50 Books Challenge Part Eight

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the eighth 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 , the fifth one here , the sixth one here and the seventh one here .

What are you reading?

I've messaged you, as the ones I've got are very outing!

Intriguing. Nothing from 'The Bloody Boring Butler' then ;)
Lovely nails, Remus :)

114 Hekla’s Children by James Brogden

4 teenagers mysteriously disappear while on a school trip. Years later a preserved body is found in a nearby bog, but fears / hopes that the mystery is about to solved are dashed when it’s determined that the body is 3000 years old, until X-rays reveal scars from a modern day surgery... The teacher who was meant to be looking after the teenagers, but was distracted by his private life shenanigans, teams up with the archaeologist to investigate.

I thought this was going to be a nice little time slip book. Boy, was I wrong. This book was full of folk lore craziness. But despite that, and some things not making that much sense, I kinda liked this. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

115 Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire by 1871 - 1918 by Katja Hoyer

Spanning the years from German unification, to the end of the German monarchy at the close of the Great War. This was a good introduction to German history for this period, how and why Germany was formed, and gives an brief insight into how WWII could have happened. It’s not one to read if you already know about this period, but as an intro it worked well. Free on Kindle Unlimited.

116 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I have had this book for years and put off reading it because I find novels that cover the Holocaust difficult to read since I became a parent. This wasn’t what I was expecting, it isn’t set in the camps, although the treatment of Jews in Germany is a massive part of the book. And it is narrated by Death. I loved this book, especially all of the characters that Liesel encounters, lives with, and loves in Molching. It was sad, but not unrelenting, and emotional without being mawkish.

117 Tell Me Your Secret by Dorothy Koomson

I can’t remember who posted the scathing review of another book by this author, but I should have heeded the warning. This was fucking awful for soooo many reasons. If a woman you used to be friends with at school, then bullied for years, turned up I’m pretty sure you’d recognise her, and that’s before you take into account her name is Pieta (pronounced Peter) I mean yeah those girls named Pieta all blend into one at some point. The detective was shockingly bad and didn’t seem to even know the basics of detecting. When you have a serial killer who has a certain ‘type’ moving on to another category of victim that’s a big fucking red flag, but not in Brighton it seems. The coincidences were beyond ridiculous. But the *ending, oh the ending. The ‘big reveal’ of the motivation of the killer was beyond the realms of stupidity. I fully resent the time I spent on this book. In case you can’t tell I despised it, and will not read anything by this author again.

118 Normal People by Sally Rooney

I absolutely hated Conversations With Friends, so I must have bought this before reading that, as no way would I have bought this otherwise. When this came up thanks to RNG I thought I’d give it a chapter or two and then chuck it on the DNF pile. To my surprise I actually quite enjoyed this, despite finding Marianne and Connell a bit irritating. Maybe in one of these amazing, deep, soul-bearing conversations you have with each other you could try being honest about your feelings. Not a bold, but a surprisingly good read.

119 In the Weeds by BK Borison

Rom com with a sunshiney woman and grumpy (kinda) man. I read another book by this author and found it quite sweet. This was a bit too far over my personal 'book smut' line so I probably won’t bother with any more by this author. Especially as the name just reminds me of that blond Buffon Johnson. NOT what you want when reading a romance - shudder!

120 Elena: A Hand Made Life by Miriam Gold

I can’t remember who on the thread recommended this graphic novel (maybe @JaninaDuszejko as I know she reads graphic novels) but thank you! I absolutely loved this tribute to the author’s grandmother, a doctor who was a refugee twice before she was 17. I loved the art work in this one too. Just lovely.

Intrigued by the idea of literary tattoos!

The English understand Wool by Helen DeWitt - At 70 pages, this is very short but it’s glorious. A 17 year old girl has been brought up in Marrakech with immense wealth and has learned that one should purchase tweed in the Outer Hebrides, but have the cloth made up in London; linen meanwhile should be bought in Ireland and tailored in Paris by a Thai seamstress. One should go abroad during Ramadan and for 2 weeks afterwards, giving staff leave on full pay. One must at all times avoid le mauvais ton. Will this fastidious education stand our heroine in good stead if she falls on hard times? I loved this, a clear bold and I’ve immediately reserved another of DeWitt’s books.

I was quite disappointed by Conversations with Friends though I didn't dislike it as much as you or @MamaNewtNewt. The main character had no sense of her privilege and I couldn't see the appeal of the man who was having an affair with her, and didn't like anyone in the book.

But while I can see why the characters in all her other work, and Sally Rooney's writing style, can annoy people, I think her other books are better.
I loved Normal People and enjoyed her other two novels and also a couple of short stories I've listened to, and then read in print as they were included in anthologies. The stories are exploring very similar ground and and characters to the novels and I think they are experimenting with characters/ideas that are developed in subsequent novels, though never in exactly the same form.

😂😂😂

Ooh Cornish, I do want to read the DeWitt. I loved The Last Samurai by her years ago.

I hated both Conversations with Friends and Normal People! I only read the second one because I’d already bought it before reading the first otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. I haven’t read her others and have no plans to. She’s just not for me.

Thanks @elkiedee always good to hear another perspective 🙂

339 Home Alone 2: Lost In New York by A L Singer

The Home Alone films are among my favourite films and this is the novelisation of the second. It’s ok except for changing a couple of key lines (Merry Christmas ya filthy animal is changed to Merry Christmas ya two-timing floozy which was very annoying!).

340 The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

I’ve enjoyed some of her others but this wasn’t good. Too many different POV and time jumps made it very confusing, and it just wasn’t believable that so many people who knew each other as teenagers would have changed so much in 15 years that none of them recognised each other. Not recommended.

341 Riders by Jilly Cooper

Classic Jilly.

I do have Normal People on Kindle from 2020 (CwF was a more recent charity shop buy) so maybe in a couple of years, when the TBR pile is smaller (...) I will try it!

Mama it was The Brighton Mermaid: it was a fabulously scathing review but I can't remember who posted it! Every time I see one of her books it reminds me.

Les Liaisons Dangereuse Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Finally, I have finished. At least I think I have, still 11% or so, but appear to be the asterisk and footnotes. I think many of us were on the readalong and it’s been reviewed. I fell off the one a day, which was my error. Overall, I enjoyed the revolting two main character’s letters to each other and the insane way they wove their web. It all seemed to come to climatic close rather abruptly.

95. Good Girls - Hadley Freeman

This must have been a hard book to write. From her early teens, Hadley Freeman was caught in the grip of anorexia, and spent many years living with the disease. It took hold so severely that she was hospitalised repeatedly, weighed barely 5 stone, and her parents were warned she might die. Even in recovery - having started the slow process after a sudden flash of recognition that she didn’t want to end up like a fellow-patient, a woman in her 30s whose whole life was ruled by anorexia - she struggled with OCD, agoraphobia and other addictive and self-destructive behaviours. Finally, she found a resolution in a happy relationship and career and three children, but remains hyper-aware of the many factors that can send girls (and it’s still mostly adolescent girls) spiralling down into this horrific disease.

Her account is compelling and well-written and, having experience myself, many years ago, of a deeply unhappy episode of disordered eating (though nowhere near as severe as hers, the mindset is instantly recognisable), I found it painfully easy to relate to. She’s clear-sighted on the reasons why young women, in particular, might feel impelled to remain in a child-like state, and draws some instructive parallels with current gender issues, although that’s very much a side-issue. The saddest parts of the book are her follow-ups of the friends she made during her hospital stays: most are still contending with the disease on some level, and several have died.

Not an easy read but a very worthwhile one.

I am very behind on this thread - posting recent reads and now need to catch-up:

82. When the Dust Settles - Lucy Easthope

Much recommended on here. Lucy works on disasters both planning for the responses to them and managing the aftermath. This was fascinating but what shone through for me was Lucy’s compassion and empathy in the care she showed for the deceased and their families. Definitely a bold.

83. Elephants can Remember - Agatha Christie

This month’s challenge book which has already been reviewed by satellite. Poirot revisits some historic deaths at the request of Ariadne Oliver. I agree that there’s not enough Poirot and too much Ariadne but this was, for me, a better read than last month’s Third Girl which tried too hard to reflect the 1960s. However, I also guessed the ending so not one of her best.

84. Slow Horses - Mick Herron

A re-read of the first book in the series as I am finally getting round to watching the TV adaptation and wanted to see how closely the series adheres to the book. I enjoyed this more than the first time I read it - great characters and fast moving with humour.

There have been so many positive reviews of When the Dust Settles on here that I think it may end up being our book of the year! It’s on my wishlist as a result, although I feel like it might be a difficult and very sad read.

Only Dame Professor Sue Black matches Lucy Eastham for compassion and capability imo.

Good result for book tokens for my birthday, looking forward to a bit of a spree. I’d order some now, but Christmas post being what it is I think I’ll wait.

Also having a catch-up day today

110. Mr Loverman - Bernadine Evaristo. I'm a bit late to the party on this one but wanted to read it before watching the recent Beeb adaptation, and I'm glad I did as it sucks very closely to the plot. I enjoyed this. It's narrated by Barry, a 74 year old closeted homosexual, who has spent his life married to Carmel, the mother of his 2 children, while having a life long affair with his lover Morris. Good fun but also moving.

111. They Were Sisters - Dorothy Whipple. A friend gave me a couple of Persephone books for my birthday on the summer and I've just got round to reading this first one. It was published in 1943 and follows 3 sisters: Lucy, the sensible eldest, Charlotte who has an emotionally abusive husband, and Vera who is beautiful but selfish. I found it a fascinating slice of history but also modern in ways, especially her exploration of abuse. Charlotte's story is familiar to anyone who reads the relationship threads on here, and the advice would have been to LTB, sadly not a route open to her at that time. I'd definitely read more by the author and would recommend this.

112. The Atlas Six - Olivie Blake. This on the other hand was really quite crap. Little plot, poor writing, no explanation of her own magical system, ponderous pseudo-philosophical statements and just drivel. There's one character that she seemed to forget is meant to be magical, and then every now and then remembers and has a plant call her "Mother". Apparently the others in the series are even worse which I find hard to believe.

342 The Mitford Scandal by Jessica Fellowes

Third in the Mitford Murders series and now we’re on to Diana. Unlike the previous two books though Diana doesn’t participate in the solving of the murders, she’s just there throughout everything. I think this was probably a tricky one to write as the author clearly doesn’t like Diana and wouldn’t have wanted her to come across as any sort of heroine here. Other than that, the story felt too dragged out (it takes place over a period of a few years) and I felt it could have been shorter.

343 Ashes to Admin: Tales from the Caseload of a Council Funeral Officer by Evie King

This was great. The author is the person at the council who organises all the funerals for those who either do not have anyone else to organise it, or whose relatives cannot afford to do it. This is a really interesting insight into how the process works and some of the cases the author has worked on. It’s sad at times but also rather uplifting seeing the care she puts in to giving these people a decent send off.

I spend entirely too much time thinking about literary tattoos, but having previously spent several years, much gritting of teeth, and a lot of $$$ having a terrible 90s tattoo removed, I'm not sure I'm to be trusted.

I also can't decide on what the font would be. @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie have you picked a font?!

Apparently the others in the series are even worse which I find hard to believe.

Believe it @Stowickthevast I actually read the first two but no intention of reading the third

The next two I'm planning won't have words, so no font to choose! Previous ones, the font was part of the literary stimulus, so I didn't have to agonise over it!

Test

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I'm so intrigued!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit - test successful!

I had to do a test because my posting privileges got temporarily removed as a bot because I was trying to close a Strictly thread.