The Not So New 2024 50 Books a Year - Thread 2

Book 48 My Dear, I wanted to tell You by Louisa Young.
This is a World War I book and some of the detail is harrowing although it's a story of love and as much about the women at home as the men in the trenches.

34 A Traveller at the Gates of Wisdom - John Boyne

A complete departure from what I've come to expect from one of my favourite authors. Hard to explain really, a book that covers two millennia starting in Palestine just after the birth of Christ, a young boy with a creative bent, grows up within a family headed by a violent father, and overshadowed by an older more spirited brother. The chapters are brief and the narrative continues in different places of the world going forward 50 or so years each time, where the same characters are reincarnated and following the same trajectory. The main players comprise of the boy narrator his father, mother, brother, sister and cousin who turns out to be his betrayer as the story progresses through the various junctures of his life that is lived around the world. In some places he is a sculptor, carving the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistant for example, or a wood carver in Eritrea, dress maker in Korea, illustrator on the Book of Kells in Ireland, turning up at the 16th century London Globe Theatre working on plays of his own alongside Shakespeare, so always making his living through his artistry and creativity as he goes forward in time experiencing love, loss and betrayal. I started off enjoying it, but as it progressed I remember feeling as I did when I read "Lord of the Rings" years ago, looking forward to finishing it just too many trials and tribulation to overcome. The book eventually winds up in Trump's America with a highly implausible ending, but then it's very much a tale rooted in fantasy, unlike his other books. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to John Boyne fans, it's pretty much a one off and not at all representative of his other works.

Two fantasy novels for numbers 29 and 30.
#29 Fourth Wing Rebecca Yarros.
The book is an account of Violet's first year at war college. Physically frail she had expected to train as a scribe but at the insistence of her formidable mother, the principal, she joins the Riders' section where only the elite survive to be chosen by a dragon and become dragon riders. She is not expected to live past the first day let alone be one of the few 'chosen' by a dragon. Hugely entertaining. I believe it is the first in what will be a series, I will definitely look for the next one.
#30 Embrace The Night Karen Chance.
Number 3 in the Cassie Palmer series about the adventures of Cassandra a young woman who discovers that she is the Pythia, descendent of the Oracle at Delphi. Featuring vampires, mages, Faerie it was again hugely entertaining.
I must switch genres now.

I am currently visiting family in Minnesota, we visit a couple of times a year. I’ve found it’s a great place to discover new authors as they have a great Friends’ Store at the public library and a good network of Little Free Libraries. I have acquired 6 new authors this time and have just finished the first one.

#46 The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg.
Edie and Richard have been married for more than 30 years but things are falling apart. Edie is fixated on food to the detriment of her health as she piles on weight. Richard has had enough and leaves her, to the horror of their children and perfectionist daughter in law who are left trying to help her with her health and food obsession.
Great characters and writing, I enjoyed it. 7/10

Sparklefizz I know what you mean about Dead Man’s Creek. I read it a few weeks ago and, although I enjoyed it, I thought it was over complex.

50-Forgotten Child-Kitty Neale-When a 16yr old is told she was adopted, she understands why she has never felt loved by her mother. She decides to leave home with friend Tina who has been abused by her father. They find life hard working in a restaurant, but Jenny falls for the owner who is in his 30's. She thinks life is wonderful when they marry, but all is not what it seems. Tina tries to convince Jenny that husband Marco is a shady character, and they fall out and drift apart. A story of tragedy and heartbreak with a surprising outcome.
Set in the 1970's I could remember the music and fashions just as described in this story.

AliBeeee Sparklefizz I know what you mean about Dead Man’s Creek. I read it a few weeks ago and, although I enjoyed it, I thought it was over complex.

Thank goodness! I'm glad it wasn't just me !!

51-Murder thy Neighbour-James Patterson+others. Two true crime cases in this book. Both read like fiction but sadly they really did happen. I don't usually read JP's non-fiction, but this was well worth the read.

Book 116, Paula`s Way, by Anna Jacobs. Pure chick-lit, but I enjoyed it for a change.

I really must start keeping a log of the books I read. There are so many tempting titles mentioned on this thread, I hardly know what to read next. I have no idea how many I've read this year.

The last two books I read have a surprising number of parallels. "Cloud Cuckoo Land" by Anthony Doerr and "The Second Sleep" by Robert Harris. The Harris is not as good as his usual and, as all the reviews everywhere point out, the ending is very disappointing. (I only turned to the reviews after I'd finished, although a couple caught my eye on Amazon before I downloaded it, also saying this.)

Cloud Cuckoo Land took me a bit of effort to get started but it did have a satisfying conclusion which went a completely different direction than I expected.

I only read on my Kindle, but it's been playing up recently so I am reading the next one "Lamentation" by C J Samson on my phone.

I have also pulled a paperback out of a box of "books to be passed on" to read while my phone is charging. What a hassle, wrestling with a paper book again! It's "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck. I would love to read this to my DGS who is now 10 like Jody in the book and who lived in California for half his life so far. I hope he is still young enough to listen come the autumn.

"Re. John Boyne
He was the guest on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 last Friday. Did anyone else tune into this?
I listened on catch up.
Well interviewed by Lauren Laverne. Fascinating insights into the man and the influences on his writing.
Like quite a few others on this forum, I've read a few of his books and would thoroughly recommend.
E.g. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas;
The Heart's Invisible Furies;
A Ladder to the Sky;
A History of Loneliness...
All thoroughly enjoyed.
Just about to start on All the Broken Places."

Further to my previous post above, have now read Book 20. All the Broken Places. Did not disappoint. Grim reading at times. Nice little twist towards the end which I had not anticipated. One of those books that stays with you.

Books 21, 22 and 23. A Scots Quair, Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
A Trilogy: Sunset Song, Cloud Howe, Grey Granite.
Cheating a bit here(?) both counting these three novels individually and having first read them in the late 60s as a postgrad in Aberdeen, new to the North of Scotland. Prompted to revisit them after a recent visit to see Sunset Song at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Excellent production. Interesting to comparing what I felt about them now compared to almost six decades ago.
Loved the books all over again. So well written and profoundly moving.

Book 24. A Scots Hairst, Lewis Grassic Gibbon.
A collection of essays and short stories.
Born James Leslie Mitchell in 1901 in Aberdeenshire, the author died at the early age of 34. His writing career spans only seven years, during which he published seventeen books.
There is an introduction to my volume in which the author's work is measured against the best in any modern literature and the Mearns of Grassic Gibbon talked of in the same sense as the Wessex of Thomas Hardy or the Dublin of James Joyce. High praise indeed.
Loved this trip down Memory Lane

Book 34
Other Women - Emma Flint
A wife and a mistress, and a handsome charming unscrupulous evil man.
We follow both women’s stories, the wife, Katie, aware of her husband’s transgressions, but loving him still, and Miss Cade, spinster, rather plain, working in an office and living in a woman’s hostel, she can’t believe Tom has noticed her, but he has, and although she knows he is married, she is powerless to resist him.
I don’t want to spoil it, but Miss Cade is found dead, there follows a tense courtroom drama and Katie finds strength she never knew she had.
Quite enjoyable, but I wasn’t overly keen on her writing style.

30. Remarkably Bright Creatures, Shelby Van Pelt

This was a reading group choice, not one I’d ever have considered, but I’m so glad I read it. Tova works as a night cleaner at the local aquarium following the death of her husband. Thirty years ago her only son Erik disappeared while out on a boat. Marcellus, the aquarium’s resident rescue octopus, knows more than he’s letting on about what happened to Erik. As a firm friendship forms between Tova and Erik, how will he let her know?

This is a lovely warmhearted book, full of relatable characters and set in a small town where everyone knows everyone else. I loved it. Apparently the author is working on her second novel, again set in Sowell Bay. I’ll certainly be looking out for it.

Edit for the above: As a firm friendship forms between Tova and Marcellus (yes, the octopus).

Maggiemaybe
I so agree. Also read this as a Book Club member, books chosen by our local library. Didn't expect to like it...but proved wrong. As you say, a lovely warmhearted and feelgood book.

Book 25. NANA NKWETI: Walking on Cowrie Shells.
Another book club choice and another I wouldn't have picked up on myself, especially as I'm not normally drawn to short stories. Found these interesting though. All quite different, as they crisscrossed genres, cultures and continents, from a zombie outbreak in Cameroon to a künstlerroman set at Comic-Con. Found author's language and style engaging - satirical, playful, keenly critical of the racist stereotypes and received narratives that limit women’s lives.

55. The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey.

56. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder by Holly Jackson.

Book 117, A Snowball`s Chance in Hell, by J D Kirk. Another of the DCI Logan stories, I love them.

#47 was Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson.
A young writer rents a remote house in Sweden, she is grieving and writing her next book. She develops a friendship and close bond with her reclusive elderly neighbour and they gradually reveal their stories to each other. This is a fairly short book, but it’s beautifully written and Astrid and Veronika are very believable and well developed characters. 8/10

52-23rd Midnight-James Patterson-The latest in the Women's murder club series. As always a cracking good read. I love the way the women all put their heads together to solve the crimes.

No 19 On The Road by Jack Kerouac. Somehow I had never read this classic and having now done so, I think it’s a young person’s book. I thought it would be better entitled Men Behaving Badly!

Book 27 All The Broken Places by John Boyne. I think it is going to be a good read.

Parsley3 - All The Broken Places, a great read, I hope you think so too.

35 Trio - Sue Gee (Audible)

My second by Sue Gee, I'm not sure I'm always paying enough attention when listening on Audible as I'm usually doing something else as well. Again a very evocative story set in Northumberland, in the late 1930s just as the storm clouds are gathering for the coming war. Steven Coulter, a young teacher recently widowed when his much loved wife dies from TB, is introduced, by a colleague, to a young musician, Margot, one of a musical trio of the title. This book encompasses several themes, idealism in fighting for a cause, love and loss. Also like the previous book moves forward to modern times where a future generation piece together elements of their grandparents' lives. Good I will be exploring more of Sue Gee's work but will probably opt to read them rather than listen.

36 Half in Love - Justin Cartwright

I'd read a book by the author, quite a while ago and really enjoyed it, I'd always vowed to read some of his others and this is the first one I'd picked up since then. Richard McAllister a minister in the government of the day, (not sure which one, it was written over 20 years ago) is recuperating in South Africa after being stabbed by a football hooligan , ostensibly to research an ancestor/relative involved in the Boer War, but also to escape the glare of publicity surrounding his love affair with a young married film star. The book moves along partly through the life of the actress the politician is involved with, Joanna, her filming and the acolytes involved with that and the partying, drug taking and potential scandals going on behind the scenes. As well as her vindictive husband lurking in the background. Meanwhile on his return to London, Richard is trying to stall his own political ambitions with advice from spin doctors as how best to handle the unwanted publicity and hounding by the press.

Okish.

Book 35: The Trail of Blood by A.K.Nairn -A rather gory story set in the early 16th century, in the border country between Scotland and England when the Reivers "ruled ." Interesting to learn about this subjest but sometimes difficult to follow possibly because there were a lot of characters!