50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

Pinkglow It was so interesting, it was probably my favourite book I've read so far this year! I was really routing for the characters even though I already knew how it ended. Although, it does presume a fair bit of previous knowledge but nothing a quick google couldn't provide.

16. Maggie and Me by Damian Barr. An autobiography covering his tough childhood in a fairly rough area in Motherwell, a difficult experience for a gay, bookish boy with glasses amongst the macho men. He also had a bit of an obsession with Margaret Thatcher, not a popular figure in his hard drinking, working class neighbourhood. He suffered at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, but escaped to university and became a successful journalist and now writer. It's funny and sad and horrific and ultimately uplifting, and he tells his story with a complete lack of self pity, I really enjoyed this book

A few short books -
29. Lazy Days by Erlend Loe
A family holidays in Germany. The wife loves Germany, the husband loathes it and spends his time obsessing about writing plays for the theatre and dreaming of Nigella Lawson looking at photos of her in her cookbook sure that she is trapped in a horrible marriage to Saatchi (a bit before his time here).
Not Loe's greatest book, but the usual oddball dialogue which I like and LOL moments.

30. Weird things customers say in bookshops by Jen Campbell.
    Downloaded to my kindle after Duchess's review and really enjoyed it. Short and amusing.

31. Pear Shaped by Adam Blain
    Saw this book written by Adam Blain about his journey with brain cancer recommended by his wife and other Mumsnetters and downloaded it. Only 3 pounds on Kindle and self-published.
    I have never bought a book about illness before, but this one is very funny despite the very serious subject matter. Adam describes his journey from diagnosis to today and though harrowing, he is such funny writer there are plenty of laugh out loud moments. I also really like the way he tackles all the charlatans offering alternative treatments for very ill people. An important book in many ways I think and especially the end chapters are beautiful and poignant. Recommend it!!

bella4024 - I brought HHhH a couple of weeks ago, thought it sounded really interesting!

whippet I really agree with you about novels that jump around in time/between characters. Particularly when you start a new chapter and it's impossible to tell for the best part of a page which character it's referring to. Just frustrating and lazy, poor writing IMO.

I now refuse to buy any book where a present-day character is researching her grandmother's life/has found an old letter telling a story from generations ago/any other crappy time-slip cliche.

One of the reasons I like 19th century fiction I think, as well as classic writers like Steinbeck, Bennett, Wharton, Conrad etc from the 20th century, is that they start at the beginning and tell you an absorbing story till the end with no mucking about

I'm currently reading Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun. Goodness, it's an amazingly good book and she writes so well. A definite modern classic of the future.

whippet have you read Lahiri's first novel The Namesake? Still my favourite books of hers and though she focuses on three characters there is more sense of depth and continuity. Don't know why I'm explaining this to you as I am sure you've read it!

15. HHhH - Laurent Binet A non-fiction book about Heydrich and Operation Anthropoid. The story was mingled with the authors musings on the best way to write non-fiction. I enjoyed this, and was impressed by the authors level of research.

I loathed, 'And the Mountains Echoed.' One of the worst books I have ever read. I hated it from the first couple of pages, so goodness only knows why I dragged myself through the whole damn thing, other than that it was a MN freebie and I therefore had agreed to review it. Dreadful book.

I like to get deeply involved in a book so that I really care about the characters.

Whippet I totally agree with you about stories that jump about. This was my problem with And the Mountains Echoed and also Life After Life (although that jumped in a different way - in time rather than between people). It's so hard to get into the story and the characters.

Never been able to get into Ian McEwan.

Book 34 - Remember Why You Fear Me - Robert Shearsmith

This is a bumper collection of 24 horror stories and four novellas by the author, some previously published, some new. This was just the job for a week which involved a lot of train travel.

I enjoyed the stories very much - they are dark, quirky and funny in places and not a dud amongst them. The fact that it's a British author adds to the appeal, for me. He has some really original ideas and his writing style is very accessible.

Possibly one of the best horror anthologies I've read - recommended.

I am determined not to buy any new books this month - have a few that have been sitting on my kindle for a while now that keep getting displaced by recommendations from this thread!

Remus - then you'd definitely not like The Innocent. It's v good but disturbing and if you don't like jus style that'd be torture.

Thanks, Margo - I really, really dislike Ian M though.

Whippet - I'm about half way through it now. I'm actually really enjoying it, but it is VERY Victorian, if that makes sense! We've got the evil cad, the delicate young woman left in dire straits, the noble fellow, the evil stepmother type etc. It veers into melodrama fairly frequently, but I rather like that. My only complaint so far is that occasionally the author intrudes and gets in the way of her own story, but that's a product of its time too, I guess.

Remus I bought a second hand copy of East Lynne the other week from a National Trust book sale. I was saving it for my summer holiday and would love to know if it's any good.

31. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri

Snapshots of Bengali immigrants in the USA. Some insightful and often moving writing here but I am getting fed up of novels that jump from one character to the next and you don't hear anymore about the person you have been reading about before. I want progression and development, not to be left wondering all the time.

I am now reading The Greengage Summer by Rumer Godden and enjoying it more (because it's not jumping around probably).

Books set in Berlin: The Innocent by Ian McEwan. Very good indeed.

I've also read The Girl on The Train and thought it better than expected, well written, even if the plot was ultimately a bit daft.

I agree with CoteDAzur about IancEwan's latest. Not at the same level as his previous ones, though perfectly executed, as always. And, yes, ending not quite believable.

I haven't kept track but amongst this year's:

Mrs Hemingway by Naomi Woods. My favourite so far this year. By the same author The Godless Boys. Interesting concept but annoyingly done.

The Fever Tree by J McVeigh was good, apart from the dialogue which didn't ring true to me.

The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet had a fantastic beginning but petered out a bit and became samey, which I thought was a great shame.

Now reading Euphoria by Lily King about a female anthropologist in the 1930s. A good read so far.

(I've been lurking on and off so far.)

Here are my recent ones:

18. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I was a bit disappointed by this. Still set in Afghanistan, instead of one story it's made up of several loosely interconnected stories. I found that this meant I didn't get as involved with the characters or care so much about what happened to them. Some of the sections seemed to finish quite abruptly as well.

19. The History Boys by Alan Bennett, about eight bright sixth form boys trying to get into Oxbridge, and their eccentric teachers. Loved this. The film is brilliant too.

20. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This has been reviewed lots of times on this thread already. It's certainly a page turner, but ultimately forgettable. Similar to Gone Girl but not as good.

21. Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope. I like Joanna Trollope - I think she's a bit like an English Anne Tyler. This is a reliable, comforting read.

Remus - I was wondering how he was going to finish off the series (Chaos Walking). A difficult job with the situations he has created. I'll let you know how I get on!

Welcome swarskicat. I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat years ago and loved it!

I've been on holiday this week so just catching up with the thread, will post my latest books soon.

So many good recommendations on here - about to start adding to my wish list on Amazon!

I can't remember all the books I have read so far this year, but would guess at about 2-3 a week so since 1st April:
no 15 - Redeemer by Jo Nesbo
16- The Boy in the Tower
17 - A most Unladylike murder
18 - The Devils star by Jo Nesbo (in library in hotel on holiday and should have read before Redeemer!)
19 - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (really depressing - not a good holiday read!)
20 - Still Alice, Lisa Genova
21 - Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain (great holiday read)
22 - A boy called Hope
23 - Nora Webster by Colm Toiban

And now halfway through 'Stoner' by Mark Williams which is really hard going!! and also 'The man who mistook his wife for a hat'. I like to read two books at the same time

hello all, I've been 'outed' on here in real life, so this is a name change - not a newbie. Anyway, I've just read book 20 - The Gatecrasher - Sophie Kinsella - I was lent to me by a friend and felt I had to read it as she's asked a couple of times. Was ok, bit predictable and I didn't really like hte main characters, but better than her shopaholic series with slapable characters...

Also, I've just been given a Kindle, so hopefully i'll stop being limited by how often I can get to the library/book shop (and I can stop adding to our groaning bookshelves). Any bargains you'd recommend?

#17. Falling Skies - Philippa Gregory. A reread for me after a long, long time.

Showgirl Lily marries Stephen, a wealthy lawyer who works in the family firm, after the first world war. An inequal partnership from the beginning, the stifling middle-class household is a shield for unexpected horror. I'd forgotten quite how gripping this story was, and how manipulative Stephen was. Like an onion, there are more and more layers to this, with a real nail-biting finish.