50 Books Challenge 2024 Part One

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2024, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

If possible, please can you embolden your titles and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track, especially when the threads move quickly at this time of the year.

Who's in for this year?

Thank you very much @MorriganManor, I’ll definitely seek out his other books.

Wow this thread moves fast early on in the year doesn't it.
As a 50 Books "Returner" after an unfortunately barren reading year last year, I have managed to knock off my first two for 2024.
I've read back a few pages (can't manage the whole thread, sorry) and as a disclaimer- I do like the Strike books, also found 1979 a bit shit and while I recognise their formulaic style I am inexplicably invested in the Seven Sisters series. (Now halfway through Book three)

1. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith

I’ve read the others in the series and have been really looking forward to this one. They can be a bit overlong and could do with an edit in places, but I love the complexity of the cases and the way the case develops over the timeframe of the book (like any decent crime drama) I have to admit I am invested in the Robin/Strike will they/won’t they storyline.

In this case, they are hired to investigate a religious cult which is gaining in popularity, especially among rich young people who are becoming relieved of their Trust Funds. Robin goes deep undercover and I have to say towards the end of her time with the Church was probably the most tense I have felt reading these books, the senior church members brought a real sense of sinister malevolence not present in the books before.

I did miss the long chats between Strike and Robin in the middle of the book while Robin was undercover, but basically a very good read that I galloped through on Audible, it worked on Audible much better than IBH

2. The Storm Sister by Lucinda Riley

This is the second in the Seven Sisters series. I enjoyed the first one about the eldest sister Maya tracing her family history in Brazil, but having looked back in my Goodreads, I read it in 2021, so I have had a pretty long break.
This one is about the second sister Ally, a professional sailor, who initially is not that interested in her history as she is in the throws of a new romance, but after another sudden bereavement, she embarks on the story of her birth family which takes her to Norway.
I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one to be honest, but it was readable enough and I was after an easy Audible listen, and it hit the right spot.

1. Good Pop, Bad Pop by Jarvis Cocker

Memoir by the Pulp frontman covering his childhood and the early (pre-fame) years of the band, structured around items retrieved from his loft. I know lots of people read this last year & had mixed views. I really enjoyed it & found it funny & entertaining, despite not being a particular fan of Pulp or Britpop more generally. I'd definitely read a 2nd volume if there is one.

Actually, just realised that was no.6 I missed out no. 5:

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Orc and retired mercenary Viv opens the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune & makes friends. This is very much in the cozy 'little coffee shop by the sea' genre, but a fantasy take on it. I'd seen a lot of good reviews in author FB groups I'm part of, & quite like an easy cozy read, but the whole thing never really grabbed me & just felt a bit meh. I much preferred Butter, Sugar, Magic + sequels in a similar vein which I read last year.

3. The Haunting Season -
Ghostly Tales for Long Winter Nights.
This is a collection of stories from contemporary writers, mostly in the style of the old Victorian ghost stories although a few broke that mould. I thoroughly enjoyed this, the stories were very well written, scary enough, and just perfect for the long winter evenings.

That was meant to be a bold but it didn't work.

3.All The Lonely People by Mike Gayle
Another bold for me 5/5. It was a real tearjerker and rarely does a book make me cry but this really did at chapter 39. This is about Hubert Bird and how he emigrated from Jamaica and settled in the UK and tried to forge a life for himself. It follows his life and how he has become isolated and lonely. However a neighbour reaches out called Ashley and his life takes another turn. It reminded me of another excellent book I read a number of years ago called Small Island by Andrea Levy. I would never have chosen this book myself as admittedly the title put me off. I hated Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine so the thought of another book along the same lines was really off putting. However this was for a new book group I want to go to but very glad to have read it. Recommend.

I also really enjoyed that Mike Gayle one when I read it last year.

8 Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

I’m very late to the party with this one. There was an interesting chat on the tail end of the 2023 round up thread, about sometimes feeling bored with some popular books before you’ve even read them, and that was a bit how I felt about this one. When it first came out the blurb didn’t really grab me, but then it was so popular I felt I should read it. Anyway, I have mixed feelings about it. There were bits I loved, and bits where I felt so angry about how the main character was being treated. However, there were a few things I didn’t like which stopped this being a bold for me. The main character was just too perfect - she’s a brilliant scientist despite not having done a degree, she’s a brilliant cook, she can row brilliantly after about two lessons, she’s so beautiful all men are struck dumb in her presence etc (despite her actually being not a very nice person). And then there’s her precocious daughter who is apparently reading Nabokov at the age of 4. And not only are they both very clever, but they also have the world’s cleverest dog. All of those things detracted from what was actually a very interesting story. Overall the strengths outweighed the weaknesses but it could have been better.

Hello all! Hope you all had a happy new year!

I was on here for a bit last year, but dropped off the thread for some reason, so thought I'd join again.

So far this year I've read:

1. Another Planet: a childhood in suburbia by Tracey Thorn.

Bedsit disco queen: how I grew up and tried to become a pop star by Tracey Thorn (this and the first book were Christmas presents from my uncle as I've always liked TT and had never read her autobiographies)

1. One Moment by Linda Green. (Excellent book, but very sad in places. I completely identified with how LG talked about not being able to work and the benefits system, having been through it myself. I recommend having some tissues ready if you read it, because it can be a bit of a tear jerker)

1. After I've Gone by Linda Green- (okay and very well researched, but not as good as OM)

5.Stella's Story by Louise Allen. (I like reading fostering memoirs and this author was recommended to me on a Facebook group. I'd rate it a 3/5.)

1. Abby's Story by Louise Allen (I liked this better than her first book. I appreciated that it raised awareness of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) which is not very well known or widely written about.)

1. One Last Secret by Adele Parks (This was a reread for a new book club that I'm going to be attending at the end of the month. I couldn't get into it the first time I read it, but enjoyed it more this time round. It's a 5/5 from me!)

Currently reading: 'Swimming for Beginners' by Nicola Gill ❤️

Gosh this thread moves fast!

1. *Oh William by Elizabeth Strout*

A slow read but a gentle start to the year. As someone who has completely reinvented themselves I found this theme interesting. Solid 4/5

1. *Premonitions Bureau by Sam Knight*

Fascinating but unconvincing 4/5

1. *Blackwater by Claire McGowan*

Having read her true crime book The Vanishing Triangle last year I found this novel interesting. The plot builds well and there are some interesting themes. Also 4/5

Currently reading the first of the Skelf series and listening to Factory Girls

Hi all,
I usually just lurk on this thread as I never get past about March with my reading before something else takes over, but I figured if I actually joined in it may encourage me to keep going. I do find this place a bit dangerous though, I've download about 12 books this week based on recommendations here alone!
I've started 2024 with some easy reads so far:
1 Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry
I got given this as a birthday present when it was first released and I really wish I had read it before Matthew passed away. It's very hard to read his messages of hope and positivity for the future knowing he was dead within the year. A bit repetitive in places but interesting.

2 The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
I really enjoyed this one. It follows the stories of three characters linked by a mysterious bookshop that only appears to certain people. I had to suspend believe at the ending but the flashbacks to the 30s and 40s were really interesting.

3 T.V.: Big Adventures on the Small Screen - Peter Kay
This was okay. Basically an autobiography of all his TV work from start to present day. I do like the way Peter writes as his humour comes across well, but he was desperate for the readers to know that he didn't realise Jimmy S was a wrong 'un when he worked with him. Bit of nostalgia and an easy read.

4 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
I picked this up on the airport and I enjoyed it but it jumps about a lot. I like the way the character traits are repeated throughout and then go on to explain why they are labelled as such. Interesting story and a bit uncomfortable at times but would probably recommend.

Oh hello there Crunch I did wonder where you'd gone!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit 👋🏻🙂

My Goodreads challenge is set to 52- I managed 174 last year as I was ill so spent a lot of time in bed.

And I must start reading my Susan Cooper collection. I'm starting an English Literature degree with the Open University so will definitely be reading quite a bit!

@MorriganManor have you listened to Adrian Edmondson on Desert Island Discs? When he talks about his friend Rik Mayall it's very moving.

@Stowickthevast The Covenant of Water sounds right up my street. I loved A Suitable Boy, and A Fine Balance is one of my favourite novels. Having spent three days on the backwaters in Kerala, it would be so interesting to read a novel set there.

And my second book this year: A Trail Through Time, the fourth book in the Chronicles of St Mary's series.
I needed something easy to read on a plane journey (I'm not a keen flyer) and this did the job. Pretty similar to the others to be honest. If you like these, you like them. I think I'm getting a bit bored though. And if I try too hard to understand the jumping backwards and forwards in time and what ythe characters can and can't do and do and don't know .. well it feels as if my head's going to explode.
What I do enjoy is the historical detail. I assume it's accurate? I had never heard of Frost Fairs on the frozen Thames and that's been a really interesting discovery.

Great! Good for you! Glad you're better

There were definitely frost fairs on the Thames. They were in doctor who as well 😀

Breathless - Rachel Clarke
Rachel Clarke is a doctor specialising in palliative care and I’ve previously read her excellent book Dear Life: A Doctor’s Story of Love and Loss about hospice care.
In this book she combines her role as clinical director for a hospice with working in Covid wards during the first months of the pandemic. It’s just too heartbreaking.

It made me in turns furious and emotional. I cried a lot. A hard read. We all have our stories- like many of us I had loved ones hospitalised and loved ones working on the frontline. I lost someone dear and I have someone still suffering from long covid. I’m trying to restrain myself here but I will never forgive certain people and this has made me angrier.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit thank you. ❤️ I have cerebral palsy and was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia last year, so I've had a lot of flare ups unfortunately. 😘

Thank you for reminding me of this book, I saw it in the shop and I loved her first one.

This thread is moving quickly... hi Icruch, hope you're well.

4. Detectives in Greasepaint - John Kier Cross

A children's mystery story written just after WW2 and set round a travelling ENSA theatre company. Some interesting social details but the characters and themes have been done much better eg in The Otterbury Incident.

5. A Hoxton Childhood - AS Jasper

Short memoir written in 1970 of an east end family in the years c1913-1919. Life was tough and felt quite Dickensian even at that late time.

6. A View Across the Rooftops - Suzanne Kelman

Set in Amsterdam from 1941, this wartime story has a hint of Anne Frank about it - and her fate is even referenced in the text. Professor Josef Held, a middle aged widower, gives refuge to a Jewish student whom he hides in his attic. As the dark days of the war continue he learns the strength and bravery to stand up to the Nazi invaders. His niece has allied herself with the enemy, and his work colleague is, unbeknownst to Josef, starting her own courageous involvement in the Dutch resistance.

The book started life as a screenplay and sometimes felt like it with a scenic quality to some of the writing. But despite the subject matter it was an easy read which trotted along (short chapters helped with alternating plot lines) and the story wrapped up nicely.

Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart is £1.99 today on the Kindle store. I am only half way through (Spotify cut me off mid chapter) but would recommend it so far! His account of serving under Liz Truss would be funny if it weren't so horrifying.

9 One Of The Good Guys by Araminta Hall

This is an intriguing book and I’m still trying to work out what I think about it. It’s all about male violence against women. The story is told from three different perspectives - firstly Cole, who cannot understand why his wife has left him, then Mel, Cole’s ex wife, and finally Lennie, a woman who has now met Cole and is starting to form a relationship with him. It’s obvious that at least one of them is an unreliable narrator - but who?

This book raises lots of questions, and the twist is an interesting approach to this subject. One I’ll be thinking about for a while.

@Sportycustard I quite like Claire Macgowan for psycho nutjob writers. And Claire Macintosh. I get both unforgivably wrong regarding the spelling of both name and surname and which one of them is the author of which psycho nutjob thriller, but do like them.

@ICrunchCrispsNotNumbers hi Crunch! I'm back too having had an <cough> altercation with them upstairs towards the end of the year. Hence namechange.

Will finish n5 later today. Mo Hayder, Hanging Hill. Did someone mention gratuitous, sickening, largely unnecessary to the plot violence? 😳