The New Fifty Books A Year Thread 2020

Here are my next 5 books I have read
14- leaving time by Jodi Picoult liked it being set in an elephant sanctuary and the unexpected twist at the end.

15- nine folds make a paper swan by Ruth Gillian

16- The travellers daughter by Michelle Virnal. On her mother’s death she finds out about the first 19 years of her mother’s life and sets about tracing any relatives.

17- A year of new adventures by Maddie Please easy quick read.

18 Girls burn brighter by Shobha Rao . The story of 2 poor Indian girls as they become friends separate and get back together and all the trials and determinations along the way.

Mopsx4

I read Leaving Time years ago. I think it’s my favourite Jodi Picoult novel.

Number 7 "Gotta Get Theroux This" by Louis Theroux - very boring really, hard pressed to actually finish it, had high hopes that it would be good but didn't enjoy.

No 8 "Sisters" by Gabrielle Lord, quite enjoyed although some of the characters were rather annoying.

No 9 "The Assisant" by S.K. Tremayne very good thriller.

No 9
The testaments-Margaret Atwood

I pre ordered this book, but have only just felt like reading it, now all the hype has died down.

Maybe I was expecting too much, but it certainly didn’t WOW me like it appears to have wowed the rest of the world, I’m left wondering if I’ve missed something, or whether all this fervent acclaim is a bit over the top. I found it quite boring at times.

Book 10
The secret keeper- Susan Lewis

I’ve read a lot of Susan Lewis books over the years, I’ve never thought her to be a good writer, but she’s a good storyteller, and has touched on a lot of important subjects.
This book though, it really awful. Thin plot, stereotyped characters, completely predictable.
I think if Susan Lewis wasn’t an established writer, this book would never have got published.

Just started on The Salt Path, looking forward to this one!

No 10. The Things I know by Amanda Prowse. Very sweet and undemanding.

Finished ‘The Irish Princess’. Not one of Elizabeth Chadwick’s best ‘Henry’ novels, but pacy.
Book 8: ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver - a recommendation on here.

9 - Inside Out / Demi Moore (NF)

Currently rereading The Tipping Point by Gladwell and The Gene by Mukherjee -

Maid by Stephanie Land is my 11th book. It was one of Barack Obama’s summer read recommendations. It’s the memoir of an American single mother who survives by cleaning houses and getting food stamps. I think I held my breath all the way through because she was always teetering on the edge of disaster.

Yes! Maid is a fantastic journey of a read! Her perseverance !!!

I thought so, RoseCarmel. This evening though, I had a chat about it with friends, who felt she made a lot of poor life choices. I was quite baffled by that because so many times, I thought she had no option but to do what she did.

I agree, Sue- Her goal was striving for a better life all while joined at the hip with a social service system that is by design made difficult to navigate and quality for- And yes some of the decisions she made could be judged but they kept her sane, maybe even distracted and preoccupied while she persevered- Really engaging read, I couldn't put it down-

That's qualify, not quality!

Me neither, I raced through it! I thought the Welfare system sounded like something from the Dark Ages. I could hardly believe people would say things like ‘You’re welcome!’ when someone was using food stamps. How cruel, kicking a person when they’re down.

Book 7 Somewhere close to happy - Liz Louis
Book 8 A Week in Winter - Maeve Binchy - an easy read, quite good
Book 9 The Two lives of Lydia Bird - Josie Silver - really enjoyed and would recommend

Book 4: Jeannie Cummings, American Dirt. (Feb book club) . Harrowing story so will read something lighter next.
Book 5: Jonas Jonasson, Further adventures of the Hundred year old man. Brilliant sequel to The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared.
Book 6: Lucinda Riley, The Butterfly Room. Another good read.

Only read 2 books in February:
Talk of the Village by Rebecca Shaw - second in the Turnham Malpas series. This was just a relaxing, easy read. I intend to read all of the series but might find them too boring after reading a few.
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. This is not a book I would have chosen but thought after all positive reviews should give it a try. I thought it was very well written and an engrossing book. I was of course sympathetic to Ray and Moth’s situation
and the love between them was quite uplifting and something those of us lucky enough to have a long and happy marriage can understand. However they did also make me feel angry about what they chose to do. Would like to know if anyone else who has read they book felt like this.

Why did you feel angry, Bonji? That’s an interesting view that I’ve not heard before.

Maybe the investment? Don't want to say too much!

That triggered the entire thing? Yes, there is that aspect, but I regarded that as a ‘what’s done is done’ thing and the book as how do we go from here?

I would never have had the courage to do what Moth and Ray did for as my husband tells me to keep my trousers up I would use a belt, braces and a piece of string so I am not one to take a chance on anything! I therefore think I felt angry that they did not deal with what had happened to them in a more positive way from when it happened and yes, that they took a chance on making the initial investment.

I would probably not have dealt with it that way, either - tramping round a coastal path isn’t my idea of fun - but I can’t think that they were wrong to do it. In the end, it will have paid off in an unexpected way, in that I’m assuming her earnings from the book will have allowed them to make a new life.

7 Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner, short and a rather inconsequential book that surprisingly won The Booker Prize quite a few years ago, I do usually like her books but was definitely underwhelmed by this one.
8 Broken Ground - Val McDermid - audio
9 Out of Bounds - Val McDermid - audio hadn't really got into her books before now, but really enjoyed these two featuring her Detective Karen Perry, both engrossing plots. I've managed to pick up another one of her audio books at the library so hope that will be as good as these.
10 Now You See Them - Elly Griffiths - not one of her Ruth Galloways, this one is from her Mephisto and Stephens mysteries. A Roedean pupil goes missing, the book is set in 1960s Brighton and London evokes the period fairly well, but overall quite a mediocre plot, I wouldn't rush to read another from that series.
11 American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins - Harrowing! Nevertheless, fantastic read, best book this year by far, posted my review on the thread pertaining to "American Dirt"

No 12. The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen.

I’m not sure about this. It’s a moving story and very sad but it felt a bit skimpy, too.

Finished “Dark Matter”. I wouldn’t say it was a well written book, but it was as scary as hell. I feel silly saying this but it was my bedtime reading and the only way I could finish it was by reading it during the day!!
Book 9: Pat Barker’s ‘Silence of the Girls’.