2023 - 50 BOOK CHALLENGE

Well, the Death Cleaning didn’t take a lot of reading, (see previous entry).

#21. Trust Me by TM Logan.

Boook 25. Every Second Thursday by Emma Page. Not sure what I think of this one, I thought it was going to be in the style of Golden Age crime fiction but somehow it just missed the mark for me. Nevertheless I wanted to carry on reading and see how it worked out.

#20 Just Ignore Him Alan Davies. An audiobook read by the author.
I honestly didn't know what to expect when I picked up this memoir from the funny self deprecating "him from QI". What I got was an extraordinary, powerful, searingly honest and difficult to hear account of a child whose mother dies when he is six who is emotionally and sexually abused by his father, alienated from his siblings and who is affected into adulthood. I hope you are healing Alan.

37 Ann Cleeves- Telling Tales. Vera is sent to Yorkshire to review a 10 year old case, but get's more than she bargained for.
I know Brenda Blethyn portrays a rough round the edges character, but in this book Ann describes her even rougher!

The Sanctuary was alright, but not an easy read. Now on book 58, We Know, by Greg Hurwitz.

Book 26. Stone Cold by the ever reliable David Baldacci. An easy and fast paced read.

#22. The Retribution by Val McDermid.

No 14 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a mammoth book, 630+ pages and it taken me ages to read but I did it! It takes a bit of work to get into and I wish it had been shorter but it was well worth the effort.

We Know was a good read.
Teabagwoman, I love David Baldacci`s books.

SueDonim

No 14 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a mammoth book, 630+ pages and it taken me ages to read but I did it! It takes a bit of work to get into and I wish it had been shorter but it was well worth the effort.

Yes it's long, but I loved it, In spite of only being halfway through April I'm almost ready to claim it as my best book of the year.

Same, Terribull. Anything better this year will have to be an extraordinary book! Though I’ve seen criticisms that there are too many stereotypes in it but that’s been from American readers, who probably do take a different view from people this side of the Pond.

12. The Other Passenger, Louise Candlish
I think this is perhaps my favourite Louise Candlish, and I’ve read lots of them! I didn’t really warm to any of the characters, but the plot was clever.

13. The Bullet that Missed, Richard Osman
I know a lot of readers don’t like Osman’s books, but I enjoy them. They’re an easy read and I’ve got to know (and like) the Murder Club members.

14. The Other Black Girl, Zakiya Dalila Harris
This was a bit of a difficult read, if only because I’m not familiar with all the black cultural terms in it, particularly to do with black haircare, which is a major theme of the book and of which I know precisely nothing! It was a good read though - what happens when the only black assistant editor in a New York publishing house meets the new girl. Will they bond and be friends? Will they heck!

15. A Terrible Kindness, Jo Browning Wroe
I’m part way through this. It was my reading group’s choice, and not something I’d ever have wanted to read. The first chapters are about the experiences of a rookie embalmer caring for the victims of the Aberfan disaster. I found it so upsetting I stopped reading, but I’ve gone back to it now I know that we’re moving on to other times and other aspects of the embalmer’s life. I’ll see how it goes.

I feel I’ve neglected my books lately as I’ve discovered the joy of podcasts. I’ve listened to some excellent ones - perhaps I should start another thread to discuss them.

38.Margaret Dickinson's Plough the Furrow. 1910 farm story, truly showing what a hard life it was, then WW1 made it harder for the women left behind. Makes me realise the hardships my family would have suffered and what an easy life we now have in comparison. A fabulous story.

Book 59, The Man Called Kyril, by John Trenhaile. It`s a cold war spy story, set mainly in Russia, a bit confusing in places.

I seem to have had two book 32s so this next one must be book 34. It was The Binding by Bridget Collins. I persevered with it to the end as it had had good reviews and I had bought it with a book token. It did not live up to its wonderful reviews, in my opinion.

Book 27 Big sky by Kate Atkinson. This was a re-read, I love Kate Atkinson’s writing especially her combination of the deeply humane with humour.

Maggiemaybe, I’m also a fan of Richard Osman’s murder club. They’re jolly good reads.

We must have similar tastes in reading, teabagwoman. I love Kate Atkinson too. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is one of my all-time favourite books.

The Man Called Kyril was OK, but I wouldn`t go so far as to recommend it.
I`ve just started book 60, A Killer in Winter, by Susanna Gregory, set in the 1350s.

Maggiemaybe

We must have similar tastes in reading, teabagwoman. I love Kate Atkinson too. Behind the Scenes at the Museum is one of my all-time favourite books.

Yes me too Life After Life my absolute number one of KA's closely followed by, Behind The Scenes at a Museum, A God in Ruins and Case Histories, all wonderful, so it was somewhat of a surprise when I picked up her Transcription and did my best to plough my way through it but ending up abandoning it.

I’d struggle to pick a favourite Kate Atkinson, it’s generally the last one I’ve read.

Another fan of Richard Osman's murder club here. His books are an amusing easy read with very likeable characters and I was surprised to find that my adult children enjoy the books too.

My book no. 31 was Think of Me by Frances Liardet which is a lovely follow-on to We Must be Brave. Both very enjoyable.

I've just finished Thornfield Hall by Jane Stubbs which takes the story of Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester and tells it from "below stairs" by the housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax.

I have started White Crysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht which I saw mentioned upthread, but it's not the right book for me at the moment as I've got a lot of health stress and hospital visits going on so I need to find something a bit lighter..... but what??

#21 Death Masks Jim Butcher.
The 5th in the Dresden Files series about Harry Dresden a Chicago P.I who is also a powerful wizard. Very enjoyable; I want to know more about Harry and his associates.

Book 28. ~The Man in the Bunker~ by Rory Clements, set in the aftermath of WW2. Hitler hasn’t died in the bunker but is in hiding and an American professor and a Dutchman, serving in the British Army are sent to track him down. A good read.

#21 Brian Epstein ‘A Cellarful of Noise’ - excellent 2021 introduction by Craig Brown to a touchingly guarded yet clear-voiced ghosted 1964 autobiography.

#22 Edward Wilson ‘The Whitehall Mandarin’ a spy story that outfoxed me ( I guess it’s my preference for character over plot that lets me down here). I kind of appreciated the Chinese angle as a twist on the Cold War divisions.