2019 50 Book Challenge

[Geoffrey Firmin]

Aren't you in Canberra? Plenty of libraries there, surely.

Yes the libraries here are pathetic. Usually it’s long waiting lists for books and the worst catalogue system I have ever encountered.

 

[Fueco]

I used to buy books all the time, but broke that habit when I lived in San Diego, opposite the library. We didn't want to think about the cost of transporting four years worth of book collecting back to Oz, so we became library hounds. We also gave them what books we did buy when we left. I still have a spare room chock-a-block with unread books, however.

I buy books occasionally when I shop at Costco. The last one was The Testaments (sequel to The Handmaids Tale), last week. I’ll have to squeeze that one in between library books.

I’m starting to go through my books and get rid of older ones I won’t reread. I’ll give them to the library for their fundraisers sales.

 

[Fueco]

95. Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have, by Tatiana Schlossberg

It’s not a rosy picture.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

95. Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have, by Tatiana Schlossberg

It’s not a rosy picture.

May 1968. Consume. Be silent. Die.
The chickens have come home to roost...merde!

 

[LonerMatt]

Spoiler: List

1. The Broken Kingdoms
2. The Kingdom of Gods
3. Semiosis
4. Bridge of Clay
5. Blackwater City
6. Bullshit Jobs: a Theory
7. Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
8. The People vs Tech
9. The Outrun
10 Ancillary Justice
11. Words without Music
12. Digital Minimalism
13. When Rivers Run Dry
14. The Uninhabitable Earth
15. Do we need inequality?
16. Carbon Ideologies: No Immediate Danger
17. The Secret Life of Trees
18. Educated
19. River of Doubt
20. Holy Sister
21. A War in Crimson Embers
22. Ancillary Sword
23. Ancillary Mercy
24. One Way
25. The Raven's Tower
26. Dark Emu
27. A Memory Called Empire
28. A Forest of Wood and Steel
29. Makers
30. Pink Mountain on Locust Island
31. The Summon Stone
32. Fallen Gate
33. Senlin Ascends
34. Howling Dark
35. Arm of the Sphinx
36. Fall, or Dodge in Hell
37. The Hod King
38. Boy Swallows Universe
39. Ancestral Night

39. Ancestral Night

Has it really been 2 weeks since I finished a book? wtf.

Anyway this is a spce opera following a woman who gets infected by a parasite from an ancient spcies that allows her to control gravity - despite there being the usual SF tropes (faster than light travel, Universe ruled by a central body, piracy and AI) - the one thing that this Universe hasn't sussed out is gravity, so this is like the best most extreme power it's possible to have.

Unfortunately, she's in the middle of nowhere with some pirates right on her tail - they also have the power having pilfered it and harvested it from dying aliens (big no no). Starts as a heist novel, then segues into a hostage story.

Pretty good book, took me awhile to get into it but had some great moment.

 

[LonerMatt]

Yes the libraries here are pathetic. Usually it’s long waiting lists for books and the worst catalogue system I have ever encountered.

I had the opposite experience: 95% of what I wanted they had, request in and wait, catalog was easy enough to use). Never had any problems.

 

[LonerMatt]

Spoiler: List

1. The Broken Kingdoms
2. The Kingdom of Gods
3. Semiosis
4. Bridge of Clay
5. Blackwater City
6. Bullshit Jobs: a Theory
7. Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
8. The People vs Tech
9. The Outrun
10 Ancillary Justice
11. Words without Music
12. Digital Minimalism
13. When Rivers Run Dry
14. The Uninhabitable Earth
15. Do we need inequality?
16. Carbon Ideologies: No Immediate Danger
17. The Secret Life of Trees
18. Educated
19. River of Doubt
20. Holy Sister
21. A War in Crimson Embers
22. Ancillary Sword
23. Ancillary Mercy
24. One Way
25. The Raven's Tower
26. Dark Emu
27. A Memory Called Empire
28. A Forest of Wood and Steel
29. Makers
30. Pink Mountain on Locust Island
31. The Summon Stone
32. Fallen Gate
33. Senlin Ascends
34. Howling Dark
35. Arm of the Sphinx
36. Fall, or Dodge in Hell
37. The Hod King
38. Boy Swallows Universe
39. Ancestral Night
40 Inappropration

40. Inappropration

This is a wild book about a young girl who falls into a new friendship group with some other 15 year olds who are way too serious about being progressive and the complexities of that world view clashes with their lack of understanding of the world, judgemental attitudes and blinkered world view. Essentially imagine 3 fifteen year old girls trying to debate whether gay men are people of colour while also trying to show off they are the smartest. It's a total **** show.

Ziggy, the main character, has no ******* clue who she is or what she's about, and goes down some deep rabbit holes to try and find community, her yearning for friends and understanding drives most of the bizarre interactions in the novel, culminating in a proactive trauma (you'll need to read to find this one out).

Like any coming of age novel there are some parts that are totally not believable: that the parents, school and adults are so passive is clearly ludicrous, that a 15 year old can find and buy ayahusca in Sydney when she has no money, no one smashes her Go Pro, etc.

It's charmingly written - the prose is dense but feels light, the author clearly is enjoying playing with the ridiculous labels and descriptions that inhabit so much of identity politics in the deepest pockets of the progressives. The author seems to be saying how funny it is to stake so much on an identity when no one, really, can articulate who they are or what they're about.

Won the Miles Franklin (or something else) I think because it's timely, funny and cannily written.

Aussie lads - had a crack at this one? I imagine CD would love the first 1/3 and then get a bit let down by the drama at the cost of believably.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

I had the opposite experience: 95% of what I wanted they had, request in and wait, catalog was easy enough to use). Never had any problems.

I guess it’s down to popular authorship and number of copies.

 

[Fueco]

96. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong

A first person account written from the perspective of a young man who was born in Vietnam, but lives in America. It tells his story as a letter to his illiterate mother while also recounting her story of life during and after the Vietnam War, as well as the story of his grandmother.

 

[Fueco]

#97. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs

I picked this up at a thrift shop last year, and am just now reading it for the book club prompt “A Banned Book”. I can see why it was banned...

 

[California Dreamer]

Spoiler: Previously Read

1. Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally, by Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies
2. Illustrado, by Miguel Syjuco
3. Kill 'Em All, by John Niven[
4. The Black Monday Murders, volume 1: All Hail God Mammon, by Jonathon Hickman
5. Bad News, by Edward St. Aubyn
6. Education, by Tara Westover
7. Europe: A Natural History, by Tim Flannery
8. No Tomorrow, by Luke Jennings
9. Scrublands, by Chris Hammer
10. The Kingdom, by Fuminori Nakamura
11. The White Darkness, by David Grann
12. Sacred Cesium Ground and Isa's Deluge, by Yusuke Kimura
13. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 2: The Scales, by Jonathon Hickman
14. Dark Echoes of the Past, by Roman Diaz Eterovic
15. Acute Misfortune, by Erik Jensen
16. The Low Road, by Chris Womersley
17. Steve Smith's Men: Behind Australian Cricket's Fall, by Geoff Lemon
18. River of Salt, by Dave Warner
19. City of a Million Dreams, by Jason Berry
20. Nagaland, by Ben Doherty
21. Queen of Kenosha, by Howard Shapiro
22. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
23. Saga, Volume One (Eps 1-3), by Brian
24. The Forest of Wool and Steel, by Natsu Miyashita
25. The Waiter, by Matias Faldbakken
26. Manchester Happened, by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
27. This body's Not Big Enough For Both of Us, by Edgar Cantero
28. The Erratics, by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
29. Saga Book 2, by Brian Vaughan
30. Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada
31. The Brewer of Preston, by Andrea Camilleri
32. Eight Lives, by Susan Hurley
33. Fu Ping, by Wang Anyi
34. N, by John A. Scott
35. Adele, by Leila Slimani
36. Gretchen, by Shannon Kirk
37. An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
38. The White Girl, by Tony Birch
39. The Trauma Cleaner, by Sarah Krasnostein
40. The Ballad of Captain Kelly, by Jonathan Wicken
41. Grief is the Thing With Feathers, by Max Porter
42. Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe
43. A Keeper, by Graham Norton
44. Saudade, by Suneeta Peres da Costa
45. The Murder Farm, by Andrea Maria Schenkel
46. Gallows Court, by Andrea Martin Edwards
47. Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan
48. State of the Union, by Nick Hornby
49. Being Black 'n Chicken, and Chips, by Matt Okine
50. Rather Be the Devil, by Ian Rankin
51. Forbidden Harbour, by Teresa Radice
52. The Grade Cricketer: Tea and No Sympathy, by Dave Edwards

53. A Fist or a Heart, by Kristin Eiriksdottir

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

Elin is an aging prop-maker working in theatre and film. When she accepts a job designing props for a new play, she encounters up-and-coming playwright Ellen, the daughter of one of Iceland's greatest writers.

Elin becomes concerned about Ellen's nervousness and a seeming chaos about her approach to the play. She starts to keep an eye on her but is given a brusque dismissal. It soon becomes clear, however, that there are other reasons underlying Ellen's odd behaviour.

This a story of two fragile women, one waxing and one waning. The puzzling relationship between the two of them is gradually revealed before a very sad and affecting conclusion.

 

[Fueco]

98. The Death Of Politics: How To Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, by Peter Wehner

“It May seem banal, but core truths often are; and the quickest route to changing our political culture is by voting into office people who conduct themselves with decency and class.”

 

[California Dreamer]

Spoiler: Previously Read

1. Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally, by Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies
2. Illustrado, by Miguel Syjuco
3. Kill 'Em All, by John Niven[
4. The Black Monday Murders, volume 1: All Hail God Mammon, by Jonathon Hickman
5. Bad News, by Edward St. Aubyn
6. Education, by Tara Westover
7. Europe: A Natural History, by Tim Flannery
8. No Tomorrow, by Luke Jennings
9. Scrublands, by Chris Hammer
10. The Kingdom, by Fuminori Nakamura
11. The White Darkness, by David Grann
12. Sacred Cesium Ground and Isa's Deluge, by Yusuke Kimura
13. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 2: The Scales, by Jonathon Hickman
14. Dark Echoes of the Past, by Roman Diaz Eterovic
15. Acute Misfortune, by Erik Jensen
16. The Low Road, by Chris Womersley
17. Steve Smith's Men: Behind Australian Cricket's Fall, by Geoff Lemon
18. River of Salt, by Dave Warner
19. City of a Million Dreams, by Jason Berry
20. Nagaland, by Ben Doherty
21. Queen of Kenosha, by Howard Shapiro
22. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
23. Saga, Volume One (Eps 1-3), by Brian
24. The Forest of Wool and Steel, by Natsu Miyashita
25. The Waiter, by Matias Faldbakken
26. Manchester Happened, by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
27. This body's Not Big Enough For Both of Us, by Edgar Cantero
28. The Erratics, by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
29. Saga Book 2, by Brian Vaughan
30. Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada
31. The Brewer of Preston, by Andrea Camilleri
32. Eight Lives, by Susan Hurley
33. Fu Ping, by Wang Anyi
34. N, by John A. Scott
35. Adele, by Leila Slimani
36. Gretchen, by Shannon Kirk
37. An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
38. The White Girl, by Tony Birch
39. The Trauma Cleaner, by Sarah Krasnostein
40. The Ballad of Captain Kelly, by Jonathan Wicken
41. Grief is the Thing With Feathers, by Max Porter
42. Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe
43. A Keeper, by Graham Norton
44. Saudade, by Suneeta Peres da Costa
45. The Murder Farm, by Andrea Maria Schenkel
46. Gallows Court, by Andrea Martin Edwards
47. Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan
48. State of the Union, by Nick Hornby
49. Being Black 'n Chicken, and Chips, by Matt Okine
50. Rather Be the Devil, by Ian Rankin
51. Forbidden Harbour, by Teresa Radice
52. The Grade Cricketer: Tea and No Sympathy, by Dave Edwards
53. A Fist or a Heart, by Kristin Eiriksdottir

54. There Was Still Love, by Favel Parrett

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

This is the story of two Czech sisters, who have been impacted by events during the Second World War and, later, the Prague Spring. They are separated, with one in Australia and one remaining in Prague. Eva, in Prague, looks after her tearaway grandson while his mother tours Australia with a theatre group. Mana, in Melbourne looks after her orphaned grand-daughter while saving for the occasional return home.

This is an affecting story which looks at the pain of separation and loss, while also showing a growing awareness of the younger generation of just what the old people who surround them went through in their lives.

 

[LonerMatt]

ooooooooooo new Favel, will have to request that @ the library.

 

[California Dreamer]

Spoiler: Previously Read

1. Andy Kaufman: The Truth, Finally, by Bob Zmuda and Lynne Margulies
2. Illustrado, by Miguel Syjuco
3. Kill 'Em All, by John Niven[
4. The Black Monday Murders, volume 1: All Hail God Mammon, by Jonathon Hickman
5. Bad News, by Edward St. Aubyn
6. Education, by Tara Westover
7. Europe: A Natural History, by Tim Flannery
8. No Tomorrow, by Luke Jennings
9. Scrublands, by Chris Hammer
10. The Kingdom, by Fuminori Nakamura
11. The White Darkness, by David Grann
12. Sacred Cesium Ground and Isa's Deluge, by Yusuke Kimura
13. The Black Monday Murders, Volume 2: The Scales, by Jonathon Hickman
14. Dark Echoes of the Past, by Roman Diaz Eterovic
15. Acute Misfortune, by Erik Jensen
16. The Low Road, by Chris Womersley
17. Steve Smith's Men: Behind Australian Cricket's Fall, by Geoff Lemon
18. River of Salt, by Dave Warner
19. City of a Million Dreams, by Jason Berry
20. Nagaland, by Ben Doherty
21. Queen of Kenosha, by Howard Shapiro
22. Daisy Jones and the Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
23. Saga, Volume One (Eps 1-3), by Brian
24. The Forest of Wool and Steel, by Natsu Miyashita
25. The Waiter, by Matias Faldbakken
26. Manchester Happened, by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
27. This body's Not Big Enough For Both of Us, by Edgar Cantero
28. The Erratics, by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
29. Saga Book 2, by Brian Vaughan
30. Murder in the Crooked House, by Soji Shimada
31. The Brewer of Preston, by Andrea Camilleri
32. Eight Lives, by Susan Hurley
33. Fu Ping, by Wang Anyi
34. N, by John A. Scott
35. Adele, by Leila Slimani
36. Gretchen, by Shannon Kirk
37. An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
38. The White Girl, by Tony Birch
39. The Trauma Cleaner, by Sarah Krasnostein
40. The Ballad of Captain Kelly, by Jonathan Wicken
41. Grief is the Thing With Feathers, by Max Porter
42. Dark Emu, by Bruce Pascoe
43. A Keeper, by Graham Norton
44. Saudade, by Suneeta Peres da Costa
45. The Murder Farm, by Andrea Maria Schenkel
46. Gallows Court, by Andrea Martin Edwards
47. Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan
48. State of the Union, by Nick Hornby
49. Being Black 'n Chicken, and Chips, by Matt Okine
50. Rather Be the Devil, by Ian Rankin
51. Forbidden Harbour, by Teresa Radice
52. The Grade Cricketer: Tea and No Sympathy, by Dave Edwards
53. A Fist or a Heart, by Kristin Eiriksdottir
54. There Was Still Love, by Favel Parrett

55. Bury the Lede, by Gaby Dunn

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

Madison Jackson is a journalism student working as an intern at a major newspaper. Desperate to impress, she attends a crime scene and witnesses a society woman being arrested, covered in blood. She gets the chance to interview the accused, and frankly states her disbelief about the woman's guilt. This elicits a confession, and Madison is instantly elevated to the front page. But things do not seem right and she feels the need to dig deeper, gradually uncovering a major political scandal. But is she being used?

This is a pacy story reminiscent of a film noir plot. The artwork reinforces that impression, with characters that evoke actors of that era, such as Veronica Lake. It has ruthless ambition, a femme fatale, sex, crime and dirty politics; all the good stuff.