Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Off Topic 50 Book Challenge 2020/What I've Read in 2020

Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond

The first official Stranger Things novel, this book begins well before the events of the first season. Terry Ives is a college student who fills in for her roommate at the newly built Hawkins Lab, where they are doing strange experiments involving dosing volunteers with LSD and trying to bring out hidden abilities. It's at the lab that Terry meets Alice, Ken, and Gloria, all members of the experimental group, as well as a five year old little girl called Kali...aka Subject 008. Terry starts to suspect that something sinister is going on at the lab...


I really, really loved the book. Fast paced and engrossing, the Dr. Brenner presented on the page is just as evil and manipulative as he is in the show. The story fit perfectly, seamlessly lining up with the events we see in the actual show. I tip my hat to the author. I usually find novels based on shows to be less than stellar, way off character, or full of plot holes, and I found none of that in this book.

Watched the sequel too and didn’t really like it either although the little boy who played Gustave is adorable, but some of the songs are beautiful. Did buy the Phantom of the Opera on iTunes so am happy there. I agree with your points there with respect to Madame Giry and you’re right it isn’t really mentioned in the musical that Meg is her daughter (although I think the sequel alludes to it)

Yep, in the sequel, it's mentioned over and over that Meg is Madame Giry's daughter. And I agree that Gustave was adorable. Quite the singing voice on him too! I was utterly impressed!


So, my last book was:

A Whole New World: A Twisted Tale by Liz Braswell

What if Aladdin hadn't been the one to take ownership of the lamp? What if Jafar's plan to trick Aladdin into retrieving it from the Cave of Wonders had worked the way he wanted it to, with Jafar taking possession of the genie from the start? This story explores that scenario and gets pretty dark fairly quickly, with lots of gruesome deaths and some truly twisted turns of events. From the start, Jafar is able to make himself sultan and then the most powerful sorcerer in the world. He throws Jasmine's father off a balcony right then and there, murdering the true sultan in cold blood, then sets his sights on breaking the laws of magic to try and make Jasmine (and all the kingdom) love him. With the help of good old fashioned fear, greed, and an army of the undead (he breaks the laws regarding not being able to bring people back from the dead), he wages war on the city, and Jasmine, who escapes the palace and allies herself with Aladdin and an army comprised of Street Rats...

24 - A Proper Scandal by Esther Hatch - It took me a while to get into this one. I read the first chapter, put it down, the second chapter, put it down. Then I read the rest of the book. I'm no good at describing characters, but I loved how hard it was for Grace to be pushed into doing something dishonest. The characters were both wonderful and had excellent character. Anything else I could say would spoil the story. This was fantastic.

25 - Beneath an Italian Sky by Stacy Henrie - Oh wow. This one was powerful. Written in a sort of twin-timeline sort of view. The back story was revealed at the same time as the resolution slowly worked its way out. Very well written.

26 - Wyndcross by Martha Keyes - I had to force myself to finish this one. Probably the published book with the second most amount of errors I've read. The characters were supposed to be aristocratic, but the low class language spoken by them made it hard to believe. But despite all these errors, I really wanted to know what happened. The further I got the easier it was to ignore the glaring typos and inconsistent speech.

27 - The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter by Mimi Matthews - I believe this is a novella in length. I've read another by this author that I had wished was longer. This one was very well written and easily pulled emotions from me as I read. I was very invested in the characters.

#13 The Alice Network by Kate Quinn



Interesting story with a lot of it inspired by real-life events and people.

32) Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary and the Crisis that Shook the World by Alex von Tunzelmann a day by day account of the Suez Canal crisis and the concurrent revolution in Hungary in 1956. This reads like a novel so if you don’t really read non-fiction then this is a good one for you. I knew a little about the Suez blockade, but this went into full detail of what happened and so I learnt a lot about more about what happened. It also goes into detail about the Soviet crush of the revolution in Hungary that happened at the same time.

33) Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay if you’re a fan of Jane Austen then this is a good one for you as it is littered with references to her books and in particular Pride and Prejudice (which is my favourite novel). Lizzy and Jane were named after Jane Austen’s heroines, but the similarity ends there. In the aftermath of their mother’s death from breast cancer, Lizzy escapes to New York and establishes herself as a renown chef, but when she loses the spark that made her a top chef her boss encourages her to return home to see her family and in particular her estranged older sister who has recently been diagnosed with the same cancer that killed their mother. This is an enjoyable read, even if the topic of family and cancer is a difficult one

28) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Gothic Novel. First published in 1938. First person POV and full of mystery and suspense, strange creepy scenes that make sense later. A long read, but excellently written. I had some preconceived notions about what the book was about based on something that I can't remember now. It was not at all what I expected. An excellent read, or listen. I went back and forth between the book and audiobook this time.

Have heard many great reviews on this book. Look forward to reading it

34) Dear Mr Knightly by Katherine Reay again with Jane’s Austen’s novels as a back drop with emphasis on Emma, Reay delivers another story of redemption and finding romance when you least expect it. As a bookworm I totally understand the desire to escape into the world of books, but personally I didn’t enjoy this as much as Lizzy and Jane. This book is set out as a series of letters with additional tidbits too showing what led to the writing of said letter so it may some across as a little disorientating. Also definitely was not expecting the twist in the end.

35) Catch-22 by Joseph Heller have had this book on my to read list for many years and while in the end I did enjoy it even if I found some parts of it rather ridiculous, it took me a while to really absorb myself in it

36) The End of the Affair by Graham Greene the second novel by Greene that I have read. While of the two The Quiet American is definitely my favourite, The End of the Affair is still a good read dealing with a jealous man who meets his former lover years after she broke it off with him and his obsession with her every move.

37) The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck as far as modern classics go, this is one I feel where the subject matter still has resonance even today in the form of what defines success and how success can also be tied to corruption as well as trying to retain your integrity in the midst of blatant corruption and deceit. This is John Steinbeck’s last novel and while my favourite remains East of Eden, this is right up there with it.

#14 The Cruel Prince by Holly Black


My daughter is very excited about this series so I thought I'd try it out. I'm not usually a fantasy person but this author did a good job creating the faerie world. I didn't love the main character but she was interesting. Some plot points I could predict, others I couldn't, which was refreshing. I'll read more in this series to see what happens.

#15 Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy



Not a fun read but very informative. It ought to lead to interesting discussion during book club.

#16 The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

Sequel to "The Handmaid'sTale". I read the first book back in the 80s. It was excellent. I watched the original movie version and just recently caught all three seasons of the show on Hulu. When I learned about "The Testaments", my first thought was, "She's cashing in on the show popularity". The book was more entertaining that I thought it might be but it wasn't nearly as good as the original.

BTW, I loved Rebbeca too. The movie is good too.

#17 You Were There Too by Colleen Oakley


This one didn't do it for me. It came off kinda silly. Good for a car read.

#18 Zoo Nebraska: The Dismantling of an American Dream by Carson Vaughan


A true story about a troubled zoo in a small town in Nebraska. I read this for book club, thinking it was going to lead to issues many small towns deal with. Overall it was just a series of very bad decisions.

Straight on Until Morning by Liz Braswell

What if Wendy went to Neverland with Captain Hook, instead of Peter Pan? After Peter leaves his shadow at the Darling House and doesn't return for over 4 years, Wendy trades it to Hook for passage to Neverland to escape her dreary life in London, where she feels like she doesn't fit in (especially with her parents, who want to send her to Ireland to knock out her habit of writing Peter Pan stories). But Hook has nasty plans that involve using the shadow to destroy Neverland, so Wendy is forced to escape and befriend a very begrudging Tinkerbell in over to save the world...

Not my favorite book. It just felt overall slow, despite the constant peril Wendy finds herself in.


Part of Your World by Liz Braswell

Six years after losing her father and Prince Eric to Ursula, Ariel is Queen Under The Ocean (a punishment from her sisters for being the reason Triton is gone). But Ariel discovers that their father might not actually be dead, as was assumed, but alive and still in Ursula/Princess Vanessa's clutches, so she is compelled to return to land and her lost love, only to find that Ursula is setting the kingdom up for war. Still, without her voice (still in Ursula's magical necklace, her chances of winning are slim....

This was a fun one. It was neat to see Ariel being unable to talk or sing (using a specialized mer-sign language and lots of inner monologues). It was also refreshing to only see her "winning" in small snatches here and there before being forced to retreat to regroup/wait out her waning trident power as the tides changed.


The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

A middle aged man returns to home down the lane were he grew up, to a small pond dubbed "the ocean" and remembers long forgotten memories of ancient powers that once nearly consumed his life.

I've read a few Gaiman books and, for the most part, enjoyed them. (I couldn't get through American Gods though.) I liked this book. It was a super fast read, and although very bizarre at points, it was enjoyable.

#19 After the End by Clare Mackintosh





This was an interesting concept. Midway through the book, the author explores the consequences of both outcomes. While it got a little confusing, since chapters alternated with POV and time, I liked the overall message that no choice was the perfect choice.

38) Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene Henry Pulling a retired bank manager has always lived his life on the safe side. At his mother’s funeral he is reunited with his Aunt Augusta whom he has not seen in fifty years. Flamboyant and unconventional Augusta is everything Henry is not. She persuades her straight laced nephew to take a trip with her starting with the fabled Orient Express to Istanbul. Along the way Henry uncovers family secrets learning more about his aunt and himself.

39) The Oil Conquest of the World by Frederick Arthur Talbot when I bought this from an online charity bookshop I had in my mind a book about the dominance of crude oil in the 20th century (although in saying that, this book was published in 1914), but this certainly didn’t meet that expectation. While interesting in some places I wasn’t expecting the part about the development of margarine. Also interesting was the whale oil industry.

#20 The Wicked King by Holly Black

(Second in the Folk of the Air series)


Exciting installment in the series. I can never tell where this story is going and maybe that's a good thing.

I don't often post here because I read a lot and don't have a chance to talk about those books. But I wanted to mention this one. I think you'll see the relevance.

More Deadly than War: The Hidden History of the Spanish Flu and the First World War by Kenneth C. Davis. published 2018.

As of the date of this post, the U.S. has suffered in excess of 110,000 deaths from Covid-19 against a population of 331 million, a death rate of 0.03%. None of that is good news - but look at the next statistic.

In 1918-1920, the U.S. suffered 675,000 deaths from what was called the Spanish Flu against a population of 103 million, a death rate of 0.5%. That's about 18 times the Covid-19 death rate. Approximately 25% of the US population contracted that virus. Worldwide deaths are estimated at 20 million.

The scenarios described in the book are horrendous, worse than any scary movie I've ever seen. Worth a read to get some perspective and some context for World War I. According to contemporary accounts, the disease dramatically affected the outcome of the war in 1918. And you'll find out why it was called the Spanish Flu (had nothing at all to do with the country of origin).

The text is easy to read, the photos and illustrations are top-notch, and the timelines interspersed through the chapters are enlightening. I won't spoil your reading - I was going to write "pleasure" but that's not right - edification.

Those who fail to learn from history will repeat the course.

Life is a terrible teacher. Life gives you the test first, then covers the lesson. Just like 1918-1920.

Sounds really interesting will have to look into it. This book is generally something I prefer reading

#21 The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

Last book in the Folk of Air series.


I must admit the story got to the point where I had no idea how the author would resolve the situation. But she did. Entertaining series.

40) Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll read this book years ago, but I thought I would pick it up again just for the sake of a little fantasy and escapism (and also because one of the doctors I work for we have nicknamed him after White Rabbit). Still as whimsical as it was when I first read it, but a whole lot of fun. It is also interesting to see what Disney took from both stories to combine them into his original Alice in Wonderland movie.

41) The Power of One by Bruce Courtenay Growing up is hard, but growing up in 1930s South Africa is even harder especially in a country that is divided by intense racism not only with the way that the white minority view the Africans, but also between the Boers and the English. The Power of One is told through the perspective of Peekay as he reflects back on his childhood and the people who shaped his perspective on life and race. While this book was first published in 1989, the issues highlighted are still as relevant today as they were then. A powerful and timely reminder that racism is something that is taught and not something inherent. Wonderful testament to the power of the human spirit.