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?

I will look that up - Bringing Columbia Home was a bold for me this year,

Coming to the end of the holidays and have a few to add
81 Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry - Mildred D. Taylor
YA novel about a black family living among rich white people in Mississippi during the depression. Didn’t realise it was part of a series, I might look the others out as I enjoyed this.
82 A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas
Two worlds exist, the mortals and the faeries who have a long complicated history with each other. Due to her killing a faerie, Feyre must go and live in the highly dangerous faerie land forever. I was expecting to love this as it has such glowing reviews online but it was just ok. I’ll probably read the next one but not in any great hurry. It’s supposedly a remake of Beauty and the Beast but I felt like she threw Harry Potter and Twilight in there as well.
83 In Memoriam - Alice Winn
Much reviewed on here. I loved this. Such powerful imagery. I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
84 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
A bold for me. Read it in a day as I was gripped. Eleanor is single and lonely. She lives a very small controlled life, until one day a pensioner collapses in front of her and possibilities begin to open up.
85 Forever - Judy Blume
Never read this as a teen as I was more of a Paula Danzigger fan so thought I would give it a go as it was only 35p in the charity shop. A story about first love which if I had been 16 reading this I would have enjoyed a lot more I expect.
86 The Housemaid - Frieda McFadden
Millie needs a job and Nina offers her one. Nina appears to be a bit unstable. Then Millie falls for Nina’s husband and it all starts to unravel. This was fairly good. It kept me interested but I’ll probably forget what it was about quite quickly.
87 A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
A reread of my favourite book as a child. Still love it.

I've immediately reserved that Challenger book at the library thanks to your review, @MegBusset ! There was a very good TV documentary about it quite recently too but I’m now looking forward to what sounds like a gripping read.

The latest from me: 64. In No-Man's Land - Tony Parker

@CornishLizard I think it was you who recommended Tony Parker in the past and wrote some great reviews of his oral histories. I discovered this on the back row of a double-stacked shelf (🥴) where it had been lurking for many months, if not years, and read it in a day.

Like many - maybe all? - his books, this shows his abiding interest in 'outsiders' for one reason or another, dealing as it does with 6 women who are unmarried mothers. It was published in 1972 and it's quite a shock to confront the attitudes of what now feels not just like another time, but another epoch. The women are all young, from widely differing backgrounds; one American, one very well-off, a couple you might term working-class. It’s fascinating yet troubling in places to read their thoughts; a genuinely stomach-dropping moment when one woman (up till then seeming completely wrapped up in her baby’s every single moment of being) almost casually admits that sometimes she screams at him for five minutes, shakes him and throws him down onto his bed. Another - an Irish nurse in London - explains how the much older married man who seduced her (a family friend) abandoned her once she was pregnant, and the Catholic mother and baby home she was forced to go to for help tricked her into signing un-changeable adoption papers for the baby she wanted to keep. I suspect I'll keep thinking and worrying about what happened to all these women and their babies for some time to come….and especially wondering whether the nurse ever managed to find 'John', as she vowed she would, in the 50-odd years that have passed.

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Satisfying conclusion to the (fantasy/science fiction) Broken Earth trilogy. As well as continued excellent world building, the author also brings in real emotional clout. It's also an intelligent book and sensitively told. It pulls no punches in describing the tough choices that desperate people have to make in order to survive or the sad personal tragedies of the characters. Told from female POVs it is also about love, family and loss. Sometimes I felt a bit bogged down in information with the explanations of the 'science' of that world, but that's a minor niggle. The prejudice, cruel inequality and human-made draining of resources with the knock on effect on their climate was very relatable to say the least! Will definitely try to read more by this author.

58. The Cuckoo Sister by Alison Stockham Another amazon first reads and this was a bit trippy as my last book was about two people who ran away from home, one called Maggie and the other was a mother of a young child. This book was about a woman called Maggie who ran away from home leaving her two small children behind!

Maggie is a mother to a 2yo and 1yo, married to Stephen. Neither pregnancy was planned and Stephen expects Maggie to stay home and raise the children while he goes to work. Maggie's suggestions she gets a part time job are shot down by Stephen who tells her she belongs at home with the children. Maggie is drowning in pnd, exhaustion and overwhelm. One day an accident happens at home and the children are injured and rushed to hospital. Maggie calls Stephen to ask him to leave work and come to the hospital. He tells her the children are her job and he'll be there later, when it's convenient for him. Maggie calls her sister, Rose, who drops everything to come to the hospital. Later on, Maggie walks out of the hospital and gets on a coach to Scotland, leaving her children with Rose and Stephen. Rose steps up to care for Maggie's children, but eventually takes her role too far, stepping into Maggie's shoes in every way. When Maggie returns, she's been completely erased from her children's lives. Can she get her children back?

I found this quite a hard read, as a mother of 3 young children. The thought of leaving my children like Maggie did was quite distressing, and the children's grief and pain was so well written it was harrowing. I found the storyline fairly unbelievable, particularly when Maggie comes back. I feel like the logical first step would have been to get legal advice but Maggie doesn't even consider this. I also found the ending frustrating. I appreciate that Maggie probably made the decision that was best for the children, but my own sense of vengeance wanted Maggie to make a different choice

@MrsALambert Roll of Thunder is one of my most loved YA books. I read it in early secondary and it genuinely opened my eyes to the horrors of pre-civil rights America. Let the Circle be Unbroken is the sequel and I would say possibly better. There are other prequels/sequels but i dont think they quite match the main two.
I've also got a bit of a soft spot for Forever. Some aspects havent aged well (i reread it a couple of years ago), but the central theme that sex should be enjoyable and rewarding for young women and that eventually moving on to a different relationship is fine, i think is great. There are so many teen novels where sex for young women is crap or leads to pregnancy/generally bad things, i think it is nice to potray it can be fun 🙂. That is not to say there isnt a high level of cringe in many scenes and some definetely dated stuff.

Thanks for your Tony Parker review, @Terpsichore. Do you remember where you had picked it up from? Yes, I’m a big fan and have especially enjoyed Lighthouse and People in Providence of those I’ve read so far. I haven’t read No-Man’s Land but it’s on my list - thanks for the warning - he does always build a full picture.

@CornishLizard i don’t remember buying it at all, tbh! It’s a paperback and pretty battered. I was planning on adding it to the charity-shop pile so if you’d like it I’d be happy to pop it in the post for you?

@Owlbookend thats interesting, I did read the description of the next book and it sounded appealing so I will keep my eye out for it.
I agree about Forever and in a way I wish I had read it as a teen. I liked that the female had control over the ending of the relationship which you rarely see with teens

38 Small Pleasures - Clare Chambers As recommended by many on this thread…I’ve just finished it and not quite sure what to think. I really enjoyed it - the portrayal of a dull 50s lifestyle was really good and I was rooting for Jean, the main character; I was also interested by the “miracle birth” storyline and its developments. And I suppose the final revelation and the ending had to be that way in order for the whole story to work in the way the author wanted it to. But I can’t help thinking it would have been much nicer to tweak things just a bit so that the ultimate outcome was different. Hard to say more without spoilers and of course a different ending would make it a different book! I do think it’s a very good illustration of the banalities and sadnesses of normal life - as well as the joy that small pleasures can bring.

Also a fan of the Mildred D Taylor books, when I was a teenage girl, not read in years have forgotten so many authors and titles I loved but not Mildred.

Madensky Square - Eva Ibbotson
Thanks to @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie for the recommendation of this lovely book.
A year in the life of a dressmaker in a square in pre WW1 Vienna, funny, sweet, engaging, observational. I’ve never read any Ibbotson before but I will seek out more now.

DNFed And Then She Fell. Currently enjoying The Maiden, adequately written historical fluff.

I really liked And Then She Fell @MorriganManor, I thought she did the descent into post-natal madness very well. It was quite full on though.

Adding my latest books:

60. The Bee Sting - Paul Murray

Fairly well reviewed already. Set in Ireland and told from the viewpoints of four members of the same family: Imelda (the beautiful but uneducated mother), Dickie (the intelligent but disengaged father), Cass (sixth form daughter) and PJ (tween (I think) son). I wanted to love this but didn’t (which was a pity given its length) and the ending really annoyed me. Most of the characters annoyed me too!

61. Emily - Jilly Cooper

A blast from the past that has not aged well in places. Emily chucks her boring Tory fiancé for glamorous bad-boy artist, Rory. He sweeps her off to the family home on a Scottish island where he paints, she is bored and encounters his ex, Marina. Everyone drinks to excess and has a fabulous collection of clothes. Great fun if you can get past the attitudes.

62. Spiderweb - Penelope Lively

Stella has spent her life travelling the world for work as a social anthropologist but is now retiring. She buys a house (her first) in rural Somerset on the recommendation of Richard, the widower of Nadine (her best friend from university), despite her limited contact with him. We flashback to Stella’s university years and working life in between her current life in Somerset. I was disappointed by this having read some great Penelope Lively books previously. Having said that, I liked the ending.

Now reading Enchanted April based on recommendations from this thread.

39. Airhead by Emily Maitlis
I keep doing audiobooks as I get some free with Spotify, and I keep having to remind myself that audiobooks and I don't really mesh. This collection of interviews and perspectives was interesting and I certainly finished it - I thought the best chapter was the Grenfell one. However, a painful difficulty is that Maitlis, who I like a lot as an interviewer and some as a podcaster, cannot do accents. At all. This really affects a book containing numerous international interviews. Though she has a dry line in self-deprecation and is observant, she's also not a comedian. Now, I am also poor at accents and comedy. This has taught me that in the unlikely event of ever needing to record an audiobook, I'll persuade the publisher to book an actress to do it.

@AgualusasLover thank you for your thoughtful review of MOI. I have this book on my to read shelf after picking it up second hand thinking it sounded intriguing!

I'm fascinated by space exploration so have added the Challenger and Columbia books to my ever expanding wish list!

Forgot to say also a fan of The West Wing - so many great characters and storylines. Was thinking of a re-watch but slightly worried now…

47 L'Etranger by Albert Camus

I am quite, nay, very, proud that I read this in actual French. I did French A-level more years ago than I like to think about, but we never did any literature (my exam board didn't require it) so the only other French books I've ever read are Agatha Christies in translation. I am absolutely sure I missed out on a lot in terms of language (although even with my limited understanding I could see some parts were beautiful), but I understood all of the plot. In relation to which: I am not down with sociopaths, but it was interesting and I'm glad I read it. I'm going to read the English translation to work out what I missed, language wise. And I'm also going to try to read a book in French every quarter, to try to keep my paltry language skills up.

Oh it's very worth a rewatch all the same but it is 25 years old, how could it not date really!

Well done @Welshwabbit I love that book and have a smattering of French so am impressed by your achievement and intrigued to know if you enjoy it more in English.

I wouldn’t worry about the WW dating. It’s good to remember how things were and how far we’ve (not) come since then. It’s still excellent.

Also, @Welshwabbit, you were lucky not to have to do lit at French A level. We had some dreadful book about a cyclist whose dreams of winning the Tour de France was shattered when he had an accident in a factory. I liked the poetry though. Failed the A level totally!

@Welshwabbit very impressed that you read L'Étranger in French. I had to do Le Blé en Herbe, Thérèse Raquin and Tartuffe for A level. I didn't enjoy any of them, and it would be lovely one day to read something I liked in French, but I fear I'm too rusty.

Got back from holiday 10 days ago but have only just caught up on the thread! During my marathon catch up I added 18 books to my TBR list thanks to your recommendations. 18!!!!!

The only book I managed to finish whilst on holiday was:
22 - Hamnett - Maggie O'Farrell
I'm probably the last person on the thread to read it - Loved it!

Currently reading A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara so it may be some time before I post again ;)