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.

Not an Audible user here, Stowick, although I've starting getting into podcasts so maybe I'll have to give it another shot.

My reading has slowed down - for the last couple of months I was rushing to get through library books that were due back, but my current lot don't seem to be in high demand so I can take them at a gentler pace.

28. Murder at the Seaview Hotel, Glenda Young
Cosy crime. I picked it up due to the Scarborough setting. It's attempting to be quirky, with the plot culminating in a horde of Elvis impersonators chasing down a malefactor, but the writing is basic and I can't really recommend it.

29. Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, Hannah Fawcett
It's 1909 and a female Cambridge professor is on a field-trip somewhere generically Scandinavian to track down data on faeries. The portrayal of faerie realms is more convincing that the portrait of Cambridge academic life in 1909, but if you can overlook that, there's a certain amount of fun in this, with some engaging characters.

30. Mad About Shakespeare, Jonathan Bate
Raising my sights with this book. I think it's fair to class it as a bibliomemoir, which is catnip to me. The author writes about his lifelong engagement with Shakespeare, the teachers who inspired him, and the power of literature to help us through hard times. He says of one teacher: "He taught me that every great literary work is a voyage to Illyria. You step ashore into a world that is and is not like your own. You turn your head to the sea and are opened to a distant horizon". I really liked this.

I've been listening, but via Libby/Borrowbox. None so far have been poor narrations and I assume they are the same recordings.

I've got a few more to review and 2 that I'm part way through, but so far my list goes

Enter Ghost
Soldier Sailor
Ordinary Human Failings
In Defence of the Act (50% but favourable so far)
River East, River West
Nightbloom
Brotherless Night
Western Lane

I wouldn't recommend
The Wren, the Wren
And Then She Fell (30% - not keen)
The Blue, Beautiful World (DNF)

I've got 5 to go once I've finished the 2 I'm part way through.

My library reservation of Steeple Chasing has arrived in hard copy so I'm likely to get lost in that next.

@cassandre glad I’m not alone. I did get to the end, but it was a struggle.

@GrannieMainland just checked Black Water Rising out on BorrowBox only to realise that they also have My Heaven My Home as well. Had already bought a a second hand copy. I should have checked first, but it was cheap & a do prefer reading a real book so not too annoying.

Bibliomania In lockdown I did a free online course about Shakespeare led by Jonathan Bate. He was very engaging and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for your review, I have (inevitably) added it to my wishlist.

36. Last Dance At The Discotheque For Deviants by Paul David Gould (Audible)

Finished last night

In the former USSR, Kostya begins a journey of exploring his sexuality. When he suddenly dies those close to him are left to reflect on what was and what could have been.

This has been popular on the thread and I expected to love it but just found it dragged and dragged. It wasn't for me at all and I took several breaks from it for other things. It was very nearly a DNF but others have loved it so I might be an anomaly here because I trust the taste of @Sadik and @MamaNewtNewt

I'm doing Anthony Doerrs Cloud Cuckoo Land now and haven't a clue what's going on.

I'm exploring the Women's Prize for Non-fiction longlist. Like many on here I've already read Doppelganger. I'm now reading Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century by Joya Chatterji. So far its interesting, but definitely not an easy read so I may be some time. I'm grateful for having recently read Sophia, & having been introduced to some of the players in early 20thC Indian politics.

I'm not sure I'll read all of the longlist (less commited than some on here!) but I do fancy Intervals by Marianne Brooker, Vulture Capitalism by Grace Blakely & All That She Carried by Tiya Miles, & perhaps some of the others.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit oh no, I'm sorry you didn't like it Eine.

I can't really justify why not either - it just never clicked

Cloud Cuckoo Land was a dnf for me, having quite liked his/her until the stupid, stupid, fucking stupid ending for which I will never forgive him.

I'm back to mindless crime because work is making me lose my tiny mind.

It took me a long time to get into Cloud Cuckoo Land, and the source myth/ancient text never grew on me, but I enjoyed all the other interweaving stories, particularly the two set around Constantinople (Anna & Omeir) I would say persevere it all starts to come together in the end. It reminded me of Cloud Atlas somewhat.

Over my dead body -Maz Evans. Brilliant book. It’s about a doctor who investigates her own death. Absolutely loved it:

24. Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb I enjoyed this. It's fantasy about an, er, assassin's apprentice. I thought it could have been a bit slower paced at the end and I saw a couple of the twists coming but it was an enjoyable and easy read. I liked it so much I'm probably going to read the second in the series straight away.

It reminded me of Cloud Atlas
Eek. All the more reason to leave it well alone.

Sorry you didn't like Last Dance @EineReiseDurchDieZeit I definitely wouldn't rely on my taste - I have form for hating things everyone loves (This Thing of Darkness) & vv. (Ada Palmer)
But having said that, I started to listen to Last Dance on audio & gave up, which is unusual for me with books I've enjoyed on paper, an audio second 'read' generally works well. I think maybe it's a combination of it being quite a slow burn book, plus the reading wasn't that engaging for me for some reason, even though there was nothing wrong with it as such

41 Intervals by Marianne Brooker
From the Women’s Prize Non-fiction longlist. This tells of Marianne’s experience
of caring for her mother after she stopped eating and drinking to bring about her own death after 10 years of struggling with MS. This is a very difficult read emotionally - not just the tragedy of it but the anger of what this woman had to do to make her own decision not to continue with life. I had to control myself not to cry on the bus to work reading it. A bold for me but don’t even consider it if you’re feeling in any way fragile.

7.Would You Ask My Husband That? By Kathleen Whyman
I borrowed this to listen to from BorrowBox. It is about Sarah and her husband Will. Will is a director of a company who get’s the sack. Sarah steps into his shoes and takes his job. It is a role reversal as he ends up looking after their small children whilst she goes to work. This was okay. It interested me enough to listen to it but it was overly long. Some of the reviews when looking at the details describe this as hilarious and I did not find it that funny at all to be honest. I wouldn’t recommend folks nothing outstanding.

The online course sounds good, Boiledegg. I enjoyed his writing - good writing but not show-offy at all.

Nice to see someone else looking at the non-fiction list @ÚlldemoShúl and thank you for the review of Intervals - I'll wait until I'm feeling robust to consider that one!

That's the book that got me into Robin Hobb's fantasy world, Kinster. I've read about 12 books now, and the world just gets more interesting. She's a cracking world-builder.

I loved Fitz. I meant to read the Fitz and the Fool trilogy but the local library didn't have them. I must look again.

I'm way behind with the chat!

20 Bridges to Burn - Marion Todd and 21 The Gathering Storm - Lynn McEwan

Tartan noir, my favourite! I love both of these authors and their female Detective Inspectors. Both released last month/this month.

Bridges to Burn - DI Clare Mackay is called to a local school where a teenage girl has committed suicide. Why has she done this? An elderly man who is terminally ill has a suspicious son. Things are going missing from his father's house. Who is responsible and what is the connection to the school? I couldnt put this down and read it in one day.

The Gathering Storm - DI Shona Oliver starts off in London, at her husband's trial for embezzlement. She then has to hot foot it back to Dumfries and Galloway to babysit a famous Scottish actor. It took me 2 days to read this, but only because I wasnt feeling well. Great story. And 99p on the Kindle if anyone needs any encourgement, heh heh

The Wren, The Wren - Anne Enright
Second Women's Prize read.
There is no doubt that Enright can write but my God does she like to show off. There are some beautifully written passages in here, phrases that genuinely take your breath away. And the there are the over written, too clever and pretentious chunks - one example 'they ate careful sandwiches' Careful sandwiches?!? FFS!!
The story is that of a mother and daughter, whose Father / Grandfather was a talented but arsehole of an Irish poet. It is broadly a 'coming to terms with the past' type story that is too obsessed with technique and never really finds it rhythm.
But I won't be surprised if it is shortlisted.

37. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano

12 year old Edward Adler becomes a miracle when he is the sole survivor of a plane crash which should have killed him, as he heals his uncle shields him from the correspondence that pours in.

This was odd for me in that I watched the series first and so had several expectations that weren't realised. The series features a support group and all the different challenges faced by those who lost love ones.

The book flicks between Edward (storyline much the same) and those on the plane before it crashed. I thought the series did it better. It's on Apple and is a 'one and done' standalone series.

If I had to voice a criticism of both tellings it would be that they are a bit maudlin all round.

@Tarragon123 I looked up your two latest authors as I’m trying to find a new crime series - the first Clare Mackay is £1.99 today and the first Shona Oliver is 99p.

just mentioning for anyone else looking 😀

@Hoolahoophop I think I might reread Count next year as a slow read over the whole year. I’ve enjoyed other big books like this. I particularly love the small acts of revenge and subversiveness - like when he declines to eat the food Mercedes has prepared.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels India Holton

Well this was fun. Whilst I didn’t totally laugh out loud, I just smiled and smirked the whole way through. This is set in a familiar Victorian England was some key changes, bands of female pirates fly their houses around attempting to assassinate each other and steal jewels. They have to come together to defeat the bad guy who wants to overthrow women. The style reminded me a little of The Princess Bride. There are two other books in the series and I think I will read them between heavier books.

That sounds great @StColumbofNavron - yet another one added to the list.

Plus Monte Cristo added to my audio list - I loved Dumas's books as a teenager & remember having to make an intercounty library request to get Vicomte of Bragelonne. I've re-read Musketeers a few times, but not the others. (It's probably a good thing there weren't ebooks & Amazon back in the 1980s, or I might never have actually spoken to anyone....)