The New Fifty Books A Year Thread 2020

I read ‘Do do Harm’ a couple of years ago mrshat it was a great non-fiction read and stayed in my mind for ages after. It’s a good job someone can take a drill to someone’s head ...
Can’t imagine performing brain surgery whilst the patient can speak (so the surgeon knows no other damage is being done) whilst gently removing or reducing a brain tumour ...

SueDonim

26. I’ve given up on my next book. It’s Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I normally like her books but this one, despite it being much lauded, just isn’t doing anything for me. It’s really rare for me to give up on a book but Urmstongran further back made me realise life is too short to read a book you don’t enjoy!

Oh well done that woman!

Urmstongran.

38. She-Merchants, Buccaneers and Gentlewomen by Katie Hickman.

It’s about the lives of women in India 1600-1900. There were some formidable women back then, it must be said. Those that survived the ordeal, of course.

39. Becoming by Michelle Obama. I know praise has been heaped upon this book but I found it rather dull until the quest for the White House began. It’s the subject of my next book group discussion.

I need to drag my mind out of the sewer. I read the thread title as The new FILTHY books a year thread. I got a bit overexcited until I realised my mistake

I’m reading “The Angel’s Mark” by S. W. Perry. An Elizabethan whodunnit. It’s along the lines of C.J. Sansom’s books and is very readable so far. It’s the first in a series - The Jackdaw Mysteries.

32 - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creed by Kim Michelle Richardson

Fantastic read, beautifully descriptive, draws you in right from the beginning- Will make you laugh and your heart ache -- even though the end of the story felt rushed-

It's a story about the Pack Horse Library Project which was a program that delivered books by horse and rider to remote regions of Appalachia- The main character is a strong female who was a Blue Fugate of Kentucky-

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker- Too disturbing, I had to put it down-

33 - Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon

34 - Melania and Me - by Stefanie Winston Wolkoff
Insightful ..

35 - Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

Highly recommend!!! He's an inimitable guy and it's exactly how he storywalks you through his life, his mind, his heart- Wild and fun! It's the most unique memoir I've ever read- Lots of bumper sticker, philosophical quips throughout- Super optimistic and uplifting- Currently number 1 on the NYT list- 5 Stars

Finished The Angels Mark and thoroughly enjoyed it. Humourous, suspenseful, very well researched. You can see - and smell - the Tudor London he brings to life. Followed it up with The Serpent’s Mark, second in the Jackdaw trilogy. Great reads.

40. After The End by Clare Mackintosh.

41 The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum. About all the pandemics of the 20th/21st centuries. ?

42. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier.

In my last post, that should read Creek and not Creed ?

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36 - One Life by Megan Rapinoe with Emma Brockes

This is the best book I've read thus far this year -- along with The Salt Path-

Blurbs:

"Megan Rapinoe, Olympic gold medalist and two-time Women's World Cup champion, has become a galvanizing force for social change; here, she urges all of us to take up the mantle, with actions big and small, to continue the fight for justice and equality

Raised in a conservative small town in Northern California, the youngest of six, Megan Rapinoe was four years old when she kicked her first soccer ball. Her parents encouraged her love for the game, but taught her that winning was much less important than how she lived her life. From childhood on, Rapinoe always did what she could to stand up for what was right—even if it meant going up against people who disagreed.

In One Life, Rapinoe reflects on the choices she has made, her victories and her failures, and embarks on a thoughtful and candid discussion of her personal journey into social justice. After the 2011 World Cup, discouraged by how few athletes were willing to discuss their sexuality, Rapinoe decided to come out publicly as gay and use her platform to advocate for marriage equality. Recognizing the power she had to bring attention to critical issues, in 2016 she took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with former NFL player Colin Kaepernick to protest racial injustice and police brutality—the first high-profile white athlete to do so. The backlash was immediate, but it couldn’t compare to the overwhelming support. Rapinoe became a force of change, both on and off the field.

Using anecdotes from her own life and career as an Olympic gold medalist and two-time women’s World Cup champion, from suing the US Soccer Federation over gender discrimination to her widely publicized refusal to visit the White House, Rapinoe discusses the obligation we all have to speak up, and the impact each of us can have on our communities. Deeply personal and inspiring, One Life reveals that real, concrete change lies within all of us, and asks: If we all have the same resource—this one precious life, made up of the decisions we make every day—what are you going to do? "

"Emma Brockes is the author of What Would Barbra Do?: How Musicals Saved My Life, which was serialized on the BBC. She writes for The Guardian’s Weekend Magazine and has contributed to The New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle. She lives in New York City."

Last posted in July so a few to catch up on!
24: Jonas Jonasson , The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden.
25: Josephine Cox, A Woman's Fortune.
26: Judy Leigh, The Age of Misadventure. A bit trashy, OK for holiday reading!
27: Kerry Fisher, The Silent Wife. Really good story about husband who abuses his wife but she doesn't tell anyone.
28: Santa Montefiore, The Daughters of Castle Deverill.
29: Robert Goddard, Set in Stone.
30: Sue Grafton, D is for Deadbeat.
31: Jay Rayner, My Dining Hell or 20 ways to have a Lousy Night Out. Very funny, disses a lot if high class restaurants, some of which have now closed, not surprisingly!
32: Richard Osman, The Thursday Murder Club. Enjoyed this and glad to hear that it is to be made into a film.
33: Sue Grafton, E is for Evidence
34: Sheena Mackay, The Orchard on Fire. Great read.
35:Clare Morrall, Astonishing Splashes of Colour. Another goodie.
36:Gervais Phinn, The other side of the Dales. Very witty account of author's time working as a school inspector in the Yorkshire Dales.
37: P D James Sleep No More.
38:Ann Cleeves, The Glass Room
39:Ann Cleeves, Silent Voices. Not read any of her books till now but enjoyed them.
40:Jane Bolitho, Betrayed in Cornwall.
41: M J Lee, Where the Silence Calls. Good thriller.
42: Sarah Waters, The Paying Guests. Very well written, set in early 1920s. She wrote Tipping the Velvet which I remember seeing on TV a while back. Similar theme (love between 2 woman,) but with a murder as well!

I may make it 50 by end of year at this rate! (If I pick shortish books)?

29 Moonflower Murders - Anthony Horowitz very good, the format is a book within a book set fifty years apart but the plots and murders are linked. Agatha Christie pastiche. I enjoyed it.

30 The Invisible Girl - Lisa Jewell. Not one of her best, I really like her as a writer though and of late I feel there's a Ruth Rendell quality (a much missed author) about her writing.

31 Find Them Dead - Peter James, latest in the Roy Grace series, much of the action takes place around the trial of a man accused of running a County Lines operation and a jury member who is being threatened to direct the jury to a not guilty verdict. Quite good.

32. The Golden Rule - Amanda Craig. Chance meeting when two women are thrown together in the same carriage on a long journey down to Cornwall. Their conversation throws up the fact that they both have abusive partners. They agree a pact to murder each others men folk. Inspired by "Strangers on a Train" the narrative also provides, via a Cornwall and London backdrop a state of the nation comment on the "haves" and "have nots" exemplified by the London second homers in Cornwall and the stark contrast of the natives of that county doing their best to eek out a living where the main industry, fishing has been decimated. Slightly similar to Jonathan Coe's "Middle England" I personally prefer Amanda Craig's writing.

33 Remain Silent - Susie Steiner. Every bit as good as Ellie Griffiths' Ruth Galloways imo, this is the third in a series which features, DI Manon Bradshaw. Haven't quite finished it yet, but the plot centres around a young Lithuanian immigrant worker in Wisbech found hanged, a vicious gang master and local community tensions.

I somehow don't think I'm going to reach the target of 50 before the end of the year, my next books is probably going to be "Troubled Blood" which my husband tells me is awfully good, but it's nearly 1,000 pages so that'll keep me going for a while.

43 The Gallery of Vanished Husbands by Natasha Solomons. I admit I’ve only read the first third and the last third. I may or may not read the middle third.

44 The Son by Philipp Meyer. What a book! It’s basically the history of Texas told through the eyes of several generations of one family. It’s bloody at times and challenging, with many dialect words unfamiliar to the British, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

I love to give credit where credit is due but this novel garners the opposite- The author grifted, lifted and stitched together this and that from other southern writers to create a tacky, patchwork romantic piece of crap -- zero originality, no stars-

I picked it up to read not even knowing what the book was about because I read Me Before You and loved it- But geez ..

The only thing I can assume is that it was a personal challenge- Also found it odd that The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was published months before The Giver of Stars, both covering the exact same subjects, regions and with strikingly similar characters-

Daisy Werthen would call it highway robbery ??☺

Hands down the worse book so far this year!

Oh, that was book #37!

38 - The Return by Nicholas Sparks

I'd be closer to 50 books but I managed to start quite a few books that I just couldn't commit to!

45. The Fall of the House of Byron by Emily Brand.

38 - Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin

46. A Wood of One’s Own by Ruth Pavey. It’s an account of a woman who bought some scrubland in Somerset in order to plant a wood. It’s ok, but rather slim.

I picked up numerous books this year that I was unwilling to finish! I found myself reading articles instead, in the news and magazines about current events and subjects that interest me- As a result didn't even come close to 50! But I do hope that TerriBull will begin a new thread for 2021

I thought for sure with the situation at hand I would have read more books!

rosecarmel, I was thinking twice about it, I'm wondering if the "50" number puts people off, what do you think? I didn't make that number this year, say. Should we revise the thread to say 30?? I'd appreciate your opinion, or anyone else's for that matter. Personally I think we need our books more than ever right now. Simply amazed when I go over to MN, some contributors get to over a 100, in fact close to 200

47. The Siege of Krishnapur by JG Farrell.

48. When We Were Very Young by AA Milne (it was lovely to revisit this with my youngest GC)

49. Ruby and the Naughty Cats by Jane Hissey.

50. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie. My very first AC! I haven’t actually finished it yet but will by midnight, so with the addition of books I read to my GD, that’s fifty book.

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