THE BRAND NEW 2024 50 BOOK CHALLENGE

Book 4 The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves.

This was an easy read as all her books are, but I can't warm to her character DI Matthew Venn - he is just so bland - and I'm not interested in his background of the Barum Brethren, a strict religious group.

I wanted to know what happened in the plot but at the end it all seemed implausible and ridiculous and I was disappointed.

TerriBull What did you think of The Marriage Portrait? I loved it but a friend didn't, so it may be a "marmite" book.

#2 'Invitation to a bonfire' Arianne Celt - enjoyed this, a novel about Russian characters in the USA. Good plot & complex characters set in 30's- 40s. #3 will be 'Research' Philip Kerr not read him before. Set in W London (always a bonus for me). I've actually been googling as I go along because there are so many references to things that ring a bell but I don't know about (iconic 1984 ad for Apple computers for eg / Whos afraid of Virgionia Wolff). Aside from that I guess its murder mystery but its the discovery I'm enjoying.

2 The Cliff House - Chris Brookmyre Having read a really good book of his, Black Widow, a while back, saw this on a display shelf at the library and thought it sounded good. The premise of the book, a group of women,all loosely connected but some having had close relationships that had broken down from deep seated grievances, find themselves thrown together on a hen weekend on an uninhabited, remote Scottish island. It seems that all have something to hide. No sooner there, than their assigned chef is found murdered, one of the party is kidnapped and being held to ransom. Inevitably they have no signal, phones are useless and the only boat off the island disappears. Thankfully this book was a quick read, I didn't enjoy it. I think it was a somewhat cliched plot that had been done many times before and no one did the gathering of a group of people with a murky past and a possibility that any one of them could be the killer, better than Agatha Christie.

3 From a Scottish Island to Renaissance Florence, I have just started book number 3, Maggie O'Farrell's, The Marriage Portrait.

#2 Cathy Reichs ^Cold,Cold bones.

Book 5 Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
A clever book, a funny, sad, gruesome book. A little bit repellent but couldn’t put it down.

Book 1, One For the Ages, by J D Kirk, loved it.
Book 2, A Broken Family, by Kitty Neale
Book 3, Golden Dreams, by Anna Jacobs

Book 3
Light Seekers - Femi Kayode
I don’t remember buying this book, and it’s a classic case of thinking I wasn’t going to like it, had I given up at page 57, I would have missed a good read.

Three young university students are viciously attacked and murdered in a small Nigerian town.
An investagstive psychologist is asked by the father of one of the boys to try and get to the bottom of what happened that day

With his driver/assistant Chika he finds himself engulfed by violence, lies, and the desire to constantly obstruct his investigation.

It’s atmospheric, has some very likeable characters, but shows how easily the dark side can take control.

eGJ. I loved those 2 books!

Finished Earthly Joys, so straight onto Virgin Earth. Philippa Gregory interweaves gardens, curiosities with the machinations of nobles and kings. Absorbing and I wonder why I never read it before!

I'm now just about to start my third book of the year - Demon Copperhead - so I'll be back to comment on it in (hopefully) February .

Just finished 'That Bonesetter Woman', set in the 18th century. It was a very good read. And was made even more interesting by a remarkable coincidence:

I went to a talk given at a local history group about the Foundling Hospitals established in the 1700s. Then found out that the book I'd just picked up to read also featured the Foundling Hospital in London!

Yes Sara1954 that's often the way. I've been the same with several bestsellers that other people have raved about, eg. Where the Crawdads sing.

A lot of love for Tom Lake, I was a bit disappointed, I never really got into it.
I think perhaps I was expecting too much.

Lyndylou I loved Tom Lake too and it was my first book this year.

I don’t read any more. I always used to read all of the time. I’m quite a slow reader which doesn’t help and I tend to listen to podcasts these days. But I’ve just read Kick the Latch which is a fascinating little book about American horse racing,It’s a short book, a read in one sitting sort of book. It’s like a biography condensed into very few words; quite gruff and brutal but poetic at the same time. I’m hoping it will kick start me into reading a lot more this year as I still buy books. I just don’t read them, though!

No 3 was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett Brilliant book about a woman coming up to 60 and recounting her affair with a now famous actor back in her 20s to her adult daughters. I was impressed with her power of recall, don't think I could remember a whole summer from my 20s with that much detail.

No 4 How to kill men and get away with it. I picked it because I loved How to kill your family and though this might be similar but somehow it didn't have the same sense of fun. Anyway I enjoyed it enough to finish it. If I am going to give up on a book it is usually about a quarter of the way in, if it hasn't grabbed me, but sometimes I go back and finish them later.

#2 was The English: A Field Guide by Matt Rudd. This was a book to dip in and out of and had some comical observations about English traits.
#3 was Found by Erin Kinsley. It is about a young boy who is abducted as he is on his way home from school. He is missing for several months then is found, traumatised. What follows is part police procedural and how the boy and his family come to terms with what has happened and how the boy is eventually healed. I couldn't put it down and will be looking out for other books by this author.

My 2nd book was The Night Swim by Megan Goldin, given to me by the beautician who was giving me a pedicure. I finally got around to reading the rest of it and it was better than expected, a 7/10.
It’s set in east coast US and is about a rape trial being covered by a crime podcaster and how the podcaster gets drawn into investigating the death of a local girl 25 years earlier.
It didn’t start out too great, but I quickly got drawn into it and enjoyed it.

Hello Avia and Canadian Gran welcome to the 50 book challenge. I loved The House at Riverton Kate Morton is a favourite author of mine too.

Hello, I'm joining in late.

1. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue - an interesting concept and not a book I would have chosen myself; this is a book group choice. Overall I enjoyed it, but found it a little 'young adult' theme. I hear it will be made into a movie which I'm sure I will enjoy

2. The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe. This was a really lovely saga with warm characters reminiscent of Maeve Binchy. A woman, brought up on a farm in Nova Scotia, runs off to England after one of her brothers is injured in the first World War. The story goes back and forth from her youth to the end of her life, and how she reconciles with family.

3. Currently reading The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. I've read previous books of hers and really enjoyed them. this one is keeping me in the tub long after the bubbles have disappeared!

Good Afternoon Terri, I found Gransnet at the beginning of January and was encouraged by your message to try reading again. I used to be an avid reader but found that my eyes were too tired at the end of the day, plus the books I choose did not "grab" me enough. Having retired albeit some years ago I am going to try again, I have chosen The Forgotten Tower by Lulu Taylor.

Possession, I agree, an amazing book, albeit heavy going at times, I was glad I didn't abandon it. Read it a long time ago now but it made a big impression.

I hardly ever give up on a book, I just can’t shake off the feeling that it might turn into something amazing.
That happened with A S Byatts Possession, I was trudging along, I asked my daughter what she thought of it, and she said, brilliant! So I kept going, and Wow, what an amazing book, will always be in my top ten.

#3. Andrew Harding: A Small Stubborn Town: Life, Death and Defiance in Ukraine. Gripping account. Deeply moving. Story of extraordinary heroism by ordinary people. Read in one sitting.

#2. A Place Of Safety by Caroline Graham.