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?

26. The Lost Cause, by Cory Doctorow. What to make of this? Set in the near future, the climate emergency is upon the US and climate refugees from destroyed towns are arriving in Burbank, CA. The young generation - "the first generation in a century that doesn't fear the future" - are up against Magas and the plutocrats of the Flotilla that sail the world in their mega yachts, tankers and cruise ships. This was entertaining enough but also a total mess - it was impossible to tell whether this was a YA polemic, satire, or a worthy but muddled adult novel. At times it was like being yelled at by an angry teenager. I greatly enjoyed some of the future 'inventions' and the convincing world building, but am left generally underwhelmed. I love Cory Doctorow as a human being, but I think I might be done with him as an author.

52. To Be Young - Mary Lutyens

An interesting memoir by the youngest daughter of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. Mary was born in 1908 to a privileged and well-connected family - her mother was a Bulwer-Lytton whose ancestral home was Knebworth House - but perhaps unexpectedly, the five Lutyens children were raised in line with their mother's overriding obsession in life, the quasi-mystical (and some might say questionable) doctrines of Theosophy. Central to the family were two young Indian men, Jiddu Krishnamurti and his brother Nityananda, who'd been chosen by the movement's 'Masters' for special favour - Krishnamurti had been proclaimed the coming 'World Teacher' (spoiler: he later renounced Theosophy, to the great consternation of the movement).

From very young childhood, Mary was secretly in love with 'Nitya' - who died of tuberculosis when she was 16 and still devoted to him - and you can’t help thinking that this lively, funny, imaginative little girl, given no choice but to follow the worthy/dull Theosophical path insisted on by her mother, was really just in search of affection, a bit of fun and proper parenting. But the first part of the book especially, detailing her early 20thc childhood in often zany detail, is a real delight.

185 Local: A Search For Nearby Nature and Wildness by Alastair Humphreys

This was a great idea. Rather than exploring well known places, the author explores the area closest to his house, looking at a different map grid square every week. Some are more interesting than others but he finds something in all of them. The problem was that it got a bit repetitive after a while, and I felt therefore that the book was too long. It has inspired me to get out and explore some of the footpaths near me though so it did achieve what the author set out to do.

It’s raining on my holiday so I accidentally went to a second hand bookshop and got 4 books 🙊

This is an entirely logical action :)

Enjoy your haul!

They simply threw themselves in your bag. You were taken hostage! I've been a victim of this so many times.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh and @EineReiseDurchDieZeit I knew I had come to the right place for empathy and support 😀

It was an act of mercy, @SheilaFentiman . You couldn't leave them sitting lonely on the shelf.

@SheilaFentiman only four? You've clearly been very restrained.

46. Funny Story by Emily Henry. Her latest romance novel. Daphne and Miles become housemates after their ex partners get together. Bonding over their misery, they quickly, naturally fall in love. This was enjoyable as always though not one of her best I don't think. The story did drag a bit. I do love her creation of fictional, hyper-real lakeside towns though and this was an excellent one, complete with scenic wineries, lavender farms, and a cocktail bar with goats.

47. Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg. A strange, dark novel about a women only commune somewhere in the English countryside that goes horribly, violently wrong. Very reminiscent of Emma Cline's The Girls except the charismatic, abusive leader is a woman too. Very atmospheric and a real page turner, I was desperate to know what happened. I think in the end it was a bit light on detail about the women, who they were and why they got so drawn up in this situation, but still a really good read.

I've finally (about a hundred years after everyone else) finished Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel. For those who weren't on the thread when it came up before, the author visits 12 notable medieval manuscripts and tells us about them - what they look like, when they were written, what their significance is.

I've been reading it as my just-before-lights-out book ever since it was discussed on here, & it's been so perfectly calming and soothing that I'm either going to have to go straight back to the start or cough up £12.99 for his new book I can't imagine which is more likely

As a side note, I was very tickled by his visit to the Hengwrt Chaucer in the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. Firstly, by his description of it as a 'magnificently inaccessible outpost of learning' - not due to the challenge of getting past some of the library staff to access the books (though my DP says that would be fair comment), but because of the 3 hour train journey from Birmingham (which seems even more harsh given he travels to St Petersburg in the next chapter).

He then describes Aberystwyth - in June - as having "almost no traffic and only gulls on the beach....Because everyone can speak Welsh (and they do)... it all feels as foreign as Finland, and the occasional cars with their familiar British license plates are a shock"
I can only say that my experience of Aber in June is that it it is full of both tourists and students (mostly you get mainly one or the other), and that the traffic is just as dreadful as it is every other month of the year.

Can't see that you had any choice @SheilaFentiman - happy reading!

I think I am seven or eight books behind in my reviews - going to try to gradually catch up this week.
24. I Seek A Kind Person by Julian Borger
Non-fiction. This book is not a bold for me, but the story behind it is very special. A few years ago I stumbled across a post from Julian Borger on Twitter.
"I Seek a kind person who will educate my intelligent Boy, aged 11, Viennese of good family. Borger, 5/12 Hintzerstrasse, Vienna 3."
Julian Borger had known that his Dad had left Vienna as a Jewish child to escape the Nazis in the late 1930s. There was a family story about an advert that had appeared in The Manchester Guardian when Julian's grandparents were seeking a safe home for their boy. With help from an archivist, the author tracked down the original ad. Tears came in my eyes when I read the words of the advertisement and still do every time I read it - I find it so incredibly moving. Further down the Twitter thread, Borger explained that his Dad was indeed taken in by a kind couple in Wales and lived the rest of his life in the UK. Someone in the thread suggested that Borger should write a book telling the story, and he replied saying that he felt it had already been done brilliantly in House of Glass by Hadley Freeman and he wouldn't attempt to replicate it. That is where I first heard about House of Glass - a book that has proved very popular on this thread and that I would list as among the best/most influential books that I've ever read.
Meantime, Julian Borger clearly changed his mind and decided to write a book after all! The subtitle here is "My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust". As Julian Borger delved deeper into the story of his father's family, opening with the circumstances of his father's death and working back his life in Vienna, he also began to look at the many other adverts that appeared in The Manchester Guardian around the same time from other desperate families. Over time, he attempted to research these families, looking into their lives before the war (often in Vienna), during the war and in the subsequent years to the present day. Pulling separate stories together into one coherent book is a huge challenge for an author and I was very aware of this struggle as a reader. I found it hard to keep the different individuals/family members/stories straight in my head at times and the structure felt awkward at times, not always as easy to follow as I needed it to be. Having said that, the stories themselves are extraordinary and there's a lot that is staying with me over a month later.

Thank you all for your support in this not-at-all-difficult time. I knew you would understand 😀

60 Giving Up The Ghost - Hilary Mantel

That this isn’t a bold for me is more to do with me than Mantel, I think. It’s written very well, a series of vignettes from her life. As a child in a northern village to an adult coming to terms with childlessness, she has an amazing eye and has turned it on herself.

It has been a stop start read for me on kindle over several months and I will re read it some day “in one go”. I would recommend it.

40. Our Spoons Came From Woolworths: Barbara Comyns.

Read for the Rather Dated Bookclub.
Sophia and Charles are a young couple in their early twenties who decide on a whim to get married and have 'a secret wedding'. Sophia carries her pet newt along in her pocket for the occasion.

These two are like a pair of children, very young, immature and naive, only that children would have more sense. Charles is determined to become a successful artist and refuses to get a job to pay the rent. He leaves it to Sophia to scrimp and scrape and she earns a few bob as an artist's model. It is the Great Depression following the war and these two sink into poverty very quickly.

This story is absorbing and very harrowing in parts but turns out well for Sophia eventually. It is told from her point of view and Barbara Comyns does an excellent job in conveying her naive, child-like voice. While some aspects of Sophia's innocence (lack of knowledge) are shocking to the modern reader, it is impossible not to have sympathy with her and feel relieved that she gets a happy ending.

41. Middlemarch: George Eliot.

A reread after many, many years.
I wanted to have a big book as a holiday read so chose this one. 'Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life' follows the intersecting lives of an array of characters in a small provincial town.

Set against the background of the 1832 Reform Act and the introduction of railways, it also looks at medicine and new advances in this field and people's reluctantance to change from the old ways.

The two main plots concern the characters of Dorothea and Lydgate; two idealists who wish to do good in their community but are hindered by small-minded thinking. Additionally, each of them makes an unsatisfactory marriage which stifles their character and their ambition. The third plot strand concerns the courtship of Mary Garth and Fred Vincy and the fourth is the unmasking of Bulstrode the Banker by his nemesis, Raffles.

This is an engaging read, barring one long section in the middle about medicine which dragged a bit. I found it very good otherwise and there are some very fine moments in it. It's interesting to see what you remember when you go back to a book after a long time. I remembered most of it.

Also, Miss Henrietta Noble is a superstar for carrying a flame for Will Ladislaw and seeing the gentle side of his nature rather than taking notice of the snide remarks made by others on his background. Go Henrietta!

The rain has stopped so I am back sightseeing/reading Girl A, which was part of my haul yesterday, in a tearoom 😀

Enjoy, Sheila!

Hope you’re having a whale of a time Sheila. I am leaving for a 5 day city break today and have packed 3 books and my kindle. Bit excessive but I’d sooner have too many than run out!

I’ve finished 2:
116 Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
A definite bold. Set in 408BC Syracuse, Lampo (our POV character) and Gelon decide to put on a performance of Medea by Euripides, using the Athenians the city have imprisoned in a quarry after their failed attempt to invade. Gelon and Lampo speak in modern day Dublin vernacular and somehow it works. It’s funny and sweet and horrifying and clever. I loved it- definitely worth the hype. It has a touch of Terry Pratchett by way of early Roddy Doyle and would cheer anyone up. That said, I suspect it will be love or hate.

117 Hell Bay by Kate Rhodes
I listened to this in a day and it was a welcome distraction from organising new wardrobes and ironing and packing. It’s a crime fiction set on the Scilly Isles where DI Ben Kitto has returned while considering his future with the Met. Then a local girl goes missing. Anyway, it won’t light any fires and is fairly formulaic but it’s enjoyable. Thanks to whoever recommended it to me on here. I’ll defo listen to more of them.

I am leaving for a 5 day city break today and have packed 3 books and my kindle. Bit excessive but I’d sooner have too many than run out!

This sounds entirely reasonable to me, @ÚlldemoShúl 😂

I’m not seeing the problem either! I always take a few physical books just in case my kindle breaks.

It was of course, The Island of Missing Trees, not Lost Trees. Doh!

@SheilaFentiman – don’t we all do that on holiday 😉

@CluelessMama – definitely one to add to my TBR. House of Glass was a huge favourite of mine

25. The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley
Book seven of eight in The Seven Sisters series. Broadly following the same formula as the previous books, with a modern day timeline in the aftermath of Pa Salt's death and a historical timeline which in this case takes us back to the fight for Irish independence in the years after the Easter Rising of 1916.

26. The Return of John McNab by Andrew Greig
Written in the 1990s, this is a tribute to/modern day version of John McNab by John Buchan - but I knew nothing about it when I started reading so prior knowledge is not required. In Greig's novel three 40 something year old men, struggling with boredom, marital struggles and grief, band together to have an adventure and set a wager as the fictional 'John McNab'. They announce in a newspaper that they will poach a salmon, grouse and a deer from three prominent Highland estates (one of them being Balmoral). With local people debating the likelihood of McNab succeeding, a growing media buzz and increasing interest from the police, we follow 'MacNab' as they attempt to bring their plans to fruition and follow a local female journalist as she becomes more and more tied up with the story she is reporting on.
I loved this - it was completely different to anything else that I have read and kept me hooked. The theme of feeling stuck in mid-life really interested me as the characters want to give their lives a shake up. There is adventure but also a strong sense of place and a fair bit of humour - the humour felt very Scottish in the same way that I felt Paper Cup felt very Scottish, albeit with a completely different style/plot/cast of characters. I enjoyed Greig's writing and was rooting for 'John McNab' all the way!

27. Decluttering At The Speed Of Life by Dana K. White
Non-fiction self-help type book about clearing clutter to create space and feel that you can manage your home. I listened to this on audio (while tackling my own home decluttering project) and found the first half really relatable and motivating and made me feel better. The second half goes room by room and step by step, so it became a little repetitive as the author runs through the same process each time (with some details specific to the room and the type of clutter that tends to gather there). Audible just listed each chapter with a chapter number but it would have been helpful to have the chapter headings listed so that I could easily select which area to listen to. Overall, I found this very helpful both in it's general approach and specific advice. It is staying with me as I continue to make progress in my home and I would listen again any time that I feel in need of a boost.

I'm now worried that I'm going away for a long weekend on Friday and don't have any real books to take - although so have my Kindle. I may have to get one at the airport but suspect Gatwick selection will be rather lacking.

52. Pearl - Sian Hughes. This was Booker longlisted last year. I nearly gave up on it about a third of the way through but went back and finished it. It's about a girl whose mother disappears when she was a child. There's lots of old rhymes and folkiness about the book that I enjoyed, her mother sounds very bohemian and a bit depressed. In the end, I liked it more than I thought I would and it had a resolution which I wasn't expecting. Well observed.

53. A Court of Silver Flames - Sarah J Maas. The last in the series and this one had descended into faerie porn basically. I can definitely do without any more cocks pressing on tight leathers and slick cores at the apex of thighs.

ÚlldemoShúl - I have been reading the Kate Rhodes series so could have been me. I agree that they are formulaic (and you definitely don’t want to read them too close together) but I like Ben, the detective, and as a reasonably regular visitor to the Isles of Scilly I enjoy the setting.

@TimeforaGandT it could well have been you so thanks! I think all police procedurals are pretty formulaic- it’s the setting and character that engage me- and I liked Ben and the different location for sure.