50 Books Challenge 2024 Part Two

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second 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.

The previous thread is here

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh have you read The Magician by Colm Toibin? It's about Thomas Mann. I just started it without knowing what it was about.... I bought it as I read something by Colm Toibin last year and thought I'd like to read more of his stuff. But I have never read any Mann and don't actually know anything about him. So was considering reading some of his work first. Obviously Death in Venice doesn't sound like much of an endorsement! Would you recommend any of his other books?

13. Storyland: a New Mythology of Britain - Amy Jeffs

I think this was reviewed last year, not sure how it ended up on my TBR otherwise. This was a retelling of some obscure myths which I had not come across, as well as the more well known ones such as the Arthur/Merlin story, Joseph of Arimathea etc. I definitely learned more about our mythological origins, and the nature of the book meant it could be picked up in odd moments to read a chapter or two.

Each is accompanied by a linocut illustration, the stark style of which really suited the tone of the book. There is also an accompanying explanation of the origins of each tale and where they can be found in medieval literature. The author is an academic, specialising in the Middle Ages, and an artist; her love and knowledge of the subject is evident.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh and @Stowickthevast A few years ago I read Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann. Its such a good novel. I have Death in Venice on my tbr list - I've seen the film with Dirk Bogarde and the opera, but your review Fuzzy has put me off a bit.

@@RomanMum you've reminded me I started Storyland last year and didn't finish it. No good reason as I was really enjoying it.

I really liked Death In Venice. I thought that as taught, tense storytelling goes it was one of the best novellas I've read. I've not seen the film, but should seek it out.

I worry when I rate books so highly that people think I'm indiscriminate and love everything. The reason is that I get so many good recommendations on this thread that I seem to only read absolutely fabulous books these days!

My year in reading so far:

1. Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout
2. Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart
3. Berserker by Adrian Edmondsen
4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
5. The Last Days by Ali Millar

4 and 5 will stay with me for a long time. With both, I couldn't wait to get through my working day so I could get back to them.

Demon Copperhead takes you on a real emotional journey. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the story is funny, sad, provocative and hopeful. Definitely going to read more Kingsolver.

I felt wrung out by the time I finished The Last Days. It is so well written- not self pitying or over-egged - just the tale of someone brought up in a cult.

Politics on the Edge is entertaining and gives a good insight into the workings of politics. Rory Stewart is eccentric - walking from Crieff to Cumbria and sleeping in hedgerows is not something your average PPC would do.

Now reading a book written by a colleague (in his spare time) so we'll see if it holds up to the standards set! Of course, no matter what, I'll have to tell him it's one of the best books I've read...

@Welshwabbit it's worth watching the film version of Orlando too, starring Tilda Swinton. I think it really captures the weird loveliness.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh Have you listened to the podcast West Cork? I'm not sure if it's only on Audible, but it did an in depth look at Sophie Toscan du Plantier's murder and interviewed Ian Bailey. I hadn't heard that he'd since died. I didn't see that the news had made it to the UK.

There was a documentary on Netflix too, where he was featured too. Such a strange man.

I see An Instance of the Fingerpost is on daily deal - I suspect it'd be a marmite book, but I thought it was a good read.

Interesting to hear all the Barbara Vine opinions. I've never read either a Vine or a Rendell before so wasn't aware Vine's were darker but the book makes a lot more sense with that in mind. I'm too used to crime fiction from the perspective of the police so wasn't fully prepared for the reverse view. I think I also got it mixed up with another book with a similar premise (human bones discovered in the grounds of a house being traced back to previous occupants). I think in the book I thought I was reading the house was previously a children's home or something. If anyone knows what book I might be thinking of do let me know!

Hi Barbara, yes I did. I thought it was very well done and I was fascinated. I didn't find it on Spotify where I usually listen to podcasts. I found it under A-Cast after doing a Google search. Then I found another podcast by Crime Analyst, Laura Richards, which really is excellent as she is a professional criminal behaviour analyst and she analyses the whole thing brilliantly, making a profile of the offender, and she talks a lot about coercive control and male violence. She is very respectful while speaking about the woman who was their victim.

Yes. Ian Bailey was a very strange man and I'm convinced he was a violent, dangerous man.

I'll look out for Laura Richards' podcast and listen to that. Yes, I agree, I think he was a dangerous and violent man.

For me Death in Venice started off slowly but it did pick up once Aschenbach reached Venice. It's* *very atmospheric. I think it's the ponderous prose at the beginning that I found hard going, the introduction to Aschenbach's character and his great intellect. But I wouldn't like to put off anyone reading it @MissMarplesNiece and I definitely liked the story @PepeLePew it's very well done. The part where Aschenbach turns into a parody of the old fellow he sees when he gets off the boat and he also dyes his hair and wears make-up to look younger is very clever.

I tried reading The Magician a few years ago @Stowickthevast but I abandoned it as a DNF. After eighty pages or so, I found it flat, dull and boring. It didn't engage me at all. I never read anything* *else by Colm Tóibín since. I haven't read anything else by Thomas Mann either, but I might give him another go one day.

#5 a pocketful of happiness Richard E Grant Chosen from last year's thread here, and as promised full of luvviness, charm and occasional indiscretions (although I liked that he failed to name the obnoxious people). Pain, love and grace are all evident here, and I found it a difficult and amusing read at the same time. The author's voice is loud, clear and distinctive. Need to speed up now as I am getting off the pace...

Thank you @CrepuscularCritter , I just looked and A Pocketful Of Happiness is 99p today on Kindle - I have no idea why it wasn’t already on my Wish List.

@YolandiFuckinVisser I've had How To Be Both in my bookcase for years and have never felt inclined to pick it up; I think because I'm expecting it to consist of narrative tricks which I can't be bothered with. I prefer a straightforward storytelling style.

However .. whenever I hear Ali Smith interviewed I find her very engaging and down-to-earth, and having braced myself to read Autumn and really enjoyed it, I'm now wondering whether the reputation she has as a "difficult" read is truly deserved. Was it Hotel World that had an experimental stream-of-consciousness narrative style?

Anyway, following your review I'll definitely give How To Be Both a try.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh I read Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín but didn't like it very much and it put me off reading anything else by him.

7.So Late In The Day by Claire Keegan. Another novella about a man in Ireland dealing with the end of his relationship. This was very well written, but I found the protagonist unpleasant which I know is the point but really didn’t care for it.

8The Last Daughter by Brenda Matthews. A memoir about Brenda’s experience being part of the ‘lost generation’ in Australia. Her and her siblings were taken from their black family and adopted by white families, only to be taken again from similarly happy homes and returned with no explanation. This was facinating. Initially I found the style quite cold, her childhood was just a list of events and actions. However, as she reaches adulthood the story becomes so vivid and her focus on learning about her culture, fighting for compensation and finding room in her heart for both her black and white parents was very moving. I realise now that the chill of the early section was probably to do with memory and trauma. Will be looking out her documentary.

Oh, and thank you for your posts about Heartstopper. I'm still watching it and loving it so far. The two actors who play Nick and Charlie are so talented ❤️

I went through a spell of reading several of his novels/short stories. The only one that I really liked was The Blackwater Lightship. I didn't like Brooklyn, it bored me, as did the vaguely linked novel Nora Webster.

9. Dead Man's Riddle - Mary Kelly

I'm still reading my way through my little store of books by this interesting writer who produced a handful of books in the 50's and 60s then stopped for unexplained reasons (she didn’t die, just stopped writing). A couple have been reprinted recently but some are very hard to find and I’m afraid I went down a bit of an internet rabbit-hole to get the more scarce ones.

Anyway…her detective is the rather complex Brett Nightingale and this one (from 1957) sees him in Edinburgh, where his opera-singer wife Christina is giving recitals. But he gets roped into helping with a baffling murder of a visiting German university lecturer and his holiday goes out of the window.

I enjoyed this in a very technical sense because the writing is so good - very literary, not a word wasted, with a really superb opening scene depicting a student demonstration that's incredibly vivid, exciting and well-drawn. On the minus side, Nightingale is a prickly, touchy character and his relationship with Christine seems very odd; they’re a married couple but the stilted, standoffish way they behave between each other strikes a modern reader as strange, to say the least.

I do still have a couple more of Mary Kelly's books that I'm eking out so I will keep reading her, though…

I've read a few of Colm Tóibín's. I liked Nora Webster and House of Names. Wasn't keen on Brooklyn and I hated The Magician. I didn't like The Testament of Mary at the time, but on reflection I think it's better than I gave it credit for and I would like to revisit it.

I'm really struggling to get going this year. I keep starting books and then wandering off. The resolution to read one book on paper every month has ground to a halt at halfway through One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.

Two I've managed to finish
Falling Animals - Sheila Armstrong
Based on the true story of a man who mysteriously washed up on a beach in Ireland. This explores the lives of the local people who encountered the body, or who were involved in the aftermath.
It's short, it's a slow burner and not that much really happens, but it's beautifully told. I like this a lot. Initially I thought it wasn't eligible, but I'd seen the paperback date and was mistaken.

The Glutton - AK Blakemore
Very recently discussed up thread. I also enjoyed it. It's a bit bonkers, but very immersive.

Where on earth are the monthly deals?? I've located the February deals but there are only 9 pages worth - and nothing that appeals.

I did spot Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai which I enjoyed a few years back.

Another one who abandoned The Magician

Kindle books>Kindle deals> should open up lists in tile fashion and under categories> keep scrolling almost to the bottom, there should be a "see all deals". Brings up about 1000 as usual.
I then filter from lowest price and stop reading when it passes 99p 😁