50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Nine

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the ninth 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, the sixth one here, the seventh one here and the eighth one here.

What are you reading?

Just to mention for non fiction readers/readers with an interest in 20th century German history, among the Kindle Daily Deals is a book I found really interesting earlier this year, originally from the library. Katja Hoyer, Beyond the Wall: East Germany 1949-1990 is a history from just after the war (with some important background of the 1930s and 1940s) to the fall of the wall - a mix of the political history and the social history - lives of the ordinary people. The author was 4 when the wall came down though would have heard about her parents' experiences. I was impressed, given her background, that the author examines things from different points of view and looks beyond many of the stories about East Germany.

146. March by Geraldine Brooks

This retelling of the events of Little Women from the POV of Mr March is very readable but rather hit and miss and lacking at times in believability

I think Louisa May Alcott would be scandalised by it!

25 Nights at the Circus - Angela Carter
Set in the final months of 1899, an American journalist is so enthralled by Fevvers (star of the London Music Hall scene, talented aerialist and purported human/bird hybrid) that he becomes a clown in a travelling circus in order to follow her across Siberia to China.

This is an odd book, I couldn't work out where it was going (other than Siberia of course), it worked much better for me when I decided not to let that bother me! Fevvers is explored fully as a character (in her own words), less so Walser (the journalist) and Lizzie, her constant companion and foster-mother. The backbone of the narrative is sparse, there isn't much of a plot, but the many digressions are absorbing and delightful, even if I can't work out what they were for...

Not quite a bold for me, but it's going on the keep pile for a future re-read for sure

Thanks for the Beyond the Wall heads up. This is on my Christmas wish list but I’ve bought it on kindle too. It’s one I’ll be happy to own in both formats.

My Kindle Paperwhite is 6 years old. I just bought it lots of lovely new books for being such a trooper. Not quite as satisfying as going into a bookshop and coming out with a pile of physical books but I still enjoyed it <rubs thighs> I used to be a bit sniffy about eReaders but over 800 titles later I think it’s safe to say I got over myself.

137. Rizzio by Denise Mina

A retelling of the murder of David Rizzio, in front of the heavily pregnant Mary, Queen of Scots, and arranged by her husband Lord Darnley. I thought this novella was near perfect. To be able to convey the sense of time and place, the history, the politics, and the emotional elements with such brevity was really impressive. I listened on audible and thought the narrator was just excellent. The author managed to give such a sense of Mary - imagine what she could have been had she followed the example of Elizabeth I and not taken a husband at all. A definite bold! and contender for fiction of the year for me.

Interesting about Nicola-Ned Beauman @elkiedee

Look forward to hearing your views @PepeLePew

64 The Cretan Runner - George Psychoundakis

An accompaniment to Patrick Leigh Fermor’s Abducting A General (and translated by none other than PLF himself). Psychoundakis was one of the Cretan resistance fighters who assisted British agents like PLF during the German occupation, at great risk to themselves and their communities. He recounts his wartime experiences with vividness and an understandable pride.

78: Modern Ranch Living - Mark Poirier

16 year-old Kendra, obsessively devoted to honing her body with weights, early morning runs, swimming and protein shakes, lives (usually argumentatively) with her family in a desert community in Tucson, Arizona. Across the arroyo, Merv Hunter still lives with his mother, at thirty a college dropout who manages the local Splash World water park and broods on what feels like a failed life. When pen-sniffing wannabe gangster teen Petey Vaccarino - Kendra's very occasional boyfriend - suddenly goes missing, it causes barely more than a ripple in the neighbourhood, but Kendra can’t help wondering what’s happened to him.

Randomly-plucked from the bookshelves, and a big success - I absolutely loved this offbeat novel which was frequently hilarious, mainly thanks to the wonderful Kendra, radiating aggression, bad language and bad grammar. The high point was the set-piece of Kendra enrolling in a class to improve her written English and then discovering she’d mistakenly signed up to a poetry course instead, with compulsory haiku-writing exercises. But there’s a thread of melancholy to undercut the humour too. Quite unlike anything I’ve read before, and a definite five stars.

147. Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

Gerald gets trapped inside a chat bot. Around him his colleagues carry on with their work, believing Gerald is doing a skit.

A wacky short book that I'm unsure why I bothered with but was diverting enough. If you don't like reading online chat layouts it's not for you.

That sounds just my thing @Terpsichore thank you.

@BoldFearlessGirl my kindle is 8 years old! I'm torn between feeling impressed and kind of wishing it would die so that I could get a nice new paperwhite.

I have one of Ye Olde Style kindles bought in 2012 and would love a paperwhite so I can actually see what I'm reading when the light is dim. I might buy myself one as a reward when I graduate from uni next year, the way things are going atm I'll deserve it that's for sure.

Blimey these kindles are going strong! I’m on my third after drowning one last year. I don’t like the touch screen ones as much as the old style - somehow the font size on mine keeps changing itself.

Yeah, sounds interesting @Terpsichore . Might have to check that out.

I got my Kindle Paperwhite almost exactly 9 years ago

My kindle Voyage is 7 years old, I thought it was dying last year but it's still going strong fingers crossed

A quick roundup of recent reads, all previously recommended on the thread (for which many thanks as always) so I won't go into great detail.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kinsolver I was delighted to find that this lived up to its hype.

Trans by Helen Joyce Much of this will be familiar to anyone who spends time on the Feminism: Sex & Gender Discussions board. Helen Joyce is an excellent writer (she is an editor at The Economist) and sets out her position on gender identity ideology clearly and compassionately while her mathematical background gives credence to her to intepretation of statistics. To quote Jenni Murray on the cover: "A courageous, intelligent and important work, rooted in good science and commen sense".

Too Late to Turn Back by Barbara Greene This is her account as a vigorous ingenue of travelling to Liberia in 1935, along with her cousin Graham Greene. It's a good example of why I think it is important to keep text as originally published: at times it was wonderful and charming, and at others her language and attitudes were quite jaw-dropping, but these were a reflection of the attitudes and language of the times and I think it is important to acknowledge that. I'm sorry I can't remember who recommended this, but thank you, it was certainly a Good Read.

Terpsichore I wouldn't normally be drawn to a book like Modern Ranch Living but on the basis of your review, I am adding it to my (is it too early to say Christmas?) wishlist.

@Terpsichore do you think Modern Ranch Living would be suitable for a teen?

It’s extremely sweary @Stokey - but in a very funny way! However, probably not suitable for a younger teen, maybe an older one if 4-letter words aren’t problematic? But I don’t have much experience of teens so I don’t know! They may hear worse at school…!

Actually @Stokey, the first few pages of the sample on Kindle give you quite a good idea of its general flavour. I found it laugh-out-loud amusing, but it doesn’t hold back on the f*ks and indeed c*ts 😊

Urgh - I didn’t mean to bold that 👆but the asterisks did it for me

I traded in our oldest kindle 8 months ago to get a voucher towards a newer version for my son. It was still working perfectly but had no back light and you had to click to turn the page. It was bought in 2011! The new one died after 6 months after being very glitchy since receiving it and Amazon replaced it. I have a Paperwhite bought in 2013 and still going strong - I prefer it to the new standard Kindle.

Ooh, I definitely want to read Modern Ranch Living now. And also Rizzio! I'm a fan of Denise Mina's crime novels, but I wasn't sure what she'd be like as a writer of historical fiction. It sounds like she's pulled it off with panache.

Oh, how I would love to be a vigorous ingenue for a day or two.