this is a fun and interesting read.

97 Pineapple Street - Jenny Jackson
This is the story of three women in the one (very wealthy) family. Darley gave up her career to be a SAHM and her inheritance as she didn’t want to ask her husband to sign a prenup. Then he loses his very lucrative job. Her sister Georgiana is a little bored, working in a not-for-profit and partying at the weekend until she falls for a colleague. Their SIL Sacha feels like the family have never fully accepted her as she is not from their class. Light and a bit boring. None of the characters are particularly interesting. I wouldn’t recommend it.

98 Rememberings- Sinead O’Connor
I bought this ages ago in an audible 2 for 1 deal. It’s read by Sinead herself and was an emotional listen after her recent death. Her writing voice is authentically her- just like she spoke in interviews etc which is engaging, funny and troubling at times. I would say she is not always a reliable narrator. The first part of the book is the most interesting about her growing up and the trauma she and her siblings experienced. Her relationships with her family were clearly very complex, with her parents in particular. I did enjoy the second part also which discusses her songs and career but if you’re not a fan, I don’t think you would find much here. The Prince story is a doozy! It is an emotional and difficult but worthwhile read.

99 In Memoriam - Alice Winn
The story of two young men who meet in a minor public school in the 1910s. Henry Gaunt is intensely private, strong and sometimes brutal but still builds a genuine friendship with poetic, idealistic Sidney Ellwood. We hear from both boys POVs how they are in love with one another but terrified to do anything about it- both because of the illegality of being gay at the time, and their fear that the other will reject them. Both boys sign up for war at different times in 1914 and most of the book deals with their experiences on the western front. It is a little unrealistic at times, how everyone around them accepts their homosexuality but that is a minor gripe. It is beautifully written, brutal and emotional. A definite bold. It was announced just before I finished it that it has won the Waterstones Debut Prize for Fiction, which is very much deserved.
I’m glad I read that shortlist. Of the 6 I loved 4 (This one, Kala, Fire Rush and Wandering Souls - I had read the last two previously from the Women’s Prize) liked one Close to Home and DNFed one Chain-Gang All-Stars. Not a bad set of stats.

58. An Academic Question - Barbara Pym

Re-read for the Rather Dated Book Club. This is late Pym, written in the early 70s when she’d been cast out into the literary cold after a string of successful novels, and condemned as not sufficiently ‘with-it’. It was never published and her great friend Hazel Holt (also familiar on this thread) edited it for publication in 1984 from two surviving drafts.

So it’s not classic Pym, but there’s still a lot to enjoy in this story of young university wife Caro Grimstone, her rather twattish* husband Alan, and various shenanigans around a manuscript of ethnographical notes Caro has borrowed/pinched from an elderly resident at the local old peoples’ home, at Alan’s urging. Many of the incidental characters are treasurable and I was amused at regular intervals. It’s just sad to think of Pym trying to claw her way back into favour with what she imagined was a more Margaret Drabble-style book….it’s still resolutely Pym, and none the worse for that.

• in my personal opinion!

By coincidence my latest read is also :

120. Kala by Colin Walsh

Reviewed many times so I will simply add that I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if it's a bold, possibly, because it really broke a drought, but I did suss a fairly pivotal plot point very early doors. I thought characterisation was very good but disliked the tense change for Joe's character. A strong thriller which really got my groove back and I can see as a TV series.

I haven't finished it yet Terpsichore but agree with you on An Academic Question. It makes me interested in reading more Pym. She's very droll.

Glad to see your groove is back!

Fingers crossed!

47 The Atlas Paradox - Olivie Blake Second in the series about the six most gifted “medeians” in the world (in a magical alternative reality) who are recruited to the mysterious Alexandrian Society. More of the same really, and the plot isn’t really worth mentioning (one of the 5-star Goodreads reviews, in its entirety, is “must a book have plot? cant it be six people who utterly hate each other making out occasionally?” 😂). The writing is very pretentious teenager, which can get irritating, but overall I found it fun. And I’m interested in how the story ends so will be seeking out the third in the trilogy.

I also didn't think Pineapple Street was very well executed @BaruFisher. Which is a shame as I am normally here for books about rich women having relationship dramas.

Pleased to see people enjoying Kala! Agree the Waterstones debut prize looks really strong this year, I'm very keen to read In Memorium but I've been number 1 on the library waiting list for ages so I suspect the volunteer who does the reservations must be on holiday over the summer.

I've finally relented and started Demon Copperhead. It's very well done but I'm finding the abuse in the early chapters quite hard to read, does it get easier?

Hope you’ve got the rain @nowanearlyNicemum! It’s pouring here (near Grenoble) and the DCs are wrapped in blankets complaining about the cold 😂 It’s very welcome after the crazy temperatures we’ve had over the last couple of weeks!

We're just across the border in Costa Brava @DuPainDuVinDuFromage. It started raining yesterday evening and we had a massive thunderstorm at 5 this morning. Looks like the reason has settled in for the day. Eldest Dd who has very fair skin is delighted the sun has disappeared

@Stokey sorry you’re getting the weather on your holiday! Hope you’ve got lots of good books to read while it’s raining…

Hallllellllluuuujaaaahhhh. I literally danced in it when it started last night. Insane.
This Brit's attitude to rain has altered beyond all recognition in recent years. 😂

Back to book news - I'm curled up with The Island of Sea Women and absolutely loving it. Having read Pachinko not so long ago it's fascinating (whilst terrifying and desperately sad) to continue learning about Korea's troubled history.

Variation on a name place marking. 😁

I took Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier to Dorset with me as it is set in and around Lyme Regis. As usual for Chevalier, it's a historical novel, this one about the not terribly gripping story of two female nineteenth century fossil hunters. There are themes of the Matilda Effect, social class, sexism- but actually, many of the men were pretty kind and helpful.

It's a simple story, with alternating narrators , a spelling error spotted (damn for dam!) and just OK really. Her style is very plain and I just don't really warm to it. Easily could read like a YA book . One very PG sex scene aside, you could easily read it with a year 9 class.

've finally relented and started Demon Copperhead. It's very well done but I'm finding the abuse in the early chapters quite hard to read, does it get easier?

I mean, rough life stays rough but yes I'd say so, eventually

@Piggywaspushed

I found Remarkable Creatures serviceable but bland as well

That's a very good description.