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?

Popping in at what appears to be an interesting moment...
Won't bring my list over as am late onto the thread, Easter, exams, dd home from uni etc.

@BarbaraBuncle hugs, hope things get better soon.

Lynne Reid Banks and the L Shaped Room trilogy would be up there in my top 10 of all time. I agree with the "of its time" awkwardness- the racism, the unwed mother stuff, the very one-sided view of Israel, but also with the sheer beauty of it all. The trilogy are the only books I've bought twice, as I lent my highlighted, scribbled in, and dogeared copied to a friend of a friend and never got them back. My "new" copies, bought in around 1990 are just as worn out now.

I didn't hate TTTW, but I did think "meh" a lot.

I think I only have 1 book to add since I last posted:

On Bloody Sunday by Julianne Campbell.

Blimey. This was a tough read. But I think necessary. Especially for those of us growing up in the late 60s and early 70s who very much heard one side only on TV at the time.

It sent me down a rabbithole of googling and I was sad to read that Ciaran McKeown, the journalist who helped the peace women found the movement in the late 70s (though never received the public acclaim they did) died a few years ago. I met him a few times through his daughter who I was at university with and he was a remarkable man. He asked me once if I "wrote" and I decided there and then I would.

I'm trying to get back into one fact, one fiction, and am racing through My Dark Vanessa which has been languishing on the Kindle for a few years. It's a quick enough read. Nothing new under the sun, and although I think the premise of grim goings on in academia have the makings of a classic, this isn't it. The characters are too obvious. No nuances. And all deeply unpleasant tbf. Victims and perp alike.

28 Relight My Fire by CK McDonnell
Number 4 in the ‘Stranger Times’ series. These are getting a little better each time, the pacing much improved and the humour not as forced. However, he does let it get a little too silly towards the end; ‘less is more’ would have been preferable. I always rate these books against the absolute pinnacle of perfection that is the Bryant And May series however, so I might be being a tad picky. Some snappy dialogue and Bernard Manning as a zombie…. <chef’s kiss>

@satelliteheart 😂

@satelliteheart the Bridgerton books come up in the deals quite often - I’ve bagged the first 5 at various points (and now read 4, no 2 by far the best).

@Tarragon123 I read Mrs Quinn so long ago i can't remember! Let me check my goodreads and see what I said at the time.

@Tarragon123 I gave it 4 stars and apparently thought it was a lovely cheerful read.

Still on the Women's Prize - started Nightbloom and finding it a slog. Anyone read it ?

Thanks to @StrangewaysHereWeCome ive just read Ghost Wall in a couple of hours and it was so horribly disturbing (the first chapter as much as anything else) I sort of wish I hadn’t, but the writing was great. I predicted how the very end was going to go. I’d have liked a little ‘ten years later’ final chapter with Silvie safely away and maybe even hope for Alison too but get that would be too neat - might have helped me sleep better tonight though.

16. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Written in 2014, 8 years before Tomorrow and I actually enjoyed this just as much.

AJ is a book seller and it's a typical story of grumpy man where events happen to make him less grumpy. I'm paraphrasing but that's the basics without giving too much away.

It's a short, fast read and the book rattles along, pausing only briefly on certain events. Still you manage to get a good sense of the characters although you don't get to know them very deeply.

It's almost made me change my mind about Tomorrow which I now think was overly drawn out.

I'd like to complain both books are filled with a series of improbable events, but I guess I don't want to exclusively read books where nothing happens!

I gave it 4 out of 5. Would read more of Zevin but as always, got a lot on the TBR pile before I start delving into authors back catalogues.

Amazon must be following me because not long after raving about The Wager, another of David Grann’s non-fiction works popped up for 99p ant I snapped it up. The lost city of Z focuses on Fawcett an Indiana Jones like explorer who becomes obsessed with the idea of a lost ancient civilisation and the city of Z, which he believes is waiting to be discovered in the Amazon. In 1925 he and his son Jack set off to find the city of Z and are never heard of again.

Grann intersperses the chapters with his meticulous research on Fawcett, the Royal Geographical Society and all things linked to Amazon exploration in the turn of the century with his own quest to find out what happened to Fawcett and the city of Z. This was great, absolutely raced through it. Have really enjoyed all of Grann’s books - this one, the wager and killers of the flower moon and will definitely have him in my watch list to see what else he writes. He brings the period and characters to life so vividly but recognising them as humans, with all their flaws that it really illuminates the past.

21. Sive: John B. Keane

'Sive' is a play about a young girl who lives with her uncle, his wife and her grandmother in a remote area in Co. Kerry during the1950s. Life is a scrape of an existence from one day to the next. When a local matchmaker approaches Mike and Mena to arrange a marriage between Sive and a much older man, Seán Dóta, Mena, who resents Sive bitterly, agrees to this and is more than willing to earn two hundred pounds from the transaction. Tragic consequences follow.

I enjoyed this. The story is based on a conversation that Keane overhead in a pub. He wrote it as a play in a matter of days and it became his first successful work. It's written in the rich idiomatic English of North Kerry of that time. I particularly liked the two itinerant men whose commentary on events served the purpose of a Greek chorus.

22. The Seventh Bride: T. Kingfisher

Coincidentally, a similar theme in this book; a young girl from a poor background is forced into marrying an older man. Rhea is getting on with her mundane tasks as a miller's daughter when she is informed that Lord Crevan has asked for her hand in marriage. Rhea is afraid that there may be consequences for her family if she doesn't comply. When she turns up at Lord Crevan's mansion, she discovers six other women living there; the other wives of Lord Crevan.

This is a clever retelling of the Bluebeard tale. Rhea is a tough, funny, courageous character with a cute hedgehog sidekick who proves herself up to challenge of dealing with Lord Crevan's sorcery, saving her skin and releasing the other wives from their servitude. It's an entertaining tale overall but it's very eery at times, particularly the description of the wives scared me witless it's so chilling. With Kingfisher, it's a humorous story with an underlying seriousness and definitely for adult readers in my opinion.

25 Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

Halfway!

I bought this on a whim as a 99p Kindle deal, with lots of plaudits from Caitlin Moran, Marian Keyes etc etc. Such whims often disappoint, but I actually really enjoyed this. 24 year old Hera has finally run out of degrees to do, and has to find a job. It seems all her friends already have career paths, and she struggles, eventually falling into a role as an online comment moderator. At first she hates it, but she develops a rapport with her co-worker, Mei Ling, and then (despite having previously come out as gay) develops a flirtation with one of the journalists, 40 year old Arthur. And then everything goes exactly the way you would expect: Arthur turns out to be married, but by that point, Hera is in too deep to end it. The book is written entirely from Hera's point of view, so you don't really get the chance to empathise with Arthur's wife. That worked for me, but I can see it might not work for others. Hera is a good narrator, with a recognisable mix of youthful bravado and vulnerability. At times she is almost insufferable; at others you want to give her a hug. You can see why Arthur falls for her; why she falls for Arthur is sometimes less clear. Sometimes the wisecracking, social media literate style is a bit too much, but I thought this was overall a very successful evocation of mid-20s malaise, shot through with all the good bits that you never quite appreciate at the time.

23. Soldier Sailor: Claire Kilroy

This is a description of the foggy days of new motherhood in all their confusion and isolation. Reading this twenty years after becoming a mother myself, 'Soldier Sailor' resonated with me as even though it's a long time ago now, those days are forever etched into my brain and Kilroy does a brilliant job in conveying how difficult it is at first and the struggle to find your feet in your new role.

I liked how Kilroy describes how the mother enters into the tiny world of the baby rather than the baby becoming part of her life. I used to wonder how every other mother seemed to manage to go places and why I could only get out the door at four o'clock. Time seemed to take on the quality of glue. While my dh wasn't/isn't a dick, unlike the husband in the book, it took him a while to get the message that I wasn't able to function as normal and to anticipate what I needed or take on more household stuff to make my life easier.

I also liked the ending when the baby reaches toddler age and things have fallen into place. The 'ode' to her son really moved me too. I wouldn't recommend this to a new mother as it's a painful journey, but it's well written and I recommend it.

24. Passing: Nella Larson

I bought this on Kindle after Cornish's review. I enjoyed it very much. Written in 1929, the story is told from Irene's perspective; a well-to-do black woman who lives in Harlem with her doctor husband and young family. She reconnects with a childhood friend, Clare, who is similarly light-skinned as Irene is but has been passing as a white woman. Clare has had a difficult childhood and has severed the ties to her past. There are implications for her marriage when she rekindles her friendship with Irene.

This is an excellent exploration of race and identity and I loved Clare's inner conflict as she wants to join Irene's social circle to reconnect with her black identity even though huge risk is involved. I also liked the shifting dynamics of the two women's friendship as Irene is both fascinated and repulsed by Clare. Irene and Clare are both complicated characters which doesn't make it straightforward. The third area of interest is Irene's marriage which becomes very strained during the course of the book.

While this is a novella, there's a lot in it and it's very engaging. You might like it @AliasGrape I have bought another book by Larson as I think she is a very fine writer.

Thanks @FuzzyCaoraDhubh - it's actually on my kindle already waiting, so you've inspired me to bump it up.

I fancy some mindless escapism next though - torn between an Emily Henry, rereading a Georgette Heyer or something that quite literally 'tiktok made me buy it' which sounds absolutely ridiculous but there's a really funny lady who discusses romance type books who kept popping up during my tiktok scrolling sessions and she mentioned this book a lot, so when I saw it for 99p I was influenced. It's called Butcher and Blackbird and is described as a 'serial killer romance' so my expectations are somewhat mixed let's say.

Speaking of which - anyone do the whole 'booktok' thing and can recommend anyone interesting to follow? Anything it throws up for me is definitely skewed towards romance/ fantasy which - whilst I do enjoy hearing people talk engagingly about whatever books they enjoy, I'd like to find the slightly more literary fiction/ quirky and not-too-heavy non-fiction side of things if there is one?

For booktok I like nicolereads98. She does quirky horror and literary/translated fiction. I got my I who have never known men recommendation from her which I loved.

Swapped my audiobook as a library loan became available: 19.Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan. Opening as if it's a crime thriller, this starts with the disappearance of a small child on a London estate. It swiftly changes tack and becomes more of an examination of previous experiences of the family at the centre of the disappearance, one of whom is arrested on suspicion of involvement.

I thought this was really good. It's short, and none the worse for it. Each of the Greens felt well drawn and their stories seemed authentic and touching. We're invited to consider how much "blame" might be apportioned to family members for past mistakes and shortcomings, and whether any of these might have led to the awful current events. There was no great rush to provide a neat ending, and the loose threads helped it feel more real.

Any Women’s Prize readers struggling with And then she Fell? I’m not sure if it’s the book or me but I’m failing to connect on this one. I’ve no direct experience of the post-partum/ new baby stuff but I didn’t for reading Soldier, Sailor either and loved it. It seems to be trying to deal with so many issues - early motherhood, mental health, racism, isolation from community, marriage and in-law issues- that none of them are getting the attention they deserve. People who’ve read it- would you say it’s worth sticking with it (I’m about 1/3 of the way through)

@AliasGrape i second the recommendation of Passing. I’d also add anything by Claire Keegan and Denise Mina’s Rizzio.

DNF. But I’ve only read a couple of the Women’s Prize long list so may not be the best person to comment. Might give it another go sometime.

I wanted to ditch it early on, but stuck with it and it was worth it in the end. I agree it's trying to do too much, but at the same time all of those things are a factor. It reminded me a lot of Beloved and I think it will go on to be as important. I felt mentally battered by it. I can't say I "liked" it, but a piece of literature I admired it a lot and I think it will go on to be studied.

@FortunaMajor i def struggled a bit to start with but it was worth it in the end. Felt I needed to embrace the weird and amit it wasn’t really relatable. It’s def stayed with me

@ÚlldemoShúl sorry meant to tag you

Thanks @BestIsWest @FortunaMajor and @Palegreenstars
Sounds like I should give it another while. I think I’ve drained myself doing both fiction and non-fiction lists and may take a break and read some plotty crime or fantasy after I finish my current reads.

Glad you enjoyed Passing, Fuzzy.

I’ve put Giovanni’s Room on my list.

Sorry to hear Ghost Wall was so disturbing Alias, I’ve got it on my tbr shelf.

My latest was The Sentence by Louise Erdrich, which I wanted to like but didn’t really connect with. The setup is that Native American Tookie is set up and serves 10 years in prison, then on her release finds stability with a job in a Minneapolis bookshop and a husband. This equanimity is shattered first when the ghost of a customer starts haunting the shop, then by covid and the murder of George Floyd (in Minneapolis) and the aftermath. There are lots of books mentioned and even a book list at the end, and I learned a lot about Indigenous history and culture from the book and the google searches it inspired, but I found that it was too obviously a vehicle to educate and it didn’t really come alive as a novel for me.

Just finished the follow up to King of Scars. Definitely flawed, but I gobbled it up. I’d definitely recommend them if you want a gripping read with lots of action and some love (and who wouldn’t, frankly?). #TeamNikolai