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?

@Stowickthevast

I called Orbital Emperors New Clothes, yes Safekeep is a good quiet book but I'm not sure it's prizewinning

I'm struggling with James at the moment

I really like the sound of Orbital @Stowickthevast but the thread opinion is uniformly negative. It’s only 99p, I am tempted.

OK, I’ve read the sample now. I’ll save my 99p.

60 Small Bomb At Dimperley by Lissa Evans

This was just BLOODY LOVELY, from start to finish and I read it as slowly as possible to savour every funny, touching and clever little bit of it.
Dimperley Manor is a crumbling old pile of dubious architecture, inhabited by The Dowager Lady Vere-Thissett, the current Lady Vere-Thissett and Cedric, the middle son. Felix the eldest son is away accomplishing dashing feats in the RAF and Valentine is pretending not to be of any consequence in the rank and file, unable to progress to Officer level due to what you quickly realise is severe dyslexia. Uncle Alaric toils away on a book about the family, organised by Zena Baxter, who claims to be a widow with a young daughter.
It’s confirmed that Felix has died in action, Cedric lacks capacity to take on the Baronetcy and it falls to Valentine to return, invalided out of the army, to rescue Dimperley from the bailiffs.
Every single character is a real treat and could have a whole book written about them. It draws in all the types of people who were trying to rebuild society post WW2 and as well as moments of pure comedy there are also sections that gave me itchy eyes.
Lissa Evans knows her social history yet the book wears it lightly, never hammering home a point but encapsulating it in a few exquisite paragraphs.

I love a Stately Home and visit a mix of them, some in National Trust ownership, some private but open to the public. Dimperley gives insight into how this mixed ownership might have come about (the letter from the National Trust bigwig rejecting Dimperley is based on real missives and is hilariously waspish). Dimperley itself reminds me most of Browsholme Hall, rescued from ruin by a branch of the Parkers and embracing public visiting with generousity and imagination.

Haven't seen the thread for a week and popping up to say I loved Orbital!
I loved the writing and the quiet contemplation. maybe that is the headspace I am in at the moment.
Clearly in the minority though.

I love Sarah Moss and currently reading her memoir out this week about her struggles with anorexia.
night waking is a companion book to Bodies of Light and Signs for lost children. Highly recommend them

Sheila: Mythos irritated me. On the back of reading some female-centric retellings it just seemed too plodding and traditional - and the footnotes! Either referring to Heroes (which I haven’t read) or going off on long tangents, really distracting. How does the audiobook tackle those?

Reassured that others are appreciating The Invisible Library. If all my reserved library books hadn’t come in at once I’d be tackling The Masked City.

53.	<strong>The Bookbinder of Jericho</strong> - Pip Williams

Thanks to whoever reviewed this (way upthread), this book is set in the same world as The Dictionary of Lost Words which I enjoyed last year, and mentions some of the same characters in passing. This time we are with the girls of the Oxford University Press bookbindery in the run up to, and during the First World War. Peggy and her twin sister Maude live on a narrowboat and work at the bindery, like their mother before them, but Peggy has ambitions to study at Somerville. Everything seems set against her; her social status; the attitudes of both town and gown who frown on the two sides mixing; her job; and family responsibilities for looking after Maude who has some additional needs. The War brings new people and opportunities, but can Peggy pursue her dreams with so much in her way?

Like the earlier book, this was very readable and evoked the life of early twentieth century Oxford. Real people, including Vera Brittain, appear in the book, but not to the detriment of the main characters who are skilfully portrayed and sympathetic. I would definitely read more by this author.

Back to work last week and not had time to read a single thing that is not work related.
Is it unreasonable to quit so I can devote my life to reading? 7 weeks until half term 😭

I bought Orbital in my 99p binge but haven’t got around to reading it yet. I’m mostly still following the whims of my wheel spinners.

148 A trio of shorties I’m grouping together as one. The Persians by Aeschylus, Come Rain or Come Shine by Kazuo Ishiguro and Doctor Marigold by Charles Dickens.
The Ishiguro was a good read- a short story that was much lighter and plotter than his usual fare. The Dickens was dreadful- I did wonder how well his overly detailed writing style would mesh with a short story format (answer- not well) and the Aeschylus just okay- it was no Oresteia

149 The Safe Keep by Yael van der Wouden
Lots of reviews already on this one which I tend to agree with. Well written and thought provoking- I really enjoyed it. It’s not a bold but only because I don’t think it will stick with me but certainly deserves a place on the shortlist and wouldn’t be unhappy if it won (though My Friends is better imo). While the ‘twist’ becomes fairly obvious, it’s so well written that it doesn’t matter.

150 Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I listened to this modern classic and it took me a little while to get into, but once I did, I thought it was good. It tells the story of Janie, considered a real beauty in the African American community she grew up in and her lives and marriages along the way. She’s not very likable but does learn a lot as the story goes on. The use of slang in dialogue takes a while to get used to but really adds to the flavour once you get the hang of it. A decent read.

92. Artemis by Andy Weir (Audible)

My latest audiobook

The blurb :

A human colony on the moon. Population 2000. Mostly tourists, some criminals

Jazz Bashara is one of the criminals. She lives in a poor area of Artemis and subsidises her work as a porter with smuggling contraband onto the moon. But it's not enough.

So when she's offered the chance to make a lot of money she jumps at it. But though planning a crime in 1/6th gravity may be more fun, it's also a lot more dangerous.

This was a very great disappointment compared to both Project Hail Mary and The Martian which it was published between. I struggled to engage with it or be immersed in its world and sometimes found myself not even following it. Would not recommend to fans of the others, sadly.

The Voyage Home is Pat Barker's third book about the women of the Trojan Wars. This one features Cassandra, Clytemnestra and , the only one in the first person, Casssandra's slave, Ritsa. As expected, very good with a neatly compressed timeline. Cassandra and Clytemnestra are treated interestingly differently by writers so this made a good companion piece to the excellent Clytemnestra.

What next for Pat, I wonder?

It's a plan I like to contemplate @MrsALambert

I saw this on Amazon and have added it to my wishlist! The others were already on there - I'm glad to hear they're good too. I did see that May's story is dealt with in other books, which is a bit weird as I think Night Waking was first! Thank you!

I didn't know this had been released yet.

Thanks for the mention of the new Sarah Moss book, splother I've reserved it at the library. Also waiting for the new Lissa Evans book. I love my library!

Yes, hardback. I got it on its release date, maybe two weeks ago.

63 The Damned Utd - David Peace

I’m not even slightly a football fan, but absolutely devoured this fictionalised account of Brian Clough’s tumultuous period as manager of Leeds United in 1974. Read brilliantly by John Simm in an apparently slightly abridged audiobook. A fascinating insight into a unique personality and a very different time in football and society.

@SheilaFentiman , @RomanMum – I was irritated by Mythos as well, which was an audio for me. It probably didn’t help that I had read Stone Blind very soon before.

@MrsALambert – completely reasonable IMHO 😂

84 Midnight at Malabar House – Vaseem Khan. I cant remember who recommended this, but thank you so much. I loved it. Bombay, January 1950. A wealthy Englishman who has chosen to live in India post Independence is murdered in his house. Can Persis Wadia, India’s only woman detective crack the case? I love a crime novel and I love a crime novel with a historical setting. Some of it is harrowing and upsetting, but post partition and the deaths of some many people, that’s not surprising. Very much recommended and looking forward to Book 2 which was a 99p Kindle special.

@MegBusset

I read The Damned Utd years ago thought it was brilliant

252 Why Mummy Drinks On Holiday by Gill Sims

The latest in the series, this is more of the same but this time focused on what Ellen is determined will be her Best Summer Ever. This won’t change your mind if it’s not your cup of tea but if you’ve enjoyed the others you’ll enjoy this.

253 Somebody Told Me: One Man’s Unexpected Journey Down the Rabbit-Hole of Lies, Trolls and Conspiracies by Danny Wallace

This isn’t as funny as some of Wallace’s earlier books (my favourites are Join Me! where he tries to start a cult, and Yes Man where he decides to say yes to everything) but then it’s not meant to be. It’s still written in a light hearted, accessible way though, even though the subject matter is more serious (and a bit terrifying in places!). I listened to this on Audible and it worked well as an audiobook.

24 The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell
Based on the real life historical figure Lucrezia De Medici, a child bride who was rumoured to have been murdered by her husband at the age of 16.

I thought this was well-written and I enjoyed the fanciful ending. Lucrezia, although bullied by her husband and largely disregarded by her parents, is a resilient character with a strong sense of self. A closeted 16-year-old with only her own father's conduct for comparison, she is confused by her new husband's abusive behaviour: nice man who gives her delightfully unusual gifts becomes frightening despot when she fails to follow his instruction immediately; tender, loving companion displays a hideously cruel streak.

We know she is doomed, because history tells us so, but her journey from unsatisfactory childhood to abused womanhood is beautifully depicted.

Tai-Pan by James Clavell. This was a re-read Dirk Straun Tai-Pan of the Noble House trader opium smuggler, the founding of Hong Kong. Fictional of course a really fun read. I wondered if I would enjoy it as much as I did nearly 20 years ago to my surprise I enjoyed it more. The intrigues between everyone not knowing what or who to believe. Absolutely wonderful read, he can really tell a story

48 Deerskin - Robin McKinley

Puppies! Incest! Puppies!

Tempted as I am to leave the review there… This is a very idiosyncratic dark fantasy from the early 90s. Lissar is a lonely princess, largely disregarded by her parents, until her dying mother makes the king vow to marry only someone as beautiful as she was. Unfortunately, Lissar polishes up well and grows into the image of her mother… with violent and traumatic consequences. Fleeing her fathers court with only her loyal hound Ash for company, the rest of the novel follows her journey through painful dissociation towards healing. And she gets to look after a litter of newborn puppies, and there is lots of love of hunting hounds and distain for lapdogs.

The subject matter’s not for everyone, and you would have to like fairytale retellings (it’s based on the lesser-known Donkeyskin) and dogs (a lot). It’s the sort of thing I would love to write though. You get the sense that Robin McKinley was writing exactly what she wanted and needed to write, and bugger the editor.

49 Camouflage: the hidden lives of autistic women - Sarah Bargiela
Brief graphic-style exploration of what it’s like to be an autistic woman, and how the autistic phenotype might be different for women compared to men. (I’d say that might be largely socialisation rather than biology, but there wasn’t space to go into that here.)

50 How to Survive the School Year - Lee and Adam Parkinson

The bottom of the amusing-anecdotes-about-primary-school-toileting-incidents-combined-with-anti-ofsted-rants barrel has truly been scraped now, lads.

Piggy, this piece in the Graun is an interview with Pat Barker and Benjamin Myers, and I really enjoyed it. She talks a bit about future plans.

Thanks!