50 Books Challenge - 2nd Thread.

Just finished reading Henry James Washington Square.

I had forgotten what a great writer James is.

It's a short one too so ideal for reading in bed!

I have been very quiet about my reading this year; the year seems to have flown past. I have also lost count of the number of books I have read but am sure it is well north of fifty. I have just finished a fantastic book that I borrowed from the library on an impulse. It is The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey. Set in a slightly alternative 1979, we meet identical triplets Vincent, William and Vincent, who are the last residents of the Captain Cook home, which is run by the mysterious Sycamore group. They have three “mothers” - Morning, Afternoon and Night - and have regular visits from a sinister doctor. People from outside the home shun them. As the story unfolds, we gradually find out why this is. It is very well written and I can thoroughly recommend it.

30. Hidden Histories by Nova Reid
(An Audible Original)
Nova Reid and several interviewees tell the stories of little-known black women who have made an impact for civil rights.

61 A Town Like Alice Nevil Shute

This was a book club choice. Published in 1950 when memories from the war were not distant and attitudes were set very much in what is now a bygone era.

Jean Paget is a young English woman working in Malaya when the war breaks out and she along with other fellow female compatriots and children are captured by the Japanese separated from the men they find themselves marched around great swathes of that country to a supposed women's camp they never actually reach because it didn't exist, all the time being told "it's not very far". Many of the party fall sick and die along the way, among the survival of the fittest, Jean is to emerge as a leader. En route they are to encounter male Australian POW among their number, is one Joe Harmon who puts his life on the line to steal some food for her hungry party and is to pay a heavy price for that. Between the two, although their meetings are brief there is a frisson of attraction, although Joe assumes Jean is married, as most of the women were and she is forever to appear with a baby on her hip, his mother having died along the way. Their meetings are all too brief before Joe is tortured horribly for his transgressions, Jean is to hear he subsequently died from his injuries. Post war Jean is repatriated to England her wartime experiences are deeply buried within her stoic character whilst she moves on with her life as a typist for a company that produces shoes and handbags. To her surprise she is to find she has been left a legacy by a distant uncle as the only surviving member of her family. Her, solicitor , Noel Strachan an older man who takes a paternal interest in her and provides the link between the life she has lived and her life going forward. Realising she has quite a lot of money at her disposal, her wish is to return to Malaya and build a well for the women in the village that sustained her and her fellow captives during part of the war years. She is also to learn by chance when she is there, that the man who made such an impression on her, actually survived his ordeal at the hands of the Japanese. From Malaya she furthers her travels to Australia to find him, whilst he, simultaneously has arrived in London to find her, also having discovered that he was mistaken in assuming she was married. It is to her solicitor he is led in her pursuit. Noel then provides the all important bridge between the two would-be lovers. Jean awaiting Joe's return to Australia arrives in Willstown a somewhat one eyed hole in the depths of the outback where Joe is a cattleman/rancher. When they do eventually meet up and realise their dreams of marriage it becomes apparent to Jean that Joe would probably have problems adapting to another life and its into that setting that Jean with the aid of her inheritance is to develop into something of an entrepreneur in setting up a business producing shoes and handbags from crocodile skins employing local young women who would otherwise have to decamp to Cairns to find employment. Her products are exported to London drawing on the knowledge and know-how of her previous company with one of her former colleagues with oodles of expertise travelling out to oversee the venture. In time she has a multitude of burgeoning cottage industries, ice cream parlour/beauty salon/grocery stores etc. turning the one eyed hole in the back of beyond, Willstown into "A town like Alice" which at first sight by her and as commented by Joe is "a bonza town" which has it all.

I enjoyed the story, more in the first part really, I think I found some of the casual racist and disrespectful referencing of the aboriginal people pulled me up short, insomuch as some of the pejorative slang names were pretty shocking, well that was 1950, nevertheless, it did take the shine off the narrative somewhat.

However a good read, it wouldn't go down in my heart as one of my very best but it was told through the eyes of a writer who had experienced some of the pivotal moments of the world at war.

#9 Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
A tale based loosely on the life of Kate Meyrick, the 1920s nightclub owner based in London. Nellie Coker takes the lead as nightclub entrepreneur and matriarch to her many children.
Crime, gangs, dancing girls, bodies found in the river, Bow Street policemen; the stereotypical idea of 1920s London is served up in very readable form.
A lot of characters to remember with some characters instantly forgettable so that when they crop up a second time I found myself trying to remember who they were. A rushed ending and a couple of clunky sentences had me raising a Coker-like eyebrow. I appreciated the inclusion of two wonderful dogs in the story. Overall, I couldn't really see what Atkinson was hoping to achieve from this book.

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Book 47
The End of Us - Olivia Kieran

A faked death to claim a life insurance is the story.
It is quite good, a few surprises along the way, but the problem for me, was that every character was truly awful, I could never hope anyone came out on top, because they were all vile, and all deserved anything which was coming to them.
It was a quick and quite enjoyable read, but I suspect by this time next week I’ll have forgotten all about it

This is another book I can see as a Netflix series

Sara1954

This is another book I can see as a Netflix series

You've triggered my memory Sarah, yes I had forgotten all about it, but remember it now from your description. I read it several years ago, thought it was quite a page turner at the time.

Book #72 Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton. This high-flying political advisor who was living in her country home during the pandemic, found and helped raise a leveret. Multi-layered, beautifully written and thought-provoking, a must-read for all nature-lovers.

PS I keep a tally on Goodreads, as my memory of what I’ve read these days is atrocious!

TerriBull, well done for remembering it, I don’t think it will stay in my memory for very long, it was definitely a page turner, but if I don’t care about any of the characters, I don’t really care what happens to them.

LaCrepescule

Book #72 Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton. This high-flying political advisor who was living in her country home during the pandemic, found and helped raise a leveret. Multi-layered, beautifully written and thought-provoking, a must-read for all nature-lovers.

I absolutely loved this book. It is a delight.

Book 53 Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

After reading your review back in July TerriBull, I reserved this at the library and picked it up 2 days ago. Since then I have hardly been able to put it down. I think this book is one of her best and it really is a compulsive read.

I can't add to your comments back in July, but would just say that this book is gripping and thrilling, and definitely 10/10.

#56 was 1984: A Year in the Life of Nobby Clarke by Jason Ayres. This is the fifth book in a time-travelling series l have been enjoying on Kindle. The premise is that each year, one person, who is down on their luck for whatever reason, is selected to relive the worst year of their lives in order to right wrongs and not make the same mistakes they made the first time around. They are very easy reads, slightly formulaic but great fun. I came of age in the eighties so they are wonderfully evocative and nostalgic.

Sparklefizz

Book 53 Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell

After reading your review back in July TerriBull, I reserved this at the library and picked it up 2 days ago. Since then I have hardly been able to put it down. I think this book is one of her best and it really is a compulsive read.

I can't add to your comments back in July, but would just say that this book is gripping and thrilling, and definitely 10/10.

I'm glad you thought so too Sparklefizz, what a page turner!

Book 48
Absolutely and Forever - Rose Tremain
Absolutely loved this small but perfectly formed novel, perfectly charming.

The swinging sixties, Marianne is a girl from a middle class family, distant mother, military father, little love in her life until she meets Simon, she gives him everything, including her virginity, but when he flunks the Oxford exam, he goes to France in disgrace, where he marries a French woman.

Marianne never gets over him, her whole life is only half lived, because she will always love Simon.

I loved Marianne, her adoring husband, and her wonderful loyal friend Pet.

Shades of Anita Brookner I thought, thoroughly enjoyed it.

31. Bad Influence by C J Wray

Having read The Excitements, I was keen to read this follow-up featuring Jinx.
The first 30 chapters (of 50) alternated between Jinx's modern day life and her life as a child in Singapore with some sections on her meeting and partnership with Penny Williamson (of The Excitements).
I found the modern day parts quite tedious and almost gave up on the book but continued for the promised secrets to be revealed towards the end of it.
Indeed, the story livened up considerably with several strands being explored and resolved.

#54 The Household by Stacey Halls
This book was ok but I found it hard to be interested in the characters. This may be my own fault as I have a lot of worry with my health at the moment/awaiting scans and results, etc.

95-Dead Man's Time-Peter James
A great thriller as always. Don't be put off reading the books if you've seen the TV adaptions, as the books are far better and the stories differ quite a bit sometimes.

96-The Gift-Alan Titchmarsh
One of our favourite TV gardeners has a flair for writing a good novel. I've read all of his so far and have never been disappointed. The 'gift' in this stories is not about a present, it's about a rare talent. A great read.

97-Death of a Nag-M C Beaton
Another light-hearted murder mystery that makes a welcome interlude between serious stories.

98-Family Connections-Anna Jacobs
When two families discover they have relations living 10,000 miles away, they decide to make the journey to meet them. Some of them found more than they expected. An emotional story of friendship, forgiveness and second chances.

#77. Entitled-The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York by Andrew Lownie.

62 Selfish Girls - Abigail Bergstrom audio

I wish I'd read this book rather than listened to it. Sometimes, particularly when drifting off to sleep, I think I missed some of the nuances which contributed to the delicate balance of inter family relationships the story was about. The book presents the tale of the Wyn sisters growing up in Wales, and the different paths their lives take. The story opens with Ines the youngest, an aspiring actress, moving back home from London, having suffered a break- down. Middle sister Dylan coping with a broken heart in a rejection from a desired lover and eldest sister Emma is coming to terms with the fact that she cannot cope in her stifling marriage, a marriage she really longed for. The story intersperses between the sisters as adults, whilst rewinding into their childhood, delving into the changing relationship they have with their mother, which at times is far from perfect. Gwen, linchpin in their adulthood, had nevertheless abandoned them for a period during their childhood to follow her own desires. Many complex issues are part of the narrative, loyalty, desire, betrayal, abandonment are all peeled back in layers and how each daughter was affected by those, pivotal to the dynamics of the family's passage through childhood to maturity. I think I'll get hold of the physical book at some stage, very good writing, would appeal to those who enjoy reading about messy family relationships.

Calendargirl

#77. Entitled-The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York by Andrew Lownie.

I'm now listening to this.

99-Want You Dead-Peter James
What a page-turner this is. I know the Grace tv series are adaptions, but this story bore no resemblance at all to the tv programme of the same title. I couldn't put this down!