50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

to rosehip in welcome.

Just finished book 26 - "Flight Behaviour" by Barbara Kingsolver. I absolutely loved it - unexpectedly - as I started to read "The Lacuna" a couple of years ago and couldn't seem to get anywhere with it - eventually returning it to the library. But this one just grabbed me straight away - perhaps because of a strong identification with the central character.

It's a wonderful weaving together of two stories - one, that of a change in the migratory behaviour of the Monach butterfly, with the other being the tale of Dellarobia - an Appalachian farmer's wife who discovers them in the woods behind her home. The first allows examination of the change to our eco-system and its long-term impact, whilst the other is a simple human story of people and choices made.

Dellarobia is a wild child who ended up pregnant and married young following the early death of her parents. The life she and her family lead is a familiar one in these parts, that of existing from hand-to-mouth, of hard physical work and a social life built around the local church. But Dellarobia had other plans before she got pregnant and her life is changed by finding those butterflies.

Cote I have "Red Rising" but feel I need a sorbet read after this one.

Just finished no 46

The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Was brilliant from start to finish
It's a psychological thriller alternating between the points of view of an abducted girl , her abductor , her mother & the detective searching for her

There's also a brilliant twist at the end

Rosehip - welcome! I might add the cornish coast murder to my 'to read' list - which is now growing alarmingly long!

Can't remember who recommended Station Eleven - I'm about a third through and would like to thank you - tis grabbing me - so everyone's going to work/school crumpled tomorrow because there's no way I'm tackling the ironing pile tonight!

Welcome, Rosehip. Happy reading.

Clash - Enjoy Red Rising. Don't plan to do much for the next 2-3 days

Welcome Rosehip

I agree that Alexander McCall Smith is less good than he used to be. He is churning out books far too quickly I think. I read the first few Ladies' Detective Agency and enjoyed them, then tried one of his Scotland St books which I thought was less good, and didn't feel compelled to read any more.

Edinburgh is my favourite city too. Have rented a little Colonies house for five days during the book festival so really looking forward to that Have you ever lived there?

Hi there, I've been watching this thread for a while, and picked up some great titles that would otherwise have passed me by. Do you mind if I join you?

12. The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid. Reviewed already, so in brief, loved the Balkan conflict back story - don't know much about this despite its recency - but found the detectives domestic subplot and murder investigation rather weak and unrealistic, although the character was well developed. The section where the victims wife and the lead detective team up in Croatia to investigate was also rather far fetched and the murderer was obvious several chapters before it should have been.
    McDermid writes beautifully though, and her characters are deftly and sympathetically portrayed (I love P D James, but find Adam Dalgliesh a rather cold and distant character). So whilst not her finest book, well worth a read, and as previously mentioned, much less graphic than some of her others.

13. The Cornish Coast Murder by John Bude
    Attracted by its cover, this is a classic murder mystery set in a small village in Cornwall with a small cast of suspects in a closed environment (lonely house on a cliff). The only detective is aided by the local Vicar and Doctor who provide an entertaining side story. It is set just after the war, which does make the plot rather dated, but makes for an interesting read.

14. The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith.
    I veer between loving the gentle series by this author (Isobel Dalhousie, 22 Scotland Street and the number one Ladies Detective Agency), and finding them rather patronising and pretentious. Isobel Dalhousie is a lady who likes to help others in the manner that only one of a private income and under employment could. A small boy, Harry, believes he has lived before, and provides enough detail for Isobel to trace the house he describes. Much talk of philosophy, poetry and reincarnation follow before a rather too neat an ending. The Scotland Street books are far better, but as both are set in Edinburgh, my favourite city, I keep reading the new books, but find them increasingly unsatisfying.

Now on the Crooked House by Christobel Kent

13 The Vanished Ones by Donato Carrisi

I loved this just as much as I loved his first novel The Whisperer. I read the reiview of this last year but read the Whisperer first which I am glad I did as this is a follow on, but not ncessary. Set in Italy it is the story of how missing people are coming back and committing crimes. The sory is told through Mila a policie officer working for the missing persons section who has personal problems herself. It is very dark as is The Whisperer but well written an reads quiet well depsite it being a translation. My only bug bear is that the names have been anglicised but I am not sure whether this was done by the translator or these were the names given in the book by the author to make it more generic. There are no cities, areas mentioned so in reality could be anywhere in the world. I am going to have to re read The Whisperer though.

47. World War Z by Max Brooks

I really enjoyed the first three-quarters of this book. This is a refreshing take on the zombie apocalypse and unlike other zombie books that tend to veer into comic horror, the oral history narrative feels realistic.

There was a little too much focus on the actions of the military in various countries for me though, which I found a bit dull at times. Overall, would recommend though.

I shall start Red Rising next following cote's recommendation. I am also re-reading SK's 'Dreamcatcher' in the bath.

Cloud Atlas is definitely worth it. Just push through that middle bit if you're not enjoying that story. You don't have to understand every word - just get the general idea before you go on to the conclusions of each story.

Cloud Atlas, I'm almost half way and it's been ok so far but I'm now on the section written in Valleyspeak. I'm hating this bit, it's hard to read and don't want to pick up my kindle. Please tell me it's worth carrying on.

31. Golden Son - Pierce Brown

Fast-paced, interesting, and rich in detail. Fantastic world building. This is a great sequel to Red Rising, which I have reviewed below.

Oh Bssh I've given you an extra s, I'm sorry!

BssshBosh that sounds like just the kind of thing I'd like to read atm (were on holiday!), thanks!

No. 23 for me was Perfect People by Peter James. An easy-to-read thriller about generically engineering a superior human race. The story focuses on Naomi and John, who are desperate for a healthy baby, but what lengths will/should they go to? If you like Peter James you'll like this

11. The Martian by Andy Weir - there are already some good comments on this thread about this one. I liked it but didn't love it. I found it quite exciting, easy to read and I really liked the characters. I found the geeky science bits a little boring at times and I skim read a few pages. Recommended for those who like quite a bit of science with their fiction!

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer is £2.07 on the Kindle. This is an original & interesting take on "first contact", soon to be a major movie with Natalie Portman. I enjoyed it & reviewed it on here recently.

Dinosaurs - I thought Night Circus was a light & fluffy version of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Nowhere near as well-written, either.

Snap up Red Rising for 99p. And if you can stop yourself from buying the sequel for £8.49 a few days later, you are a better woman than me

38. Various Pets Alive and Dead, Marina Lewyca Doro and Marcus raised their three children in a commune on a diet of lentils, radicalism and free love. Now grown-up, their daughter Cara is a teacher who luxuriates in the conventional pleasures of her very clean and modern flat, their son Serge is a City banker and their youngest daughter Oolie Anna with Down's Syndrome yearns to leave home and live independently.

A light, witty, enjoyable novel that I devoured quickly.

Book 63 - The Sign of the Four - Arthur Conan Doyle

I thought I'd read all of the Holmes stories/novels so have no idea how this one had passed me by, or, indeed, if I'd read it before and simply forgotten all about it.

In the grand scheme of how much nonsense is published nowadays it was okay, but it is really not Doyle at his best imho. It felt like it had been written by some sort of Conan Doyle machine at the Ministry of Detective Fiction - in fact, I'm sure I'd read some of the lines before, in other stories. It felt formulaic and a bit tedious in places. And Watson in love didn't do a great deal for me either, sadly.

21. Katie McGarry - Pushing the Limits

Romance type book where the emotionally traumatised heroine comes to terms with the demons in her past with the help of troubled bad boy who is actually wonderfully good but misunderstood. Awful. I don't recommend this. I picked this up at the library because I've been a bit stressed lately and was after some lighter reading, but I should really have left it on the shelf. I suspect it's a YA novel that was mis-shelved in the adult section.

22. Tanya Huff - The Enchantment Emporium

This, on the other hand, was a very enjoyable read. Allie Gale inherits a junk store from her grandmother, and finds all sorts of magical trouble brewing, with Dragon lords, sorcerers and a dash of romance thrown into the mix. Much better for a bit of escapism.

41. The Heart of the Matter - Graham Greene.

I didn't expect this novel to be so sad. It's set in a British colony of an un-named African coastal town during WW2. The spare and concise writing somehow manages to be extremely good at conveying the emotions of the main character Scobie, Chief of Police. It really did conjur up another era, and what it meant to be British at a difficult time in history. A strangely moving novel which I am very glad to have read.

37. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, Helen Simonson A retired Major falls in love with a Pakistani shopkeeper and along the way has to contend with the petty gossips of their village and families. A tender, slow-burn of a novel that was slightly marred by an hysterical ending.

Red Rising sounds great. Have just bought the Kindle version for 99p

Gosh, haven't posted for ages - i've had a bit of a lull in reading.

27. Hercule Poirot's Christmas - Agatha Christie - one I'd not read before and quite good - lots of misdirection and people not being who they are claim to be. Nice, fluffy and easy to read.

28. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern. Not sure what to make of this. took a while to get into and by about page 50 i was ready to abandon, except it's the book this month of the book club I've been asked to join so felt I had to stick with it, by the end, I was really enjoying it. It's set in the end of the 19th century, the Circus in question is a mysterious circus that turns up unannounced and opens from sunset to sunrise. the circus is secretly a venue for a competition between two people who have been trained in magic. It's a well written book, I was annoyed that noone was asking the question earlier "what happens to the person who loses?". I would recommend it, but only if you are prepared to stick at it.

I need to find some more time to get reading again - Cote - i'll be adding Red Rising to my 'to read' list!

Book 62 - 'Vengeance' by John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black
I read one of Black's earlier this year, his version of a Philip Marlowe case, and enjoyed it. This, though, was not v good at all, I'm afraid. It had a lot of padding, and the story itself was very slight. It also fizzled out at the end without really finishing. Very disappointing.