50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Two

1. Celtic Tree Magic by Danu Forest

A handbook on the Ogham looking at each tree and the Celtic myths related to them as well as divination, charms, and spells, and meditation exercises. Interesting read.

1. The silence of the grave by Arnaldur Indridason

Arghhhh it's The Widow not window!

1. The Window- Fiona Barton

Apparently this year's Gone Girl or The Girl on The Train.

A psychological thriller about a woman who's dead husband was accused of a monstrous crime. Throughout the novel we learn from several different characters what really happened.

It was an impressive debut and a captivating read but it wasn't as good as GG or TGOAT. I think because it's been compared to those two I was expected more of a twist or big reveal but it's more about gradual revelations than big surprises. The subject matter might be too upsetting for some.

1. There's only Two David Beckhams - John O'Farrell

List so far:

1. The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett
2. All the light we cannot see - Anthony Doerr
3. Red Rising - Pierce Brown
4. Golden Son - Pierce Brown
5. Flash Boys - Michael Lewis
6. There's Only Two David Beckhams - John O'Farrell

Gossip from the Forest is very good, I really enjoyed it. It's a lovely book.

Was hoping A Shepherd's Life would be in a similar vein but his description is very plain. And long. Am struggling a little with it.

Yes I've added Gossip from the Forest to my "want to read" list too, sounds fab. Love this thread for the recs!

Like the sound of the Maitland, Frog, same author who wrote Book of Silence? If i remember rightly, this similarly had fairy tales intermingled with her reminiscences of places/times she'd been silent. A thought-provoking read.

List so far:

1. The Wild Girl, Kate Forsyth

1. The American Lover, Rose Tremain

1. Gossip from the Forest, Sara Maitland. A study of all things to do with forests and fairytales - lots of historical, botanical, ecological info as well as scholarly thoughts on how fairy/folk tales develop with and depend on their forest setting. It's written in 12 chapters, one per month, and in each one she explores a different forest in Britain and then writes her own version of a classic tale. These are a delight - wise and witty.

1. Spill Simmer Falter Wither, Sara Baume. The story of Ray, a disabled man in his fifties who has been brought up and kept away from any sort of normal existence by his father, then finds himself having to navigate real life when the father dies. He adopts a stray dog who has been injured during badger-baiting, but the dog's tendency to bite anything that moves leads to problems and they end up having to escape by going on a road trip. Though I wasn't sure how realistic Ray's voice was (for someone who has severe anxiety about social contact he manages to negotiate all sorts of things remarkably well) he is beautifully observant. Despite neglect by his father and ostracism by the community he comes across as a warm, kind person. Glad I read this one.

4 The Whaleboat House by Mark Mills

This is a re read, set in 1947. Although it is at heart a crime novel, the crime seems to be a way of exploring the beginning of the development of The Hamptons as a playground of the rich, the lives of the rest of the population who lived in the area the whole time and how to get away with murder. Once again it was an enjoyable read, and although you knew who did it from early on it was an interesting read on how the characters got there.

1. Fingersmith, Sarah Waters. I loved this. It's a story of an incredibly complicated confidence trick - with more twists to it than a maze might have - and the two girls who are victims of it. It made me cry, but I loved the ending. It has a suitably fairy-tale ending. The best book I've read this year or in a long time. It's like taking an old-fashioned romance (lost heiresses, dashing villains, a gloomy old ancestral home crumbling into ruin, a dark family secret), but updating it with enough grittiness that it doesn't seem hackneyed or melodramatic. Reminds me of Angela Carter's Wise Children, with a touch of Playing Beattie Bow. Really really good.

1. Touching the Clouds by Bonnie Leon. Book 1 of the "Alaskan Skies" series. Lightweight, easy to read fluffy romance on the Kindle, just a counterpoint to the last book, a 650+ page non-fiction. Oh look, our hero worked out which of the two equally eligible men in her life was the right one. Lots of aviation errors but that's not really the point ;)

And I'm still on Jerusalem

Books so far:

1. The Christmas Cafe - Amanda Prowse
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backmnan
3. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

1. Cannery Row - John Steinbeck An enjoyable meander through the lives of the folks on Cannery Row. Some poignant moments and quotes.
2. Rivers of London by Ben Aaaronavitch I'd seen this a few times on here but made no attempt to find out anything about it so was pleasantly surprised to be taken out of my comfort zone. Thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly the historical descriptions of London. Would never have picked this supernatural detective story - so glad I came on here!

Just starting 6. The Blackhouse (Lewis Trilogy Book One), Peter May. Again, mentioned on here.

OllyBJolly I enjoyed Anne Tyler's The Accidental Tourist last year, and I'm going to try some more this year, so will look out for A Spool of Blue Thread

This thread moves so fast! I'm really only managing to skim it.

1. oh crap. Potty training DD caught me off guard by telling me she doesn't want nappies anymore, so that's slowed my reading down a bit. But i figure this still counts

1. God's behaving badly. Marie Phillips Light hearted, funny, particularly early on, it tells a story of the Greek gods living in London in the modern era, and how they change the lives of two londoners.In the pay i would have turned my nose up at this but i actually really enjoyed it

I'm not sure what's next yet. I had war and peace lined up but i want to be able to really throw myself into it which i don't think i can do while potty training. I'll have a look through my shelves and pick something i guess.

Apologies again, head in work! Vanity fair was by book before this, I meant Northanger abbey. Shall go now....

Whoops, forgot the name of book 8. It was Stranger in the Mirror

2 very different experiences of abridged audiobooks:

1. Vanity Fair despite being narrated (well) by Juliet Stephenson, I didn't really enjoy this, though I love the novel. Much of the wonderfully satirical and descriptive detail have been stripped down, along with some meaty bits of dialogue and I found it confusing and little more than 19Th century Bridget Jones- does she get her man or not? Do I care? Shame.

1. Whereas I loved the precise, evocative detail of Jane Shilling's somewhat detached account of ageing, clashing hormones with her hulking teenage boy. This too was an abridged audiobook but very well done I thought and a freebie on R4 website.

Moral of the story for me is that some books abridge badly, others fare well and can even be improved. But knowing which in advance is tricky! Certainly shan't go for an abridged Austen again.

Book 3 - Not my Father's Son by Alan Cumming - recommended on here. I enjoyed it, and finished it easily in 2 days which is very quick for me. But I think it's yet another genre that doesn't really do it for me. For those who don't know it is the actor's memoir of his miserable childhood along with some interesting family history. I think I just prefer books which are completely outside of my time and place, hence my enjoyment of Game of Thrones, Golden Son (still reading it!), Wolf Hall, Station Eleven (hello Quog ;-)), 1984, any David Mitchell etc... So it will be my last celebrity memoir for a while!

Chessie - Have you finished Daughter of Time? I thought it was fabulous.

Onto Book 4 which I have just started - Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. Some of you may remember the film with Jennifer Lawrence, I haven't seen it but I will definitely check it out if the book is as good as it is promising to be....

1. My brilliant friend by Elena Ferrante. I enjoyed the scene setting of this book (the first book in a saga)-the book is set in 1950s Naples, and describes the friendship between two young girls. The descriptions of the culture of the time were interesting, but her style of writing isn't for me. I spent most of the book feeling it was unlikely that I would read any more of the series, though she finished the book with quite a teasing hint of what the next book might entail (trying to avoid spoilers!) which tempted me slightly. However, I think there are other books which I would prefer to read.

1. SPQR by Mary Beard. This book describes the origins of Rome and the Roman Empire. She writes well and passionately. The written story is brought to life by pictures of artefacts recovered archeologically and snippets of speeches that have survived. It was fascinating to learn what a complex society it was in many ways and the things they have passed on to us (like our calendar for example).

My baseline knowledge was pretty limited so I couldn't tell you how it compares to other books on the same subject. I was absorbed in this and definitely recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in Rome and the Romans.

It has taken me ages to get through though and I'm normally a pretty fast reader. I'm struggling to decide what to read next-have a huge TBR pile which almost makes it harder.

Book 8

Sherlock Holmes & the Yule Tide Mystery by Val Andrews

Bought because cheap on Kindle, and about as good as you’d expect. It followed the usual Holmes and Watson formulas, but didn’t have an awful lot of substance to it. Better than nothing, but not good enough to make me want to read another of hers.

Did anyone notice that the name of this topic has changed from Adult Fiction to What We Are Reading?

I hope that means MNHQ have merged Adult Fiction and Adult Non-Fiction topics.

Changed names, but still on this thread!

Books so far:

1. Rivers of London by Ben Aaaronavitch
2. The Book Of Night Women by Marlon James
3. The Patience Stone by Atiq Rahimi
4. Broken April by Ismail Kadare - just finishing this up.

Tonight, I'm starting 5. A Question of Power by Bessie Head.

I'm doing alright with the novel-reading, but my target of reading more non-fiction is failing miserably so far.

1. The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett.

Jim and Eva meet accidentally at Cambridge in 1958. The novel then describes three possible consequences of this meeting. Once I became familiar with the three "versions" I enjoyed spending time with Jim and Eva.

1. The Human Stain by Philip Roth.