50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 4

No doubt different people like different stuff. The sci-fi I enjoy is where there is great world-building and great attention to detail, where you sit back and say "Wow! How did the author think of that!".

What I don't enjoy is endless whinging and whining about everyone's feeeeeliiiiings, with little thought to what that world would actually be like. Station Eleven is just so badly done compared to all the other post-apocalyptic books I have read, so improbable and silly on every page, that frankly I can only imagine it being enjoyed by people who don't ever read speculative fiction. That's me being me, though (i.e. not terribly empathetic) and I do know that other people have other tastes, even if on a purely theoretical level

Wow, it's amazing how different opinions can be! I thought Red ?Rising was really dull for at least 2/3 of it and have no wish to read any more of the trilogy. I was literally counting down the pages to finish it.

But I loved Station Eleven! Thankfully my closest mates like similar books as I recommended it to them and they loved it too.

I guess it would be very dull if we all liked the same things.

Remus - I'm currently at 75% into Station Eleven and have to say that it is bar none the daftest sci-fi I have ever had the misfortune of reading. It reminds me why I don't like books written by women that talk entirely about people's feeeeeliiiiiings.

Ha! Yes, I do accept responsibility for all of you hooked on Red Rising. Its sequel Golden Son is indeed, to this date, the most expensive Kindle book I have ever purchased and I can't wait for the sequel Morning Star to be published in January 2016, currently on for pre-order at £10.99!

Today I picked up my audio version of Golden Son!

I also picked up My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Decisions, decisions.

In the meantime DD and I have just finished listening to Book 28 The Disappeared by CJ Harper.

Dystopian YA novel.

Interesting premise; boy from an academic Learning Community ends up in an Academy for the very unintelligent ( or so he believes ).

The language used by the academy children is fab. Harper uses a ludicrously limited vocabulary in incredibly inventive and credible ways. ' that's a bad, no, shouldn't thing.'

The plot becomes a bit teenage-daft towards the end but we still very much enjoyed it.

Another one who'll probably read, 'Golden Son' but not until it goes down in price a LOT!

I've managed 25% of, 'Station Eleven' and will not be reading any more. Sorry to those who liked it, but I think it's bloody dreadful! I've been reading it thinking, 'Surely it must get better in a minute' but it hasn't - if anything, it's got even worse. I think it's really, really boring.

74. Fallout by Sadie Jones

Review posted on the separate thread about this novel for the Book of the Month read. Not bad. She certainly seems to know a lot about the world of theatre.

Also reading Outcast by Sadie Jones this week - I think on balance I like this one better so far.

56. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut and 57. Money by Martin Amis. I reviewed these two on my modern classics thread.

57. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I thought this book was very well written and I would like to read more by her. I couldn't totally get into this story though as I just don't believe civilisation would break down so quickly in Canada and the USA. Obviously the telephone network would go down pretty quickly but there would still be radio. Lots of people there own private planes and ATVs. None of the people around when the virus broke out seemed to have any initiative at all.

58. In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul. Three separate stories with the overall theme of displacement. I thought the first section about the Indian servant finding himself living in Washington D.C. was the best section by far. The London section seemed a bit flat in comparison. The African section was OK but I think because it was set in a made up country and because I read Half of A Yellow Sun recently this particular story isn't going to stay with me at all.

I'm holding firm on Golden Son! No way am I paying £8.99 grrr.

Good luck best, hope your op goes well for you

Otherwise I got through 37) Fermat's Last Theorem, can't say I enjoyed it or understood it. Thought it would be focused on one's man's obsession with proving it and his journey but that was only the LAST CHAPTER. The rest was a potted history of the theorem and efforts to prove it with sidetracks into other theories which (in fairness) did contribute to the final proof. HOWEVER I was a bit stunned (and disappointed) to realise they still haven't the faintness notion how Fermat thought he could prove it... on the whole I would not recommend this unless you are actually very interested in math theory and can grasp the technical stuff. That was all totally over my head and I got very tired of it.

Cote - I do sometimes think I might be missing out on a great book that's popular because it's really good, not because it's "mass market" as such...

Mind you I am current cursing you, you are currently the one who's tempted me to buy Red Rising so of course I've got to read the Golden Son now I've read that, so I'm getting nothing else done this week...

"all the people I know who've raved about it in real life are the friends who read at most 2-3 books a year, and tend to recommend I read the sort of 'chick lit' books involving shopping and 30-somethings having relationship angst more befitting a bunch of teenagers. Therefore when they say "you must read XXX" I nodd and smile and make a note never to read it.."

I do that all the time. Surely it's just good sense not to take recommendations from people whose tastes are very different than yours?

Remus - I liked station eleven - but only once it got past the actual flu and got on with being 20 years in the future. If you are at that point and it's still not grabbed you, I wouldn't bother. If you are also looking for a proper sci fi book, this isn't for you as so much is going back over the life and loves and friendships of the dead actor before the flu.

Chilli - I've not read The Miniaturist for terribly snobbish reasons, all the people I know who've raved about it in real life are the friends who read at most 2-3 books a year, and tend to recommend I read the sort of 'chick lit' books involving shopping and 30-somethings having relationship angst more befitting a bunch of teenagers. Therefore when they say "you must read XXX" I nodd and smile and make a note never to read it...

Here’s a very overdue update covering books 41-51 (favourite books in bold). All going well here, DS2 is now six weeks old, I can’t believe how time has flown. Good luck for tomorrow Best, hope all goes well.

41. A Week in Paris - Rachel Hore. A relatively light World War II romance with some suspense thrown in. A comfortable page-turner but great literature it ain’t.

42. The Fault in our Stars - John Green. I highly recommend this book. Written in a deceptively simple style, it deals sensitively with the sticky subject of teenage cancer through a witty, light narrative (amazing, given the subject matter). Don’t get me wrong, it’s sad in part, but it avoids being patronizing whilst successfully challenging perceptions of teenage cancer. Enjoyable, not too too tear jerking, worth a read.

43. A Visit from the Good Squad - Jennifer Egan. Another great book (winner of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize). I selected this randomly from a charity shop and struck gold - I’ve had a lucky run recently, long may it last. A shocking and edgy, utterly engrossing, couldn’t-put-it-down read.

44. The Versions of Us – Laura Barnett. Good but not great. This book has been billed as the next big thing but I’m not completely convinced it is going to fly. Yes, Barnett weaves an excellent series of narratives and the sliding doors theme is fascinating, but it really needs to be read in a single sitting (or at least in the same week) in order to follow the three threads successfully. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit it but I found it an effort to recall the, at times subtly different, storylines as they wove their way through the book (perhaps this had something to do with me giving birth half way through, who knows).

45. So You’ve been Publicly Shamed – Jon Ronson. Interesting stuff. Ronson traces the phenomenon of trial by social media whereby the anonymous internet masses act as judge and jury to individuals perceived, rightly or wrongly, as having acted reprehensively. Ronson writes in his usual accessible style, which you might have encountered in the Guardian, and his investigative journalism is page-turning stuff. Recommended.

46. Swimming to Antarctica – Lynne Cox. Not high literature but a great book none-the-less. Cox is an absolute legend of open-water, long-distance swimming. If this is an interest of yours you’ll love Cox’s accounts of her various record-breaking swims in far-flung and usually extremely cold corners of the world.

47. Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller. After reading ‘The Crucible’ I was curious about this, Miller’s other most well known play. Bleak and a little dark, it follows the misfortunes of a delusional salesman and his relationship with his equally delusional family. Rather sad but thought-provoking (the nature of identity and self-perception etc. etc.) Short but interesting read.

48. The Vagenda – Holly Baxter & Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. I’ve been trying to mix some feminist literature into my reading this year but was a little disappointed by this book. Baxter and Cosslett are champions of the modern feminist movement, but I found their writing style a little laborious. There are so many clever witticisms packed around their key messages that, in the end, I felt they didn’t actually say that much at all. Perhaps I’m being a little too critical as I did learn from the book and their style is amusing, but it just didn’t work that well for me.

49. The Hive – Gill Hornby. It was so interesting to read this straight after the Vagenda and I was much, much more reflective and critical about the women’s attitudes towards each other as a result. Its ‘school gates’ premise is a good one and I enjoyed the different characters and their exploits. A light, quick and fun read.

50. Ariel – Sylvia Plath. Earlier in the year I read ‘The Bell Jar’, which prompted me to pick up this, one of Plath’s volumes of poetry. As a total poetry novice I’m not sure whether this was a good place to start, but it gave me more of a sense of Plath the poet as opposed to Plath the novelist, so I’m glad I gave it a go. Her use of language is virtuosic and highly enjoyable. I had to read most of the poems twice to appreciate their full meanings; even then I’m sure there is a lot I missed so at some stage I will re-read, perhaps with some sort of critical guide to help me on my way!

Am up to book 18. Got completely sidetracked by suite francaise which was pretty boring and difficult to get through.

Since then have read and thoroughly enjoyed:

The Sunrise
The Orphan Train
The Book of You
I Let You Go
The Girl on A Train

Am now reading The First 15 Lives of Harry August

Have bought Us by David Nicolls which will be next.

Thanks, Remus and Cote.

That's not sounding promising, Cote. I'll give it another chance on my journey to work tomorrow and if I don't like it then, it's had it.

Best - Hope all goes well with the op.

Remus - I'm also reading Station Eleven. 60% in and it is as dull, uninspired, and whiny as the first 10%. I'll finish it now because that's what I do, but if you don't mind leaving books unfinished, you might want to turn away now.

Good luck for Friday, Best

Thank you Duchess, I'm having a Parathyroidectomy so not major surgery but tricky, but at least I'll have a few weeks of work.

Good luck for Friday, Best. Hope it all goes well for you .

46. Killing The Shadows - Val McDermid

Psychological profiler tracks down serial killer of crime novelists. This didn't really engage me and lacked suspense. Quite graphic too. I've enjoyed some of her books in the past but this wasn't one of them.

47. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty. This is chick lit with a dark undercurrent. Yes, there are cupcakes but quite tongue in cheek. Deals very well with tough topics under the frothy surface. I really like his author.

Just started Robert McFarlane's Landmarks about the etymology of placenames and words for landscapes etc and a Merrilee Watkins book.

Having surgery on Friday so my concentration is not great at the moment but fingers crossed, all being well, I'll have plenty of time for reading afterwards.

54. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives at the house of her new husband Johannes Brandt in Amsterdam, 1686. She finds a house which seems full of secrets, and a distant husband who gives her a cabinet-sized replica of their home as a wedding gift. Nella starts to furnish it by commissioning a miniaturist who makes exquisite models - which are uncannily accurate models of the people, animals and furniture in the house. As Nella tries to navigate her way through her new world, the tiny creations seem to reflect the dangers facing the family.

I was reluctant to read this purely because I have heard so many people gushing about it and I didn't want to be disappointed. As it turned out, it's a reasonable enough read but I wasn't as swept away by it as some members of my book club, for example.

Mmm - That's two votes against it then, and I'm not feeling terribly tolerant at the moment!

I've read about 10% of, 'Station Eleven' and am not at all hooked yet. Is it likely to make me any happier if I persevere?