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?

Merry Christmas to you all my wonderful online book friends. It's been an absolute joy to chat books and other stuff with you all year.

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage Good book haul! I loved Dark Queens.

I'll post my books on here when I get in (just en route to the in laws for lunch now).

Happy Xmas 50 Bookers!
Haven't been posting much recently, but have been enjoying everyones reviews on the nicest on the internet.

Happy holidays all, thanks for being gloriously welcoming, entertaining and educational if financially ruinous
I shamelessly opened presents before leaving on holiday (just had to, think of the potential edibles etc.) but DP has just presented me with these: two books from my wishlist and two wildcards, but all apparently chosen with my impending career change in mind 🤔😅
(snap @DuPainDuVinDuFromage )

@bibliomania thank you for the actual lols

Sorry but laughing at the gifting woes. We just did a secret Santa this year with wish lists and a £40 limit, so everyone is happy! I got a lovely vintage brooch from dd to replace one I lost a few years ago, so am thrilled.

@inaptonym The detectives one sounds great.

Merry Christmas you lovely lot! Our family do presents after lunch but I'm hoping there will be at least one book shaped item for me.

I've been MIA because a piece of last minute work came up, so I haven't read even a chapter for the past few days. I don't think I'll make 50 this year unless I do nothing but read for the rest of the year (which is a possibility).

45. Mayflies, by Andrew O'Hagan. I liked it, loved the music references, and found it a very tender portrait of male friendship. Not quite a bold, and I got a bit cross with Tully and his behaviour to Anna, but I'm still thinking about it quite a bit which is usually a good sign.

@inaptonym are you going to be a Victorian Detective? Please say yes.

I only got one book, which DS16 who never buys presents decided on 23rd he would get everyone gifts. He did well, and bought me A Gentleman in Moscow which I have read but have on Kindle. It was a good choice though, given my interest in Russian history and literature. He bought his older brother a book on The Mongol Empire and he was so happy.

Happy Christmas 50Bookers!
No books here either which is a first. Lots of nice presents though. A LOT of edible gifts for some reason and some arty stuff so I’m very happy.

Only one book which I've already read as a library ebook, The Women by Kristin Hannah - a historical novel about a woman nursing during and after the Vietnam War, her friends, family and lovers. I don't particularly want people to buy me books, given the likelihood of me having books already or read them from the library - also, I prefer to get them on Kindle unless they are very particular books, such as attractive collectible reprints (Persephone, NYRB, Virago Modern Classics and similar, or books with colour illustrations.

And I'm reading a children's series, the Murder Most Unladylike books, in paperback, because they contain quite a few bits of text in picture form (the girl characters' handwritten notes and lists for example), and it doesn't seem to occur to publishers that these don't work too well on ereaders (they might be better on tablets including Kindle Fires).

@inaptonym hoping you're about to join MI5.

I gave DH 3 books I wanted including the new Sally Rooney which he ignored.

Instead he got me a book haul of things I don't particularly want to read - moaning on here as I know you'll understand!

Anyway happy Christmas 50 Bookers 🎄🎁🎅 hope your book haul is better than mine!

Oh, that’s annoying @Stowickthevast ! Why can’t people listen to what we want?

I got more book tokens from DH to add to my birthday ones earlier this month, so that’s a lot of books coming my way in the NY 🎉 . I’m avoiding the Waterstones half price sale in case the books I bought a few weeks ago are in there (I expect they will be). But then again, I had a discussion with my Mum the other day about the price of books - what else could you buy for £16-20 that gives you 3 - 5 hours pleasure depending on the length of the book? Or the joy of having it there to revisit? Not much.

As for presents, the kids seem quite happy with the stuff in their pillowcases this year, even though a lot of it is kind of dull and practical (but inoffensive), very plain supermarket tshirts and socks and pens, but quite a lot to look at. One year DS2 was very disappointed and made it pretty clear (DS1 was probably disappointed too but more of a diplomat).

I found a charity shop mug last week which I gave to DP as a kind of early Christmas present - I really like the design myself but have more than enough mugs and this one is marked not safe in the dishwasher - we don't have a dishwasher but I'm terrible at drinking my tea when it's freshly made and my mugs spend a lot of time in and out of the microwave! Boys and I have been given quite a lot of Christmas money from various living members of our slightly complicated extended family - including stepparents and my late stepdad's widow, so we can afford to and feel justified in choosing some pressies we want after Christmas and hopefully with less crowds and stress.

My DSs are attentive listeners. I got the new David Olusoga. When U say attentive I did literally stand in Birmingham Waterstones , holding it up and telling DS2 that I wanted it.

DH got me no books. Bad DH.

Suggested New Year's resolution for 2025: Buy yourself at least one book you would have liked under your tree or in your stocking.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm laughing at bibliomania and inaptonym. Agualusa, that's so sweet of your DS, what a star!

I didn't receive any books either. !?! Thank goodness I bought myself Period Piece just before Christmas. I had Gwen John: Art and Life in London and Paris on my wishlist, but DH got me other stuff from the wishlist instead. So I've ordered the Gwen John book for myself just now, ha, because I really did want it!

I gave a few books as gifts: James by Percival Everett to DH, because even though I didn't like it much myself he's convinced he will like it. Also gave DH The Postcard by Anne Berest and The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter, both translated from the French. Given that I loved both these books, the odds of DH disliking them are high. 😂And to DS2 I gave A Bag of Marbles by Joseph Joffo, also a book I read and loved recently. (It's an old-fashioned WW2 story, so again, the odds of the recipient liking it - or even reading it - are slim.)

DS1 is a quirky, sensitive soul who finds gift-giving too stressful (receiving even more so than giving) so completely opts out of birthdays and Christmas, and has done so for many years. He graciously deigned to accept the chocolate I bought him though.

All in all, an excellent morning! Thanks to everyone for these threads; they bring me so much happiness throughout the year.

On the plus side, I did receive cheese knives, which have been on my Christmas wish list a couple of years running, but have hitherto been a wish ungratified. I really really wanted cheese knives for some reason. However, I did not receive a cheese board, which has also been on my wish list for multiple years. Maybe next year! I can always dream. Until then I will carry on serving cheese to guests on our incredibly manky kitchen chopping boards.

Seriously I might just buy one myself in the after-Xmas sales.

@MegBusset I would definitely recommend Amis's memoirs, both Experience and Inside Story. They were the books that made me think I'd underestimated Amis based on enjoying but being a bit sneery about The Rachel Papers a very long time ago. Funnily enough, he got better. I certainly plan to read more of him.

Oh, and Time's Arrow. Controversial at the time apparently. I thought it was extraordinary.

Here’s my lovely brooch. The only book gift that could have thrilled me more than this is a signed, first edition copy of, ‘It’!

Gorgeous brooch and gorgeous Christmas nails!

Merry Christmas 50 bookers! No books here but I dont tend to get any at Christmas, these are more of a birthday present instead (next month so not long to wait)

@MegBusset like you Zone of interest was the best film I saw in 2024 and I have the book upstairs waiting for me. After your review I will bump it up the list to be read in the post-Xmas period slump where you are never quite sure what day it is and I can lounge around for hours eating leftovers with a book in hand.

Merry Christmas one and all 🎄

Merry Christmas all!

I am 300 pages into Blue Machine, my Xmas present book from a friend. I did get it early and start it on the 15th, though 😀

I agree, Permanent, I really rated Experience. It hit especially hard in the chapter around his cousin's disappearance and, much, much later, the discovery that she was one of Fred West's victims. That struck to the heart.