50 Books Challenge 2024 Part Five

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth 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.

Some of us bring over to the new thread lists of the books we've read so far, but again - this is your choice.

The first thread is here, the second one here , the third one here and the fourth one here

What are you reading?

I've decided to bold 4 extra books this time that I really enjoyed. I've been too stingy

1.	Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling
2.	Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by JK Rowling 
3.	Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban by JK Rowling 
4.	Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling 
5.	The End We Start From by Megan Hunter
6.	<strong>Tom Lake</strong> by Ann Patchett
7.	Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix by JK Rowling
8.	Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin
9.	Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
10.	Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling
11.	Penance by Eliza Clark
12.	Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling 
13.	The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton
14.	Educated by Tara Westover
15.	The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham 
16.	<strong>Big Swiss</strong> by Jen Beagin
17.	1979 by Val McDermid 
18.	They&rsquo;re Going To Love You by Meg Howrey
19.	Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
20.	<strong>Project Hail Mary</strong> by Andy Weir
21.	Sorrow And Bliss by Meg Mason
22.	Rizzio by Denise Mina
23.	Happiness Falls by Angie Kim 
24.	Stubborn Archivist by Yara Rodrigues Fowler
25.	The Restless Republic by Anna Keay
26.	Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
27.	Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam 
28.	Erasure by Percival Everett
29.	In The Woods by Tana French
30.	Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
31.	Killers Of The Flower Moon by David Grann   
32.	<strong>I Have Some Questions For You</strong> by Rebecca Makkai
33.	<span class="italic">Oracle</span> by Andrew Pyper
34.	City On Fire by Don Winslow
35.	City Of Dreams by Don Winslow
36.	Last Dance At The Discotheque for Deviants by Paul David Gould  
37.	Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
38.	Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman
39.	Sula by Toni Morrison
40.	Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 
41.	Days At The Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
42.	Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
43.	City In Ruins by Don Winslow
44.	<strong>Wifedom</strong> by Anna Funder
45.	11.22.63 by Stephen King
46.	<span class="italic">Apples Never Fall</span> by Liane Moriarty
47.	The Girls by Emma Cline
48.	Weyward by Emilia Hart
49.	Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
50.	Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobson 
51.	Dissolution by CJ Sansom
52.	The Martian by Andy Weir  
53.	<strong>Age Of Vice</strong> by Deepti Kapoor
54.	The Infiltrators by Norman Ohler
55.	<strong>The True History Of The Kelly Gang</strong> by Peter Carey
56.	The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
57.	Knots And Crosses by Ian Rankin

So 7 bolds and 2 stinkers out of 57, looking for my next pick right now.

Thanks as always, southeast

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit - I always thought the mother was the best character in the true history of the kelly gang. I could quite happily read a book just on her life.

I had to fall off the thread while I did some professional qualifications which are thankfully now over. My list below;

1. Love after Love by Ingrid Persaud
2. Hotel Silence by Auour Ava Olafsdottir
3. Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
4. Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
5. Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M Delafield
6. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura
7. Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
8. Carrie Soto is back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
9. The seven moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka

10. She and her cat by Makoto Shinkai 11. Staying on by Paul Scott 12. The rectors daughter by R.M.Mayor 13. Moon of the crusted snow by Waubgeshig Rice 14. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy 15. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy 16. A village in the third reich by Julia Boyd 17. Hotel Du Lac by Anita Brookner 18. An illustrated history of ghosts by Adam Allsuch Boardman 19. If nobody thinks of remarkable things by Jon McGregor 20. Troubles by J.G. Farrell 21. Rites of Passage by William Golding 22. Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura 23. Saplings by Noel Streatfeild 24. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid 25. Ordinary Hazards by Anna Bruno

@BadSpellaSpellaSpella

Agree, she's a great character

Thanks @Southeastdweller

Here's my list:

1. Confessions of a forty-something **-up – Alexandra Potter
2. Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race – Reni Eddo-lodge

3. A heart that works – Rob Delaney

1. Really good, actually – Monica Heisey
2. 52 ways to Walk – Annabel Streets

6. Amy & Isabelle – Elisabeth Strout

1. Islands of mercy – Rose Tremain
2. From miniskirt to hijab – Jacqueline Saper

9. Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver 10. The Sober Diaries – Clare Pooley 11. The Lost Words – Robert Macfarlane & Jackie Morris 12. Tom Lake – Ann Patchett 13. The Strawberry Thief - Joanne Harris 14. The village by the sea – Anita Desai 15. Soldier, Sailor – Claire Kilroy 16. Sober curious – Ruby Warrington 17. 500 miles from you – Jenny Colgan

Currently listening to Learn Spanish with Paul Noble and hope to be totally fluent for my weekend away in 2 weeks' time 😂
I'm also reading O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker which, despite having read your many reviews over recent months, is not at all what I expected - but I'm really enjoying it all the same.

Oh, just in time for me to post a very short review of Mat Osman's The Ghost Theatre.

Meh.

Signing in! Will repost the list later

Succinct 😀

Thanks for the new thread southeastdweller

My list:

1 The Common Years by Jilly Cooper
2 Beyond SW19: World Class Tennis In England Since the 1880s by Kevin Jeffreys
3 Murder on the Dancefloor by Shirley Ballas
4 The Real Deal by Caitlin Devlin
5 Almost Surely Dead by Amina Akhtar
6 Me by Elton John
7 The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
8 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
9 One Of The Good Guys by Araminta Hall
10 The Messalina of the Suburbs by E M Delafield
11 Provincial Daughter by R M Dashwood
12 Angel by Elizabeth Taylor
13 In Lieu of You by Keith A Pearson
14 Letter From New York: BBC Woman’s Hour Broadcasts by Helene Hanff
15 The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
16 Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
17 Young Men In Spats by P G Wodehouse
18 The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck
19 The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
20 This Much Is True by Miriam Margolyes
21 The Beholders by Hester Musson
22 Berserkers! by Adrian Edmondson
23 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
24 Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
25 The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
26 Once Upon A Leap Year by Anna Bell
27 This Thing of Darkness by Nicola Edwards
28 Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
29 The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard
30 Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard
31 Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard
32 Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard
33 All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard
34 Alligators Eat Marshmallows by Tony James Slater
35 Vain Shadow by Jane Hervey
36 Universally Challenged by Anna Bell
37 Patience by John Coates
38 The Weekend Trip by Joanna Bolouri
39 The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
40 Sheep’s Clothing by Celia Dale
41 The Queen of Poisons by Robert Thorogood
42 Lost in the Lakes by Tom Chesshyre
43 Chasing the Dead by Tim Weaver
44 The Dead Tracks by Tim Weaver
45 Vanished by Tim Weaver
46 Never Coming Back by Tim Weaver
47 Fall From Grace by Tim Weaver
48 Shelley by Peter Tilbury and Colin Bostock-Smith
49 The Second Life of Amy Archer by R S Pateman
50 The Fortune Teller by Natasha
51 With Nails by Richard E Grant
52 The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
53 Crypt by Alice Roberts
54 The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
55 The Hidden Years by Rachel Hore
56 The Guest by B A Paris
57 Death and Croissants by Ian Moore
58 Death and Fromage by Ian Moore
59 Death at the Chateau by Ian Moore
60 Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? by Nicci French
61 Odd Boy Out by Giles Brandreth
62 Jojo: Finally Home by Johannes Radebe
63 Cheerful Weather for the Wedding by Julia Strachey
64 The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin
65 Unsinkable by Dan James
66 Trustee from the Toolroom by Nevil Shute
67 Q’s Legacy by Helene Hanff
68 Her New Best Friend by Penny Batchelor
69 The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
70 The Dream House by T M Logan
71 The Frequency Of Us by Keith Stuart
72 What Remains? by Tim Weaver
73 Broken Heart by Tim Weaver
74 I Am Missing by Tim Weaver
75 You Were Gone by Tim Weaver
76 Walking The Invisible by Michael Stewart
77 No One Home by Tim Weaver
78 The Shadow At The Door by Tim Weaver
79 The Blackbird by Tim a weaver
80 Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
81 Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory
82 Stiff Upper Lip by Lawrence Durrell
83 The Standing Chandelier by Lionel Shriver
84 Kings and Queens of England: Lives and Reigns from the House of Wessex to the House of Windsor by Peter Snow and Ann MacMillan
85 The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas
86 A Devon Midwinter Murder by Stephanie Austin
87 The Man Who Didn’t Burn by Ian Moore
88 The House on Rye Lane by Susan Allott
89 Seven Days by Robert Rutherford
90 The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
91 Centre Court: The Jewel in Wimbledon’s Crown
92 The Potting Shed Murder by Paula Sutton
93 The Vacation Rental by Katie Sise
94 Becoming Liz Taylor by Elizabeth Delo
95 Fruit of the Dead by Rachel Lyon
96 The Burning by Jane Casey
97 My Favourite Mistake by Marian Keyes
98 Bedtime Adventure Stories For Grown Ups by Anna McNuff
99 Piglet by Lottie Hazell
100 Saplings by Noel Streatfeild
101 The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly
102 The House of Mirrors by Erin Kelly
103 Every Move You Make by CL Taylor
104 Watermelon by Marian Keyes
105 Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
106 Storm Christopher by Jodi Taylor
107 Broken Light by Joanne Harris
108 Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton
109 The Door-To-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn
110 Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes
111 The Twat Files by Dawn French
112 Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes
113 The Four by Ellie Keel
114 Angels by Marian Keyes
115 Abroad In Japan by Chris Broad
116 Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen
117 Greengates by T C Sherriff
118 Mad Woman by Bryony Gordon
119 The Fair To Middling by Arthur Calder-Marshall
120 Underfoot In Show Business by Helene Hanff
121 Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd
122 The Last Goodbye by Tim Weaver
123 London Curiosities by John Wade
124 Creating Back To The Future: The Musical by Michael Klastorin
125 Meet Me On The Bridge by Sarah J Harris
126 Nowhere To Run: The Ridiculous Life of a Semi-Professional Football Club Chairman by Jonathan Sayer
127 The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr
128 The Household by Stacey Halls
129 Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas
130 The Unfinished Business of Eadie Browne by Freya North
131 History by Miles Jupp
132 Little Darlings by Melanie Golding
133 The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
134 Frank and Red by Matt Coyne
135 Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes
136 In A Single Moment by Imogen Clark
137 Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby

Thanks for the new thread @Southeastdweller
Will add my list later

Thank you @Southeastdweller

1 Enough Cassidy Hutchinson
2 Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin
3 Kim JiYoung, Born 1982 Cho Nam-Joo
4 The Menopause Reset Dr Mindy Pelz
5 Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day Winifred Wilson
6 Past Lying Val McDermid
7 The Winter List SG MacLean
8 The Seeker SG MacLean
9 Cross Roads Val McDermid
10 Mythos Stephen Fry
11 The Bookseller of Inverness SG MacLean
12 Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat Samin Nosrat
13 Terms of Restitution Denzil Meyrick
14 Standing Still Caro Ramsay
15 The Black Friar SG MacLean
16 The Rabbit Girls Anna Ellory
17 How To Kill Your Family Bella Mackie
18 A Litter of Bones JD Kirk
19 Blood and Sugar Laura Shepherd-Robinson
20 Bridges to Burn Marion Todd
21 The Gathering Storm Lynne McEwan
22 Destroying Angel SG MacLean
23 The House of Lamentations SG MacLean
24 A Treachery of Spies Manda Scott
25 Tackle Jilly Cooper
26 The Dubrovnik Book Club Eva Glyn
27 The Suffering of Strangers Caro Ramsay
28 Giggling Squid, Tantilising Thai to Cook at Home Pranee
29 The Sideman Caro Ramsay
30 The Red, Red Snow Caro Ramsay
31 On An Outgoing Tide Caro Ramsay
32 The Silent Conversation Caro Ramsay
33 The Silk Code Deborah Swift
34 The Crossing Places Elly Griffiths
35 In A Good Light Clare Chambers
36 The Stranger Diaries Elly Griffiths
37 Dead in the Water Ed James
38 Murder Most Royal SJ Bennett
39 Enter Ghost Isabella Hammad
40 The Burning Jane Casey
41 The Butterfly Room Lucinda Riley
42 The Murder at Fleat House Lucinda Riley
43 The Reading List Sara Nisha Adams
44 The Curious Secrets of Yesterday Namrata Patel

My latest read 44 The Curious Secrets of Yesterday - Namrata Patel. It was a 99p Kindle buy. It was ok. I could see the 'secret' a mile away and thought, no, this is far too obvious, it cant be. And yet it was.

Interesting discussion about Ian Rankin. I think he definately improved with age. Agree with @elkiedee, The Black Book is a good place to start. Ian then got a CWA dagger for Black and Blue. I will always read what he writes now and of course, I have to find out what happens to Rebus next as the last book finished on quite the cliff hanger!

1. Identity, Nora Roberts
2. Nightwork, Nora Roberts
3. Chances, Freya North
4. Whatever it Takes, Adele Parks
5. Pretty Girls, Karin Slaughter
6. The Great Post Office Scandal, Nick Wallis
7. Politics on the Edge, Rory Stewart
8. Eat Sweat Play, Anna Kessels
9. Stranded, short stories, Val McDermid
10. Past Lying, Val McDermid
11. Ruth's First Christmas Tree (short), Elly Griffiths
12. The Crossing Places, Elly Griffiths
13. Let Me In, Claire McGowan
14. Still Life, Val McDermid
15. The Crossing, Mat Brolly
16. The Crow Trap, Ann Cleeves
17. The Maid, Nita Prose
18. Bringing Columbia Home, Mike Leibenhart
19. The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, Laura Pearson
20. A Memoir of my Former Self, Hilary Mantel
21. The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes
22. The Secret Barrister
23. The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Nifenegger
24. I Have Some Questions for You, Rebecca Makkai
25. See Them Run by Marion Todd
26. The Premonition by Michael Lewis
27. In Dark Water -Lynn McEwan
28. Dead Man Deep -Lynn McEwan
29. The Girls of the Glen -Lynn McEwan
30. The Gathering Storm -Lynn McEwan
31. Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keefe
32. The Strawberry Thief - Joanne Harris
33. Scoops - Sam McAllister
34. Royal Road to Fotheringhay - Jean Plaidy
35. Sing You Home- Jodi Picoult
36. The Captive Queen of Scots - Jean Plaidy
37. Mother Tongue - Bill Bryson
38. Act of Oblivion - Robert Harris
39. Elephants Can Remember - Agatha Christie
40. Westwind - Ian Rankin
41. 1979 - Val McDermid
42. The Dubrovnik Book Club - Eva Glyn
43. After that Night - Karin Slaughter
44. Triptych- Karin Slaughter
45. Blindsighted - Karin Slaughter
46. Kisscut - Karin Slaughter

DNF. The Bat, Jo Nesbo

Thank you southeast.

I am behind on thread and have a couple of reviews to add but bring list across for now and will pop back later when I have caught up:

1. Trust - Hernan Diaz
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie
3. Ruin Beach - Kate Rhodes

4. Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell

1. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
2. Snow - John Banville

7. The Golden Mole - Katherine Rundell

1. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
2. Hostage - Clare Mackintosh

10. One Enchanted Evening - Katie Fforde 11. The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie 12. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff 13. How it all Began - Penelope Lively 14. Pulse - Felix Francis 15. Where Angels Fear to Tread - E M Forster 16. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart 17. The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie 18. False Colours - Georgette Heyer 19. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym 20. Crisis - Felix Francis 21. The Scapegoat - Daphne du Maurier 22. Burnt Island - Kate Rhodes 23. Pulpit Rock - Kate Rhodes 24. Judgement Day - Penelope Lively 25. The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie 26. The Cleaner of Chartres - Sally Vickers 27. Queens of the Age of Chivalry - Alison Weir 28. Guilty Not Guilty - Felix Francis 29. Devil’s Table - Kate Rhodes 30. The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie 31. Tackle - Jilly Cooper 32. Berlin Game - Len Deighton 33. The Chateau - William Maxwell

Thank you southeast.

I am behind on thread and have a couple of reviews to add but bring list across for now and will pop back later when I have caught up:

1. Trust - Hernan Diaz
2. The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Agatha Christie
3. Ruin Beach - Kate Rhodes

4. Hamnet - Maggie O’Farrell

1. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
2. Snow - John Banville

7. The Golden Mole - Katherine Rundell

1. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
2. Hostage - Clare Mackintosh

10. One Enchanted Evening - Katie Fforde 11. The Secret Adversary - Agatha Christie 12. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff 13. How it all Began - Penelope Lively 14. Pulse - Felix Francis 15. Where Angels Fear to Tread - E M Forster 16. Politics on the Edge - Rory Stewart 17. The Mystery of the Blue Train - Agatha Christie 18. False Colours - Georgette Heyer 19. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym 20. Crisis - Felix Francis 21. The Scapegoat - Daphne du Maurier 22. Burnt Island - Kate Rhodes 23. Pulpit Rock - Kate Rhodes 24. Judgement Day - Penelope Lively 25. The Murder at the Vicarage - Agatha Christie 26. The Cleaner of Chartres - Sally Vickers 27. Queens of the Age of Chivalry - Alison Weir 28. Guilty Not Guilty - Felix Francis 29. Devil’s Table - Kate Rhodes 30. The ABC Murders - Agatha Christie 31. Tackle - Jilly Cooper 32. Berlin Game - Len Deighton 33. The Chateau - William Maxwell

Just why does it always do that with my spacing AND to compound it I have posted it twice - sorry, reflects my week really…..

I’ve been reading and keeping up but haven’t managed to post somehow.

Stoner fan here, read it during lockdown as a book club with some family.

Pepe -very interested in that Private Equity book, currently £11 on Kindle so might wait until my Waterstones vouchers start to burn a hole in my pocket and then pass it round my entire team.

Sheila Fentiman - thanks so much for the BL links. Jaipur is on my radar, but just not sure if I already have too much on if you know what I mean. At least 4 talks I really do fancy though.

Stowick - Brotherless Night has gone on my TBR.

A Bollywood State of Mind, Sunny Singh
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, David Sedaris
Betty, Tiffany McDaniel
The Song of Achilles, Madeleine Miller
Reading Chekhov: A Critical Journey, Janet Malcolm
Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels, India Holton
An Offer from a Gentleman, Julia Quinn
The Waiter, Ajay Chowdhury
Romancing Mr Bridgerton, Julia Quinn
Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell
Remember, Mr Sharma, A.P. Firdaus

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark
Absolutely loved this. Her light matter of fact way of writing is absorbing. I’m sure everyone knows what this is about and has read it, but Miss Brodie favours a bunch of her students and has a slightly unorthodox approach to teaching which gets her into some trouble. One of her ‘set’ betrays her.

A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, Sophie Irwin
Faux period romance (in that it’s written contemporarily). This is a bit of light nonsense, jumping on the Bridgerton bandwagon but with nothing new to say. The Wisteria Society novel is probably on the same bandwagon but has found a niche with its humour and its fantasy element. I can barely remember this past boy meets girls, deems her a golddigger (she is - not a spoiler), they fall in love (also not really spoiler to be honest). But, I’ve read it now so you don’t have to.

Thanks for the new thread @Southeastdweller .

1. TheTwist of a Knife - Anthony Horowitz
2. Hello Beautiful - Ann Napolitano
3. Verdigris - Michele Mari, translated by Brian Robert Moore
4. The Covenant of Water - Abraham Verghese
5. Big Swiss - Jen Beagin
6. The Memory of Animals - Claire Fuller
7. The School at the Chalet - Elinor M Brent Dyer
8. The Biography of X - Catherine Lacey
9. Stone Blind - Natalie Haynes

10. American Wife - Curtis Sittenfeld 11. The First Bad Man - Miranda July 12. The New Life - Tom Crew 13. North Woods - Daniel Mason 14. Western Lane - Chetna Maroon 15. Lublin - Manya Wilkinson 16. Tom Lake -Anne Patchett 17. A Visit From The Goon Squad - Jennifer Egan 18. The Candy House - Jennifer Egan 19. I Have Some Questions For You - Rebecca Makkai 20. Hungry Ghosts - Kevin Jared Hosein 21. Eight Detectives - Alex Pavesi 22. Jo Returns to The Chalet School 23. In defence of the Act - Effie Black 24. Scrap - Calla Henkel 25. Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? - Nicci French 26. Our Wives Under The Sea - Julia Armfield 27. Open Throat - Henry Hoke 28. And Then She Fell - Alicia Elliot 29. Slow Horses - Mick Herron 30. The Fury - Alex Michaelides 31. River East, River West - Aube Rey Lescure 32. Mayflies - Andrew O'Hagan 33. Enter Ghost - Isabella Hammad 34. Cuddy - Benjamin Myers 35. Brotherless Nights - V.V Ganeshantanan

A decent few weeks for me with 4 bolds and 1 nearly bold - Enter Ghost.

Reading Bunny now which is bonkers. I think I may be a bit old for it.

I think I was one of the naysayers of the Rebecca Makkai. I found it rather long winded and got a bit bored.

My List
1 Jane Eyre- Charlotte Bronte
2 Salt Lane- William Shaw
3 Convenience Store Woman- Sayaka Murata
4 The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store- James McBride
5 Strong Female Character- Fern Brady
6 Vox- Christine Dalcher
7 Hamnet- Maggie O’Farrell
8 The Traitor- Anthony Ryan
9 The Secret Lives of Church Ladies- Deesha Philyaw
10 Tom Lake- Anne Patchett
11 A Tomb with a View- Peter Ross
12 Mad at the World- William Souder
13 Journal of a Novel- John Steinbeck
14 1984- George Orwell
15 In Cold Blood- Truman Capote
16 The Comedy of Errors- William Shakespeare
17 Midnight at Malabar House- Vaseem Kahn
18 The Aeneid- Virgil (trans. Robert Fagles)
19 Olive Again- Elizabeth Strout
20 The Fell- Sarah Moss
21 The Patient Assassin- Anita Anand
22 The Theban Plays- Sophocles
23 Days End- Garry Disher
24 Lysistrata- Aristophanes
25 All the Little Bird-Hearts- Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow
26 Children of Time- Adrian Tchaikovsky
27 The Taming of the Shrew- William Shakespeare
28 Capote’s Women- Lawrence Learner
29 Cockroaches- Scholastique Mukasonga
30 Pet- Catherine Chidgey
31 Let us Descend- Jessmyn Ward
32 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil- John Berendt
33 Cover the Bones- Chris Hammer
34 Ordinary Human Failings- Megan Nolan
35 Leaves of Grass- Walt Whitman
36 Faust (Part 1)- Goethe (awful translation- free on kindle)
37 All the Sinners Bleed- S A Cosby
38 Eve- Cat Bohanon
39 Western Lane- Chetna Maroo
40 Enter Ghost- Isabella Hammad
41 Intervals- Marianne Brooker
42 Doppelgänger- Naomi Klein
43 If Beale Street Could Talk- James Baldwin
44 The Maiden- Kate Foster
45 A Flat Place- Noreen Masud
46 In Defence of the Act- Effie Black
47 The Old Maid- Edith Wharton
48 The Master and Margarita- Mikhail Bulgakov
49 Soldier, Sailor- Claire Kilroy
50 Young Queens- Leah Redmond Chang
51 The Prince- Niccolo Machiavelli
52 Rizzio- Denise Mina
53 The Two Gentlemen of Verona- William Shakespeare
54 Thunderclap- Laura Cummings
55 Anne of Green Gables- LM Montgomery
56 Brotherless Night- VV Ganeshanathan
57 Where They Lie- Clare Coughlan
58 Titus Andronicus- William Shakespeare
59 8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster- Mirannae Lee
60 Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead- Olga Tokarczuk
61 Restless Dolly Maunder- Kate Grenville
62 And Then She Fell- Alicia Elliot
63 Bel Canto- Anne Patchett
64 How to Say Babylon- Safiya Sinclair
65 Hangman- Maya Binyam
66 A Trace of Sun- Pam Williams
67 All that she Carried- Tiya Miles
68 River East, River West Aube Rey Lescure
69 Beowulf- Unknown (Heaney translation)
70 A Stranger in the Family- Jane Casey
71 Tartuffe, The Misanthrope and Other Plays- Moliere
72 Code Dependent- Madhumita Murgia
73 The Fall- Ryan Cahill
74 Antarctica- Claire Keegan
75 Of Blood and Fire- Ryan Cahill
76 My Favourite Mistake- Marian Keyes
77 Femina- Janina Ramirez
78 The Hunter- Tana French
79 Foxglove Summer- Ben Aaronovitch
80 My Cousin Rachel- Daphne duMaurier
81 Before the Coffee Gets Cold- Toshikazu Kawaguchi
82 The Instruments of Darkness- John Connolly
83 The Husbands- Holly Gramazio
84 The Outsider- Jane Casey
85 Sworn to Silence- Linda Castillo
86 Don’t Know Much about the American Presidents- Kenneth C Davis
87 The Presidents- Iain Dale
88 Spring- Ali Smith
89 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox- Maggie O’Farrell
This is the story of Esme- locked up in an institution for over 60 years and told from her pov (including her memories of her youth) the POV of her great-niece Iris who didn’t even know she existed until she’s informed as next of kin that Esme is about to be released and Kitty, Esme’s sister (and Iris’s grandmother) who is suffering from dementia. Beautifully written with excellent narration by Daniela Nardini (of This Life fame for anyone else who can remember it) Bold.

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

Just place marking for now. I'm very behind on thread and reviews.

Piggy I'm a fan of the one word review!

Thanks for the new thread
1 Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry
2 The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
3 TV: Big adventures on the small screen - Peter Kay
4 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
5 My Dark Vanessa - Kate Elizabeth Russell
6 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
7 I invited her in - Adele Parks
8 Little Whispers - K L Slater
9 Orange is the New Black - Piper Kerman
10 1984 - George Orwell
11 I Survived: A True story - Victoria Cilliers
12 Inside Broadmoor - Jonathan Levi
13 Normal People - Sally Rooney
14 The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
15 I, Partridge - Alan Partridge
16 Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
17 The People of Platform 5 - Clare Pooley
18 My Sister, The Serial Killer - Oyinkan Braithwaite
19 Confessions of a Shopaholic - Sophie Kinsella
20 Skipping Christmas - John Grisham
21 Three Hours - Rosamund Lupton
22 The Golden Oldies Club - Mark Daydy
23 Regeneration - Pat Barker
24 No, Pete Townshend: The Kids Aren’t Alright - Les Macdonald
25 A Heart That Works - Rob Delaney
26 Strangeways: A Prison Officer’s Story - Neil Samsworth
27 Is It Just Me? - Miranda Hart
28 Unwanted - Cathy Glass
29 Beautiful - Katie Piper
30 The Daughter of Auschwitz - Tova Friedman
31 Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros
32 Fred and Rose - Howard Sounes
33 The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
34 Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
35 Hear me out - Sarah Harding
36 My Best Friend's Secret - Emily Freud
37 Piglet - Lottie Hazell
38 Dear Teacher - Jack Sheffield
39 The Vanishing Half - Brit Bennett
40 The Perfect Neighbour - Susanna Beard
41 Does My Bum Look Big in This - Arabella Weir
42 Waiting to Begin - Amanda Prowse
43 The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 - Sue Townsend
44 The School for Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan
45 Mad about the Boy - Helen Fielding
46 If I am Missing or Dead - Janine Latus
47 Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
48 The Family Upstairs - Lisa Jewell
49 The Twat Files - Dawn French
50 Twopence to Cross the Mersey - Helen Forrester
51 Liverpool Miss - Helen Forrester

Ta for new thread. In a slump. Nothing to report.

Thanks for the new thread, South.

My list inches onwards (and starts with an Ian Rankin/Rebus, as it happens)

1. A Heart Full of Headstones - Ian Rankin
2. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank - T. E. Carhart
3. Late in the Day - Tessa Hadley
4. The Wah-Wah Diaries - Richard E. Grant
5. Resurrection Walk - Michael Connelly
6. A Fortunate Man - John Berger
7. The Messalina of the Suburbs - E. M. Delafield
8. The Tuscan Year: Life and Food in an Italian Valley - Elizabeth Romer
9. Dead Man's Riddle - Mary Kelly
10. Charlie Chaplin vs. America - Scott Eyman
11. Goats - Mark Poirier
12. Coffee with Hitler - Charles Spicer
13. The Glass Pearls - Emeric Pressburger
14. Giving Up the Ghost - Hilary Mantel
15. The Rector's Daughter - F. M. Mayor
16. Everywhere I Look - Helen Garner
17. A Sort of Traitors - Nigel Balchin
18. Two Sisters - Blake Morrison
19. Plenty Under the Counter - Kathleen Hewitt
20. Tunnel 29 - Helena Merriman
21. The Girls - Lori Lansens
22. The Secret of Cooking - Bee Wilson
23. The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald
24. The Making of Home - Judith Flanders
25. Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter? - Nicci French
26. Jane's Fame - Claire Harman
27. Little Tales of Misogyny - Patricia Highsmith
28. Map of Another Town - M. F. K. Fisher
29. Saplings - Noel Streatfeild
30. Leftovers - Eleanor Barnett
31. The Hidden Man - Charles Cumming
32. The Dictionary People - Sarah Ogilvie
33. Tuesday Girl - Marjorie Gayler
34. 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare - James Shapiro
35. Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld

I'm still in the Nicholas Nickleby readalong and am about to start the next volume of Proust (more than 50% through now, phew!). Also currently reading Daniel Finkelstein's memoir Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad.

Morning all! Thank you Southeastdweller for the new thread! Here is the continuation of my list since last time;

23. Soldier Sailor: Claire Kilroy.

24. Passing: Nella Larson.

25. The End of the Road is a Cul-de-Sac: Louise Kennedy.

26. Saplings: Noel Streatfeild.

27. Bianca Come il Latte, Rossa Come la Sangue: Alessandro d'Avenia.

28. Instructions for a Heatwave: Maggie O'Farrell.

29. Making It So: Patrick Stewart.

30. The Talented Mr. Ripley: Patricia Highsmith.

31. Sparkling Cyanide: Agatha Christie.

Beautiful Rosemary Barton was celebrating her birthday at a popular London restaurant when someone poisoned her champagne and she died. Her grieving husband sets out to recreate the party one year later to try and catch the killer.

I thought this was a middle-of-the-road Christie, neither good nor bad although I remember Remus saying very uncomplimentary things about it (ie it was shite).* *The plot relies heavily on trickery and deception. The biggest joke was on me when I got to the end of this ancient paperback to discover that the final two chapters were missing and I had to spend 3.26 to buy it on Kindle to see who did it. Ha!

32. A Woman's Story: Annie Ernaux.

Ernaux wrote this as a tribute to her mother to remember and honour her following her death from alzheimers in a nursing home. She recalls her life and her character in a series of flashbacks starting with her wedding photograph and then onwards when Ernaux was a child and then an adult with her own children.

This slim tome is written in Ernaux's customary cool and elegant prose. While the book focuses on her own mother and evokes the life and times of that era, it also has universal appeal in that it describes the mother/daughter relationship, its difficulties but also its enduring bonds. In three words; short, powerful, poignant.

I'm moving on to reading The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid Banks for the Rather Dated Bookclub.

Thanks for the new thread southeast. Nothing to contribute here, but enjoying all the reviews. Fuzzy whether the last 2 chapters of a book are worth spending 3.26 on is an excellent metric.