50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 4

I tried Remus and wilted with boredom within 10 pages!!!

That's terrible about Ocean at the End of the Lane as I've just snapped it up on offer from amazon :(

To update my own list

35. Red Rising by Pierce Brown; believe the hype, it's a great escapist rip roaring read and I really enjoyed it . Better written than a lot of adult books that try to do similar to be honest. Can't bring myself to pay £8.99 for the sequel mind you but it is definitely on my watch list. Great beach read, if you're tempted at all buy it!

36. Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn. Think I would have enjoyed this more if I knew the music better. Did have a happy time checking it all out on spotify afterwards. It's funny, you don't get any sense that she feels she was successful but she must be really surely? V low key, enjoyable read.

Am currently reading Fermat's Last Theorem, interesting enough but skating around the real subject a bit. Feels padded out tbh and I'm only 35% in!

Will do! Thank you. :)

I read it about 15 years ago Remus and I loved it then but a friend who also read it said it bored her tears. Give it a go .

By the way - has anybody read, 'If On A Winter's Night A Traveller'? Do I want to?

Book 90
'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' by Neil Gaiman
I found this distinctly underwhelming. It felt like a short story that had got out of control, and didn't really go anywhere. Lots of padding and little substance. I really enjoyed, 'Anansi Boys' and, 'American Gods' but I'm afraid to say that I think that Gaiman is getting to be a rather lazy writer. Not recommended, and it's a real shame because I think he can turn a phrase and has potential, but it's like his heart isn't really in it.

Still chomping through Genghis v slowly, but no longer loving it and I may not get through it. There's only so many times you can read how great the Mongol army were, and what an amazing leader he was. It's all getting very repetitive.

Have just started, 'Station Eleven' but only read a few pages, so too early to say if I like it or not. Am also re-reading, 'Dawn of the Dreadfuls' because I felt the need for bonnets and zombies, and zombies in bonnets, in my life.

25. Graduation Day by Joelle Charbonneau.

Last in a dystopian post-apocalyptic YA trilogy called The Testing. I enjoyed this. The trilogy is set some time after nuclear / biological / chemical warfare has devastated the planet. In order to make sure the best potential leaders are selected for further education and training, a lethal selection process (the testing) has been devised that puts teenagers against each other and has lethal penalties for failure. The trilogy follows Cia as she goes through the testing and gets a chance to change the system.

22. The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint Exupery

Somehow I'd never read this before; it's an absolutely lovely tale that reminded me of Oscar Wilde's children's stories. May have had something in my eye at the end...

21. The Secret Place by Tana French - I'd never read any of hers before but this was a very enjoyable holiday/beach sort of read.

A teenage boy is murdered in the grounds of a girls' boarding school, the book moves back and forth in time very clearly and focuses on 4 girls who may or may not be involved. I really enjoyed this, it kept me hooked and it is quite a big book. Slightly worrying if you have a teenage girl, thankfully my dd is still pre-teen!

26. The Stranger - Harlan Coben. I had to read this for a book club and it was standard Harlan Coben type fare. Stranger approaches man with a story about his wife that causes a rift, she dissappears, he tries to find out what happened etc, etc, etc! I like a good thriller but this for me just wasn't.
27. The Leopard - Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. i had been meaning to read this for ages and ended up buying it in an Audible sale so listened to it instead. This was one of my surprise favourites of the year so far. Fabrizio Corbera is the Prince of Salina and over 50 years we follow his life and the changing fortunes of the Italian aristocracy from the reunification of Italy through to the early 20th century. Beautifully written and very evocative in places. Definitely one to reread and savour. My Italian dh has never read it so I will be buying it in Italian for him this summer.
28. Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - One of my favourites of all times. Gets better with every reread.
29. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman. This is the story of Fat Charlie Nancy and his brother Spider. Charlie's dad dies and he is reunited with his brother Spider. Subsequently Charlie's life spirals out of control and takes him to all sorts of strange and wonderful places. I had read this years ago but this time I listened to the Audible version read by Lenny Henry. Fantastic.
30. Just One Damned Thing After Another (Book One in The Chronicles of St Mary’s) - Jodi Taylor. This was fun. If you like historical fiction mixed with a little bit of time travel I would recommend this one. I have the next two on my kindle ready to read later this summer.
31. The Goldfinch - Donna Tart. I finally got this finished about three months after starting it. I know it has been reviewed plenty of times already so I won't repeat but I loved this story. Could have done with a good edit in the middle but having said that it was a great read. The reason it took me so long was because I had a hardback copy and it was just too heavy to read comfortably so I only read it when it was possible to prop it up with a good pillow.
32. The Last Hero - Terry Pratchett. Another Pratchett reread. Cohen the Barbarian and his silver hoarde decide to visit the mountain of the gods (Dunmanifestin) and blow it up. Lord Veninari sends a crew out to stop them and prevent the end of the world. Short read but great fun.

Next up is Hyperion - Dan Simmons on Audible and the Dwarves by Marcus Heitz. Both very promising so far.

charmed86 I have just read the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan and enjoyed them immensely. I must read some more.

DuchessofMalfi if you can get hold of Andy Stanton reading Mr Gum do! The best of all is Mr Gum and the Goblins where his rendition of The Goblin King song can still reduce me to tears.

Book 31. The woman who stole my life by Marian Keyes.

Bit disappointed in this one really, which is a shame as I've loved lots of her earlier books.

This is a stand alone book featuring Stella Sweeney, a beautician from Dublin who contracts a mysterious and extremely rare illness which leaves her paralysed. A long stay in hospital brings about a close and unusual relationship with her neurologist who can communicate with her only by blinking. The book jumps back and forth a lot, from Dublin to New York, and gets quite confusing at times to understand what's going on. There are a few characters, her Dad in particular, that lift the book and show Marian's trademark wit, but overall this book lacks warmth, believability and a decent plot. Sad to say I would not recommend.

Still waiting for Rebecca on the library waiting list do have started on book 32 Jamaica Inn by duMaurier instead. Very good so far.

Duchess I love the Mr Gum books. They are brilliant and make me laugh out loud. Sadly my older two have outgrown them but I will enjoy reading them again when the little one is big enough to appreciate them. We had a hamster called Steve for a long while, named after one of the goblins from Mr Gum and the Goblins, called Big Steve. There's a mumsnet user called Captain Ankles, which is another goblin name. I love the way the guy that runs the launderette is called Martin Launderette. Sorry, outburst of Mr Gum enthusiasm there!

59. The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett I have reviewed this on the book giveaway thread. I thought this was good but not great. It didn't set me on fire but it's a good summer read. The three different versions of the story did actually work, although I was doubtful that they would and the writing was good. I gave it 3/5 stars.

Don't miss today's Kindle Daily Deals - rather heavy on Sci-Fi classics

Ender's Game £0.99
Starship Troopers £0.99
Red Rising £0.99
The City And The Stars £1.99
Childhood's End £1.99

72. You're a Bad Man, Mr Gum by Andy Stanton. An amusing bedtime story read to DS. Loved the humour which frequently reduced us to fits of giggles. Will be reading the rest of the series.

73. The Guernsey Literature and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Had been on my shelf a while. The bits about life under the Occupation were interesting but the romantic bits were a little lightweight.

Calfon

Have you read anything by Trudy Caravan? From the authots you seem to like, I would point you in her direction :)

This is a great thread, I am a big reader. I will start now and try to get 25 in by the end of the year.

You might also like Benjamin Black (John Banville under a pen name)'s, 'The Black Eyed Blonde' which is his attempt at a Marlowe novel. It takes a while to get it right, and is a bit overwritten, but it's not a bad attempt.

Thanks Remus. I've read (and love) all those mentioned, apart from Kerr who I'll check out now.

Meg - Have you read any of the Philip Kerr Germany books? They are quite noir. Assume you've read Chandler?

Doyle's 'Lost World'? I know I bang on about it all the time, but have you read, 'Into the Silence'? I suspect yes! I was surprised how much I enjoyed, 'Around the World in 80 Days' - it's a light read and rather daft, but worth a shot, I think.

Book 89 - 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Keasy

A re-read, and a sublime one too. It's a beautiful, funny and devastating book and I highly recommend it. It's set on a psychiatric ward, and is narrated by one of the inmates, a half American Indian known as Chief Bromden, who believes that he has shrunk - part of the novel is the way that he is made 'big' enough again to escape his own demons. Alongside and connected to Bromden's regrowth, the novel focuses on the arrival to the ward of a newly committed patient, who has faked insanity to escape prison, and examines the impact his arrival has on the ward, and the power struggles between him and the head nurse, a 'joyless fucker' if ever there was one!

Please read it - it is truly a great book I think - and, as those of you who know me well will know, I never say that lightly!

Book 88 - A book about the Mutiny on the Bounty. Decent enough, but it didn't tell me anything I didn't know already.

Shake - I didn't like, 'Fingersmith' at all, but thought, 'Nightwatch' was much, much worse.

I need some recommendations for books to get on my kindle for the holidays; not your typical holiday reads but books that are fairly short, compelling and very well written. I like: classics (not Jane Austen type stuff), classic genre fiction esp noir and SF, biography, exploration, weird American stuff like Pynchon/Vonnegut. Quite a high crossover with Cote and Remus.

Anyone recommend anything?

I have just read I am Pilgrim, best book of my year so far.....

21. To Have And Have Not - Ernest Hemingway

Classic tale of liquor and people smuggling between Cuba and Florida during the Depression. Unflinching in its depiction of violence and hopelessness, not a cheery summer read but brilliant nonetheless.

27. Cat Sense by John Bradshaw
    Non-fiction history of cats and discussion of cat nature. Thinking of getting a cat and this caught my eye over 6 months ago and I've just got round to reading it. Interesting and informative.

28. The History of the Rain by Niall Williams
    This has already been reviewed on this thread, I think. History of a girl and her family going back to her grandparents. Irish and eccentric English characters. Lovely writing. I feel I may have to re-read this at some point.

29. Clothes, clothes, clothes, music, music, music, boys, boys, boys by Viv Albertine.
    Very good autobiography of Viv Albertine of The Slits. Very evocative of her life and times through which she has lived. Organised into short chapters. I really liked this book, I think it's honest from her point of view. Pushed herself to reach her goals and inspirational - she's certainly lived a life!

tessie - I also didn't enjoy Fingersmith that much. I read it a few years ago and was not inspired to read any more of hers, however, as there have been positive reviews of The Night Watch on here I'm going to give it a go!

It was my second attempt. Once I got past the first chapter this time I loved it. No idea what all the nautical stuff meant though.

I tried, because it really ought to be my sort of thing - I love anything maritime/medical etc, as you know - but I just didn't get on with the writing style. Maybe I should give it another go?