50 Book Challenge in 2013. Who's with me?

Nickname I don't know much, became interested after the BBC three parter on Victoria's Chidren (only in the girls though!) Have resolved to include a few non-fics in my 50 so may start by looking for this in the library, thanks

Finished The Line Of Beauty last night, so moving on now to book 7.

Finished Riot Act by Zoe Sharp last night totally gripping couldn't put it down finally finished at 2am. I am too tired this morning to decide what's next but feeling quite pleased that I have finished 10 books already

14 was going to be Nice Weekend for a Murder - Max Allan Collins, but I ditched it because I was bored and didn't like his writing style or the characters much, so it was The Chosen Dead - MR Hall which I enjoyed and raced throw.

It's part of a series with the coroner Jenny Cooper, she is a gripping lead but I can't help but feel she would be monumental PITA to know or work with.

And Number 15 is Tuesday's Gone - Nicci French

Book 9 - "French Children Don't Throw Food" completed. Found it really interesting.

Between that, I've also read book 10- "QI 1227 facts to blow your socks off". Just what it says really. Some interesting stuff, but nothing that really blew me away.

Book 11 will be a bit more lighthearted. "Getting Rid Of Matthew" by Jane Fallon.

Started book 8 - in the absence of my own book to read, am reading one lent to me ages ago by my mum - The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (Booker Prizewinner 2010). I tried reading it last year but couldn't get into it and gave up around p50, might as well keep going while I wait for my Amazon order to arrive.

Hello highland

Nice to meet another Arnold Bennett fan, I think his work is of its time, yet timeless, his characterization and capture of place are unbeatable.

Many thanks for the interesting recommendations, I'll certainly have a look at them. One of the delights of this thread is the discovery of new writers.

I am quite envious of your trip to Japan; what an adventure.

PurpleStorm how did you find French Children Don't Throw Food? I'm half way through and fascinated by it. It isn't at all what I expected.

Checking back in with -

1. Frances Osburne - The Bolter (biography of Idina Sackville)
2. Pamela Druckerman - French Children Don't Throw Food
3. Sarah Rayner - The Two Week Wait
4. Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere

Currently reading James Herbert - The Secret of Crickley Hall. I was inspired to buy this after watching the TV adaptation last year.

Forgot to list what I've read this year so far :

1. Parade's End - Ford Madox Ford (read first section and will return to later)
2. Bitter Water - Gordon Ferris
3. To the End of the Land - David Grossman
4. The Makioka Sisters - Junichiro Tanizaki
5. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima
6. How to be a Good Wife - Emma Chapman
7. Blossoms and Shadows - Lian Hearn
8. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - Rachel Joyce
9. The Box Man - Kobo Abe

Next book will be Some Prefer Nettles - Tanizaki again. I'm aiming to read as many Japanese novels as I can before going there in March.

Hi Allalonenow and minsmum. I'm also a huge Arnold Bennett fan - The Old Wives' Tale is one of my favourite novels.

Two quite random recommendations for you : The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher and The Makioka Sisters by Tanazaki Junichiro. The first set in Sheffield in the 70s/80s, and the second in Osaka and Tokyo in the mid-20th century, so on the surface very different themes, but these books really reminded me of Arnold Bennett in the way the authors described ordinary people's lives so fully and unhurriedly .. if you like a slow absorbing read take a look at them

minsmum Oh yes I'm sure you would enjoy them, 'Clayhanger' and 'Hilda Lessways', 'The Card', 'Anna of the Five Towns'. Wonderful characters and touches of clever gentle humour. If you have a Kindle, they are available free from Amazon.

Yes, I agree, I thought my TBR list would shrink, but it is ever expanding, and now I feel I should re read Middlemarch!

I've taken up reading Running Blind - Lee Child along side Catch 22. This thread idea has transformed my reading habits.

I have randomly started Middlemarch! It's good but I think it's going to take a while...

Allalone are they good then, should I add them to my ever growing list of books to be read ?.
I thought that by trying to meet this challenge that my list of books to be read would get smaller but its just getting longer and longer

Book 7 finished. No duds so far. Now got an empty to-read shelf, will have to reread something before my Amazon order arrives!

1. Edge Of The Orison - Iain Sinclair
2. The Year 1000 - Robert Lacey
3. The Clay Machine Gun - Victor Pelevin
4. V For Vendetta - Alan Moore & David Lloyd
5. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
6. A History Of England Vol 1: Foundation - Peter Ackroyd
7. The Death Of Grass - John Christopher

Hi all, I'm doing this via Goodreads and didn't realise there was a thread here! I'm up to 5 at the moment.

I got a bit obsessed by Ben Aaronovitch and read all three of his 'Rivers of London' series along with a Fables graphic novel and a short by Joanna Trollope. So a mixed bag there! I'm halfway through Ready Player One by Ernest Cline which is excellent so far, I'll have finished it by weekend and then have no idea what to pick next! I've got plenty so might do 'eeny meeny'

minsmum I think it will have to go in to the "Total Rubbish" collection!

I noticed upthread you've read Cranford, I really enjoyed it when I read it recently, it reminded me of the Arnold Bennett Five Towns books.

I finished #5: The Poet by Michael Connelly. Murder mystery/serial killer book with several twists. Not brilliant but pretty good, although I figured things out quicker than the FBI which is never a great sign.

I can't decide if I should now read Lolita, Under The Dome, or Casino Royale...

allalone I tried that book too but I only read a couple of pages

Started "Lady in Waiting" by Denise Domning, supposedly historical fiction, but actually just about cardboard cut outs dressed in Tudor costume. Without the the political intrigue or social details that would have interested me, I soon abandoned it.

Can I join?

Finished Killer Instinct I really enjoyed this so book 10 is going to be the second in the series Riot Act.