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.

I'm actually a bit surprised I've never taught a Pacey given the shows popularity. A few Dawsons.

Time to catch up finally....

Number 10

Dr Zhivago- Boris Pasternak.

JFC. I'm glad I did it, but I'd hate to have to do it again. Here's me foolishly thinking because I know the film (the proper one, with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie) I'd be OK. I wasn't. Even once I'd got the hang of everyone being referred to by three different names (sometimes on the same page, and by the same person) the DIALOGUE was fucking painful. Did Russians speak like that to each other then? No idea tbf, but the style of any direct speech made it just read as if it had been really badly translated. The narrative not at all, just the conversations.

Number 11

Cunk on Everything

Some light-hearted fluff after number 10. I think someone else has commented that yes, it's funny. Often very. And very often. But what works on TV doesn't quite work in book form when the silly silliness gets a bit much. A quick read.

Number 12

Steeplechasing Around Britain. Peter Ross

A thing of beauty and a five star bold. (and he liked my review on Goodreads which I may have mentioned a few times already and will continue to do so as am starstruck)

Number 13

Silent Voices- Vera Stanhope 4 Ann Cleeves.

I've decided I don't like Vera and I think Ann Cleeves is a mediocre writer of detective fiction. So there. Shetland is infinitely better than Vera. I think I bulk buy these things when they're 99p just because <ahem> and then keep at them until suddenly, a book like this one makes me go "hold on a minute, this is actually a bit shit". Once I'd dared make my decision I noted: the characters- Vera spends far too much time saying (to herself mainly) "ahhhhh wee pet, you dinna imagine a fat smelly old woman to be a detective did you?", drinking, and revelling in being obnoxious. Joe Ashworth is AnyPlod. What does he look like? What does he think? Does he play any part in any of the books other than being made to get pissed with Vera whilst wanting to go home to his wife and making the odd suggestion that Vera responds to by saying "you're not here to think Joe lad, drive me up to the farm" . He's basically Sergeant Lewis without the forced hilarity of Val and the egg and chips. I don't like how Ann Cleeves writes women in general. There are two kinds (see also Robert Galbraith) educated obnoxious posh rich ones, and fat ignorant ones who eat crisps and drink too much.

spoiler alert- that wasn't the worst review in this little clump-

Number 14.

Rachel Again- Marian Keyes.

Fuck Right Off.

With a (further) nod to Robert Galbraith ARE THERE NO FUCKING EDITORS LEFT IN THE COUNTRY!!!! Could have lost 200 pages and lost nothing. Especially if the lost 200 were the not even thinly disguised rehashing of EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ADDICT IN THE FUCKING PRIORY. That was what I didn't like in the first place about Rachel's Holiday- I know Marian Keyes and her own demons means she writes dark bits as well as hilarious Irish mammy stuff- but you know what? I'm all about the Irish mammy. I found the addicts' stories boring in RH and even more boring when repeated far too many times in RA. Let's face it...there's nothing new under the sun. And this, to me was pretty much a rip off. Didn't care by the end if she got back with Luke or stayed with Quin. And Mammy Walsh was an absolute cow in this. Not even a funny cow. Just horrible. I expect we're building up to her getting dementia and the sisters having to rally round. Just wanted the whole thing to finish. I shall continue to reread the early ones. But that's me and Marian done.

Am now safely back in Iceland with a standalone Ragnar (The Girl Who Died) Comforting snow, social isolation, and descriptions of book lined houses. Marvellous.

Have added Who Dares Wins (after panicking slightly you'd all gone Lewis Collins testosterone on me in my absence) and the Mrs Thatcher one to my wishlist. Sadly, I already had Ink Black Heart which I shall enjoy complaining about in due course.

@bettbburg Lovely to see you!

PS also very much agree Adrian Mole was funnier when I wasn't the same age as him.

Love the reviews @ASighMadeOfStone
Who Dares Wins to me is (Sir) Tony Robinson in the nude, bad pandas and wanting to punch Rory McGrath in the face for crimes against Smugness. So, that shows my age as much as Dawson’s Creek being for the youngsters does

Sorry @ASighMadeOfStone but I really enjoyed your reviews, even if it meant you enduring a whole load of crap in order to produce them. Anyplod was my favourite bit.

I'm reading Little by Edward Carey which had been on my Wishlist forever and finally came down to 99p on Kindle. It's a fictional account of the life of Madame Tussaud and for a while I thought it was going to be an absolute stand out. I'm still enjoying it, but it's also taking some silly diversions which are essentially padding, although the author probably thought they were terrible profound. For that reason it's reminding me a little of Captain Corelli which isn't particularly a good thing.

Unless something goes horribly wrong, I think it's likely to be a positive review overall, but I've still got a long way to go and it's not calling to me as much as it was at first. Has anybody read it?

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie A massive thank you to you. I’m a donut who didn’t realise until I read your post that Amazon wish lists are a very good way of keeping track of the price of kindle items. I’ve got a wish list in my head and I’m waiting for them to go down to 99p, but for reasons unknown, I hadn’t thought of a wish list. Thank you.

Glad to be of service! I just search my Wishlist frequently, sorting it from lowest price.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

I've read Little and I reviewed it on here not much help though as I can't remember what year or what I thought of it!

6.Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Honestly this would have been a clear DNF for me. However I carried on as it is DD’s book and she wanted me to read it and then watch the film. It is about Amy Dunne who goes missing and it all points to her husband Nick who may have killed her. I found it difficult to get into the flow of the writing and it took me up until 200 pages in to get going. After that I was gripped but as I say if it hadn’t been a recommend I would have given up on it ages ago. Going to watch the film which is on Netflix this weekend. Oh another point is I had guessed what was going on. And the ending well not what I wanted but suited the tone of the book.

I read Little last year Remus. I found I was often ready for it to move on more quickly than it did, but overall I enjoyed it and found it an interesting way to read about events I knew very little about.

31. People Like Us: Margaret Thatcher & Me, by Caroline Slocock
    Slocock was one of Thatcher's civil service Private Secretaries during her last 18 months as Prime Minister, & the first woman to hold that job in no. 10. This book covers CS's time working with Thatcher, including the challenges to the PM & her eventual resignation. It's an interesting account of what it was like to work in Downing Street at the time, and also of her role as a civil servant - doing her best to facilitate the government of the day in carrying out their policies, regardless of her personal views (she describes herself as a left wing feminist).
    She also talks about how the structure of the PM's office has changed since then, with Blair starting the pattern of bringing in political appointments to fulfil roles that had previously been carried out by neutral civil service employees.
    
    Overall a good read, & a good follow up to Damian McBride's Power Trip which I read recently (though I'm not sure how interesting either would be to anyone not around at the time!).

32. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
    I seem to be having a run of muggle-discovers-magic books at the moment. This is fantasy / romance set in an alternate-Edwardian period, where young baronet Robert Blyth - parents recently dead, & in need of an income - is appointed to a minor government post. When he takes up the post, he discovers there has been something of a mistake; he's accidentally been appointed to the position of liaison between UK magical society & the rest of government. Not only this, but his predecessor has mysteriously vanished, & something very wrong seems to be going on. He also has to deal with his counterpart amongst the magicians, Edwin Courcey, who is less than pleased to find him in the job.
    I picked this up by chance following a recommendation in another group (helped along by the fact that it's currently free on Kindle), but I rather enjoyed it. The plot is quite slow moving, but there's some very nice world-building (and some rather lovely descriptions of William Morris wallpaper). I'll definitely read the others in the series when I'm looking for some light entertainment.

@Welshwabbit Giving Up The Ghost was one of my standouts from last year.

15.Our Friends in Berlin by Anthony Quinn. This was a fun WW2 spy thriller. I won't go into the plot, as half the fun is working out who's on the straight and narrow, who's a secret agent, and who's a double agent. Some of the Big Reveals were pretty guessable, others more inventive. There was lots of evocative period detail and characters I cared about.

@CornishLizard Yes. It could definitely be pacier.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I found your review. You liked it!

15 Vet in Harness - James Herriot
Could have done with fewer people bits (specifically less time with Yorkshiremen playing cricket) and more animal bits (it’s always their bits, usually with James stuck in them up to his armpit). Still wonderful comfort reading.

16 Weird Medieval Guys - Olivia Swarthout
Based on a Twitter account of funny medieval imagery - but it was a book and I read all the words so I’m counting it (and I don’t count all the endless Princess-and-the-Mournful-Lost-Puppy-type books I read to DD, so there). Amusing time filler, but you’re not going to become any sort of medieval art expert!

Great reviews @ASighMadeOfStone . I've read a lot of Anne Cleeves, and the AnyPlod comment is spot on. Also the female cop who seems like an ideal employee but Vera hates for no good reason other than being female.

17. Tom Lake - Ann Patchett. I've been listening to this for a while, it's read by Meryl Streep, and have really enjoyed being immersed in this world of theater and cherry trees. It is kind of pandemic lit which I was ranting against, but the pandemic is used as a backdrop. Lara is at home on her cherry farm with her 3 grown-up daughters during the pandemic, when they ask her to tell them the story of when she used to date a famous actor. The book is mainly this story interspersed with cherry picking and present day life. It's very gentle and some may find it a bit too cosy, but I loved spending a couple of weeks immersed in Michigan.

I absolutely loved Dawson's Creek and Pacey is still my model for the ideal romantic hero! I definitely read some of the tie-in books as well, to bring it back to this thread.

Some books I finished recently:

15. A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe. Read by lots already. William, a trainee embalmer, answers a call to volunteer in Aberfan preparing the bodies of the children to be buried. The trauma of those days follows him through his marriage and brings back memories of his difficult relationship with his mother and his childhood friends from chorister school. This was nicely written and raced along but I did struggle to like it. I actually found it quite distasteful the extent to which the great tragedy of the people of Aberfan (and a little less so, of the homeless choir members he encounters) just served as a background for William sorting out his own relationships.

16. Soldier, Sailor by Claire Kilroy. On the Women's Prize longlist and I think a strong shortlist contender. It follows an unnamed narrator ('Soldier') through the early days and years of motherhood, capturing the sleep deprivation and miseries alongside the blazing love. But it's actually very funny in parts as well. I'm in the early toddler years and found it very realistic and relateable. My only criticism is that the husband is a bit cartoonishly useless and it could have been a more complex book if he was just a good person trying his best. As I believe my husband is, despite sometimes wanting to scream at him that he has no idea what it's like being mother to a toddler!

17. This Family by Kate Sawyer. Combines my two favourite micro-genres - 'books where the drama is intensified by a heatwave' and 'adult children return to the family home, secrets are revealed, chaos ensues' - so I was always going to enjoy this. Mary gathers her grown up children, ex-husband and other family members at their large country house to see her get married, immediately after the pandemic. We gradually learn through flashbacks about the complex relationships and betrayals that exist between them. The levels of drama were a bit stretching belied a bit, and I got a bit annoyed that everyone turned out to be a famous journalist or household name actor, but on the whole it was good fun.

@Sadik glad you liked People Like Us - I thought it was really interesting and it gave me quite a different perspective on Margaret Thatcher.

18 Spook Street by Mick Herron

4th in the Slough House series, which came onto the 99p deals in a timely fashion as I am just watching series 3 on TV (Real Tigers). I love the TV series, particularly the fact that Kristin Scott Thomas and Gary Oldman are clearly having the most fun ever, but I think I might love the books more. The plots get ever more far fetched (this one starts with a terrorist attack on a shopping centre, which turns out to be connected to River Cartwright's grandfather and a secret project in France), but I just really enjoy Herron's writing and the characters he has created. Lamb and Standish in particular are wonderful.

Yes @GrannieMainland ! I felt the same about A Terrible Kindness. I wouldn’t have minded a fictional disaster that the reader knew was based on Aberfan, but ‘distasteful’ sums it up for me. It ruined it all for me. The experiences of those involved in Aberfan should remain theirs to tell, or not tell, as they wish. Not be used as a traumatic event base for a coming of age story.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Much praised on here and I can only add to that. Beautifully written and haunting storytelling, more like a short story than a novella though.

I was reading it thinking it would be a great art house film so I googled to see if one was being made and there's apparently a film of it just been released with Cillian Murphy playing Bill Furlong but I can't find any showings anywhere!

I finished Little by Edward Carey. Liked it a lot, even though it could have used some editing. A long, sad, rather sweet story. It wears its message a little heavily, but definitely a bold and I’d recommend it.

@GrannieMainland , I agree with your review of Soldier, Sailor. It was the depiction of the husband that kept the book from being a bold in my view. He was just so awful. I really wanted the protagonist to LTB, permanently!

On the other hand, I'm a fan of Ann Cleeves' Vera novels. I would say she doesn't write about fat ignorant women who eat crisps and drink too much; she writes about fat CLEVER women who eat crisps and drink too much! I agree that Joe is a bit dull, however. Though I also think she's playing with gender stereotypes; instead of the working mum who's under pressure to get back home to the kids, you've got the working dad who's under pressure to get back home to the kids. Also, the most recent Vera mystery I read, The Darkest Evening, did develop the relationship between Vera and Holly in interesting ways.

Also a Vera fan. Ann Cleeves is well above the standard of most current crime writers in my opinion.

Just finished

10. The Day I got Zapped with Superpowers* *by Tom McLaughlin with my DC. Loved this, as did DC. the first thing our hero did with his newly discovered hero qualities was super powered parp used to removed a bin from his previously burning bottom. Poetry. DC is currently reserving more McLaughlin from the library.

11 The Count of Monte Cristo pure bliss. I listened on audio. 50 something hours of adventure. Remains one of my favorite books and definitely a bold. Every time I read or this time listen I find more of the story, bits I had missed and the adventure never gets tired. I love it and look forward to listening again soon. Maybe next time I have a long flight.

Just started Me before You (Jojo Moyes) on audible. I've been too tired to actually read recently. I need to find something which will draw me in enough to overcome the tiredness and get me reading again rather than listening.

@Hoolahoophop I am having the opposite at the moment as struggling with listening. Just returned The Darlings of the Asylum by Noel O’Reilly probably would get into this if reading the book. However the narrator’s of any book I start just are not doing it for me and I am so tired that I nod off lol. Will persevere and hunt another down as have a whole hour sitting in the car giving lifts etc this evening oh the joys lol.

19. Plenty Under the Counter - Kathleen Hewitt

I had no idea that the Imperial War Museum had published a whole series of ‘Wartime Classics’ until I saw this in a charity shop - when I looked it up, there are loads of novels written during WW2. As I’m the thread weirdo who loves that kind of thing, I lost no time in buying 4 of them, and this is the first.

Actually it didn’t quite meet my expectations, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. David Heron, a young Flight-Lieutenant on a week’s leave, is back at his old digs, 15 Terrapin Road in West London, when the body of a unknown man is discovered in the back garden. The chase is on for David to try and solve the mystery, with the help of his girlfriend, children’s nurse Tess, as a cast of weird and wonderful characters comes under suspicion.

It’s all very gung-ho and not remotely great literature (nor a great murder mystery, come to that), but a light and evocative insight into everyday life in 1943 - a jolly romp, effectively.