50 Books Challenge 2024 Part Four

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

What are you reading?

The film of Wild is good too.

I seem to have accidently picked up a dramatized audio version of 1984 rather than the actual unabridged book. Its good, but not what I was aiming for. And it has a lot more sex than I expected with lots of panting ohhs and ahhs to music. 😳 I fear once I have finished this I may have to go again to get the actual text.

Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe

Mother of 10 Jean McConville disappeared after giving aid to a British soldier in 1972. Radden Keefe uses her disappearance and subsequent murder as a mechanism to tell the story of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Absorbing and gripping.

40 Westwind - Ian Rankin

I have tried a Rebus book or two and don’t love them. I saw this in a charity shop and thought it was worth a try. It was the second or third book Rankin ever wrote

In an alternate 1990, the Americans have been much closer to the Brits than the Europeans, but they are now pulling out of the Uk. A comms satellite goes offline and one of the operators who notices gets dragged into a lethal international conspiracy.

I got on pretty well with it, though the ending was a bit chaotic. Not unlike the non-historic Dan Brown thrillers.

32 Lucifer Book 1 - Mike Carey

Excellent spin-off from the Sandman universe, and the only one of the non Gaiman series that I’ve seen get highly recommended by fans. I’ve realised that the Kindle iPad app is perfect for reading graphic novels, as I can zoom in to see the level of detail that’s totally beyond my eyesight in a print book these days 😆

@SheilaFentiman – I fancy Act of Oblivion and will probably pick up at the library.

@Thewolvesarerunningagain – welcome!

@SapatSea – I’m always doing that! If only Kindle had an option ‘pick a random 99p for me that I have yet to read and bought in 2022 etc’

36 The Stranger Diaries – Elly Griffiths (DS Harbinder Kaur book 1) I read her Dr Ruth Galloway book 1 last week and I’m waiting for the next few in the series. I remember reading a DS Kaur back in 2022, so checked which one it was (it was no 2) and picked up The Stranger Diaries on Kindle for 99p. This was an interesting read. It was split into 4 narrators, DS Kaur, a friend of the murdered woman and the friend’s daughter who is 15. In addition, there is a book within a book that ties it all together. I thought it was a different way of doing it and very much enjoyed it.

@Tarragon123 Act of Oblivion is currently £1.99 on Kindle if that helps.

Thank you for the welcomes @Tarragon123, @noodlezoodle and @Boiledeggandtoast. I've not read The Good Earth as yet, it's on my to read list for this year and I have high hopes of it!
I've just finished Shena MacKay The Orchard on Fire from my list. I'm really surprised I've not come across it before. I think Amazon's algorithm picked it out because I bought Nina Bawden's Peppermint Pig. They both have a Kentish village vibe but that's the only similarity. The Orchard on Fire follows the story of April, growing up in the 50s, who moves with her family to a village to run the cafe. Her friendship with the abused Ruby, whose family, like April's, are itinerant workers, opens up new worlds and gives April the courage to stand against the vile Mr Greenidge, a 'want to be' child molester who grooms April. The novel is rich in the language of the period and I was constantly reminded of my own parents and my Nan who used the same kind of catch phrases - 'a little bird told me', 'that's the long and short of it', 'back in the knife drawer, Miss Sharp', 'had your eyeful, or do you want the ha'penny change?'. The details are also wonderfully evocative; the curry made with 'the right proportion of curry powder to the fried sultanas and apple and mince', the St Ivel Cheese Spread, Forest Fern talcum powder :-). The book is by turns funny, bittersweet and magical and the final advice- 'kilt up your skirts, plump up your pumps and on with the dance' is, in context profound rather than trite. Loved it and would recommend to anyone who likes I Capture the Castle.

@SheilaFentiman ITV are doing a Rebus reboot with Richard Rankin (Roger from Outlander) as the lead.
@Thewolvesarerunningagain - Shena Mckay that's a blast from the past. It's strange how some authors I liked decades ago fell off my radar ( Peter Carey discussed upthread is another writer I'd stopped following). The Orchard on Fire sounds good - thanks for the review.
@BestIsWest - I'm not sure I could cope with reading Say Nothing. Did the author come to any conclusion about why Jean McConville was targeted? - secret radio/tout rumour that was put about, just because she was had married to a Catholic (who had been a soldier), because she was kind to a dying teenager (soldier), just to put the fear of God into everyone round and about? I remember my Granny and mother crying in our kitchen when Jean McConville was "disappeared." What the IRA put that family through - threatening the children after having lost their mother (and father not long before) and being split up forever and then with holding information from them plumbs the depths of humanity. When the book came out I read a review that said the (American Irish) author had come to the conclusion that "everyone in Belfast was complicit in the Troubles" and I vehemently reject that. Is that what he concluded?

Welcome @Thewolvesarerunningagain (also a Box of Delights fan here!) I loved The Peppermint Pig as a kid.

113. Let Me In. Claire McGowan
     This was a really good psychological thriller. Each of the main characters narrated their own chapter to reveal a 36 year old crime. Janna was jailed for the murder of a teacher and 2 girls, by no one ever found a motive. Helen and George are married, they've sold their flat in London and moved to a big house in Cornwall. But are they linked by more than marriage? Some of the twists were obvious, but the ending was great.

114. Through Blood and Dragons. R.M Schultz
     The first book in The Forged and The Fallen series. It was a bit Game of Thrones, a bit How To Train Your Dragon. It took about half of the book before I really knew who was who. But it was fab from then on. Lots of dragons, fighting, more dragons.

115. Earth Protectors. Samuel Lawson This was alright. I think the author has ESOL, so the language was a bit weird at times. And the (teenage) main character went on a "night for lovers" at McDonald's restaurant where they drank wine, ate lobster bisque and beef wellington (iirc). Either the author misunderstands what McDs is, or it was a bad choice. The premise of the story was good, teens saving the world, but the execution was lacking.

116. The Palladium. Thorsten Brandl
     I enjoyed this one. Michael managed to track down a mysterious radio station and then ends up becoming the last member of a magic circle type thing who's job is to save the world. Other members include historical figures, mythological people and people from paintings. It makes more sense than it sounds!

117. Birth of the Tiptons. Philip Davidson
     I misunderstood the promo on this and thought it was historical fiction set in the Victorian Times. Which it kind of was, but with a side of fantasy. The Hanoverians (King George I to current Royals) are "ordained by God" and can time travel and such like. George III has illegitimate twin boys and the book follows them through the industrial revolution, as well as their descendants in the modern day.

118. Good Things. Kate MacDougall
     A nice cosy story about sisters Liz and Maggie. Yes they're named after the royals. Their dad is called George, and their grandma was known as Queen Vic. They inherit their family house, their dad comes home from Spain and tries to finally be a father to them. It's one of this books that was lovely to read, but nothing exciting happens and saying what does would be a spoiler!

@sapatsea, it was very complicated. There were suggestions that she’d had an illicit radio and had been feeding snippets of information- but there were counter claims that she wouldn’t have known any information, that she lived in flats with very thin walls and the type of radio wasn’t in use. I wouldn’t say I got the impression that he said everyone was complicit - what the children went through was horrific and he was very compassionate towards them.
I think it would be a difficult book for anyone who lived through those times in that part of the world. It took me over a month on Audible to get through it.

24. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware Crime fiction author Nora receives an unexpected email inviting her to the hen do of her childhood best friend who she hasn't seen or spoken to since she was 16 (ten years ago). She hasn't been invited to the wedding so has no idea who Clare's fiance is but she decides to go along to the hen where sinister things start to happen and decade old secrets start to come out

I was introduced to Ruth Ware by these threads a couple of years ago and started with The IT Girl which I loved so I started keeping an eye out for Ware books in the 99p deals. This is now my 3rd one and to be honest I've found all but The IT Girl underwhelming. This was ok, but it seemed to move very slowly and Nora wasn't a character I was able to get behind. She also seemed to have gained an unlikely level of success as an author at the age of 26. Also it's completely unnecessary to have two main characters with the names Nora and Nina. I kept getting them mixed up and when you can choose literally any name on the planet for your characters why choose two such similar names?!

41 1979 by Val McDermid

I picked up 1989 in a charity shop so re read this on my Kindle first. Allie Burns is a journalist on a Scottish paper in the 1970s and she and a colleague uncover nefarious financial doings and also would be terrorists. Good book, I like Val.

Hags. The demonisation of middle-aged women by Victoria Smith

Mumsnet favourite Glosswitch in book form. Although I agree with much of what she says I found this lacking on statistics and rather too word salady for my taste. Consequently it was not very readable, it felt a bit like reading an academic paper, rather dense and needing multiple rereads of some sentences to get their meaning. The chapter on Mumsnet was the best but Sarah Pederson is better and more readable. Disappointing.

@JaninaDuszejko I read Hags recently and was disappointed too. It's a shame as, like you, I agree with a lot of what she says, I just didn't think she said it very well and I found it a bit of a slog.

I'm off on my holidays next week for a week of sitting by the pool Chillin' out, maxin, ' relaxin' all cool, and reading. So if anyone has any book recommendations then let me know. I don't want anything too heavy or depressing but beyond that I'm just looking for something fun and / or gripping.

I seem to be the only one who liked Hags, which is odd, considering it's been very unpopular on here.

I liked Hags. It wandered a bit at times and lacked Glosswitch’s usual succinct bite, but it was quite good nonetheless.

@BestIsWest Thanks

I've started Asta's Book by Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell which I know lots of you love (and I bought a huge pile of BV books from World of Books or somewhere, and opened it to find it's a signed copy (the signature is RR written above Barbara Vine) Isn't that lovely. 😍

@ASighMadeOfStone oh lovely! Hope you like it, it is one of my favourite comfort reads.

30 Joe Country by Mick Herron

Return to form after the slightly disappointing London Rules. Min Harper's son Lucas is missing, so obviously Louisa goes to find him. In Pembrokeshire which, all the characters feel the need to point out on a regular basis, is in Wales (this is a running joke, rather than annoying). It is also snowing. Fairly silly shenanigans and some shocks ensue. The characters remain the real draw here, and there was some great stuff with Lady Di, but particularly between Standish and Lamb, including an absolutely knockout exchange in her flat which will stay with me.

32. The Two Towers - JRR Tolkien more peril, more hobbits, fewer songs. I enjoyed this more than the first book.

I couldn't get into Slough House when I tried the first book a couple of years ago. I felt like I'd read a fair chunk and nothing had really happened so I gave it up as good writing, not much story. Maybe I should give it another shot as it seems lots of people really rate it. I remember loving the first chapter.

@Kinsters i also gave up on Slough House recently. I got about a third in but similar to you I just didn’t feel the story was going anywhere much and I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

51. Dissolution by CJ Sansom

The first in the Shardlake series.

Matthew Shardlake is commissioned by Lord Cromwell to investigate the death of another commissioner at a monastery ripe for dissolution.

I plodded through this, I was making myself read 50 pages a sitting to get through it. I found the monks boring. I thought there was a decent twist to it but it does follow my pattern lately of dissatisfying reads. I am beginning to suspect this is me not the books, oddly, I watched and enjoyed the first episode of the series.

I recall Remus saying upthread that readers would be better to start with Dark Fire as Dissolution isn't representative? I'm very unsure based off this if I want to continue the series.

I honestly need to kill off this run of "meh" and get some bolds in. I really don't know what to read next.