50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Ten

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the tenth and final thread of the 50 Books Challenge for this year.

The challenge was to read fifty books (or more!) in 2023, though reading fifty wasn'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, eighth one here and the ninth one here

How have you got on this year?

67 Diamond Street: The Hidden World Of Hatton Garden - Rachel Lichtenstein

I’ll have to start keeping a note when people recommend books on this thread. Thanks to whoever said this one - an enjoyable and interesting investigation into the history and psychogeography of Hatton Garden, with a particular interest to me as I worked in Clerkenwell for years and still visit regularly.

Sorry to hear about illnesses and misfortunes, may things get better for you soon.

65. Heroes - Stephen Fry

Well this was a bit of a disappointment TBH. And while not in Gallows Pole stinker territory, it's one of the least enjoyable books I've read this year which is a shame. No one particular reason why, just lots of little niggles that added up.

• I enjoy a Greek myth but this draaaagged in places.

• There seemed to be a lot of family history, and fair enough it needs some explanation, especially with the gods' lineage and the rulers of the various city states and territories, but boy was it dull.

• Short of women, except as wives, mothers, daughters or goddesses (Atalanta being the exception). Now that there are several feminist retellings of myths this felt old fashioned and missing something.

• Why give everyone modern speech patterns? It jarred.

• Copious footnotes, some interesting, but others referencing the first book, Mythos, which I haven't read.

I read Troy last year and found it much the same, why I bothered with this I don't know. Hey ho.

Wishing everyone who is under the weather a swift recovery, and so very sorry to hear about flooding, my heart goes out to you.

I’m tasked with reading any book by Zadie Smith for our book group. I’ve only ever read White Teeth of hers, which I loved, many years ago. Should I reread that or read something else? Open to fiction or non-.

I'm not a massive fan of Zadie Smith's fiction, but I enjoyed Intimations which is a series of essays she wrote during lockdown.

@CheeseplantJungle I loved NW by Zadie Smith - really evocative of London in a heatwave, and loved the interlocking storylines.

Thanks Fortuna and Maud I’ll look at those.

48 The Binding by Bridget Collins

Tricky to discuss the plot without spoilers. Set sometime in the past and mainly about Emmett Farmer a young peasant who is apprenticed to a binder. I liked the concept where memories could be removed and stored in a book or bound – quite a sci-fi idea. However, initially the book dragged, mainly full of either ambiguous if not downright unpleasant characters and much seediness and unpleasantness ensues. It is actually a romance. I know many people love this book, but for all its interesting ideas, I found the plot a bit of a mess.

49 Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Basically, a collection of short stories set in a small American town linked by the character of Olive Kitteridge who is a complex character prickly, blunt, difficult, truthful, sensible and deep down quite kind. Difficult and very human subject matter is handled delicately by the author in this seemingly quiet and gentle backwater where the realities of life pop up from time to time and slap you around the face.

For Elizabeth Strout fans I just found Abide With Me on kindle for 99p. A quick Google seems to suggest it's stand alone which is good.

I somehow managed to pick up I think number 3 of the 4 Lucy Barton books so am hoping the others get reduced or at some point in 2024 I will put my hand in my pocket!

Very good @RazorstormUnicorn thank you!

Great review of Olive @Mothership4two
I must read it again. * *

Bizarre happening with my Kindle. Halfway through a book, I closed the Kindle then opened it 5 mins later and the book had disappeared. No sign of it on my Amazon account. Thought I’d dreamt it. Then this morning I got a Returned for Refund email.

I’ve bought it again at £2 less. Weird.

Good that you got the book cheaper. I've accidentally deleted a book that was part of a series and had to repurchase it. That is weird though.

The Rich are Different and the sequel Sins of the Father by Susan Howatch These were not as good as her other family sagas Cashelmara, Penmarric and The Wheel of Fortune. based on The Plantagenets but with the action moved to the 18th and 19th century.

The Rich are Different storyline trajectory is very loosely based on Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. With Julius becoming a hugely wealthy Wall Street Investment Banker in the 1920's, Mark Anthony as his handsome bullish protege and Cleopatra as a hard up toff from the Norfolk Broads with a beloved ancient pile that she wants to keep at any cost. This had a similar tone to Howatch's other family sagas with POV chapters, but the story didn't hold together quite as well as her other sagas and was overlong so in some places the story sagged and dragged but it was enjoyable overall.

The Sins of the Father continues the story of Octavian/Gaius Augustus ( Caesar's nephew and successor) which started in the previous book. This book dragged on endlessly and had a really different tone with lots of personal navel gazing from the main players in their POV chapters. I think this was the last family saga book Howatch wrote and perhaps she was bored and had enough of it all too.

The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne Du Maurier- I hadn't re read these for many, many years and had forgotten what a skilled short story writer Du Maurier was. The Birds is much better than the film, much creepier and I loved the Apple Tree story about a widower who imagines his dead wife has come to embody an ugly, withered tree in his garden. There were 5 other stories too which all had their merits. Really enjoyable.

@noodlezoodle John Guy has a brilliant Mary Queen of Scots autobiography. It was originally called My Heart is My Own but I believe has been re-published as just Mary Queen of Scots after the film with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie was based on it

27 If Only They Could Talk - James Herriot
The first of the reminiscences of 1930s Yorkshire veterinary life, in which the young, newly-qualified vet secures a position with the eccentric Seigfried with a side-order of the irresponsible younger brother thrown in for comic effect.

I was looking for wrapping paper in my big upstairs cupboards and found my old James Herriot books stashed away in there, along with a complete set of Famous Fives and St Clares. I have run out of new books to read, and it's over a week til Christmas, I think James can keep me entertained til then (not sure I'm ready for Enid)

Lovely writing, cosy nostalgic reading for me, undemanding and entertaining. Perfect for right now.

That gives me chills @BestIsWest! What was the book? Did you pay £2 originally?

It was The Blair Years - Alistair Campbell - I’ve been refunded £7.99 and paid £5.99 to buy it again. My Kindle does have form for doing odd things when I close it - most notably changing the font size to giant or microscopic.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Well so much for this being my last book of the year. Whizzed through this and loved it even with all the US anachronisms (2050s Oxford is very like a Hollywood version of 1950s Oxford with great aunts buying 'mufflers' for schoolboys and a very efficient NHS that can vaccinate the entire population in a few days) but it's so relentlessly sad in the last third when the plague hits, even worse than I imagined. Excellent Christmas descriptions though.

Going to go for a proper Christmas comfort read next and read The Children of Greene Knowe.

Birthday and an excellent book/token result!

Berserker by Adrian Edmondson I’m picky about autobiographies but I asked for this specifically because I don’t think he churns out fluff for money.
Hope by Niall Harbison Street dogs and how they have helped to save people who have saved them.
Wanderers: A History Of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews This was in my private Wish List and the person who bought it knows me so well.
Plus oodles of Waterstones and National Book Tokens to see me well into the New Year for those books where a Kindle just won’t do.

Happy birthday @BoldFearlessGirl . I've heard the Ade Edmonson book is great.

I really like Susan Howatch too @SapatSea but agree that those two aren't her best. My absolute favourite one is The Wheel of Fortune. I do like the way each section is told be a different character in her books.

Fantastic, thank you! I had also entirely forgotten about that film so I'll try and check that out too.

The kindle stuff all sounds very mysterious... I think generally if you delete something off your kindle it should still be on your Amazon account and you can re-download it - but this sounds very mysterious!

Best, I could imagine them refunding you the difference if you bought it recently, but not deleting it from your account! So weird (and RUDE).

Happy birthday @BoldFearlessGirl . I’ve bought the Ade book for dp for Christmas.

Happy Birthday!!