50 Book Challenge 2013 -The Sequel!

50. (Yay!!) Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes, set on a ship carrying Australian war brides to start a new life with the English servicemen they married during the war. Pretty good.

55. The gunslinger - Stephen King

The first of King's Dark Tower series. Not amazing but an intriguing introduction and am interested to see where the story goes in the next book.

Was "Masters of Sex" a good read BOF?

26. If nobody speaks of remarkable things - Jon Mcgregor

48. The Last Dance: And Other Stories by Victoria Hislop

96a. Romps, Tots and Boffins- I'm counting this as a half because it was just a light comedy read.

96b. The Dreaming Suburb, by RF Delderfield. A long one which makes up for the previous.

97. Masters Of Sex- the biography of Masters and Johnson.

98. Back Story, by David Mitchell. Fabulous autobiography.

Enigma was a cracking read, but I enjoyed The Best Of Our Spies more. Neither of them are great literature, but certainly they are fascinating and absorbing fictionalised history.

42. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf The shortest book that took me forever to read. I find her books quite hard to read and often feel like I don't like them when I am reading, then I will read one line that makes me rethink my entire opinion and her books stay with me long after I have finished. I am still telling everyone I know to read Mrs. Dalloway and that was weeks if not months ago.

I don't think I am going to make my target of 50, but I did want to read Pride & Prejudice to celebrate the anniversary and maybe if I get a few short books in, finish the BFG and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets with the DC then I might just scrape in.

Well done to all that have made it, exceeded or just had a great time with new books etc. Are we relaunching the challenge for 2014? I have a busy year ahead so am going to be more modest in my target - maybe 25.

63. "tales of Johan" by David Harris Wilson. It was alright, but hard-going in places.

64. " A Symphony of Echoes" by Jodi Taylor. This was the sequel to a book I read earlier in the year. Loved it!!

64: The Well of lost plots - Jasper Fforde. The more I read, the more I like. Another great romp through the world of literary characters, with loads of bizzarre but plausible (in the context of the book) happenings.

If anyone likes "rude" books, but not misogynistic stuff like "shades of Grey", "The Bride Stripped Bare" and the other one by Nicky Gemmel are worth a read.

50. In The Wood - Tana French

I was recommended this murder mystery by a friend whose taste in books I respect, but didn't get on with it at all. It was at least 200 pages too long and the narrator (male murder detective) sounded like a giggly school girl for most of the book - actually talking about his "helpless, snorting giggles", "fresh fit of giggles", etc. Author can clearly write but isn't that good with suspense and doesn't seem to know how men think.

YY Duchess , This Charming Man was great and dark. Much more deserving than it's "chick lit", guise.

24. I feel bad about my neck - Nora Ephron

101 - This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. Was not sure what to expect with this novel, but found it totally gripping, engrossing, didn't want to put it down. It's a lot more serious and a lot darker than I thought it would be. Gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

I think 64 may be my limit - the stack of books I have from the library is pretty untouched, as I have an assignment due in.

However, on the plus side, I have two weeks in January to get started on 2041's books.

Last update will be with you in a few days.

YY I'm having this problem with "the one hundred year man" it's preventing me reading anything else, but I'm stuck with it. Hopefully I'll find some time soon to complete it.

44. The Fir Tree by Hans Christian Andersen
45. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
46. Reached by Ally Condie
47. A Girl Aboard the Titanic: A Survivor's Story by Eva Hart

Forgot to update!

62. Iain Banks "Crow Road" - enjoyed this one but not as much as The Wasp Factory.

I'm currently reading "Tales of Johan" by David Harris Wilson

Santa - your post made me laugh. I've had a book like that recently, forcing myself to finish it through gritted teeth. Did not want to give up on it, but wasn't enjoying it at all.

Sometimes there's just something there that makes you determined to finish it whatever the cost, rather than abandon it (like I normally would).

Wow, Santa, that's dedication. I have no intention of reading Kate Mosse again, and I feel my life is the better for it.

I'd have read at least 50 books this year, but haven't because of forcing myself to read "Sepulcre" by Kate Mosse. Fuck me, I am only a few pages off finishing the bloody thing, and it must have had something to keep me going, but I must have read 15 other books (book adultery, to give it it's official term) during and I have to keep coming back to it, in a bid to finish the tome. I might even skim read the last couple of chapters to get the fucker finished k x

64 Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin

This book didn't really grab me although I have enjoyed the other Rebus books. I think I'm just a bit tired with reading about Rebus drinking all the time and his rather dysfunctional relationships.

65 The Cleaner of Chartres by Sally Vickers

This was okay, though again, I enjoyed her other books more. A major part of the plot was left unresolved which I found rather unsatisfying.

66 So Much For That by Lionel Shriver

Another real page turner from Lionel Shriver. Like her other books, most famously, "We Need To Talk About Kevin" it is sometimes uncomfortable to read but I love her bravery in tackling taboo subjects head on and exploring the dark thoughts we all have sometimes.

The husband in this book, Shep, is a really good man. Hardworking, reliable, a supportive friend, brother, son and husband. He perhaps lets people take advantage of his good nature rather too much, but you love him for it. He has lived modestly all his life saving for what he calls "The After Life", a blissful, early retirement (in his 40s) in a developing country where he can live simply on his savings. He has come to realise that his talented but rather prickly wife doesn't share this dream and is on the point of leaving her when she reveals that she has cancer. As they live in the U.S. she needs him to stay with her so that his health insurance will pay for her treatment.

The book deals with the reaction Shep, his wife, their children and friends have to the diagnosis and doesn't shy from describing the truth of serious illness and how everyone falls short of the saintly sufferer and their supportive family scenario. At the end of the book is an essay by Shriver about how she reacted when one of her close friends had cancer. The book came out of the shame she feels. It is also a book which made me profoundly grateful for the NHS.

23. Mortal Engines -Phillip Reeve