Challenge: 50 Books discussion

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Good luck on reading a lot! :)

Tiffany wrote: "Good luck on reading a lot! :)"

Thanks!

Slow start. I 'read' two books for book clubs that really slowed me down. I wasn't a fan of either
1. The Dead Hour by Denise Mina
2. Resolution by Denise Mina
I *love* Denise Mina. Her heroes are Heroines. They are women. Strong, amazing women. In Glasgow. Scotland. What more could you ask for?
3. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt
This author claims to be a liberal. And says that "liberals" don't like his theses and conclusions; probably in an attempt to put us on the defensive because, frankly, liberals hate to be thought of as intolerant. His theses and conclusions are flawed - mostly because he's biased. He's no "liberal." No "liberal" would "understand" why women and servants are treated so horribly in India. (view spoiler)[fuck this guy (hide spoiler)]
4. Lab Girl by Hope Jahren
A mixed bag. Part memoir, part science journal. She went into a lot of detail about some things and skimmed over others.
5. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah An Audible experience. I really enjoy listening to an author read their own memoirs/autobiographies. Trevor Noah tells an affecting story of his childhood in South Africa. Born to a black mother and a white father, his birth *was* actually a crime under apartheid. He mixes humour and terror, both personal and political, in this book, and it works.
6. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem Another Audible treat. Gloria reads the forward and Debra Winger reads the rest of the book. Well. She reads it well. I am a long-time "fan" of Gloria Steinem. I read Ms. Magazine from the time it was first published. This book was so sweet, so tender. She has such admiration for the women she's worked with over the years - especially Native American women. I loved her stories of her childhood, her itinerant father, her damaged mother, her friends.

7. The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
Wonderful book.
8. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood I've read this book at least three times. It's one of the most terrifying books ever written.
9. The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit Rebecca Solnit's essays are always dead-on. It was interesting to read the section on Silence at a time when women are talking about being harassed and abused and finally are being listened to! This seems like a incredibly powerful time.
10. A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin Amazing collection of short stories by Lucia Berlin; many of which, apparently, are semi-autobiographical.
11. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead I've been a fan of Colson Whitehead since I first read his book The Intuitionist. I am pleased that he is being recognized, finally, for his brilliant writing. This book made me want to write a truly fabulous review saying all the ways that it taught me and touched me. I wish I had that ability.
12. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier Read this book first when I was in high school. Revisiting it was great fun and I was surprised how much of it I remembered after .... some years.

13. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear. Every once in a while you need some light reading
14. Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler I rather enjoyed this take on Taming of the Shrew, but, as I'm not as familiar with it as other Shakespeare plays, I'm not sure how the last "men have it so hard" part originated.
15. Testimony by Scott Turow. Turow goes far afield of his usual Kendall County milieu. However, the main character hails from there. I really enjoyed this world of the Hague and the International Court.
16. The Long Drop by Denise Mina
17. Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocence, Independence, and Identity by Alison Flowers This book focuses on several people who were exonerated after serving time in prison. It's heartbreaking to see how they were treated (at least two were convicted with falsified evidence, defense attorneys were overwhelmed or just didn't care,) and how hard it is to return to the outside world.
18. The Wrong Way to Save Your Life: Essays by Megan Stielstra I enjoyed Megan
Stielstra's essays about living, writing, and teaching in Chicago. I always love recognizing a location when I'm reading. (Especially when the author really knows what she's talking about.)
19. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

20. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
21. The Fall Guy: A Novel by James Lasdun
22. Slip of the Knife the last of the three Paddy Meehan books by Denise Mina
23. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West Excellent book by a great writer. If you haven't listened to it, hear her read one of her essays on This American Life https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radi...
24. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney A book club choice. I'm always fascinated by how differently people perceive things. Younger women in the group felt that they felt Lillian was "justifying" herself. They have no idea how it must have been trying to have a career (in advertising!) back in the day. (Frankly, I don't either, because Lillian is quite a bit older than I am; but I did work in offices in the 70s and I know how difficult that was for women.)
25. A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear
26. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair A poorly written book that was (and should still be) influential in our country.
27. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser Along with The Jungle, a book I read for a class on Chicago after the fire. Again, poorly written, but interesting in the way it portrays that particular time in history.

28. Moonglow by Michael Chabon
Excellent book by an excellent writer

Naomi V wrote: "13. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear. Every once in a while you need some light reading..."

I'm not sure I'd always call Maisie Dobbs "light" reading -- some of them get kind of deep or gory -- but certainly enjoyable reads!