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 clearly live under the same rock Eine, YMMV has completely passed me by too!

I am currently in Bath and have done a tour of the bookshops - Mr B’s, Persephone and Waterstones. So much for my vow not to buy any more books until I’ve got through more of my TBR pile…

That's not your haul is it @ChessieFL ? How will you get it home?!

Wow I had no idea! I’ve learnt something new 😄 makes sense, and I had got mixed up about he Harry and Meghan thing as that was around the time I first came across it - clearly behind the times!

25 Sandman: Endless Nights - Neil Gaiman

Selection of self-contained stories, each relating to one of the Endless. Not essential though does flesh out some of the series lore in places.

Ha, I wish Eine!

Aya: Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, translated by Edwige Renée Dro

Seventh in this series of graphic novels about a group of friends and their families in 1980s Abidjan. Great fun as always.

Very funny Eine! 😄
Enjoy, @ChessieFL it sounds wonderful.

33 The Fault in our Stars - John Green
I know I said I needed something light and fluffy next but this was in my charity shop haul so figured I’d give it a go.

Hazel is 16 and living with terminal cancer. She goes to a support group where she meets Isaac who has lost his sight and Gus who has lost a leg. She instantly falls for Gus and together they share a journey seeking unanswered questions about a book they both love.

This was a bit meh for me. I haven’t seen the film so didn’t know the ending but it wasn’t hard to guess. I found the Dawson’s creekness of the teenagers annoying and unrealistic. Saying that, it only took half a day to read so it didn’t take up too much time. Not bad, just not for me.

30. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
    I'm sure this needs no introduction.
    I don't know why I let this languish unread on my kindle for ten years. An utterly devastating history of China in the grip of communism.
    Chang and her mother and grandmother are remarkable women.
    Anyone who thinks communism is a good idea should read this.

31. Watch Her Fall by Erin Kelly
    Ava, daughter of Nicky Kirilov who runs his ballet company like a dictatorship, is about to take on the role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, a role she has been waiting for her whole career. Juliet, an injured ballerina, is trying to adapt to life outside the ballet company when she meets Ukrainian immigrant Max, who has problems of his own.
    I really liked the first quarter of this novel, in the intense world of the ballet company but when it moves beyond that it seems to lose something. Still a pretty good, well written psychological thriller though.

32. Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
    In Korea in the 1910s ten year old Jade becomes a trainee courtesan and the story follows her life, and the lives of those around her, Lotus her close friend, JungHo the street urchin she befriends.
    I enjoyed this though it does get a bit sentimental at times, a story of lives and fortunes changing over time.

33 The 30th Candle by Angela Makholwa
Four friends in South Africa are turning thirty. Sade is marrying Mr Perfect, Linda has broken off her engagement, Dikeledi is waiting for her daughter's father to make a commitment and Nolwazi has a secret that could tear the group apart.
It took me a long time to get into this. Most of the first half of the book just consists of the women talking about men. Then things take a dark turn and it ramps up quickly, and I wish the elements of the second half had been introduced earlier on.

34. The Beach Party by Amy Sheppard True crime podcasters Katie and Sophie investigate the murder of a teenage girl five years ago in Katie's hometown, at a beach party Katie was present at. Basic psychological thriller. I wasn't on the edge of my seat but it passed the time.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. 4 out of 5 stars. You know what you’ll get with Sophie Kinsella; light, engaging, funny easy read. She knows her niche and does it well. I’ve always loved the Shopaholic books and thought I’d branch out a bit. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s about a lawyer who makes a mistake and runs away, starting a new life as a housekeeper. It’s currently still 99p on kindle.

Just popping on to say that Wifedom is on the Kindle Daily Deals today, As is Piglet which has been getting some good reviews on social media.

I bought Wifedom! Plus a couple of others - the deals are good today!

Another one who bought Wifedom here 😅 Also Ottolenghi's Sweet for 99p, but that’s not on the daily deals page.

28. The Nothing Man - Catherine Ryan Howard a "true" crime novel within a novel. I enjoyed the structure of this and it was a page turner. Very graphic and disturbing.

Happy Easter! 🐰

14. How to Eat (And Still Lose Weight): Dr. Andrew Jenkinson.

Jenkinson presents a convincing argument to shun UPFs and discusses the pervasive marketing of these in western society. A good book on the subject of eating well to live well.

15. The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne: Brian Moore.

Judith is a single woman of 'uncertain years' living alone without friends or family. This book was written in 1955 and is set in Belfast. We see Judith moving from one dingy bedsit to another, putting up a brave front and being nice to her landlady, her landlady's repugnant son and other tenants, but she is inwardly struggling. She is already in a difficult situation and when she experiences rejection, it becomes too much for her and she goes into a downwards spiral.

I thought this was excellent. Moore was young when he wrote it, but he wrote Judith brilliantly. It's such an authentic female voice. The part where Judith has a crisis of faith in the church was particularly good.

16. The Mystery of the Blue Train: Agatha Christie.

A spoilt, rich American woman gets murdered on the night train from London to the French Riviera. Luckily Poirot is at hand to solve the case. This was a lively, engaging read. A standard cast of characters behaving in predictable ways. An enjoyable read.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate. @splothersdog thanks for the tip- both of those are on my tbr so I happily picked them up today.
I’ve been off work since Thursday, DH is working and I’m enjoying hours of lovely reading!
50 Young Queens by Leah Redmond-Chang
WP for non-fiction longlisted but didn’t make it to the shortlist. I thoroughly enjoyed this history of three renaissance queens. I knew a lot about Catherine de Medici and Mary Queen of Scots before so these parts were mainly familiar. Elizabeth de Valois was new to me beyond a name so I enjoyed her story and the relationships between the three were fascinating. The narration was focused and straightforward unlike much historical writing which can tend to be dry. Disappointed this wasn’t shortlisted.
This led me to two other short books on my tbr.
51 The Prince- Machiavelli
Famous political treatise from the same renaissance period as the previous read. It was more interesting than I expected and to my horror I found myself nodding along to some of his points. However, much of it is blood soaked and ruthless - I enjoyed mentally comparing it to work culture today in my head.

52 Rizzio- Denise Mina
Much reviewed on here and clearly linked to Young Queens I had to give this short book about the murder of David Rizzio a read. Mina is much more sympathetic to Mary Queen of Scots than pretty much any historian but this is well written, tense and perfect as a short story. I enjoyed it much more than any of Mina’s modern day crime novels I’ve read.

17. Rebecca: Daphne du Maurier.

I read this following the thread that someone posted who felt let down by 'Rebecca', that the book didn't live up to the film and that there was too much description of gardens and greenery. I loved it. I read it in two days and felt sad for two days afterwards that it was over. I had read it before when I was young, but I don't think I picked up on the nuances in the story and particularly how it ends. It's simply superb. I think I would rate it among my favourite books.

18. The Bookshop: Penelope Fitzgerald.

The latest book for the 'Rather Dated' bookclub. Also, the third book I've read this year about a single, middle-aged woman. Unlike Judith Hearne however, Florence is a strong, independent woman, perfectly capable of looking after herself although her plans to run a bookshop are ultimately thwarted by the local bigwig, who makes this impossible for her.

I thought this was very good. It's short and succinct and rather sparse in style. Fitzgerald pulls no punches about the small-mindedness of village life and the bullying that goes on in terms of the social hierarchy. Fitzgerald is astute and has good insight into people. I also enjoyed the humour in the book, most of which concerns the young shop assistant, Florence's interactions with her solicitor and her banker and there is a resident poltergeist also thrown into the mix. I enjoyed it and would like to read more by Penelope Fitzgerald.

26 Sandman: Overture - Neil Gaiman

Last of the series written by Gaiman (there are spinoffs in the same universe by other writers, but get mixed reviews, and I think I’ll stick to the original run as canon). This is a prequel to the main storyline, and beautifully written and drawn.

19. La Promesse de l'Aube: Romain Gary.

I came across a discussion a few months ago on French radio about Romain Gary and how he won Le Prix Goncourt twice which is not allowed, but he entered the second time under a pseudonym and he got away with it. This fact only became known after his death. He wrote under a few names, most notably Émile Ajar and Romain Gary (not his birth name either by the way). This book is his autobiography and it has been translated as 'Promise at Dawn'.

This book is divided into two parts; Romain's childhood in Poland, his relocation to France and in the second part, his exploits during world war two as a pilot. Most notably, the book is about his relationship with his mother which he acknowledges as the single most defining relationship in his life.

Gary's mother, Nina, brought him up by herself in difficult circumstances. She was extremely ambitious for him and pushed him into trying various forms of the arts to see what he might excel at. He settled on literature very early on. She was determined that he would be a great man and worked herself to the bone providing for him. In return, he worked very hard to prove himself worthy of her. Their relationship seems stifling but he accepts it unquestioningly. The first part of the book is a colourful account of their life, interspersed with some tall tales.

The second part of the book is lot more grim in comparison as it concerns ww2, but there are still one or two crazy stories and near escapes that keep the reader interested in the tale. Gary's mother is at a remove as he is away fighting, but Gary still refers to her and consults with her in his head, so she is still very much present in this part. He even refers to the virtual umbilical chord between them which strikes an odd note for a grown man to do.

This was a long read, clocking in at nearly four hundred pages, but the author is a good storyteller and I enjoyed the narration of his life and the glimpse of life long ago was fascinating. It's written in a fluid, lyrical prose that is engaging and accessible for a non-native French speaker.

20. Italian Reader: Short Stories English-Italian Parallel Text: compiled by Alex Kouzine.

I took up learning Italian for the simple joy of it a few months ago and felt ready to take up the challenge of reading.

This book is a wonderful read as it's based on original short stories by various authors and it's easy to follow as the lay-out is very straightforward. An enjoyable read. There's a version in French too for anyone interested.

Passing by Nella Larsen thanks to everyone who recommended this 1920s novella. Well-heeled Harlem doctor’s wife Irene reconnects, rather against her better judgement, with her childhood friend Clare who has in the meantime cut ties with the world they grew up in and is scandalously ‘passing’ as white with a particularly odious white husband. Clare is a dangerous character who will risk everything to get what she wants; Irene values security above all. Fascinating about the dynamics of ‘passing’ especially as other women of Irene’s circle are in mixed race marriages with no need for pretence. An easy to read classic, I can’t believe I haven’t read it before.

Thanks @CornishLizard I just bought Passing.

I loved Piglet.

Happy Easter all who celebrate and Solidarity in Impotent Rage all who loathe the onset of Fake Time.
Rant incoming:

I spent a long time in hospital waiting rooms yesterday (routine stuff for a parent) so against wise advice above, finished 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster - Mirinae Lee, which will be italicised as the stinker it was.
If you haven't been sufficiently put off by the quotes I posted earlier, I can now report that it in fact is only seven 'lives' (aka short stories), all revolving around rape, murder, beatings, maimings, starvation, torture, interrogation etc. and a frame narrative (which recaps all of them, from the Alzheimer's wing of a retirement home). Five of the stories had previously been published in various outlets, and had clearly had different editorial histories (some retained malapropisms and grammatical errors, which others corrected) but all seemed to have been cut&pasted in without any changes*, so variable quality of writing, repetitive elements and illogical shifts in POV aside, there's the annoyance of one chapter indicating speech with conventional quotation marks, another using italics, and still others with no speech markers at all, for no discernible reason.
*literally presented in publication order, rather than chronological. Because tRiCkStEr 🙃

Style issues aside, yoking these stories together had the effect of making the protagonist Grim Forest Gump, polyglot androgynous ageless master of disguise with impenetrable plot armour (sO tRiCkStEr), popping up at every representative atrocity going, however geographically and historically implausible. It turned what could have been a powerful novel of women's lives in 20th C. Korea into a particularly humourless farce. And I keep mocking the 'trickster' because it led me to expect some exploration of how and why we tell stories, as individuals, in families and in nations, etc. etc. and in fact the word was just used to preempt any call-outs about inaccuracies, and as a condescending badge of approval for an old woman who isn't a doddery doormat. 😡

Off for a hot cross bun now, will add more moderate reviews later.

20.Dear Girls Ali Wong. Memoir from the American comedian who recently starred in Beef. I find her very funny and enjoyed her focus on her Chinese and Vietnamese heritage but the timeline was so missed up in this I couldn’t get much of a sense of it. Also, the snippets of privilege (taking babies in first class is not worse than coach) were a little grating.
21.And Then She Fell Alicia Elliot. My first women’s prize read - it was ace. I loved this story of understanding new motherhood from an indigenous Canadian perspective. Alice our protagonist is so powerful. The last 60 pages got really weird and whilst it made sense for the plot I think I would have liked more time with Alice.

I’ve just started Soldier Sailor which seems to be another focus on new motherhood… possibly too soon but I’ll make a start.

Thanks for the flag on Piglet, it looks great.

I too have just finished And Then She Fell. Also a bold from me. So
Much to discuss and totally worthy of its place on the list.