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.

@RomanMum - that was me, who read/reviewed Hell Bay. I have also read the second one: Ruin Beach (set on Tresco) and would have started the third one (Burnt Island) last night if I could have got it to download on my Kindle (but instead I started a Daphne du Maurier).

I will keep reading as I love the setting although it’s very convenient that there are never any holidaymakers on the island.

Thank you for finding your Music in the Dark review. I knew I'd seen one recently that was favourable.

The Walter Scott Prize has a very decent backlist, so is generally worth following.

I've been listening to The Dictionary People - Sarah Ogilvie from the WP non-fic list and I've got found it interesting, but a bit much doing it in one. It's perhaps one that would benefit from dipping in and out of. The author found an address book belonging to the man who compiled the first OED. It had a lot of intriguing notes about the contributors, so she has tracked down who they were and she tells their stories.

I've also finished Doppelganger - Naomi Klein. It's a memoir about her life as an activist and commentator who regularly gets confused with Naomi Wolf who is her antithesis politically and morally. She charts the fall of Wolf from respected academic to internet crank. She also explores the phenomenon of the doppelganger in literature. She discusses global issues over the past decade or so and the effect on modern society, particularly the rise of populism and identity politics.
I disagree with her on a few major points, she thinks GC feminists are akin to fascists, but it was still an interesting look at just how the world has changed since the election of Trump and how various protest movements came to be and the events/political environments which spawned them.

@TimeforaGandT thank you!

I found you all! Don't think I've been off a 50 Books thread for so long in ages. I'm behind on reviews, posts, life....

Am going to read the thread while I wait for the next train after my first one was cancelled and try to catch up. Hope you're all doing well and all your reading has been good.

Good to see you Pepe hope you’re ok.

Hallo Pepe, hope you don't have too long to wait.

Good to see you @PepeLePew 👋

Finished

25 See Them Run by Marion Todd
Thanks for the recommendation @Tarragon123

I liked DI Claire Mackay and her personal and professional life. I didn’t quite understand what triggered the murders to start when they did but I enjoyed the book and will read more.

Hey Pepe nice to see you

Hi @PepeLePew

No news. Mojo is lost again and even Miss Silver is annoying me.

Ordinary Human Failings - Megan Nolan women's prize list again and a bold.
48 hours in the life of a dysfunctional and traumatised family who have been sequestered in a hotel by unscrupulous journalists Tom following the detention of their daughter/granddaughter/ niece. The girl in question is only 10 and is suspected of murdering a younger child on their London estate.
The novel unpicks the stories of each family member. The writing is fabulous- recommend

Now on with The Maiden which is a totally different fish!

Last comment posted under the wrong user name - sorry

Annoyingly have had to give up a book on Audible because the narrator was so bad. There should be an option to have the book in kindle format in such cases but I’ve had to pay again for it. I’m cross.

Cant settle to anything at the moment.

You can return it to Audible and get your credit back @BestIsWest, their customer service is second to none.
You can do it online if you don't do it too often or contact them and they'll be happy to oblige.

@DesdamonasHandkerchief Thank you! I was looking on the app but thanks to you I went on to the website and I’ve managed to return it now.

42 Doppelgänger- Naomi Klein
Much reviewed here so I won’t rehash the premise. An interesting read. Klein’s tone was non-judgemental and constantly seeking answers for why people fell into the shadow world (of covid denial, far right conspiracies etc). Lots of thought-provoking material. Like many other posters I particularly liked the discussion on Israel/ Palestine.

43 If Beale Street Could Talk- James Baldwin
Oof. This book is a punch in the guts. Written in a conversational tone it talks about the imprisonment of Fonny, a black man in New York accused of rape and the efforts of his partner Tish and her family to help him receive justice. This is angry and visceral and Baldwin’s writing is stunning. A very different read from his Giovanni’s Room I read last year but equally as powerful. A definite bold. My March reading has been fabulous so far this year.

I think my current read off the Women’s Prize shortlist will break my 5 star streak- The Maiden is meh so far, though my non-fiction listen from the WP shortlist (A Flat Place) is much more promising.

11. My best friends secret- Karen Clarke
    The premise is based around a woman who's friend appears after no contact for a few years with news that her husband was abusive and she needs her help. There was some unexpected twists throughout the story and it definitely held my attention
12. Anne Frank the diary of a young girl Thought provoking and emotional read which I would recommend to anyone. Definitely a tough read in places because of the subject matter but well worth it. 13 next on my list is The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden

Friend Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.

I couldn’t get into this at all. I thought I’d enjoy it as it’s rated v highly on Amazon and I have vague recollections of enjoying the film. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it at all. I didn’t ’get It’. Nevermind, can’t choose right every time.

24. Royal assassin - Robin Hobb I really enjoyed this. I've been up all night worrying and it was a welcome distraction. It's the second in a trilogy set in a fantasy world. It's similar to Game of Thrones but a much tighter plot, far fewer characters/locations and no gratuitous rape and murder. The world is beautifully crafted and the characters are believable and likable (or not as the case may be). Truly a book you can get lost in. I'm moving straight on to the third and final installment in the trilogy which, from the average read time on my kindle, looks to be a hefty book!

@Kinsters I adore Robin Hobb and think she particularly excels in middle volumes. Royal Assassin may be my favourite single book of hers, although rivalled by The Mad Ship (middle of The Liveship Traders, the trilogy following this one). I do hope you continue on to that series, even though it feels quite different from the Six Duchies books at first. They do link up (won't spoil how) and characters and plot points play a part in future Fitz&Fool stories.

Women's Prize chat:
@cassandre thanks for linking that thoughtful article by Lescure. I like how she writes about her writing - frank and unpretentious. However, "I couldn’t play god with my novel’s rooftopper" just made me splutter in protest at her treatment of the supporting cast in Lu Fang's story, again.
Though agreed @FortunaMajor the historical context it supplied was vital and a dual-timeline narrative is preferable to the 'heroine finds suitcase of letters / unfeasibly detailed diary in attic' trope....

TBH I shouldn't have even started The Maiden. The 'modern people in fancy dress' school of historical fiction is antithetical to my tastes, so even if the writing had been much stronger I would have struggled.

From the Walter Scott longlist:
DNF'd The New Life: too penis-y.
For Thy Great Pain... left me cold too @splothersdog Possibly because* I was already familiar with JoN and MK and didn't feel this added anything to their stories.
The Fraud My most disappointing read of 2023. So much potential. I rated it a deceptively moderate 3/5 but that resulted from wild oscillations between 1 and 5 elements.
Magnusson, Myers, O'Connor, Tremain already on TBR; several of the others look appealing too.

hope you’re ok Kinsters.

Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay - this was recommended on A Good Read recently. It’s a biography of the ‘wild, drunk, promiscuous, generous, cussing personality’ of the Blues legend. It’s a very personal account - Kay talks about her own teenage idolisation of Smith, and having enjoyed her ‘Red Dust Road’ a couple of years ago I came to the book more out of interest in the author than in Smith. I enjoyed the evocation of the 1920s American south and the history of the blues as well as the extraordinary life of Bessie Smith, who I previously knew nothing about.

I hated The Fraud with a passion, but I already knew I don't get on with Zadie Smith. I like her essays, but I'm not a fan of her fiction.

I'm slogging my way through A Trace of Sun - Pam Williams, more to do with with the format than the book. I wouldn't rave though. I'm dreading my date with The Maiden.

Pepe lovely to see you.

Kinsters hope you get some sleep.

@Copperboomx I can heartily recommend Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies as a companion to the diaries. She was one of the people who kept the Franks supplied while they were in the attic and I found it very moving.
There’s a dramatised version called A Small Light which is good too.

Any Human Heart by William Boyd is 99p on Amazon Kindle daily deals today

I'm sure I'm in a very tiny minority in being underwhelmed by Any Human Heart. I've read several of William Boyd's novels and the only one I quite liked was Sweet Caress.