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?

My dh has built bookcases as well. Some are built in and one is a standing one. Every room in our house has books in it. The house next door went up for sale recently and when I had a look at it on the website (nosy), the thing that struck me was that there weren't any books. 'Tis unnatural, I tell you. No books!

I haven't posted a review in ages. I'm waiting to finish The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen. It's good, but it's long. I'm running out of steam but am almost there.

We're in a fairly small apartment but there are still three bookcases in the living room, and I'm currently on the hunt for a reading chair that I can properly curl up in.

Behind on reviews, need to tidy up my notes and post.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I'm absolutely cracking up at "Oh Fuckity Bye, Dickhead" which I'm definitely going to steal

@noodlezoodle

I definitely got Fuckity Bye off another thread on here, but can't remember which one.

I am about to swop rooms round in our new (ish) house.

I am going to make my office a small gym.

Then the middle room which is currently a glorified corridor will have my computer and desk. I will be turning the built in cupboards to shelves to display my books and boardgames. It's currently cluttered with the exercise bike and yoga mat and looks messy and a bit ridiculous.

40. The Gathering - CJ Taylor CJ Taylor's latest book set in a world where vampires exist and a detective is sent to a small town near a vampire colony to investigate a suspected vampire attack and decide whether the colony needs to be culled. I thought this was an interesting premise but I just found it boring. I've read a couple of other CJ Taylor books and loved the main characters and their relationships with other characters but this felt a bit flimsy in this book. There were too many minor male characters who had no personality traits other than "bit of a dick" so I found it hard to keep track of who was who. I am perhaps being overly harsh as I was travelling and bought this newly released book as a treat for way more than I'd usually spend as I thought it sounded great.

I have barely any books in the house (other than children's books) as everything is on my kindle. I love reading on my kindle but I feel like I should create a bookshelf of all my favourites so my kids can browse and discover some books. Not that I did that much with my parents books.

@TimeforaGandT just looked up Fallen Angel after your review and it's currently 99p on Kindle so have bought it

44 A Village In The Third Reich - Julia Boyd

Though containing some interesting individual stories of courage, decency and survival, I didn’t feel this managed to get below the surface level and really explore what the residents of the Bavarian village of Oberstdorf really felt during the Nazis’ reign (other than a general sense that like in Travellers few cared or felt responsible for the Nazi atrocities). So for me this didn’t carry anything like the emotional weight of East West Street.

Latest reads:

149 The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes

Continuing my (audible) reread of the Walsh sisters series. This one features Helen and it’s probably one of my least favourite of the series. Having said that, I still really enjoyed it because I love all Marian’s books - this just isn’t quite as good as some of her others.

150 Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Set in 1950s America, this features young couple Frank and April Wheeler getting bored with their suburban lives and trying to make changes. This is great on the period detail but it’s not a very cheery read as it does a great job of dissecting a marriage that looks great on the surface but doesn’t hold together when things change.

151 The Second Chance by Charlotte Butterfield

Nell was told the date of her death by a psychic and is so convinced it will come true that she gives away all her stuff/money, closes down all her accounts and writes letters to her loved ones containing some home truths. When the prediction doesn’t come true she has to rebuild her life - but will she change things? This was a fun light read about getting a second chance at things and working out what you really want in life.

152 The Reckoning by Jane Casey

Second in the series featuring DC Maeve Kerrigan. I’ve only recently discovered these so am planning to work my way through as they’re great. Here the team investigates a serial killer targeting paedophiles.

153 First Edition by Various (Goldsboro Books)

Goldsboro Books is a wonderful bookshop that produces beautiful first editions of new books, and this collection of short stories was put together to celebrate 21 years of the shop. As with all such collections I really enjoyed some, others less so.

154 Glutton by Ed Gamble

The comedian talks a lot about how much he loves food. I did like this but felt it didn’t really have much to say.

155 Appointment With Yesterday by Celia Fremlin

Milly has escaped her London life and has arrived in Seacliffe with no belongings or money and a false name. We gradually find out what she’s escaped from and what she’s hiding. This is good but the ending felt a bit rushed.

156 The Plums of P. G. Wodehouse

A collection of stories and other extracts from Wodehouse’s writing. Wonderful as is everything by him!

42. Hokkaido Highway Blues - Will Ferguson

I enjoy travel books and especially books about Japan, which I’ve visited several times (and would love to go back), so this was what appealed to me particularly. Will Ferguson had been teaching English at Japanese schools for a few years (he’s Canadian) when - in a well-refreshed state after drinks with colleagues - he announced his plan to hitch-hike all the way from Cape Sata, at the southern tip of Kyushu, right up to Soya in the north of Hokkaido. He picked cherry blossom season, Sakura Zensen, when the flowering of the iconic trees advances across the country, and aimed to surf a virtual wave of blossom.

The sakura theme gets a bit lost at times and most of the interest is in the people who give him lifts - this being Japan, they’re generally very worried about his welfare and his main problem isn’t getting lifts, but in persuading helpful Japanese people not to drive hours out of their way, give him money, pay for his hotel rooms and meals or insist that he comes home to stay with them (I’ve had slight experience of this sort of thing and it is truly amazing). There weren’t any great insights in this book tbh, despite some moments of philosophising, but if you’re interested in Japan it’s a worthwhile read. Otherwise, maybe not so much.

My husband once lamented that I don’t take pride in our home and decorate it like other women (apparently). Told him I have cover a whole wall
in books and to frankly piss off.

Our sitting room has shelves on the two longest walls up to the picture rail which my brother says qualifies the room as a library. Don't tell DH, he thinks it's a room for watching TV and socialising. The nice man at Vitsœ and I have expansion plans but I'm OK for another year. I'm in awe of a room that is big enough for 8000 books.

We’ve got about half that and there are books in every room (bar the bathroom). This is why we’re having a serious book purge….

OK, I'm beginning to suspect porkies about the 8000 books. The Long Library at Blenheim Palace has just over 10,000 books.

Umberto Eco had 50,000, apparently - but I think he had a whole house for them!

I can believe that Lucy Mangan has 8,000 print books, but not that they fit in one room. I have a LOT of books, and ran out of shelf space more than 20 years ago, though I now mostly buy books in Kindle form and don't normally acquire paperbacks and hardbacks at the speed I did up to 2011. We had a loft extension built in 2016, reached by a very conventional staircase - sadly a set of floor to ceiling shelves in an alcove outside my bedroom door had to go to make way for stairs, and I also don't have much space for more shelves.

If I had the money, could clear up the tottering piles of books in the way and could face getting someone to come in to do it, there's a horrible IkEA Billy bookcase that I'd like to replace with shelves or at least a bookcase with fixed shelves that don't collapse and damage other books when they're overloaded. There's also the small original second bedroom where the boys slept on bunk beds before we had the extension built - as a bedroom it's tiny but it could be a lovely small study/bookroom, with maybe shelves for a thousand or so books (unfortunately I could fill that amount of shelving immediately).

35. The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett I read The Appeal last year and absolutely loved it, but several people on this thread said the Twyford Code wasn't as good so I waited till it was 99p before buying it. In this one we follow the story through transcriptions of voice notes found on the iphone of a missing person. In the voice notes Steven Smith recounts his life story and how he ended up serving 11 years in prison as well as following his quest to solve the Twyford Code, a supposed series of clues hidden in the children's books written by Edith Twyford, which potentially lead to a massive gold haul

I agree with others, this was nowhere near as good as The Appeal and I spent the majority of it thinking it was a ridiculous story. However, the twists at the end did redeem it for me a bit. But I found the voice note transcriptions a bit tedious after a while. I preferred the mix of sources in the appeal. I still think what Hallett is doing is interesting and have her 3rd book on my Kindle ready to read

Anyone doing the Read Christie challenge (or just Christie fans) the Agatha Christie collection is £1.60 on Kindle, it doesn't have all of this years books in it but if you plan to do the challenge every year it'll probably come in handy. 30 books included

I HAVE to cull books for space. Oh to have kept my childhood ones though.

thanks. got it - the "layout" looks OK (sometimes a tricky one on the giant Kindle omnibuses)

43. A Thousand Lies - Laura Wilson

I quite like Laura Wilson's crime and psychological thriller novels - her DS Stratton series, set in 40s and 50s London, is well worth reading. This standalone novel begins with journalist Amy clearing out her mother’s flat and discovering a mysterious diary written by a young girl. Gradually Amy works out that she’s related to the diarist, Mo, and a story of horrific domestic abuse and murder unfolds as Amy makes contact with Mo's sister, Sheila, and mother, Iris. But there are still plenty of secrets and twists to be unravelled before a violent conclusion.

Other than a few extraneous plot lines that didn’t go anywhere, and a rather awkward structure that switched between characters, the main thing about this was the genuinely chilling portrayal of a family tyrant and the horrific abuse endured by the (female) relatives at his hands - not so much gory/graphic as stomach-churningly believable. So I’d just flag it up as not for the faint-hearted - though, that said, very readable.

Thanks for the Christie flag @satelliteheart. She's my comfort read so I may pick it up - even though I have about 50 in paperback!

Soldier, Sailor is in the Kindle deals today if anyone is after it. It's very good and may be about to win the Woman's Prize.

40. The Raging Storm - Anne Cleeves. The third in her Matthew Venn series set in the Devon coast. Nicely atmospheric and decent story.

41. Greenwich Park - Katherine Faulkner. I've no idea why this was on my wishlist. It's a run off the mill thriller of the 99p Kindle type which I used to read a lot of but have weaned myself off. It was fine but predictable, not really my kind of thing these days.

42. You Are Here- David Nicholls. New offering from the author of One Day. This follows Marnie, a 38 year old divorced copy editor, and Michael, a 42 year old separated geography teacher, who meet on a coast to coast walk from the Lake district. They each narrate alternate chapters. It's funny and sweet with lots of nice descriptions of the countryside, and good on adult loneliness. I listened to the audible and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thanks @Stowickthevast, just picked up Soldier Sailor.

Thanks - I loved Soldier Sailor. I really hope it wins the Women’s Prize! Also thanks to those who agreed Yellowface was worth 99p, I read it in two sittings - really enjoyed it.

Thanks @Stowickthevast thevast, I have just bought Soldier, Sailor

52 The Recipe for Hope – Fiona Valpy

53 The Season of Dreams – Fiona Valpy

These two books by Fiona Valpy were part of a three part collection which was renamed The Escape To France collection and rereleased a couple of years ago. I read the first one (Light Through The Vines) but for some reason didn’t read the next two. Annoyingly, my Kindle had them in the wrong order, so I read them like that. Bah. There are also characters who feature in previous books, The Beekeepers Promise and The Dressmakers Gift. I enjoyed them but have to always suspend disbelief when characters are so broken hearted after finding out that their husbands have cheated on them and then jump into bed with the first sexy French man that they see. Maybe I just haven’t come across the right sexy French man lol.

I do like FV, but I prefer her books set during WW2. I'd rather have had more of The Beekeepers Promise and The Dressmakers Gift than the modern day stuff.

33. The L-Shaped Room: Lynne Reid Banks.

Read last month for the Rather Dated Bookclub. Set in the late 1950s, Jane Graham is pregnant and on her own after being thrown out of home by her father. She is determined to punish herself and so rents a tiny bedsit at the top of a dingy boarding house in Fulham. At first determined to live completely by herself, she gradually makes friends with other lodgers, other misfits like herself, on whom she comes to rely more and more as the months go by and her situation becomes more difficult.

I thought this was a very absorbing story and I enjoyed it very much despite the flaws in the book; namely the racist treatment of the character of John and the casual antisemitic language which were both deplorable.

34. Audiobook: A BBC Radio Full-Cast Drama Collection: Elizabeth Bowen.

Borrowed from Borrowbox. This featured adaptations from various novels and short stories by Elizabeth Bowen including 'The Heat of the Day, 'The House in Paris', 'The Last September' and two of her short stories. It concludes with a talk by Bowen on what constitutes a good novel.

I enjoyed this very much. Good narration and acting, easy to follow (except for one of the short stories) and set to music of the period. Atmospheric. I also liked the talk by Bowen. The only thing is you feel that you're missing out on some of the detail as it is condensed and the motivation of the characters isn't always clear. Therefore, I decided to start to read these novels. I know 'The Last September' already, so I went with 'The Heat of the Day'.

35. The Heat of the Day: Elizabeth Bowen.

Set in London during the second world war, this is the story of a love affair between Stella and Robert. They don't know each other particularly well, but have been thrown together in the chaos of the war and find solace in each other's company while the bombs fall around them. Enter the mysterious Harrison, who tries to warn Stella that Robert is spying for the other side and to urges her to break it off with him and start a relationship with him instead. This turns into a sort of uncomfortable sort of love triangle in the dark glamour of war-torn London. The minor characters of Stella's son Rodney, dreamy Louie and practical Connie complete the cast.

This is a tense and highly-charged read. Part love story, part spy story, part psychological study, it's a difficult one to categorise, but it works. However, I didn't always find it easy to read. It demands your full concentration. Bowen's writing style is highly charged. It's full of vivid imagery and long contemplative passages. The descriptions of daily life in London during the war are excellent and I think are the best feature of the book. Chapter five in particular is really brilliant, just stunning.

The interaction between various characters was good but frustrating at times. It's hard to say why, but it felt obscure owing to uncertainty around things not said, deeds not done, actions not taken. Perhaps it was consistent with living from day-to-day in a time of confusion and not knowing who anyone was or who to trust. She is a very clever writer. This book requires patience, but if you can stick with it, it is a compelling and rewarding read. I'll wait a while before reading another one, most likely 'The House in Paris' next, but not for a while as I need a change from Bowen.