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?

@JaninaDuszejko I love Doomsday Book, are you planning on reading the other books in the series?

Happy birthday and happy reading @BoldFearlessGirl !

I read To Say Nothing of the Dog when we were in Oxford a couple of years ago (read a large chunk of it punting on the Cherwell which was a pretty perfect way to read it). But yes, will read Blackout/All Clear at some point.

72. Shrines of Gaiety - Kate Atkinson
This was almost a bold from me, until the last few pages.

I loved the cast of characters in Nellie Coker's criminal empire, and the tentative, wrong-place, wrong-time attraction between Frobisher and Gwendolen. The depiction of the 1920s nightclub scene is great and I had fun reading about Soho and Covent Garden as I know those areas really well.

And then ... I'm all for an ambiguous ending but the way one particular storyline was concluded I just found unsatisfying. I think Atkinson is making a point about the transitoriness of life and how people appeared and disappeared, particularly in the context of the interwar years. It works in retrospect, but I'd rather it had worked while I was reading it.

Overall I really liked it, though.

I'm still reading so slowly I'm falling off the threads. Thank you @Southeastdweller for keeping house.

my brief list:

1. In a Good Light by Claire Chambers
2. Elizabeth Finch by Julian Barnes
3. *Lean, Fall, Stand by Jon McGregor*
4. The Juniper Tree by Barbara Comyns
5. *The End of Innocence: Britain in the Time of AIDS by Simon Garfield*
6. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
7. Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
8. *Riceyman Steps by Arnold Bennett*
9. 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 Ghost by Hilary Mantel*
13. *Villager by Tom Cox*
14. Old Filth be Jane Gardam
15. Whips by Cleo Watson
16. Night Waking by Sarah Moss
17. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell
18. Maybe I Don't Belong Here by David Harewood

And I can now add 19. The Passenger by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz This follows Berliner Otto Silbermann in the immediate hours and days after Kristalnacht. Silbermann is "Jew-ish" (to borrow from Jonathan Miller) words, and passes as Aryan German, but obviously the Nazis see no degrees of Jewishness. He is pursued from his home, and makes various efforts to leave the country, being thwarted over and over. Boschwitz captures the sense of threat well, and Silbermann's frustration at the lack of help from bystanders and other nations is prescient, given that this was written in 1938.

I'm now reading Good Girls which is Hadley Freeman's memoir of suffering from anorexia.

Time to Think by Hannah Barnes Excellent journalism setting out the scandalous failures of care and child safeguarding at the Tavistock Clinic for children questioning their gender identity.

I'm Not Complaining by Ruth Adam Thanks to Terpsichore for the recommendation. A fictionalised account of a primary school teacher working in a deprived area of Nottinghamshire. It was written in 1938 and I enjoyed the very spit-spot nature of her approach to difficulties (a child knocked down by a car outside the school has had a "slight accident" and "only" suffered a broken leg) but she does come across as a rather unsympathetic character at times. Interesting view of life in the 1930s taking in the aftermath of WW1 and the the challenges of depression-era poverty.

A Suppressed Cry by Victoria Glendinning I've started looking out for Virago Modern Classics in charity shops and this was one of them. It describes the short life of her great-aunt Winnie, a beautiful and clever girl born into a comfortable middle-class family who in 1885 was one of the first students at Newnham College, Cambridge. VG is very good at describing the restrictions and sheer boredom of life for young women in spite of the advantages of class. Tragically Winnie was plagued by ill-health, particularly asthma, and was forced to leave Cambridge at the end of her first term. She died shortly afterwards at the age of twenty-two.

Tresspasses by Louise Kennedy Much reviewed and recommended, with good reason.

60 The Word: on the translation of the Bible - John Barton
Not quite what I was expecting - this isn’t a history of Biblical translation, but an exploration of theoretical issues surrounding the process. At first, I wasn’t sure if this was for a Pagan-ish non-specialist like me, but gradually became fascinated - given that most Biblical translators work in that field because they are believers, seemingly dry academic issues carry heavy weigh. Should they translate very literally because the Bible is the actual word of God? Or is getting the substance of the message across (and thus reaching more potential believers) more important? In the end I was so hooked I immediately used an Audible credit on Barton’s history of the Bible itself.

61 Magpie Lane - Lucy Atkins
Finally got round to this psychological thriller about an Oxford College Master’s missing daughter. Better than the average ‘woman drinking Merlot possibly sees a murder out the window’ stuff, but didn’t quite fulfil the promise of the unreliable narrator set-up, in this case a troubled nanny with her own tragic backstory.

The Word sounds good, thanks for your review LadyDaphne. I've added it to my wishlist (although I only read physical books and I see that the paperback is £25!)

That sounds interesting @LadybirdDaphne . I like tracking the development of Bible stories through the ages and decoding who translated them a certain way and to what end (according to their own view of how the world should work). Recently saw one example where the demons cast into swine became ‘Mob’ rather than ‘Legion’. “My name is Mob” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it imo

Have really slowed down but finished my first Christmas read - A German Christmas. Read one story a day (plus a poem if there was one). Somewhat uneven in quality but it was a nice Secret Santa gift with a pretty cover.

Hope I haven’t oversold it @Boiledeggandtoast and @BoldFearlessGirl - it does go into a lot of detail on minute points and is too dry to be a ‘popular’ book. My angle is as someone with a degree in ancient history with an interest in ancient religions and texts, as well as linguistics (who was taught that the Bible was literally true as a child at the evangelical church my family belonged to…)

Piggy That's a lovely Secret Santa gift. I read it last year and loved the Moss Lady story.

Not at all LadybirdDaphne. My East-End born great grandfather, who was a Congregationalist, apparently taught himself Greek and Hebrew to understand the bible better so I'd be really interested in the nuances of translation.

I should have said that he lived in the East End of London all his life (and my father was born there).

That’s ok @LadybirdDaphne, I’ve put it on my wish list in physical form as I prefer heavier non fiction that way. The first Amazon review of it made me laugh with the description of the Church Of England as like a chameleon on a plaid blanket.

43 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
No review necessary really! I'm pretty sure I read this at school but haven't revisited it since. I listened to Hugh Grant reading it on Audible and whilst I'm not his greatest fan I thought he did an excellent narration.

I don't normally do this but am hoping to read only Christmassy things between now and the 25th!! We don't finish work / school here until 22nd so I need to remind myself more than usual that Christmas is only a week away 😂

Can I ask for some help? I want to buy a couple of paperbacks for my Mum and we don't have the same taste (an occasional crossover!). She is a massive fan of Lucinda Riley and also enjoys Santa Montefiore, Ely Griffiths, Kate Morton and David Baldacci amongst others.

Any ideas??

86: A Winter Away - Elizabeth Fair

I’ve read a few of these gentle, entertaining novels of the 1950s and enjoyed their old-fashioned charm - Elizabeth Fair wrote just 6 books and they hover around the cusp of being elevated romantic fiction, but with a slightly Stella Gibbons-ish vibe.

Here, 20-year-old Maud arrives at a small country village to lodge with her 60-something Cousin Alice and Alice’s companion Con (whose spartan lifestyle, sans heating and with slavish adoration of their fat, sly dog Wilbraham is the source of much humour). Maud is to be secretary to ‘Old M’, owner of the local Big House, Marius Fenistone, whose irascible ways have put him at odds with both his son, Oliver, and his much younger cousin, the handsome Charles. Maud quietly becomes a sort of Flora Poste figure in sorting out the lives of the dysfunctional locals. A lovely, soothing and undemanding pre-Christmas read.

@nowanearlyNicemum my mum has similar taste I think and likes Rachel Joyce, Richard Osman and Robert Harris. She's also quite partial to Robert Goddard and Susan Howatch is her absolute favourite.

She really enjoyed the Louis De Bernieres World War saga, I think the first one is The Dust That Falls From Dreams.

114. Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither - Sara Baume. Beautifully written but very sad book about a year in the life of Ray, a lonely 57 year old man, who decides to get a dog, the mutilated One Eye, to keep him company and rat for him. The book follows a year in their lives, it's very seasonal going through the different wildlife and seasons but in a way of poverty rather than largesse. Ray has had a pretty awful life and has no contact with anyone really. The book turns into a bit of a road trip at one stage and ends at Christmas so it's kind of a Christmas book, but not exactly one to feel you with good cheer. The writing is exceptional though.

thanks @stokey I have gone for The Dust that Falls from Dreams

73. Once Upon a Tome - Oliver Darkshire
Reviewed a few times on here already, so I'll just add that this could be a great choice for teens and young adults who love books. Darkshire is 29, queer (self-described) and a fantasy fan. He also loves and appreciates old books and I'd recommend this to any bibliophile.

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens.
Also the Audible version read by Hugh Grant (I am a fan) mentioned by @nowanearlyNicemum. Excellent.

I’ve also listened to the Audible David Copperfield and Oliver Twist productions by Sam Mendes and whilst not count them as books wanted to mention that they are both very good.

A belated thank you for all the book club recommendations, I'll have a look through!

I've read an unintentional dark/sexy academic pairing:

85. Mrs S by K Patrick. A young woman takes a job as matron at a girls boarding school and becomes obsessed with the headmaster's wife, eventually starting a secret affair. Some nice writing (warning for no speech marks though!) and it captured the intensity of both the school environment and the illicit romance. Very much vibes and atmosphere over plot though, and it didn't really go anywhere.

86. Vladimir by Julia May Jonas. A campus novel following a professor whose husband is suspended following allegations of inappropriate relationships with students. She in turn becomes obsessed with a younger teacher and his wife, which quickly escalates into some very far fetched drama. This was well reviewed but I just had a really strong aversion to it - the narrator was incredibly unlikeable and I could never tell if it was meant to be a satire or a commentary on academia, Me Too etc.

I'm now planning a re-read of The Children's Book by AS Byatt, something I know I'll adore!

Can I just say that rather unexpectedly, I am loving Trustee From The Toolroom

Belated happy birthday @BoldFearlessGirl ! I’m listening to the Ade Edmondson on Audible atm.