50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

I adore, 'Daddy Long Legs.' Such a lovely book - they don't make them like that any more!

If has been a while since I last updated….
11. The Marrying of Chani Kaufman – Eve Harris. A novel exploring relationships and marriage within London’s orthodox Jewish community. Chani is one of 8 daughters who has rejected and been rejected by several suitors and is under pressure to make a success match, as her younger sisters cannot marry until she has. It was an interesting and easy read.
12. The Glass Painters Daughter – Rachel Hore. The novel follows two connected story lines concerning a stained glass window. One Victorian love story concerned with the original creation of the window and one modern day concerned with the restoration of the window and of the main characters relationship with her father. A lovely novel.
13. The Ladies Room – Carolyn Brown. The main character finds out that her husband has been unfaithful and on the same day inherits her great aunts house. The outcome was very predictable. An undemanding easy read.
14. The Cold Tap – Tom Beckerlegge. A very unusual book. A kind of classic detective story, interspersed with information and stories about bathing through the ages.
15. In Stitches – Dr Nick Edward. From the title I expected this to be a light-hearted book about life as an A&E doctor. However the majority of the book is the author’s rants about how the NHS is run. I don’t recommend.
16. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde. Dorian Gray is a beautiful and irresistible young man. When his friend paints his portrait, Gray expresses a wish that he could stay forever as young and charming as the portrait. The wish comes true and the portrait ages while Gray remains young.

17. The Rosie Effect – Graeme Simsion. Sequel to the Rosie Project. Don and Rosie have been married for ten months and are living in New York. An enjoyable book, but not as good as the first.
18. The Spice Merchants Wife – Charlotte Betts. The story is set in 1666 and starts just before the Great Fire of London. The devastation wrecks the family life and prospects of a young wife, Kate Finche. The story covers the gradual redevelopment of the city over the next couple of years. Great story with lots of historical details. Would definitely recommend.
19. Daddy Long Legs – Jean Webster. Book largely written in the form of humorous letters from a lonely orphaned girl to her male benefactor, detailing the trials, tribulations, hopes and fears of her life. A great read, highly recommended.

27. A Visit from the Goon Squad – Jennifer Egan

I still don’t know how I feel about this. In one respect, I read it non-stop like an addict but on the other hand, I don’t know if I really particularly enjoyed it, which is very strange.
Basically, it’s about a lot of different characters who are loosely related to a music industry executive called Bennie Salazar and each chapter is about a different person, but you discover connections between all the people and see them sometimes in their past, sometimes in their future from their own persective and the perspectives of others. There was some very perceptive writing here about how life doesn’t turn out the way you imagine or hope it will.

28. Academy Street – Mary Costello

This really is quite similar to Brooklyn by Colm Toibin and I admit I much preferred Brooklyn, but Brooklyn is a much longer more detailed story. This short, sad novel focuses on a shy and socially retiring Irish girl who moves to New York and makes her life there. Although it skims over events very quickly (with some some fairly clichéd happenings) the writing was engaging and on the whole I enjoyed it. Plus, at 193 pages it was short!

I am now trying to read Waiting for the Barbarians but it is not gripping me. When I track down a second hand copy of IT by Stephen King I will read that.

Deffo not a competition, and I fully admit to being in the crazy camp. I read stupidly quickly and don't have enough of a social life - bad combination!

I need more, 'Survival against the odds' or, 'Failure to survive in the wild' recommendations, please. 'Into the Wild' was perfect for me, and I need more like that.

GetHappy - thats great, it's only week 13 as well. (Time to pick a few short ones to catch up? I read "we have always lived in the castle" over 2 days, it's only 200-ish pages! )

I've just finished 19. Charm - Sarah Pitborough - a 'grown up' version of the Cinderella story. She's a bit slutty and stroppy, the 'ugly sisters' and 'step-mother' are far more sympathetic characters, the prince is a bit of a tosser, Buttons is a 'Robin Hood' character and there's about 5-6 other fairy stories interwoven/referenced. Was a bit, and not one I'd recommend unless you're after some fantasty, chit-lit-y nonesence with lots of 'self love' with magic mice watching. (which is not always a bad thing!).

Number 30 - Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

My first book by the author. I enjoyed the writing style and found this easy enough to get into. Towards the end, it was quite thought-provoking, however, I did find some sections arse-clenchingly dull.

I think my problem with the book was that the characters were all fairly bland - although given the theme of the book, this may have been a tool used by the author. Even so, it did hinder my enjoyment of the book.

It read like a YA book as well, which I wasn't expecting. I like YA when it's being YA, but this seemed a bit like YA dressed up in adults clothing, IYKWIM.

Overall, it was an ok book, but very well written and I'm keen to read other books by the same author - I believe a few fans on here have suggested this is one of his weaker books.

Number 32 - How The Dead Live by Will Self

Most Will Self books, IME, are like marmite. This is one of his more accessible ones.

The story of Lily Bloom, a late-middle aged lady who dies of breast cancer, and her adventures in the afterlife - which apparently means a basement flat in a suburb of London reserved for the recently deceased.

Told from Lily's viewpoint, this is a very funny book, it manages to be absurd without being ridiculous and the characters are all utterly believable. Great fun.

Really enjoyed this one, and would recommend.

GetHappy, you don't have to read 50 books. And it's definitely not a competition if it were, we would all lose to Remus & few other crazies who read 150 books every year

I was in the same position GetHappy and some posters recommended some shorter books and I'm nearly catching up.

WhippetWoman- thanks, that's a great way to look at it. I love reading but never found the time until this challenge. I've already read more books this year than I did in the whole of last year (maybe the last two years). My life is so much better for it. And this thread is great for suggesting books I wouldn't normally have read.

Heartfelt thanks to all of you participating.

14. A hunger like no other - Kresley Cole The first in a series of paranormal romance books. It was ok, a few hmmm moments. Was a light, easy read. I'd probably only recommend to big fans of this genre.

GetHappy seven books is awesome, so don't give up. It doesn't have to be fifty books and everyone here would love to hear about what you have read because it's great to hear about what people have enjoyed/not enjoyed and what people recommend. What is your list so far? Life is generally so busy that I am always impressed by anyone who has read anything to be honest!

Don't let that discourage you GetHappy. I am a little behind as well but each book read is one book closer. It is not a competition so just keep reading, checking in and most if all enjoy!

Wanted to try so hard to complete these but seeing as I have onky read 7 books this year i cant imagine it happening

On a plus note ... I haven't read 7 books in this short amount of time for a couple of years so at least that's an improvement!!

Amazon just informed me that I had bought Joyland on 11 Feb for £0.99

It's not his best, Cote, but I'd say it's worth a read and worth a pound! :)

Stephen King's Joyland is £1.00 on the Kindle. Is it any good?

13. Did She Kill Him? - Kate Coloquhun - non fiction account of the murder of James Maybrick, his wife Florence was accused of his murder by poisoning. The book was a good read for the most part, reads more like a novel than a non fiction book. There was quite a lot of analysis of Victorian society, some of which I've read before but an interesting read.

14. Ticket to Oblivion - Edward Marston - haven't finished this yet but I'm adding it on as its a regular Victorian murder mystery and I haven't got much to say about it!

Off for Easter and feel like I'm catching up a bit with getting to target.

No. 11 - Martyr by Rory Clements. This took me ages to read. I was looking for a new Shardlake but the character really didn't grab me. I enjoyed the historical detail and the plot particularly the sub plots of the prostitutes and their battles with the men, but I felt the main character was a bit bland. I don't think I'll read any more of the series.

12. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. This book, on the other hand, was the best book I have read in a long time. I absolutely loved the structure, the narrative and the supporting character of Tommy. I think the whole concept of the "students" was a fascinating dystopia as the students only rebelled so far without going over a line. It intrigued me as well as how the author just allowed the information to seep into the reader's mind as the guardians did for the students. I had seen the film, and was pleasantly surprised by the ambiguity of the "donations" in the book. It felt more fitting. I think this has already become one of my favourite books and I will definitely read it again.

Now reading The Children Act by Ian McEwan - I am enjoying it a lot so far. I think my reading style has changed recently by the books I am now enjoying.

20. The Master And Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov

Some books I like, some books I don't. This one I hated with a vengeance. Pathetic prose, ludicrous 'plot' (if it can be called that), pathetic 'conversations' (if they can be called that) between 2D characters one of whom is a giant cat and another is the dullest Satan I have seen portrayed in print.

It's supposedly a "classic" I see only one possibility - since it was written during Stalin's rule, there may be covert references in there that would make sense to a Russian living there and then but to nobody else. Maybe if I got those, I would find something (anything!) in this book that is remotely worthy of the praise I have time and again seen heaped on this book on MN.

Looking online, I see that all sorts of meaning has been attributed to this book over time because it has no meaning that is apparent at first glance including Freemasonry. This is a subject I know a little about and can report that I have seen no indication of Freemasonry symbols or rituals in this book whatsoever.

I couldn't even tell if this book is defending religion against state-sponsored Soviet atheism or ridiculing religion along with the official state view. That is how complete and utter nonsense this book is.

If anyone would like to tell me what I have missed, if anything, I'm all ears.

13. When We Were Orphans, Kazuo Ishiguro

A wonderful novel, full of that achingly sad and haunting quality that Ishiguro does so well.

A young graduate sets up as a detective in 1930s London, trying to achieve his childhood dream of success in this profession. The novel switches between his present day career and life in the UK, and his childhood on the International Settlement in Shanghai. The last section reuintes the two angles of the novel, when the adult narrator returns to what is now war-torn Shanghai to try to solve the personal mystery that still haunts him from his childhood.

I'd definitely recommend this.

I also have 'The Unconsoled' by the same author waiting to be read, but it is intimidatingly long and heavy-looking. Anyone read it, and if so would you recommend it?

Glad you liked it, I love it to. Sean Penn made it into a movie, I watched it a while back and is very good, recommended.
Not too soon after the book though, not for me anyway.

Book 45 - 'Into the Wild' by Jon Krakauer
Thanks for the rec, Cote. I absolutely loved this! For those who haven't read it, it is about a young man who goes off into the wild in Alaska and starves to death. Krakauer paints a really fascinating picture of the guy, who seems to have made all sorts of connections with strangers, whilst being unable to have coped with his relationship with his own family. I found it a really fascinating and thought-provoking read.

1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.

Wow what a book. It's about an old actor who dies just before a flu pandemic wipes out 99% of the population. The story jumps forward and backwards in time and is intricately plotted. I really enjoyed it and wouldn't be surprised if it was filmed.

I am so pleased, work has handed me a new iPhone and taken my nasty blackberry away! Yay! MN was impossible to navigate on the bb

Congrats on the handstand cote !

Really enjoyed the eyre affair too. Would recommend it.

Am getting on quite well with longbourne, half way and def don't hate it.

#18 = The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. There's been a lot of hype about this one, so everyone probably already knows the premise of this book without my cack handed summary. Basically, a commuter on the train becomes obsessed with the lives she can glimpse in a house when her train is held up regularly at a set of signals. It emerges that she is an alcoholic and that she has previously lived on the street of houses. Things deteriorate when one of the women she has seen from the railway carriage disappears. This won't be winning any major prizes for literature and will probably be forgotten in ten years, BUT it was such a gripping read that I stayed up well beyond my bedtime to read it (and I am someone who likes their sleep!) I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who wants an engrossing read that's not too challenging and is able to suspend reality when it comes to unlikely endings!