50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

52. The Axeman's Jazz, by Ray Celestin -- Immensely readable crime novel set in pre-prohibition New Orleans, based on the Axeman murderers (that ghosty chap in the third series of American Horror story, if anyone's watched that, although this book takes a very different tack). It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, revolving more around organised crime than serial killings, but it was very enoyable in any case.

Next up is Americanah.

Shake - 'Travels with Charlie' is v good. It's a Steinbeck, but non-fiction, rather than a novel.

The novellas like, 'Cannery Row' and, 'The Pearl' are good too.

22. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Wonderful writing, short novel about friendship, love and difficult decisions. I thought the characters were all painted so well. Very good.

I am kind of working my way through some of the classics and have read The Grapes of Wrath (now one of my favourite books of all time) and East of Eden. Can anyone recommend me a further John Steinbeck that I would enjoy?

23. Station 11 by Emily St John Mandel. This has been reviewed a fair bit already. I thought it was okay. Viral-meggedon destroys everything but people survive and re-group. I agree with DinosaursRoar it was all a bit neat for my liking.

Book 71 - 'Red Rising'
I enjoyed this. I liked the central character; liked the dialogue; liked the idea of infiltrating the enemy from inside. It was v YA in tone and style (not a problem for me, as I like YA, but surprised that you liked it so much Cote because of that). The battle stuff in the middle got a bit tedious and could have been culled some, and it was very derivative of, 'The Hunger Games' but, all in all, it's an enjoyable read and I'll probably read the others at some point. I didn't like it anywhere near enough to pay £8.49 for the second one, though.

O god sorry about the typos

God whippet, I'm trying to read Us too but really dislike all the characters. The don is awful, the wife is awful and the husband, whybische pitting up with it? And I just find it so unlikely that you'd drag an 18 yo on a v expensive trip around Europe when he hasn't the slightest interest. Have picked up a Marian Keyes paperback that I'm sneakily reading instead! The Mystery of Mercy Close

Not sure why I feel guilty about it!

27. The Martian by Andy Weir. This has been reviewed a few times already on this thread, it's about a man accidentally left behind on Mars and his struggle to survive. I really enjoyed it, and I say that as someone who's not generally a massive sci fi fan. The science-y bits were interesting and the main character was really funny. Thanks for the recommendation, Cote and others.

Ooh, very good to know Best and southeast.
I was worried it was just me

37, 38, 39. A few of Jilly Cooper's short romantic novels from the 1970s. Harriet, Prudence, Imogen. All very silly but sweet and some of the 1970's values are a bit . I loved these when I was 15 and they were brand new. I still like them now and I love her descriptive passages of the countryside and the outlandish names.

I hated them all too whippet. The wife especially. She seemed to have no redeeming features.

44. Us - David Nicholls

A book where I intensely disliked all the characters! Particularly the wife and son. I still quite enjoyed this though and it wasn't at all what I expected. A light, quick read and it was engaging. But everyone was so annoying. Really, they were.

59. Waterlog by Roger Deakin - 4.5/5 stars (half a star deducted because I really wanted some pictures of the locations :o)

Really enjoyed this. Will appeal to anyone who is a fan of Robert Macfarlane's books (Roger Deakin was a friend of his).

This book is Roger Deakin's account of wild swimming across Britain, in rivers, lakes, lochs, the sea - in fact anywhere. Like with Robert Macfarlane, there was quite a bit of "and I chipped away the ice, took off my clothes and dived in" kind of thing - brave, but made me shiver :o

Have got my eye on his Notes from Walnut Tree Farm, and Wildwood as well.

Book 70 - 'A Streetcar named Desire' by Tennessee Williams
I really disliked this, but hope that somebody who loves it will come on here and tell me what I've not seen in it.

I didn't think there was a single likeable character in it, or many believable moments. Really, really disappointing. :(

Mumslife - I felt the same as you about Love Anthony

I really enjoyed Eeny Meeny as an audiobook but probably wouldn't have liked it so much if I had read it. It just seemed to work well with multiple narrators keeping the fast pace of the story going. I probably will continue with the series.

24. Eeny Meeny - MJ Alridge - first in a new detective series featuring DI Helen Grace - this has very good reviews on Amazon. I found it a not particularly well written page turner with a slightly disappointing ending. I did enjoy but won't be purchasing the next in the series.

I've been away from this thread for a while, so lots to catch up on, but in the meantime here's the last few books I've read. Oh, and I've hit 50!

43. Thinking about it only Makes it Worse, David Mitchell -- essays on modern life. Aww, don't he and Victoria Coren Mitchell make a lovely couple, though? Also, I saw him in a pub once. This book? Bit forgettable, as evidenced by my inability to remember anything about it.

44. Nyctophobia, by Christopher Fowler -- horror story about a young woman who moves to a vast mansion in Spain, half of which is in light, the other half in darkness. I found the twist a bit obvious: maybe it was meant to be.

45. Gentle Giant, by Wendy Robinson -- a mother's account of her son's autism.

46. Homeland, by Clare Francis -- story about demobbed Polish soldiers left in the UK after the Second World War. I got bored, and was skipping heavily by the end. The cover blurb made it sound more interesting than it was.

47. The Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins -- Okay.

48. A Place of Safety, by Caroline Graham -- Another Inspector Barnaby novel.

49. The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan

50. Trick or Treatment, by Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst Another non-fiction book looking into the evidence for and against various forms of alternative medicine, primarily acupuncture, chiropracty, homeopathy and herbal medicine. No prizes for guessing the results, but overall this felt very even handed. It's also an easy read, if a bit depressing at times the amount of money spunked by the NHS on homeopathy, for example. On the other hand, certain types of herbal medicine come off well.

51. Elizabeth is Missing, Emma Healey -- Maud is suffering from dementia, and believes that her friend Elizabeth is missing. I liked this, found it sad at times, funny at others, but the underlying mystery was fairly guessable. I'm not sure to what extent it was meant to be a mystery story.

So that's my list up to date. I feel like I've missed some books off the list though... Oh well, onwards to 100 books.

Book 69 - 'If the Dead Rise Not' by Philip Kerr
Another Bernie Gunther detective story, set in Nazi Germany and also in post-war Cuba. Like the one I reviewed earlier, this isn't great literature but it's a decent read, with at least a nod or two to Raymond Chandler. It could have used some editing though, as it was a bit over-blown - to be properly Chandler-esque he needs to rein himself in more. I really like the central character though, and will definitely look out for more of these. I'm not reading them in the right order, but I get the impression it won't matter too much.

Books 68 and 67 - Two Enid Blyton's from the 'Secret' series. I hadn't read either of these and was very pleased to find them in Oxfam. Feel a bit naughty counting them, but hey ho!

16. The Women And The Warlords - Hugh Cook

Volume 3 of 'Chronicles of an Age of Darkness'. I absolutely love this book, it's been one of my favourite fantasy novels for many years. It's one of the very few I've read with fantastic and believable female protagonists (and not in a sexy fur-clad tits-and-ass type way). Out of print (like all the series) but well overdue a reissue.

12. The wonderful story of Henry Sugar and six more - 7 short stories by Roald Dahl. This book was given to me by a friend and sat on my book pile for a year so before I picked it up last week. I've never been a particular fan of Roald Dahl but I really enjoyed these stories, particularly the true one about Dahl's early life. I would recommend to anyone who wants a break from novels. Easy to dip in and out of.

How odd! It wasn't coming up on mine....

Never mind I'm due a car boot trawl before my holidays so will try and pick it up there..

The kindle version of The Handmaid's Tale is on the Amazon website??

£5.90 though, so not cheap.