50 Books Challenge 2023 Part Eight

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh 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 and the seventh one here

Only one on my wish list was Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen.
Belated thanks for the thread Southeast.

100 Small Mercies- Dennis Lehane
Set in Boston of 1974, in the lead up to the protests and riots from the decision to racially integrate Boston’s schools by bussing pupils from black areas into white areas and vice versa. Mary Pat’s daughter goes missing from the projects in Southie where they live and her search for her makes many enemies in the community she once thought of as home. This book came to my attention as it was on Barrack Obama’s summer reads list. It’s very confronting, Mary-Pat is racist and living in a racist community and the main voice that tells the story is hers. We also hear from the point of view of a cop from the same side of town, Bobby Coyne, who is investigating the death of a young black man on the night Mary-Pat’s daughter disappeared. Bobby is a much more likeable character. Lehane has written some big hitters- Mystic River and Shutter Island and was also a writer on The Wire and this book is very well-written. It is a difficult read but also one which really made me think. I’m glad I read it.
Now reading one of the Booker longlist- If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffrey and still finishing East of Eden

Thank you for the heads up about Word Monkey, @BoldFearlessGirl! I was so sad when Christopher Fowler died this year (although at least he managed to reach some sort of closure with the Bryant and May series).

@mackerella I’m not sure I’ll jump into it yet. I want to do it justice. He was a fantastic writer and all round Good Egg by all accounts. But there it is, on my bookshelf, next to my Bryant And Mays. GNOM.

@TattiePants

I got The White Book and The Fall Of The House Of FIFA

The list of kindle deals has been updated. Finally!

GNOM

Aargh, you've made me a bit teary

Ok I found the deals and I went crazy...

Amy & Isabelle
Dragonflight
Kane & Abel (for DH)
Troy (Stephen Fry)
Us Against You
Milkman
The Bean Trees
The Storied Life of A J Fikry
The Other Emily
The Ministry For The Future
Making Sense Of The Troubles
The Count of Monte Cristo

I think that will keep me going for a while. Also Saw The Girl With The Louding Voice which a lot of us enjoyed.

Just been through the deals, but thought they were awful. All I've bought is an Everest one.

Any chance anyone could give me a link for the monthly deals? They are not coming up for me.
Much appreciated

See if this works
https://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=3017941031&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&storeType=ebooks&pageType=STOREFRONT&pf_rd_p=&pf_rd_r=W81737YXG1ZEJ0MY215W&pf_rd_s=merchandised-slot-0&pf_rd_t=&ref_=dbs_f_w_s0_3&pf_rd_i=

I can’t get the link to work but from the home page I clicked on:
Kindle ebooks
kindle book deals
then scrolled down to the bottom of the page

Thank you as ever @Southeastdweller, you are wonderful.

22. American Prometheus: the triumph and tragedy of Robert J Oppenheimer by Kate Bird and Martin J Sherwin

The fact that it seemed to take several minutes just to type out that title gives an indication of the scale and detail of this work. I have bolded it almost against my will, it's too massive an experience not to acknowledge it. It is pretty readable and interesting, just dauntingly sized and extremely detailed in that pure American journalism way. Imagine the same story told by a British journalist... actually you don't have to, you could listen to the Rest is History pair of podcasts based on it, which were a whole lot of fun and which extracted all the scandal and left the bulk behind. Still, this is a deep dive into the origin of a central aspect of our recent past and our present, and I do recommend it.

23 Frederica by Georgette Heyer
Well, I needed an ice cream after ploughing through that bowl of porridge! What's not to like about the delightful Frederica, head of a houseful of siblings and determined to get her beautiful sister married to advantage, if only the fabulously rich and selfish Marquis of Alverstoke will help her.

Apologies, autocorrect changed the name if the first author Kai Bird there.

Just finishedThe Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard. I have had this on my kindle for years but had never got round to it and I don't know why. I really enjoyed it, it wasn't what I expected at all.I expected a cosy gentle story and it was to an extent, I didn't expect the looking under the surface of their apparently perfect lives. I now see why it's recommended by so many people

Thanks so much @Southeastdweller

Here's my list:

1. The Christmas Bookshop – Jenny Colgan
2. Les Cahiers d’Esther : Histoires de mes 10 ans – Riad Sattouf
3. The Pants of Perspective – Anna McNuff

4. L’Assommoir – Emile Zola

1. Beautiful world, where are you? – Sally Rooney
2. This book could save your life – Graham Lawton
3. Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus
4. The Foundling – Stacey Halls
5. The Paper Palace – Miranda Cowley Heller

10. Les Cahiers d’Esther : Histoires de mes 11 ans – Riad Sattouf 11. How to be famous – Caitlin Moran 12. The land where lemons grow – Helena Atlee 13. Just Kids – Patti Smith 14. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy 15. Sheltering Rain – Jojo Moyes 16. The Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak 17. Love, Nina – Nina Stibbe 18. Sorrow and bliss – Meg Mason 19. Children of Paradise – Camilla Grudova 20. Spring – Ali Smith 21. Mothering Sunday - Graham Swift 22. Clothes, clothes, clothes, music, music, music, boys, boys, boys – Viv Albertine 23. A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen DNF: Under the duvet – Marian Keyes 24. Streetcar named desire – Tennessee Williams 25. The Other Mother – Jen Brister 26. Decluttering at the speed of life – Dana K White 27. Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh 28. One more croissant for the road – Felicity Cloake 29. The island of sea women – Lisa See

Currently reading too many books that I need to focus on and finish! And I'm listening to Let that be a lesson by Ryan Wilson which is proving a great pre-back to school apéritif! So far a pretty balanced view of the good bits and not so good bits of teaching in a secondary school. Read in his lovely Northern Irish accent which doesn't detract from the experience!

Geneva - Richard Armitage - ho hum, middling rather silly tech thriller with major plot holes by the actor with the dulcet tones who will no doubt be voicing the audio book. The first chapter reads like GCSE English coursework demonstarting the use of of similie. Never read so many "like a..." phrases. Hotel rooms also feature prominently but at least there is no improvising with a cushion going on in them. Might make a Monday/Tuesday night series. I feel like there are a lot of parallels with Harlen Corben thrillers on which RA has worked a lot on recent years. Hmm...

@nowanearlyNicemum - lovely to see someone else who rates L'Assomoir one of myfavourite books of all time.

45. Carrie Soto Is Back By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Finished this on the train to London. Reading it as my fiction book in between a non fiction book on how we age.

It's ok. I'm not really into tennis which the story centres around but I doesn't really matter. I didn't love the large amount of Spanish/Argentinian sentences that aren't translated. I don't think they were important. I love it even less when I googled and TJR is not Spanish but is trying to tell stories on behalf of women of colour. I'm not sure what what I make of that.

Thanks for the new thread SouthEast. Just a couple of updates from me...

22 Shrines of Gaiety- Kate Atkinson

I enjoyed it. Not my favourite of hers. Don't want to put any spoilers here, but I found the conclusion to Frobisher's story very abrupt.

23 The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle- Stuart Turton

I liked this even though it made my brain hurt at times. Like all time travelling stories, it would all probably fall apart if you thought about it too much, but the story moves fast enough to stop you doing that. I listened to it as an audiobook, a proper book might have been easier as there were a few points I wished I could have flicked back a few pages to remind myself who a certain character was. Recommended, if a bit weird.

@PermanentTemporary

I've struggled with AP so much that I'm switching to audio when my current audio is done. I'm determined to finish it. Bravo to you, it's a beast.

@RazorstormUnicorn

Agree totally about the Spanish in Carrie Soto I hadn't heard that comment by TJR but it's dodgy.

Remainders of the Day - Shaun Bythell

More diaries from the bookshop in Wigtown. I love these. Nothing much happens - he buys books, sells books, and has some odd customers. I find them very soothing.

Murder In The Family - Cara Hunter

I really liked this. When Guy was 10, his stepfather was killed at their house and the murder was never solved. He’s now a director and is taking part in a TV programme where a group of experts have been brought together to investigate the cold case. It’s told entirely through TV transcripts, texts and emails, so if you don’t like that sort of thing give this a miss. It worked for me though.

Poison for Teacher - Nancy Spain

I expected to like this more than I did. It’s a comic detective story written in the 1940s. I did like the writing but the story (murders at a girls’ boarding school) didn’t hold my attention.

The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald

A reread of this short but lovely book, of a widow in 1959 opening a bookshop in a town that doesn’t like anything new.

What To Read Next - Stig Abell

A book about books. Each month the author picks a different genre, reads books on his commute, and tells us about them. I really liked his writing but as always with these books a lack of familiarity with the books being discussed meant my interest waned at times.

I’ve just started A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel. What an absolute pleasure it is to read something by a really good writer, compared to the relatively average stuff I’ve been reading recently. It’s early in the book so maybe my opinion will change, but I am already wanting to seek out more of Mantel’s books (having only read Wolf Hall by her previously). Anyway, what I wanted to say now was how fitting the end of chapter one is as a memorial to Mantel: “Death will overtake us before a fraction of these words are used.”

@Whosawake I loved Evelyn Hardcastle too when I read it during the first lockdown. I've got the Harry August book in my TBR pile (different author I know but it'll be interesting to compare them).

Covid has hit again. Head full of cotton wool.

Belated thanks for the thread SouthEast

I think I only managed one, maybe two books for the duration of the last thread!

Recently re-read Very Good Jeeves which is my number 30, bit of comfort food in book form.

I’m currently listening to Ultra Processed People and reading Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit when I finally closed it I stood up and cried out 'I HAVE SLAIN THE BEAST' and made stabbing motions, so yes. You'll get there, and I do think it's worth it.

24 Wavewalker by Suzanne Heywood
I've wanted to read this since that eye-popping extract in the Guardian, and I wasn't disappointed once it finally reached a lower price. Much read and reviewed here. SH is exactly my age so it was a little hallucinogenic reading a childhood contemporary to mine in lots of recognisable aspects but so completely different. I think she was just about fair in her acknowledgement of everything she learned and experienced in the strange nomadic sailing life her parents embarked on when she was 7 years old, but naturally she is brutal about the risks, boredom and literal agonies of it. Her mother comes out of it particularly badly for me - their relationship looks barely functional in this account - but then my mother was my reliable bulwark against a father who had similar impulses to hers, but luckily much less ability to achieve them. SH appears to adore her father but I am lost in a projection of hating her depiction of him. So if you're looking for a gripping, Freudian experience, recommended.