50 Books Challenge 2024 Part Six

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth 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, the fourth one here and the fifth one here.

What are you reading?

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I’m a diehard West Wing fan so I’ll definitely read this. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve rewatched the whole series. I still have a crush on CJ!

I love the West Wing too but it sounds a bit boring to be honest 😅. I also got bored with Joshua Malina on the West Wing Weekly. I also love CJ, she’s just the best.

I’m just on another rewatch of The West Wing as it happens (taking a break from S2E2 right now). CJ is also my favourite but I have a real soft spot for John Spencer too. Will add to my TBR list.

I loved The West Wing but not sure this would be for me. Sad but unsurprised to hear Rob Lowe is a bit of a tool, have had a crush on him since the mid 80s!

69. Iron Flame - Rebecca Yarros. More dragon riding roman-tasy. We're on holiday and my 14 year old and I have both devoured book 2 this week. Great literature it is not. The main character is a Mary Sue but also rather annoying in the first half of the book particularly, creating relationship issues where none exist. The second half is much better as it gets into the action. Some odd plot points that don't really make sense but I assume will be resolved in the next book. I'll keep reading for the dragons who kick arse.

Somehow I managed to leapfrog the numbers in my list and overlook two books completely….

The Man Who Drew London - Gillian Tindall

I love Gillian Tindall's meticulous, poetic approach to history, and sadly this is the last of her books - I've been eking them out but have finally come to an end. It’s a biography of the Bohemian-born 17thc artist/engraver Wenceslaus Hollar, primarily famous for his stupendous and intricately-detailed views of London, where he settled. There was much to like about this in terms of Tindall's excellent evocation of Hollar's world, but I wasn’t so keen on her decision to bulk out a paucity of detail by including long passages of invented commentary by Hollar's wives and daughters (in the dreaded italics and worse, in mock-17thc language). A rare mis-step from this very good writer, but I still enjoyed the book despite this slight annoyance.

The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford

Read for the Rather Dated Book Club. Very funny and enjoyable - no idea why I’d never read this before but I’ll be seeking out more of Mitford's fiction.

Glad to see a few West Wing fans among the 50 Bookers. Yes total CJ fan and shipping CJ and Danny. Wasn't always but over the rewatches it changes who you root for. I think I've done a full rewatch maybe 5 times. I have a theory that Toby was in quiet unspoken love with CJ and maintain that he never would have done The Thing.

I think so too re Toby and CJ. Sheer coincidence but last nights rewatch of S2E2 is where Jed Bartlet accepts the Democratic nomination for President in Chicago, timing nicely with Kamala Harris accepting the nomination also in Chicago yesterday. Made me a little hopeful.

74 The Summer of Lies by Louise Douglas

A bold. Currently one of the free to borrow books on Prime, so I read all the way through before realising it was the middle one of a trilogy and therefore I wasn't going to get the answer to one of the mysteries. And of course, I now need to add books 1 and 3 to the TBR. Gah!

Anyway... it is trademark Douglas - mystery in a Mediterranean location. Many of us liked The Secrets of Villa Alba. In this book, Mila has a difficult mother, a slightly absent father, an adopted step-niece following the drowning of her step sister (Sophie) and husband, a tense relationship with her fiance and a job with her ex-stepmother's detective agency. Phew!

The mystery here surrounds a kidnapped 19 year old Welsh girl, who the agency is tracking down, with a side order of unresolved questions about the drowning. I like Mila and how the author paints her, and her struggles with her past and her unempathetic mother are very relatable!

44. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange. This follows several generations of a Native American family. I started off being really invested in this and found the background of the Sand Creek Massacre and Native American children being sent away to 'schools', in order to pretty much stamp their culture out of them, grim but fascinating.

The second half of the book, which focused on the later generations, I found less interesting and a bit rambling in places tbh. There's a theme of addiction running through the story and maybe this rambling style was supposed to represent this element of the story, but I found this part harder to get on with.

I liked but didn't love this overall. I'm no expert on the Booker by any means but I'm really not sure that this is a winner.

I'm now part way into The Safekeep which is looking promising so far.

I have fallen way behind on reviews, so I'll keep it short!

49. Sick of Shadows: MC Beaton.

This is the third book in the series of Edwardian murder mysteries by this author. Lady Rose Summer and Captain Harry Cathcart's engagement of convenience continues to be a turbulent one. They put their differences aside to investigate the murder of Miss Dolly Tremaine whose body was found in a boat floating down the Serpentine river. This was an easy read. I think the first two books were better as this veered often into being rather silly.

49. Non puoi essere tu: Sonia Ognibene.

An Italian story of mystery for learners of Italian at intermediate level. Federica is looking at her cousin's Facebook photographs when she sees a friend of hers in the background of one of them. However, her friend disappeared one year ago...Federica goes off to investigate. This was good reading practice in Italian and the author has written a few books that I will definitely get around to reading.

50. Enter Ghost: Isabella Hammad.

I wanted a very good book for my fiftieth book of the year and this didn't disappoint. Sonia is a Palestinian actor working in London. She is feeling restless following the end of an affair with her married director and takes the opportunity to go home to Palestine to reconnect with her sister after a long absence.

While she is there, she makes the acquaintance of a friend of her sister's, Mariam, who asks her to take part in a production of Hamlet. Sonia is reticent at first, but is intrigued and gradually becomes part of the cast playing Gertrude. There is a lot of tension and struggle to get the play to the opening night. The novel brilliantly depicts the difficulties of living under oppression. This tension increases as the novel reaches its conclusion.

I enjoyed this very much. My only issue was the portrayal of the Palestinian actors who were presented to the reader as a play within a play. Their character descriptions were presented in a short paragraph as you might see at the start of a play. I didn't really get to know any of them apart from Sonia's love interest. They were a bit one dimensional to me. I wonder if that was deliberate, if Sonia saw them like that, more like stage props than people. I don't know. Their dialogue was also written as if they were in a play which I thought was quite cool. I thought Sonia herself was quite unlikeable as a character. She had a lot of chips on her shoulder, but she had a troubled upbringing so it fitted in with that. Overall it was a good read and I recommend it.

51. The Burning Soul: John Connolly.

This is the tenth book in the Charlie Parker series. I seem to read one of these every year and I always enjoy picking up the threads of Charlie Parker and his sidekicks Angel and Louis.

When a fourteen year old girl goes missing from Maine, a local recluse by the name of Randall Haight gets anonymous letters to suggest that he is a prime suspect owing to his own criminal background when he was convicted of killing a girl as a young teenager. Haight is advised by his lawyer to hire Parker to investigate these letters and to protect his anonymity. Parker uncovers a web of violence involving mobsters, police and the FBI and while he is working for Haight, he's not convinced he is telling him the whole truth. I liked this very much. A really gripping read.

52. Thérèse Desqueroux: François Mauriac.

I think this was the first book I ever read in French at university. Written in 1926, it tells the story of Thérèse who is returning home to her husband, Bernard, after being acquitted of poisoning him. The case was thrown out before going to trial after her husband owed up to making a mistake with the dosage of his heart medication. This is an excellently drawn portrait of a frustrated woman who rebels against the patriarchal system that puts the family first ahead of personal happiness. Thérèse herself is a deeply flawed, complex character and really rather horrifying. An excellent reread.

53. The Secrets of Hartwood Hall: Katie Lumsden.

A debut novel by this author. Margaret Lennox takes up the position of governess at the very isolated Hartwood Hall, a huge rambling house with a small household and even smaller staff. Margaret soon learns that something is not quite right at the Hall. She catches a glimpse of a figure in the dark, there is talk among the villagers that the place is haunted. There is tension between the servants too and Margaret's own secrets are threatened to be revealed against her will.

I enjoyed this very much. Katie's style is succinct and the story skipped along at a nice brisk pace. There was a good subversive twist at the end. I did smile at the description of Margaret and Paul's relationship. Whenever Margaret took the initiative, she kissed Paul 'hard'. Three times by my count! But yes, I liked this a lot and plan to read her second book. Nicely done, Katie.

54. Paris Metro Tales: compiled by Helen Considine.

A ccollection* *of short stories with the common theme of a connection to the French metro. An enjoyable read. Some of these stories were brilliant.

I'm so behind, on all of your books and on my own reviews. It's been a brutal and really difficult few weeks so my plan for the weekend is to cocoon with books and nice food and family, and try and regroup. I'm planning to catch up properly on the thread with a glass of wine later.

Fuzzy, I too read Thérèse Desqueroux at school and remember being fascinated by it. My French definitely won't be up to the original text any more but I may dig it out and read it in English because I remember it as an extraordinary novel.

Glad but not surprised to see so many West Wing fans here - the book sounds a touch on the dull side but I've watched the show several times and am currently involved in a leisurely-paced re-watch with my niece. It's aged surprisingly badly in places - the casual misogyny (particularly from Josh, who I used to love) is really notable. But it still is such a good show though I have to say season 6 is a bit slow. I'm looking forward to more Santos and dreading what I know will happen in series 7 but it gets me every time.

Some reviews (also short) here from the summer - I can't remember where I last got to but I'm sure you'll all cope if there are some gaps.

68 Face It by Debbie Harry
More than just an average rock autobiography because this also reflects on her fame and the way in which her fans have created fan art of her over the years. That said, it’s a pretty good rock autobiography as well and she’s obviously iconic.

67 What You Are Looking for Is In the Library by Michiko Aoyama
This was a slight but charming story about books and how they can change lives. I liked the universal themes and how they were treated (loneliness, not being sure what to do with your life) while also appreciating the Japanese setting and what felt like a very different style of narrative to something an English-native speaking author would have produced.

66 In The Blink of Any Eye by Jo Callaghan
Average-ish thriller where AI is used to solve crimes. This was a bit silly but I will bump it up the list of best random thrillers I’ve read because I actually guessed the twist, which isn’t like me. On reflection, the fact I guessed the twist is probably indicative of the fact it wasn’t actually that good because if it was, I certainly wouldn’t have seen it coming.

65 The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece by Tom Hanks
I thought this was a non-fiction book until I started it and even then wasn’t quite sure what was going on. But it quickly settled down into a charming and absorbing story about how a film is put together and what is involved in a Marvel-adjacent style movie set. I saw a lot of reviews criticising this for being overly detailed, but it was the detail that I loved. I studied for a masters in film a few years ago, and have often regretted not realising until too late that the job that would have been perfect for me was movie production (rather than financial services – what was I thinking?). This just confirmed that view.

64 Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
This really hit the spot for a fun, smart holiday read. Which is often the case for Sittenfeld’s books – I still have really happy memories of reading American Wife on an Italian beach many years ago. This takes place on and off the set of a Saturday Night Live-style sketch show, where the protagonist falls slowly in love with a rock star, who attends the show as a musical guest. This did exactly what it said on the tin – just the right amount of humour, realism and escapism. 100% recommend should anyone still be lucky enough to have a holiday planned and nothing to read (seems unlikely on this thread…)

63 Day One by Abigail Dean
In the aftermath of a school shooting, the truth of people’s narratives are called into question while the internet sleuths debate whether the event ever really happened. The combination of different perspectives and timelines made for a really interesting and complex narrative and the slow reveal of the truth was very well done.

62 The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Dare
I loved this book, which has been on my Kindle for ages. Adunni wants an education, but as the daughter of a father struggling to pay his bills, she’s too valuable to go to school so her father sells her to an old man as his third wife. When she experiences tragedy, she runs away to Lagos where she is sold as a domestic servant but continues to fight for what she really wants. This was terrific – moving, tense and with a strong central character whose voice shines through on every page.

61 Half Moon by Mary Beth Keane
I though this was a thriller but it wasn’t (really). More a story about a relationship falling apart as a business also fails. It was fine. In six months time I will have forgotten all about it. Everyone behaved a touch oddly, and I didn’t really know what the point of some of the plot threads were.

60 Caledonian Road by Andrew O’Hagan
I was so looking forward to this, which I was hoping was going to be everything I love in a novel. Lots of people, interconnected plots, insights into human nature. And it did have all of these, and I can see it was well executed, but it just didn’t quite land with me. I think it needed to be read immersively, probably on holiday and with time to spare, rather than in a piecemeal way. It’s definitely got a touch of Dickens – London at its best and worst, a range of characters from all levels of society, set pieces, dread and so on. And the central arc of the main character was extremely compelling – it just needed more attention than I was able to give it.

59 23 by NJ Miller
This was really weird. If you’re going to write a mummy-lit book where a slightly overweight heroine with eccentric parents drinks too much and stresses about her family life, do that. If you’re going to write a book about people smuggling, do that. I don’t think doing both together is something that most authors can pull off and NJ Miller really didn’t pull it off. If I pretended it was two separate books that I was reading at the same time, it worked reasonably well, but I couldn’t really be arsed.

Hi Pepe, yes! There are a good few of Mauriac's books available in English that I'm interested in reading too.

Regarding guessing the twist in the tale or whodunnit, I'm generally useless. I never see it coming and am always surprised!

Enjoy your weekend :)

Sorry things have been brutal, Pepe, and hope your weekend brings you lots of comfort.

I've never even heard of the West Wing, but I'm a bit of a cultural vacuum when it comes to TV.

@Piggywaspushed – I wouldn’t recommend the film Killers of the Flower Moon. Far too long and it was just beyond the pale for me to have 50 year old Leonardo Di Caprio cast as a 24 years old who had just returned from the war. Bah! The only good thing about it is Lily Gladstone. If it wasn’t for her performance, I wouldn’t have bothered finishing the film. I might have a look at the book, but my TBR is just too big at the moment.

@Sonnet – you know where you are with Jilly Cooper, don’t you? Fluffy nonsense. I enjoy it, but I did get annoyed that one of Rupert and Taggie’s children has just disappeared. I think Jilly forgot about him!

@GrannieMainland @EineReiseDurchDieZeit – Interesting. There are only 500,000 people world wide with Angelman’s. I wonder if she actually spoke to any families, including fellow author Iain Rankin, who’s younger son has AS?

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit – I’m a huge fan of The West Wing, so I will look out for What’s Next?

I went into Edinburgh yesterday and had a mooch around the Book Festival. As hoped, I managed to pick up a 40th anniversary edition of The Wasp Factory. I also bought The Power by Naomi Alderman (2017) I hadn’t appreciated that it was that old, I thought it was a new release. I also had a mooch in one of the Oxfam Book Stores and picked up a copy of The President’s Hat by Antoine Laurain trans by Gallic Books. I’ve been looking for a copy of the original book, Le Chapeau de Mitterand, but no joy so far. I’ll source it on my next visit to France.

I’ve made a good start on my poor Kindle book that has been waiting for over 10 years for me to read it and now I cant put it down! Really enjoying it. Why did I not pick it up before?

Sorry things have been brutal Pepe

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

No but really it aired, I think, on Ch4 from 1999-2007 so if that was your partying years or baby years it's not surprising that it passed you by. I was in uni when it aired and had a friend who had a telly so it was easy to keep up with

Sadly, it is starting to slightly date, particularly in regard to LGBT rights and women in the workplace. The dialogue remains sharp.

I don’t watch that much TV but I’ve never found another series that comes close to the West Wing and despite being 20-25 years old, hasn’t dated. If you ever fancy a cleverly written, brilliantly acted series with a social conscience then give it a try.

I was just thinking that it hadn’t really dated but granted I haven’t watched it for a few years now. Bit scared to rewatch it now in case it changes my memories!

@TattiePants

I was thinking particularly of the way CJ is spoken to and about very early in the show.
Also how Sam speaks to and about Ainsley; and also about the storyline about the parents of a young gay man, I think in series 1, and anything to do with gay rights at all really..such as equal marriage and don't ask don't tell. American has come a long way. Hopefully Trump doesn't get back in.

I love the West Wing but it's true that a lot of it has not dated well. When I re-watched the first series a few years back, I was struck by how much was explained to the viewer through the device of CJ not understanding something and having to ask Josh or Sam.

@Tarragon123 well this is interesting. According to the afterword, the author teaches creative writing including to adults who use assistive technology to communicate. So it's not a world she knows nothing about. But maybe it's that experience which means she is so committed to the 'but what if this person actually can understand everything and could communicate in writing given the right support' angle.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I’ll blame the babies, but tbh I watch very little television so there’s lots that has completely passed me by. I’d like to pretend it’s because I’m doing high-faluting stuff like reading instead but…

But that's what bothered me @GrannieMainland @Tarragon123 the implication for families of non verbal individuals of "you could fix it if you only tried hard enough" which I found distasteful. That was my take home from it anyway. I know families in this position, there's nothing they haven't tried

@Terpsichore - I devoured the Mitford Sisters when pregnant / early days with DD2 (who is now 23). I adored them after thinking I wouldn’t!
For me, they will ever be connected with that time in my life. I’d love a re-read but slightly apprehensive to ..

I echo this, don’t watch much TV and avoid any Tv dramatisation of books I’ve enjoyed 😀
But seeing all the subsequent comments maybe I will watch this in the winter 😀
sending strength @PepeLePew , hoping your weekend brings comfort x

@PepeLePew sending good wishes your way 💐

58 1980 - David Peace

Third of the Red Riding quartet, based on the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper but really about police brutality and corruption- the best book so far and just ramping up the stakes and sheer horror.