50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

I'm currently reading Only Ever Yours (book #25 I think )by Louise O'neill. Technically it's a YA book but I'd recommend it to all women (and men for that matter) regardless of age!
Has anyone else read this?

Fab news Joyless

Hi Joyless am delighted for you, and while all the palaver was annoying and worrying, the main thing is that you are okay :)

Duchess good luck with your results on Friday :)

Remus: I really must get Red Rising.....so many here are recommending it! Do order Bird Box from the library. I borrowed it from a friend and while I completely enjoyed it it was a short read and not worth paying full price for (or maybe I am just a meanie lol)

Great news, Joyless.

Have read the taster paragraph of, 'Bird Box.' It's okay but am not sure it's gripped me enough to buy it. I might order it from the library instead.

Have also read the opening of, 'Red Rising' and am enjoying it so far. The present tense is bearable. It does seem quite YA-ish thus far though, and is reminding me a bit of, 'The Hunger Games' minus the, 'Who do I love?' nonsense.

Huge relief for you, Joyless :).

I am supposed to be getting my MRI and latest blood test results on Friday. Hoping nothing bad.

Ah that's great news Joyless . So pleased for you!

Thanks Lammy and all you other wonderfully lovely vipers: X-ray result received ... and its not just something of nothing, but actually nothing. Yes - completely clear. My doctor has no idea what all the "GP to give results" thing was about, let alone losing it last week. She is quite cross about the whole thing and is arranging for us both to meet with the Practice Manager. The bloke - very sweetly - came back from work early to check all was well and I now feel like a bit of a wolf crier So, back with the boring diagnosis and all is well.

Hyperion continues to be really good ...

Finished Bird Box and highly recommend it. Loved the ending.

Joyless thinking of you and hope it is good news

Thank you so much to all those who asked about my x ray results - well, unbelievably, I'm still waiting! Nurse practitioner made a big fuss about being lumbered with the job and then couldn't lay her hands on the results. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but the bloke persuaded me to focus on the very busy weekend we had coming up (with his best mate visiting from Norway - who also turned up early on Friday afternoon) and that's what I did. Will be getting an appointment with preferred GP this afternoon who will give me results. Its turned into such a saga ... I'll feel very silly if its something of nothing ...

Meantime, no 27 is a book club selection: The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Croft. Dated but delightful murder mystery. It was especially interesting to have the central character talk through his theories with the reader. Indeed, when he presents his final version of the theory, we get page numbers in brackets where evidence of that aspect of the theory appeared in the book. It made an excellent sorbet read.

Both the bloke and his mate have now gone, so have started Hyperion. It looking good already and I promise to update more promptly this afternoon.

I thought A God in Ruins was even better than Life After Life It is a straight forward narrative, no messing about with different stories like in LAL. I loved it but then I loved LAL too (hadn't been expecting to after quite a bit of negativity in the the reviews on here). There is a twist but I'm not saying any more It's very good.

Not yet, itz's on my wish list, I'm a bit worried it can't possibly live up to LAL!

Bird box Remus...

Cote - will give RR a go anyway. Haven't lost much if I hate it!

Which one, Wilting?

#20 Between Two Worlds; My Life and Captivity in Iran by Roxana Saberi

Harrowing and gripping tale of journalist falsely imprisoned in Iran. Roxana Saberi is a US based journalist with dual US/Iranian nationality. She is arrested and accused of espionage, and told she will be freed if she "cooperates" i.e. admits to the crime. There are some warm moments; the relationships with fellow prisoners are beautifully described. She doesn't lose her love of Iran, or her faith. I really couldn't put this book down.

Gwan Remus, you read it and tell me if everyone dies horribly at the end I just can't do it without some forewarning!

Aw southeast life after life is one of my favourites, does seem to be a marmite book tho... Have you picked your next choice yet?

Remus - I'm sorry to say that Red Rising is all... in present tense. I know how you hate it. But it actually works in Red Rising (imho).

I think you might really like The King In Yellow.

I haven't read any Lovecraft but now I think I must. I'm not much of a horror fan but do love weird stuff like Ballard.

22. 1888 by Paul Stubley - an account of all the other murders that occurred in 1888, the year of Jack the Ripper. Interesting but I does read a little like a monologue. I have read quite a lot of this genre, I think you'd enjoy it more if you hadn't.
23. An audio book, Midnight in Peking by Paul French, an account of a murder that shook Peking in the last days before the Japanese occupation then the Second World War and remained unsolved. Fascinating but went on a little and the narrator was very annoying. Apparently it was a book of the week on Radio 4 and I suspect it was a lot better abridged.

Moving onto a dead simple murder mystery Eeny Meeny by MJ Arlidge.

Lammy - I like a lot of YA too, but I know that Cote hates it. I have no idea if, 'Bird Box' is intended for teens or not; had got it into my head that it was, but could well have invented that!

Hi Cote I haven't finished Bird Box yet so not sure if the mystery "creatures" are explained (side note to myself: don't review books until you actually finish them! I just got so excited by the first 100 pages)

Remus I am not sure if Bird Box is YA (am assuming this means aimed at young adults?) but I do like a lot of books aimed at young people eg Delirium
I like your idea of giving stars out of 5 :) I must try and remember that.

58. Funny Girl by Nick Hornby - 2/5

I really don't like giving bad reviews for books - I feel guilty saying something less than complimentary about a book I've read. But, with the best will in the world, I can't give this any more than two stars.

I kept waiting for the story to take off, to be funny. It didn't, and it wasn't. The character of Sophie/Barbara didn't feel real. There was no substance to her. I didn't feel that I was getting to know her as the central character at all. I felt I didn't get to know enough about her to like or dislike her.

It might have been a more interesting novel if it had been more about the whole production team - more of Bill and Ted the writers - they could have been very interesting. Much more could have been made of them and their writing careers and the production aspects of making a popular television comedy.

The cultural references to the 60s felt shoehorned in, from research. A few quick name-drops of the famous writers, actors, musicians etc from the 60s made in passing do not create an authentic atmosphere.

I've ordered, 'The King in Yellow' and 'Red Rising' and also a taster of, 'Bird Box.' I ordered the latter last week because I liked the cover and because I thought it was YA. Is it?

Cote - You'd probably like Lovecraft. Stephen King really rates him; personally, I don't like him - it's all a bit too weird and overblown for my liking.

Have you read any Kafka? Am guessing yes!

29. Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel - can't remember who recommended on here, but thank you, loved it! There is an outbreak of a strain of flu that has a very short incubation and people go from first contact with it to dying within less than 24 hours, it wipes out about 99% of the world's population and civilisation collapses. The action starts on the night of the outbreak in Toronto with a famous actor who is acting in King Lear dies on stage of a heart attack - the story follows several people who were involved in that incident - his ex-wife (going back to cover her life with him before the flu), the trainee paramedic who tried to save him, a child-actor who'd been at the theatre. It then jumps between the year 20 after the ourbreak, following the now adult child-actor and going back to cover before the outbreak.

Bits were overly intertwined for my liking, it was a bit too 'neat' that they did meet, but aside from that, my main feeling was that I wouldn't survive an 'end of civilisation' situation, I'd be one of the people dying early on even if I didn't catch the flu...