50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Five

What do you mean by "cerebral sci-fi", Stokey? Which other books would you count in that sub-genre?

I'm asking because that sounds like something I would be interested in, but I read the plot of the book and it sounds like space opera. Need to make sure I'll like it before I start it, as I've been hurt too many times before

I'm jealous of you reading Robin Hobb for the frist time Muskey, she has written quite a few other trilogies. The assassin ones are a must read.

It feels like a long time since I've updated:

37. The Galaxy Game - Karen Lord. This was cerebral sci-fi set in a future where humanity has split into different races, some of which are telepathic. The various planets have been at war in the past and the wormholes between planets have been closed. The book follows three young people: a teenage boy who is partially telepathic and learns a game called Wall running, a second guy who is learning to be a business man and a girl from one of the telepathic communities. It's not a pacey plot, but is interesting.

38. The Magician's Nephew - C.S Lewis. I mentioned on a previous thread that DD1 was reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I wasn't which book she should read next, as I remember loving Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but this was the first. I had forgotton how overtly religious it is. There is a retelling of the Garden of Eden and it very obviously links Aslan to Christ. We're going to stick to Prince Caspian.

39. Deadheads- Reginald Hill. Another Dalziel & Pascoe mystery. People seem to conveniently die around Patrick Alderman just when he needs it, but is it fate?

40. Restless - William Boyd. I really enjoyed this, which I'm sure has been reviewed on here before. A single mum in the 70s discovers her mother was a spy in the second world war, and isn't at all who she thought she was. The novel is split between Eva, the mother's, diary and the daughter's discovery.

Phew, I'm now reading After Me Comes The Flood by Sarah Perry, as recommended on here. It fits the weather and has an atmospheric mood but is not compelling me to finish it.

If you're looking for an amusing light read, I'd say Temeraire is definitely worth a try.

Tanaqui - I'm reading Five Children On The Western Front at the moment as I've been working my way through the Carnegie shortlist for work. I had to read a synopsis of Five Children and It first to remind myself what happened as I think I was about 8 when I read it...

I'm tempted by Uprooted so one to add to the list!

I have looked at the Temeraire series but haven't actually bought and read any of them yet. Sounds like the first one is worth a go then? Even if it's not necessarily a series to read in its entirety.

I loved the idea of Temeraire but I felt the characters never quite became real for me, so each book felt more and more repetitive.

32)Four Children and It by Jacqueline Wilson I found this while looking for 5 children on the western front- it is a sequel rather than a retelling and very typical of Wilson, and I think the Psammead was a little kinder in this one than in the original!

I have now read JW's updating of What Katy Did, this, and Hilary McKay's sequel to A Little Princess (which was quite good but not as good as the Casson family series)- does anyone know of any more recent retellings or updates?

I rather liked Uprooted too, ChiliieJeanie. Have you read the Temeraire series by the same author? The first one was very entertaining, though I though the series fell off after that.

54. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This is like an extended fairy story for grown ups, and I really rather enjoyed it. Agnieszka is the daughter of a woodcutter and lives in a village in a peaceful valley, which is under the protection of an ageless wizard called the Dragon. The threat is an enchanted forest, the Wood, which sometimes sends out its emissaries to take the villagers who are either never seen again or who come back as the creatures of the Wood and have to be destroyed. The price for watching over the valley is that every ten years the Dragon chooses a young village woman to serve him for the next ten years. Agnieszka is scared her beautiful, graceful and brave friend Kasia will be taken away, but when the Dragon comes it is Agnieszka who catches his eye.

Thanks Remus, I will look out for that!

Apologies for the bold fail on some of my titles. Sometimes I wish MN would allow minor edits!

Hi all, just updating with my latest books on this shiny new thread.

38. London Falling – Paul Cornell. Police urban fantasy set in London similar to the Aarranovitch books. This one had cops, gangsters, West Ham F.C. and a good dash of the supernatural. It was entertaining but there were so many inner dialogues and sub-plots that at times my mind just wandered from the story. Parts of it were just daft. I am not sure if I will read the next one in the series.

39. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – J.K.Rowling. Audiobook read by Stephen Fry and listened to on the school run. I had forgotten some of this from my first reading years ago so was totally unprepared for the emotional reaction I had. It was fantastic and I cried a lot.

40. Undermajordomo Minor – Patrick DeWitt. I picked this one up on an audible 2 for 1 deal and what a great surprise. This is the story of Lucy Minor who moves away from his home town to take a position in the castle of the eccentric Baron Von Aux . It is a bit of a mix of everything: fairy tale, murder, fantasy, war and love. I enjoyed it enormously. If you like Neil Gaiman this might appeal.

41. The Girl in the Red Coat – Kate Hamer. Eight year old Carmel goes missing while wearing her red coat and cannot be found despite an extensive police hunt. The story is told in two narratives: Carmel and her mother Beth. I had read lots of good reviews on this but for me it didn’t live up to the hype. On more than one occasion I was sorely tempted to give it up but stuck with it only because I was almost half way through. There were too many holes in the story and it was largely unbelievable. Not for me.

42. Ratburger – David Walliams. I read this with my 10 year old. 11 year old Zoe has a wicked stepmother and an unemployed dad and lives in terrible poverty. Her hamster Gingernut dies but she makes a pet of a rat she calls Armitage that has made his way into their flat. Enter Burt the evil chips and burger merchant who is a ratcatcher on the side. He hunts down Armitage and all sorts of shenanigans ensue. It was a bit of fun and my dd loved it. Anything that encourages her to read is fine by me.

I am still working through Neurotribes in paperback. On kindle I am reading Cuckoo Song by Francis Hardinge. We are listening to the third Skullduggery Pleasant book in the car and around the house and walking the dogsI am also listening to 22.11.63 by Stephen King. I am enjoying all and hope to report back soon.

Now I must make a cuppa and catch up on the rest of the thread.

Welcome, babydances. All you need to do is post when you've read a book, saying a little about it and whether you enjoyed it, and whether you recommend it or not etc. And have fun discovering new books. Your tbr list will be massive by the end of the year :o

Hahaha! Thank you remus!
I am half way through *A Bear Called Paddington" and also just started "The Chocolate Lovers Club"
I'll try and do the 25 as we are mid way through the year

Tanaqui - now you've read Five Children and It, you might well enjoy Five Children on the Western Front. have forgotten the writer offhand, but it's shortlisted for the Carnegie this year.

Hi Babydances and welcome.

Do you have anything to declare?

Can I join please? How does it work? Do I need to declare the books now?

MuseumofHam - I read water ship down earlier this year and also found it a long slog, but didn't pick up on the WW2 connection myself but yes, does fit well explaining the feel of the book.

22. Master of the Priory - Annie Haynes - this is a murder mystery book written in the 1920's, is very of its time and not very good. The story itself has potential, a games keeper is murdered and his wife (who some in the village thought was clearly from a higher status/class background) disappears, believed to be the murderer. A year or so later, a new governess arrives at a house some distance away called the Priory, (owned by a man who is temporary blind after the fire that killed his wife), to look after the unruly daughter. A distant relation of the owner of the Priory is trying to position herself as the 2nd wife resents the governess and sets about trying to find some dirt to get rid of her.

A good writer could have turned this story into something full of tension, jealousy, secrets, the helplessness of suddenly losing your sight, the importance of appearance, and class etc however the author managed the impressive feat of creating a good plot and then producing a truly dull book. The writing is abysmal. Don't bother.

I've just got back from near Valencia so I might look out for that Five- actually does anyone have any recommendations for books set in that area that might give me a better feel for it?

30. the Great Gatsby a reread but I enjoyed this so much more than I did 25 years ago- sometimes I think classic books should be carefully doled out as reading them too early in life can just spoil them. I liked the hot helpless atmosphere, and the stop start narration, and generally just enjoyed it.

31. Five Children and It I never read this as a child, when I think I would have really enjoyed it (loved the Katy books, Noel Streatfeild, that kind of thing) and I quite enjoyed it now, though I thought it was a bit patchy and the ending a little weak.

I had to read Ulysses for my degree and I did enjoy it actually. I liked the bits with Molly Bloom best.

45. The Portable Veblen - Elizabeth McKenzie
I wanted to like this so much but it didn't quite live up to its promise. However, it is in equal parts a sweet and rather odd story in which squirrels play an important role. Although the novel is about the romance between Veblen and Paul, it's also about the perils of working for big pharmaceutical companies and having narcissistic/unstable parents, so quite a lot mixed in. But be warned, this really is all about feelings.

Ladydepp - are there any Everest books that you/your son would particularly recommend? Have read a few - but, unlike your ds, not enough yet!

Remus - I read Facing Up many years ago before Bear became Mr. Famous. I remember it being very good and then thinking he was the real deal when he ended up doing survival stuff on screen. I've recently given it to my teenage DS but he claims he's read "enough Everest books for now". He does read Bear's autobiog over and over though!

21 Or the Bulls Kill You -Jason Webster

Set in Valencia around the spring fiesta and bull fighting, the countries top bull fighter is murdered and the lead inspector is something of a maverick.

Decent but not going to set the world on fire crime, British author, Spanish police system. Picked it up for 99p, if any others come up for that price will get them but won't rush out to get the next in series at full price

32. Watership Down by Richard Adams This was a long slog. Pushed to finish it today to get it out of the way and move on. Odd of its time rabbity saga. Portrays rabbit society as being organised in a militaristic and male dominated way. Published in 1972, it made me remember how WW2 continued to dominate the lives of so many men of the author's generation for decades afterwards (my own father included) to the extent that your anthropomorphic rabbit creations behave and converse like a band of WW2 comrades. It included some odd rabbit folk tales which were tiresome in the extreme, and again made me think of the worthy folk tales which were fashionable in the 70s and always made me want to hurl as a child. On the plus side, the detailed descriptions of the natural world were beautifully woven throughout, and I did admire the author's ability to strike just the right balance between anthropomorphising his characters while retaining their rabbity characteristics.

Picked up books 3 & 4 of the Hangman's Daughter series for £1 today, and I'm tempted to bump them to the top of my list for a enjoyable easy read next. Off to see what else I've got on my kindle.

15. Undercover in High Heels - Gemma Haliday ok this is chicklit thrillers if this is a genre. I did enjoy it and once the action kicks in it is a page turner but is no Christie, Reich's or gerristen. Plus i cant decide if i like the main characteras she is a bit of a nut case and really does just seem to end up in compromising or embarrassing situations every other chapter.

Next read is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, went to Oxford and want a comfort read at the moment.