50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 4

wilting I read Shogun while I was actually in Japan. Prior to my trip there I'd asked for advice on here about Japanese literature, and ended up reading an interesting assortment of stuff, some quite bizarre. I loved The Makioka Sisters in particular (not bizarre).

Shogun was a perfect choice for holiday reading - not the sort of book I'd usually go for but really gripping and just a great yarn.

44 - The City And The Stars - Arthur C Clarke

This was a massive disappointment. I have read a lot of books by Clarke as a teenager, including 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels, Rendezvous With Rama & sequels, The Fountains of Paradise, and a short story book I can't remember the name of. I thought well of him, as one of the three best early sci-fi authors: Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Arthur C Clarke were all engineers/scientists and knew what they were talking about. The books they wrote had their shortcomings, especially when viewed from the 21st Century, but they showed a lot of attention to detail. For example, when Clarke talked about the astronaut who was stranded on Jupiter's moon Europa and watching some planet rise on the horizon, you could bet that he had worked out the orbits and that planet would indeed rise from that angle at that time.

Anyway, back to this book. It is basically one long nonsense. The entire storyline is that there is this guy who wants to go out and explore, gets an older guy to tell him the secret of how to do that, then falls onto a secret city, stumbles on an ancient life form nobody knew about while wandering aimlessly (as luck would have it). Of course that life form tells him lots about the secrets of the universe, then he finds a spaceship and somehow finds himself "at the centre of the universe" (no less), finds another ancient life form by accident, who then tells him ALL about the history of the universe. The End.

I think this was Clarke's 1st book. I certainly hope so, because now I'm doubting my appreciation of all his other books. Were they all this bad? Certainly not. Or were they? Damn you, City And The Stars

34. The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber Audiobook. This book prompted a lot of discussion between myself and my DH. I loved the story and world building.

SPOILER

I don't want to give the whole story away to those who haven't read it.
I both loved the characters and found them frustrating. An interesting transition from aspiring enthusiastic missionary who forgets about his wife to frantic homesick husband worried about pregnant wife enduring the end of Planet Earth. The transition is related to the clinical and strange atmosphere at the base, his own physical deterioration, the letters he receives from his Earth-bound wife as well as his "all or nothing" attitude to life. Other minor characters were introduced along the way, including a bit part by the aliens. Such a thought-provoking book. I have read three of Michael Faber's books (Crimson Petal and Under The Skin) and this did not disappoint.

35. A Better World by Marcus Sakey Book 2 in the Brilliance Trilogy. Very good pacey thriller. Very much enjoying this trilogy.

61. The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie

I picked this up in a second hand book shop with a vague feeling that it seemed familiar. And as it turns out I have read it before, several years ago. But that's okay because it's a fairly enjoyable piece of hockum that has a reasonable pace and a specific interest for me because it draw in John Dee, who I find fascinating.

It's basically a consipiracy theory/treasure hunt type novel which drifts back and forth between Dee's time and the modern day. Dee is reputed to have hidden his secret teachings for his descendants to find when the time is right. In the modern day, Will Stafford goes off across Europe hunting for the meaning behind the strange legacy he inherits from his mother. In London, Lucy King becomes drawn into the mystery, and soon finds that there are dark forces out to find the hidden treasure, a treasure which they believe will bring on the Rapture.

As I say, it's all hockum really, but if you like this sort of thing it's a decent enough read.

Books 99 and 100

Two by Jean Webster (of Daddy Long Legs fame)

Two rather silly novels set in a girls' boarding school. Nothing in particular happens but they were nicely lightweight and diverting, and therefore good plane reads. I don't recommend them unless you still think back on malory Towers etc with nostalgia.

41. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
    I read this because I haven't read much VW and had a vague feeling that I ought to. And it was v cheap on Kindle. It was better than I expected (I didn't have very high expectations). If people don't know, it's set in the 1920s and is set in a single day, in which a well-off middle-class woman prepares for her party that evening and reflects on her past. But it's not just about her - the book follows other characters too. The one I found most interesting was a war veteran suffering from what we'd now call PTSD - Woolf is scathing about the attitude of his doctors towards mental illness.

42. The year of reading dangerously by Andy Miller
    My best friend recommended this, and I know some people on here have read it. Enjoyed it immensely, and read it in two sittings. He had plenty of interesting and provocative things to say about the books he'd read - I was disappointed that he didn't like Pride & Prejudice, but other than that I thought he had pretty good judgement. I now really want to read Absolute Beginners by Colin Macinness.

43. Not my father’s son by Alan Cumming
    Again, I read this very quickly - a real page-turner. I don't think he's going to win any prizes for literary style but he had a very interesting and moving story to tell about his dad and his maternal grandfather. The cruelty of his father beggared belief, really.

44. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
    I read it purely because people on here recommended it - would never have come across it otherwise. I enjoyed it - it was unexpectedly funny in a slightly arch way.

45. Introducing the ancient Greeks by Edith Hall
    I started this before Mrs Dalloway! Took me ages to get through it. I am interested in the ancient Greeks but got a bit lost with all the names, dates and places. But worth reading if you have better powers of concentration than I do.

No 64

The Shock of The Fall

Brilliant book written from the perspective of a young adult with mental illness

55. waiting for Wednesday - Nikki French. Psychological thriller, third in the Frieda Klein series. I don't know whether I like Frieda or whether she's one of he most irritating heroines ever.

Book 31 The Farm by Tom Rob Smith.

TRS is a fabulous writer. His debut, Child 44 was stunning, deserving of its plaudits, prizes and sales around the world. I can't wait to see the movie.

So I will forgive him The Farm. A vanity project in which he is trying to write through a period of personal trauma ( his mothers breakdown). But this book is not great. The plot, the style, the structure are all weak, especially considering how talented TRS actually is.

Shadowstar : I agree with you
The books so far aren't really living up to the hype surrounding them for me yet .... Might just watch the films instead !

39. Wake, Anna Hope. This follows the journey of the body of the Unknown Warrior in November 1920 from France to Westminster over five days leading up to Remembrance Day, and at the same time the stories of 3 women in London, gradually revealing a connection between them. Covering very similar themes to Birdsong - the horrors of trench warfare are less graphically described but the brutality is still shocking, especially treatment of so-called deserters suffering from shell-shock. I found it interesting how she describes national feelings and attitudes towards the war and those who survived, and how the ceremony was meant to have a healing effect on the population, despite the fact that so many veterans were left unable to work and without benefits. The characters of the three women and their families are also very well developed. Would recommend.
40. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide. An odd little book - reads like a memoir though the author keeps referring to it as a novel - about a cat which he and his wife befriend, but which belongs to a neighbour. Poetic writing and he makes a few philosophical points, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere.

27. Scott K Andrews - Timebomb

First book in a YA series. Teenagers Jana from 2141 and Dora from 1640 appear in Sweetclover house where they meet Kas from the present day, and are all targeted by enemies because their future selves are important in some sort of time war. Slightly confusing but enjoyable. They keep running into future versions of themselves too, so no worries about destroying the space time continuum here.
The explanation of how they started timetravelling in the first place was somewhat unconvincing too, especially in the case of Dora from 1640 - it's along the lines of "you were exposed to a timebomb further along your personal timeline, and the effects spread backwards, and that's how you can time travel now".

28. Stephen King - 22.11.63

I really enjoyed this. I was a bit sceptical at first about whether I would enjoy a story based around the Kennedy assassination, but once I'd started reading it, it was very hard to put it down. I would definitely recommend this one.
High school teacher Jake learns that his friend Al has a rabbit hole to the past in the back of his diner. Al talks Jake into going back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, as Al believes this will change history for the better. The time travel aspects here were definitely more plausible than in the Timebomb book I've mentioned above.

esiotrot - I'm partway through the second in the Divergent trilogy. I quite enjoyed the first book, but I'm finding my suspension of disbelief being increasingly strained by now. The concept of splitting the population by character traits in an interesting one, but the way it's been executed doesn't feel fully thought through to me. I've not been reading the second one very quickly - I keep being distracted by other books - but will persevere to the end of the second one at least in case it improves.

60. Pompeii by Robert Harris

A novel centred on the events of the eruption of Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii, following four main characters - a young engineer working on the aquaduct, an adolescent girl, a corrupt millionaire former slave, and Pliny the Elder. Quite an enjoyable read.

wilting - I snapped up Shogun

Hmm shogun is 70p on Amazon! Anyone read it? I just recall there being a TV series I think??

For Emily St. John fans, one of hers is £1.19, Last night in Montreal.

Otherwise 40 is Dune by Frank Herbert. Epic absorbing tale nicely contrasting religious fervour with the brutish practicalities and corruption of power. Bit of ecology thrown in. Credulity and logic is somewhat stretched at times but still, hugely enjoyable. Would recommend.

41 An Enchanted Aprilby Elizabeth von Armin; this was a sweet old fashioned story of love redeeming all. All read a bit unlikely and somewhat dubious at times to my cynical modern eyes but I did enjoy it. Reminds me of The Blue Castle that I read earlier in the year. Something light after Dune.

Have started my Churchill biography next, it promises 19h of reading so I may be some time! or may flag and read something else

54. Tuesday's Gone - Nikki French. Second in the Frieda Klein series of psychological thrillers.

43. A Scanner Darkly - Philip K Dick

This is a great book about an undercover FBI agent who is tasked to investigate himself while he lives with a group of drug addicts under a secret identity. I had read it before, about 12-13 years ago, and found it brilliant. I picked it up as a Kindle cheapo some time ago, and hence the reread. It is funny, interesting, with more than a few insights into the concept of identity as well as heavy drug use. This book is quite different from the author's other books, in subject if not style, possible because the author wrote it after he got 'clean' after long and heavy drug use. Highly recommended.

Sorry about the sick children on holiday, Dragon. I know too well how hard that is.

Genghis Khan book that you have read is not the one that I read, by the way.

Been out of the loop for a while thanks to a combination of holiday (yay!) and sick children (boo, but looks the virus has finally left us!)

Quite a few to report, so in no particular order:

#39. Eeny Meeny - M G Aldridge - interesting premise (two people imprisoned with their only chance of escape being to kill the other) but the writing was trully awful and the lead detective irritating

#40. A God in Ruins - Katie Atkinson - the life of a fighter pilot from the Second World War and how he adjusts to peace time life. I loved this, particularly the depiction of his daughter

#41. My Dear Bessie - Chris Barker - the letters of a WW2 soldier to his lover and, later, wife. Made me feel a bit voyeuristic

#42. The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett - three possible outcomes of a chance encounter between a boy and a girl. This was OK but required slightly too much concentration from a sleep deprived brain to distinguish between the three possible lives.

#43. My Family and Other Superheroes - Jonathon Edwards - my first venture in to reading poetry unconnected with DC's school work in a long time. Quite good.

#44. My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante - growing up in the Italian slums. So so - I doubt I'll bother with any of the sequels.

#45 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller - unsettled childhood of white settlers in various African countries - loved, loved loved this. Fascinating view of how the author developed.

#46. The Girl in the Red Coat - Kate Hamer - girl goes missing at a festival, detailing both her subsequent life and that of her mother. Surprisingly interesting.

#47. You are Dead - Peter James - latest installment in the Roy Grace series. Good beach read

#48. Genghis Kahn - Frank McLynn - not sure if this is the same book as others on this thread have read on the same subject. Nearly abandoned it in the first chapters (only so much you need to know about how the Mongols felted their yurts) but glad I persevered as it got progressively more and more interesting

#49. The Seeker - S G Maclean - basically Shardlake but set in Oliver Cromwell's protectorate. Not as good as Shardlake but still worth a read

Phew - mammoth post over!

80. Awful Auntie by David Walliams. Read to DS and we both really enjoyed it. David Walliams knows how to write a good children's book.

81. A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray. Didn't like this very much. Felt emotionally manipulated. That and the excessive religious content annoyed me.

Now reading The Bolds by Julian Clary and The Life and Loves of a He Devil by Graham Norton which I am enjoying.

Welcome Heisenberg

I've started reading the Veronica Roth Divurgent series : Young adult series which is like a scifi Twilight or Maze Runner
Has anyone read it ? Not sure it's for me really despite being so popular , they're making the series into films
Think I might pass it on to eleven year old ds

Hi can i join? Nowhere near 50 books as ive actually just got back into reading now i have better work hours giving me more time to read. So my list so far...

1. A piece of cake - Cupcake Brown.

1. Defending the guilty - Alex McBride.

1. The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time.

1. A Real Boy - Christopher Stevens.

1. The Reason i jump - Naoki Higashida

1. The Boy in the striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

1. Jacobs Ladder - Brian Keaney.

1. Street Kid - Judy Westwater.

And now reading

1. 102 minutes - Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

28. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. I'm not sure I can say I loved this book as I found it so heartbreaking to read, but it's a book that I would recommend highly. It's about a boy's descent into mental illness after the death of his brother. Beautifully written and very moving.

After reading Irene (which is a gruesome book about a serial killer) this was a nice change. It made me feel much more emotional than the high intensity horror of Irene, as it just seemed so much more real.

I read the Beckoning Silence many years ago, I might give it another look as I don't remember much about it. I think I read all of Joe Simpson's books after I saw Touching the Void in the cinema.