50 Books Challenge Part Three

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 first thread is here and the second one here.

28. The 13th Witch by Mark Hayden
    I can't remember where I saw this recommended, but it's the first in an urban fantasy series that's a bit Rivers of London (but more army than police). Conrad Clarke is an ex-RAF pilot who gets signed up by Odin, aka The Allfather, to find a missing witch. The catch is, he knows nothing about the magical world, and no-one seems to want to tell him anything.
    
    It took a while to get going, and suffered from Clarke being the only character we really get to know, but it picked up in the second half and was entertaining in a running-around-with-guns sort of a way. There's lots in the series, & I'll definitely read the next one at some point when I want something unchallenging.

29. Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland
    This is told in the first person by lonely introvert Liz Dunn. At the start, she's in her late 30s & with nothing meaningful in her life outside of her tech job. One day she gets a phone call from the local police; a 20 year old called Jeremy has been taken into hospital, & his medical alert bracelet names her as his next of kin.
    
    I haven't read anything by Coupland for years, not since Generation X and Microserfs in the 1990s, but I really enjoyed this. Although the plot turns quite surreal as the book progresses, overall the tone is quiet & thoughtful, and I found all the characters & the family relationships very real. I'm definitely going to check out more of DC's books, including a re-read of the early ones.

30. Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand
    Much reviewed & liked on here. I don't have much to add beyond the fact that it was a great recommendation & another book that I'd likely not have come across without this thread.

Belated best wishes Henry that must have been a shock.

The People of Providence by oral historian Tony Parker. This is about the lives of people on a London housing estate in the early 1980s - Parker interviewed a wide cross section of residents in all the different types of accommodation (tower blocks, flats, prefabs, squatters in a condemned terrace predating the estate, and the notorious long blocks); and also ‘outsiders’ connected with the estate such as the local headteacher, housing workers, policemen, homeless people. It’s presented as a series of portraits with each person baring their soul over a few pages, and is endlessly fascinating - each inner life is so different. There’s so much that is surprising and so many contrasts - a homeless man who describes the kindness of a local bobby who will tell him if a squat is empty so he can shelter for the night, and a chilling account by a pro-caning magistrate who boasts that he increases the punishment of anyone who speaks badly of the police. A queer man who grew up in less enlightened times but has found happiness and, largely, acceptance, a squatter who does a great deal more to support school refusers than the headmaster. I came to this after reading his Lighthouse a couple of years ago and admire his work so much - to elicit such personal accounts and to present them so elegantly - he anonymises them and shuffles them to prevent anyone being identified but it’s all in the words of the subjects. Non-fiction yet does everything I want from fiction in terms of illuminating human experience and inner worlds.

29 Beautiful - Katie Piper
Picked this up in the 99p deals and it was written quite a while ago (two years after the attack I think) and I can’t work out if I’ve read it before. I have watched the channel 4 documentary and this was similar obviously as it’s a true story so maybe I am just thinking of that. It’s quite well written and the attack was obviously absolutely horrendous but she puts so much emphasis on how pretty she used to be I felt myself rolling my eyes a few times. That said, she’s an incredibly strong woman to have overcome what she went through and it’s a worthwhile read

@CornishLizard I love the sound of that- have added it to my tbr.

Onto Women’s Prize reading for me- I’m working my way through a selection of both the fiction and the non-fiction.

38 Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Evolution by Cat Bohannon
This is longlisted for the WP for non-fiction and I learned a lot of interesting issues here- about our evolution and our biology- not just the obvious female bits but also how our voices, breathing etc have evolved differently from other species and men. The format did get a little repetitive as the book went on and I’m sure it would have taken me a lot longer to read if I hadn’t listened on audio. Bohannon does include trans women in this discussion which I think )as it was about the female body only) was not always entirely appropriate.

39 Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
I’m sure a lot of people have read this already as it was on the Booker longlist/ shortlist? It is told by 11 year old Gopi and focuses on her relationship with her sisters and father in the aftermath of her mother’s death. Much of the story is told through her training in squash. I found this moving at times but a little vague and unfinished. I didn’t like it as much as Ordinary Human Failings which I read before the list came out, and around the same level as The Wren, The Wren.

Currently listening to Doppelgänger and reading Intervals (both from the non-fiction list) and also reading Enter Ghost from the fiction.

I highly recommend it ÚlldemoShúl, Lighthouse perhaps even more so.

Waves to @bettbburg

Also loving the A. Mole chat. I was going to say I re-read the first one last year but it turned out to be in 2021. (How?!)

My review was a definite bold: The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, by Sue Townsend. Absolutely glorious. Bought it when it was 99p and had several pleasant evenings cackling on the sofa at poor Adrian. Much more rewarding as a middle-aged woman than as a teenager - my sympathies definitely lean towards his mum Pauline this time round. Will definitely re-read the next few.

Mole fans might like to know you can buy a book of his collected poetry!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adrian-Mole-Collected-Sue-Townsend-ebook/dp/B06XB1HTWB/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=Q0MRWZ8A66V0&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MS7ASV2lqWG2R0JVUgwFu4LdZ0cpnoksWe-bXLEXLLOVyZYpBw2ObUJ3uvXekDjQcbXTpGkfKwieDqfiQgIqxNXDr5hCUjnMtubGDjYPk4rOUWAUio7uinm3u_0__DwcLtA446-dQuFjbaPdWiR40zUs5C7ncD0YauyNeANSOg5YCrdquk31uCoOandx3XNDwiQnNNT4WLfc7-Tx9eeOXA.KmxuBvPMg5jwbbny7Dz0LxYj3LZ8naCMRIVDDt13tqM&dib_tag=se&keywords=adrian+mole+poetry&qid=1710095491&sprefix=adrian+mole+poetry%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-1

Sorry for the massive link!

My bank statements are an embarrassment of 0.99, 0.99, 0.99 and so on.

61. Hear her Scream. Dylan H Jones
    The story of this one was really good. A researcher for a true crime podcast travels back to the summer Camp where her best friend was murdered years previously. Oddly she's kind of trying to prove that they got the wrong man in prison. There's a serial killer on the loose, killing young women who he thinks have sinned. Some of the murder scenes are fairly graphic, although not overly so.
    Unfortunately the SPAG issues let it down for me. So many books these days seem to be published without a decent edit/proof read.

62. Cursed by Slumber. Michelle Moras A fantasy retelling, combining Greek gods/myths and the tale of sleeping beauty. It was beautifully written.

63. The Clark's Factory Girls at War. May Ellis Easy read fiction. Set in Street in 1914, based around some of the girls and their families who work in the Clarks shoe factory. It was a bold for me. Which, as much as I love this genre, is rare for these types of books. This one just seemed to be different. Some of the language/values of the boys seem shocking these days. But I assume its fairly accurate. It's the first in a new series, so I'm excited to see what will happen next now that the "boys" have started to go away to fight.

64. An Elf With No Name. Mortimer Langford Absolutely loved this. Another bold. Its a mixture of fantasy, demons, vampires, mages, elves etc and Norse mythology with references to Ydrggasil. The author has a really comedic way of writing which made the whole thing so relatable somehow.

Hey @bettbburg, good to see you .

@Sadik I haven't read any Coupland since Girlfriend In A Coma, but based on your review Eleanor Rigby will be going on my wishlist (and I have a birthday next month )

I also haven’t read any Coupland since Girlfriend in a Coma 20+ years ago. From memory I think I quite liked it until it took a serious weird turn with an Angel (I may be misremembering that)?

Triptych by Karin Slaughter. It was just about ok. I’ve read far better in this genre.

Confessions of a 40 something fuck up by Alexandra Potter
I was slow to get into this. It’s written in the first person and to begin with, I found the main character’s voice to be grating on me. She speaks a lot in that sarcastic witty way that I’ve noticed quite a few characters do in these sorts of books, only it’s just not funny. That settled down a bit and I started to enjoy the story. Loved Cricket. I didn’t understand the ending. It looks like there’s a sequel with the same character. I don’t want to say too much and ruin the books. Could anyone who has read this help me a bit a please? If you’ve read it, you likely know what I talking about. Thanks.

Ok, just googled and learned I need to read footnotes carefully. All a bit daft. Left me thinking less of the book.

Dark Pines - Will Dean the first of the Tuva crime books. Set in Sweden - Tuva is a journalist in a small town, she is also deaf.
A body is discovered in the forest in hunting session. Shot in the torso with a rifle and eyes removed. It seems the elusive Medusa murderer is active again.
I really enjoyed this. I don't read a lot of crime but it is my go to when nothing else seems to be gripping me. It works as a good palate cleanser somehow.
There are several other Tuva books which I will read in due course. Recommend

Adding those Tony Parker titles to my wishlist @CornishLizard!

Great review@CornishLizard I will certainly look out for Tony Parker.

Have just bought Death and the Penguin which is in the daily deals today. I think several of you rated it quite highly.

Am still reading Demon Copperhead which will undoubtedly be a bold. Haven't really got much reading time at the moment but it's the kind of book that forces you to find it!

7 Turn of the key- Ruth Ware
Bought this because i had read it girl and seen a lot of good recommendations for her books. It started well and I enjoyed the part where it set the scene and felt as if it described the characters well. The storyline also became a bit of a page turner mystery but I found the ending a little disappointing.
8 Heart Bones- Colleen Hoover
This was a bit of a slow burn but I did really enjoy it. Read it in a few days would probably have read it in less but have a little one to look after
9 currently reading The other mothers by Katherine Faulker- this will possibly be a bold when I'm finished as its a page turner mystery which is just my taste

11. Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd
    Took out a one month Kindle unlimited free trial in order to read this. It was interesting to read the life story of the woman who inspired George Harrison's, 'Something' and Eric Clapton's, 'Layla' and 'Wonderful Tonight' amongst many other songs.
    The most famous love triangle in pop was fascinating to hear about from the inside, and details of the swinging 60's from someone who was in the middle of the action didn't disappoint.
    But the book was let down in the proof reading, it was co-authored by Penny Junor, which no doubt improved the writing and editing significantly but could someone not have done a proper proof read & surely spelling and grammatical errors are easy to change in Kindle editions.
    I very pedantically highlighted the many little errors, my favourite being,
    "The wife was a medium and could conduct a sance".
    A sance? What the hell's a 'sance', that's not even a word. I think the word you're looking for is 'seance'.

12. Swedish Death Cleaning - Another Kindle Unlimited read and proof positive that reading about de-cluttering doesn't actually equal doing something about the clutter. I remember this book coming out and was interested to see if it inspired action, sadly not.

13. The Beekeeper Of Aleppo - my third and probably last Kindle Unlimited read. (There really isn't much of interest on there as far as I can see) A sad tale of Syrian refugee's making their way to the U.K. and hopefully safety.
    Unfortunately this didn't really do it for me as a novel, which I feel bad about saying given the subject matter - too many dream sequences, underwritten protaganists, heavy handed metaphors & imaginary characters.

33. Oracle by Andrew Pyper (Audible)

I literally only listened to this because it was narrated by Joshua Jackson from Dawson's Creek

It was absolute dross

Nate Russo is an FBI psychic but no wait he's not a charlatan he's the real deal

Because...wait for it

His insights come from an undead demon called The Bone Man who has haunted him since he was a child

Bollocks of the highest order.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit i read the part of your review that said ‘narrated by Joshua Jackson’ and went to look it up on BorrowBox before reading the rest of your review. Very sad it’s bad as would like to listen to him!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit but was it at least pacy? 😀
Though TBF, James Marsters may have taken me through a redacted number of Dresden Files audiobooks by Jim Butcher. Wizard PI in modern-day Chicago, actually pretty decent as light entertainment....

Excellent audiobook narration (by Simon Mace) is also mostly what got me to finish:
34 The Brief - Simon Michael
First in a series of legal thrillers set in 1960s London, based on real Old Bailey trial documents, this consisted of slightly disconnected halves. The first introduces criminal defence barrister Charles Holborne (aka Charlie Horowitz) with Jewish working-class roots he’s semi-successfully hiding, his strained marriage to The Hon. Henrietta and an armed robbery case. This half lagged at times and brought in too many characters with an eye to sequels and/or the potential suspect pool for part 2, in which Holborne gets framed for murder and goes on the run. This half was much pacier but also a bit cartoonish: Holborne’s ‘diamond geezer’ ex-boxer background, criminal connections (Kray cameo, tick), facility with accents and irresistibility to women (multiple mentions of hirsute barrel chest, shades of Cormoran Strike with 33% more leg) all come in useful, as one would expect.

Many excellent reviews over the weekend but especial thanks to @CornishLizard for the Tony Parker recommendation and @BestIsWest for Dominic Sandbrook. My current non-fiction book is, appropriately enough, Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll, on the 1984 Brighton bombing. Probably too basic for most of you, but well-written and full of fascinating minor details, like:
'"Her dress was £33.95, I have one exactly the same,” marveled one woman"' a bystander during Thatcher's unplanned 1979 Belfast walkabout.

24. Cat Lady by Dawn O'Porter

This was a random pick from the library and really wasn't that bad.

Mia, the main character, lives with her husband, step son and her 16 year old cat, Pigeon. She works for a jewellery designer, as the managing director.

During the course of the novel, everything that can go wrong in Mia's life does go wrong. She hits rock bottom rapidly and her life spins out of control. She has to find a way to start afresh, with the help of her new found friendship group and the rest of the novel is about her beginning to find her feet again.

It was a solid 3.75 out of 5 for an enjoyable story.

Currently re-reading Love In A Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford via an audiobook from the library. The narration is terrible, flat and disinterested. I will reassess tomorrow if I can bear to listen to more of it. It really is excruciatingly awful.

There's a sequel as well. Far be it from me to put you off. You go enjoy!

@HenryTilneyBestBoy it was definitely pacy I'll say that for it

😅 my joke falling flatter than the average Oscars bit.