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50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Seven

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southeastdweller · 03/11/2016 20:00

Welcome to the final thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2016, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read, and to anyone who hasn't posted, feel free to de-lurk and share with us what you've read so far this year.

The first thread of 2016 is here, second thread here, third thread here, fourth thread here, fifth thread here and sixth thread here.

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CinnamonSweet73 · 06/02/2017 18:15

I know I'm ridiculously late but I just wanted to add what I read last year, now that I've finally tidied it up! Thank you all for inspring me to read more! And thanks to whoever on this thread recommended the Elly Griffiths books, I really enjoyed them!

  1. ‘Even Dogs in the Wild’, Ian Rankin, enjoyed
  2. Abattoir Blues by Peter Robinson and still not sure if I read it before but enjoyed it anyway!
  3. The Lake House by Kate Morton, really enjoyed it though I did feel the ending was a bit too neat and convenient.
  4. The Burning Room by Michael Connelly, good but not great
  5. A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George, enjoyed.
  6. Standing In Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin. Enjoyed.
  7. The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop, wasn’t as good as I hoped unfortunately.
  8. Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin, enjoyed Saints though I thought Grave was better!
  9. Career of Evil Robert Galbraith
10. Temptation island by Victoria Fox which was rubbish. 11. Appassionata Jilly Cooper (reread) 12. ‘The Complaints’ (Rankin’s Malcolm Fox series) Enjoyed though not as much as the Rebus ones. 13. Follow up to the above, ‘The Impossible Dead’ 14. Victims by Jonathan Kellerman ok but not fantastic. 15. ‘Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet’ really good story about a part of history I knew nothing about. 16 ‘The Tea Planter’s Wife’ OK. 17 ‘The Forgotten Summer’ Carol Drinkwater OK. I tried to get some books set in France for my French holiday, but it was a bit depressing. 18 ‘L’Auberge’ Julia Stagg – not great 19 ‘The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris’ Eve Gaughan. Too fluffy for me. 20 ‘Killer: Alex Delaware 29’ Jonathan Kellerman. Gave up on the French books – really enjoyed this. 21 ‘Labyrinth’ Kate Mosse. Downloaded this in Carcassonne where it’s set, read the start in the bar of the hotel with the Ciutat in view every time I looked up! Very atmospheric. Thoroughly enjoyed, but mainly because it suited the time and place; the actual story does stretch belief a bit too far. 22 ‘Motive: Alex Delaware 30’ Jonathan Kellerman. Back for more as I enjoyed the other one, had abandoned this in favour of Labyrinth! 23. ‘The Crossing Places’ Elly Griffiths. Another mystery, really enjoyed, archaelogical elements which I liked. There are more so will read the rest of the series! 24. ‘The Promise of Provence’ Patricia Sands. Said I’d try one more France-located book, this was absolute rubbish. Gave up! 25 ‘I Let You Go’ Clare Mackintosh. Very enjoyable and clever thriller. 26 ‘The Proposal’ Tasmina Perry. Light but well written, also enjoyed. 27 ‘Lie With Me’ Sabine Durrant. Another clever and dark thriller! 28 ‘Pompeii’ Mary Beard. Non fiction, it was the deal of the day on Kindle the other day. Very interesting! 29. ‘The Janus Stone’ Elly Griffiths. Book 2 in the series! Got from the library and started last night. 30. ‘Black Eyed Susans’ Julia Heaberlin. good but I didn’t love it. 31. ‘X’ Sue Grafton. enjoyed but ended a bit abruptly 32. ‘The Last Kiss Goodbye’ by Tasmina Perry, nice light read. 33. ‘I’m Not With the Band’ by Sylvia Patterson which I didn’t enjoy as much as I hoped. Just more about bands I’m not familiar with so didn’t mean much to me. 34. The Island by Victoria Hislop OK but a bit of a history textbook at times, uses stories of neighbours to indicate examples of life in Crete in WW2, a bit stilted at times. 35. The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths, very much enjoyed. 36. A Room Full Of Bones by Elly Griffiths and very much enjoyed. 37 The Improbability of Love Hannah Rothschild, OK 38. ‘Dying Fall’ by Elly Griffiths. 39. ‘The Outcast Dead’ by the same author. 40. ‘The Ghost Fields’ by the same author. 41. Enjoyed ‘The Woman in Blue’ by Elly Griffiths, enjoyed them all, sad I have no more Ruth Galloways for a couple of months! 42. Spectacles by Sue Perkins, didn’t enjoy as much as I hoped, more a series of sketches about her life than an autobiography 43. very fluffy Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich. 44. I Found You by Lisa Jewell which I enjoyed. 45. The Lost by Claire McGowan. 46. The Girls by Lisa Jewell (OK but preferred I Found You) 47. When The Music’s Over by Peter Robinson 48. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (reread)
SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 22:14

If you think it's good I'll probably read it - when I'm ready for more WW1 Smile

RemusLupinsChristmasMovie · 02/01/2017 22:02

Ah. Sorry! Have ordered a free sample.

SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 21:53

Sorry I meant further down the list to be read - I've owned a copy since I was 14 and carted it through several moves but have never read it Confused

RemusLupinsChristmasMovie · 02/01/2017 21:48

I haven't read Goodbye to all That. Should I?

SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 21:00

Agreed, it took me so long to get round to it but made me not want to go near WW1 again for a good while. Devastating. It's put Goodbye to All That further down the list for this reason unfortunately.

RemusLupinsChristmasMovie · 02/01/2017 19:02

All Quiet is superb. One of the best novels I've read in the past twenty years.

SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 19:01

I do really like those kinds of books wilting - though realise they don't feature in my top reads Grin - but think I have to be in the right mood and give them enough time.

all quiet very good but knocked me out a bit emotionally. Overwhelming.

Yes joyless in the same vein, my dh bought me Casablanca for Christmas, an old favourite but I felt much more emotionally engaged with it this time with more knowledge of the period and being slightly older. There are many books to revisit, but also so many damn new ones Smile

JoylessFucker · 02/01/2017 18:29

Thanks Satsuki & wilting

I feel I'm well overdue a re-read of War & Peace as I read (and enjoyed) it when a teenager, but would almost certainly get more from it now. I shall ponder ...

wiltingfast · 02/01/2017 17:49

It's a lovely book satsuki, but a real observational piece. No narrative drive really. I can see why it might not be everyone's cup of tea Smile

I really should give allquiet on the western front a go too.

SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 16:56

Yes do! I keep forgetting I've actually read it now.

Tarahumara · 02/01/2017 16:49

I'm still checking this thread to see any updates Smile

Maybe 2017 will be the year I read War and Peace. I seem to remember saying the same thing about 2016

SatsukiKusakabe · 02/01/2017 16:08

I still came back to read your updates Grin I will have to give The Summer Book another go wilting since it's made your top 5 as I like your reviews. Hoping to begin the Cixin Liu Trilogy soon.

Sorry for your loss, joyless, I thought you'd been quiet Flowers

My top reads were:
The Moonstone
War and Peace
HHhH
The Railway Man
True Grit
The Revenant
All Quiet on the Western Front

Er... all by men. But there were several other good ones too, hope to have as much luck this year Wine

wiltingfast · 02/01/2017 15:09

Sorry to hear about your father Joyless, tough time for you and your family Flowers

Final 2016 update

  1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman; Excellent read. On balance probably prefer American Gods but they are really both vg books

  2. Doctor January by Rhoda Baxter; Chick lit, filled a dozy Christmas gap, enjoyed it.

Top FIVE
Star The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
Star The Skeleton Cupboard by Tanya Byron
Star The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Star Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Star Death's End by Cixin Liu

Not much point doing a full update since everyone's pissed off to the new thread Grin

I did a quick calculation and about 40% female and 60% were male writers.

About 25% was non-fiction.

See you all on the other thread!

LookingForMe · 02/01/2017 11:03

Finishing off my 2016:

  1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - a couple of people have already reviewed this, I think. It's set in 1920s Alaska and is about a childless couple, Jack and Mabel, who build a snow girl, which then seems to come to life. It's a reworking of the various fairy tales of the same sort and I really enjoyed it. The writing was beautiful and the perfect winter read.

Now going over to the new thread!

JoylessFucker · 01/01/2017 16:53

Late to finishing off my 2016's reads:

  1. Crosstalk Connie Willis. In a world where communication is all encompassing, what happens when it becomes too much? Briddey the central character is a tad irritating and her boyfriend being too good to be true is all way too telegraphed. The other characters are better written and the story moves along at a cracking pace. But still a good read, if not one of her best.

  2. The Christmas Mystery Jostein Gaarder. A story about an advent calendar which you read - daily - chapter by chapter, during advent. It was a sweet children's tale, until the end when they tried to explain it. Another ending letting me down ...

  3. The Hanging Tree Ben Aaronovitch. Latest in the PC Peter Grant series. Better than the last one, certainly better edited. But I felt it was being written with an eye too much to the next book. Some things could've been tied up in this one.

My year tailed off reading-wise, both for seasonal reasons and family sadness (my father died after a long-term illness). But I've loved the company, the chat, the recommendations and the scathing reviews (the latter probably the most). So, I'll be hopping over to the new thread for 2017 and joining you all there very soon.

Happy New Year Wine

Tarahumara · 01/01/2017 15:43

Cote yes please to a message about the running book!

Original poster
southeastdweller · 01/01/2017 10:16

Happy New Year everyone!

The new thread is up now 📚

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 01/01/2017 00:40

Southeast - Remember to start our 2017 thread please! Happy news year everyone Xmas Smile

BestIsWest · 31/12/2016 20:48
  1. Alan Bennett - Keeping On Keeping On - loved it 93 - 95 Jenny Colgan - Little Beack Bakery books. Unabashed Chick lit 96 Jenny Colgan - Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris - more if the same
  2. Rosamund Pilcher -Winter Solstice
  3. Rebecca Tope - Death In The Cotswolds

Didn't quite make 100 this year but there were some very long books in there this year. The end of year Chick-lit splurge somewhat skewed my male-female balance too.

Anyway, thanks to you all for the recommendations and the good humoured company.

See you all in 2017.

Cherrypi · 31/12/2016 20:02

Book 8 - A second chance by Jodi Taylor. The third in the St Mary's Chronicles. A fun read. The large cast makes this a bit confusing as I hadn't read the second one recently. There needs to be a St Mary's wiki. This time we start in Troy. Hoping to beat eight books next year. Happy new year fellow bookworms.

whitewineandchocolate · 31/12/2016 18:55

final audiobook of the year - Truly, Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty - I've read a few of her books and generally like the way she gets how people tick but I didn't think this was one of her best at all, not the best storyline and far too dragged out, especially on the audiobook, it was 17 hours long, not quite sure how I managed to finish. I'm surprised this won an award on Goodreads - best fiction of 2017 - I really thought it was very formulaic and may start to give her books a miss.

As I stopped recording earlier in the year no idea of my total but I would think its around the 45-50 mark.

Happy New Year and see you all on the new thread.

Next year as always I will try and clear my backlog and also try and concentrate on the book I'm actually reading rather than trying to rush through and get on to the next one!

ChessieFL · 31/12/2016 18:00

I've just done some analysis of my reading this year.

Of 193 books, 60 were written by a man (31%) and 133 by a woman (69%).

156 (81%) were fiction and 37 (19%) were non-fiction. I thought I had read more non-fiction than that.

Interestingly, of the fiction books 121 (78%) were by a woman and 35 (22%) by a man. Of the non-fiction books, 12 (32%) were by a woman and 25 (68%) were by a man.

So it appears that for fiction I prefer female writers and for non-fiction I prefer male!

Re format, 3% were audio, 25% kindle, 26% library (physical) and 46% physical. I didn't realise I had read so much from the library but surprised I read more physical compared to kindle books - I would have guessed the other way around!

Next year I will try to read more non-fiction and more male authors - I have most of Dickens books to my to-read pile so that will help with the latter!

ChillieJeanie · 31/12/2016 17:34

I've never thought to check the ratio of male to female authors. Having just worked it out, it's 71% male, 26% female and 3% various or anon, although since the two anonymous ones were Beowulf and Orkneyinga Saga it's a fair bet that they were male writers as well, given the time of writing.

My most-read authors this year were Jim Butcher (16 books; re-read of The Dresden Files series) and George RR Martin (7 books; first read of A Song of Ice and Fire series). I've managed to increase the amount of non-fiction I have read this year as well, mainly with prehistoric/archaeology (a couple of Barry Cunliffe books, one Francis Pryor, and Mike Parker Pearson on his excavations around Stonehenge), ancient history (Tom Holland, Mary Beard, Vanessa Collingridge and Nicki Howarth), and a bit of the Dark Ages (Francis Pryor's Britain AD counts I think, along with Max Adams and Guy Halsall).

ChessieFL · 31/12/2016 16:18

Last completed book of 2016:

  1. The Haunted Man by Charles Dickens

Another of his Christmas books but again this one had barely anything to do with Christmas. I really struggled - just couldn't get into it and found it hard to understand. Even after finishing it I'm still not really sure what was going on!

I have also realised that I haven't been counting my audiobooks so to add those:

  1. Down Under by Bill Bryson
  2. The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
  3. My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
  4. Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart
  5. The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Currently reading Word Play by Gyles Brandreth and have Case Histories on the go on Audible so those will be my first two for 2017!