50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Two

Jane Eyre - I think opposites attract was the point. She'd lived a sheltered life and he was exciting and unpredictable (plus financial security) and she was a steadying influence after years of instability. Even reading it second time around as a teenager (especially?) I got a very strong sense of sexual tension which I think, debate all you like, is actually quite realistic as to why people end up together.

Thanks highland will bear in mind re: Trollope, sounds interesting. Know nothing about him Will look on Kindle.

Has anyone seen anything they recommend in the February Kindle deals?

I enjoyed The Revenant and Bad Science last year.

The Ashes of London is there, which has been mentioned here a bit, also a few Philippa Gregory's.

The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry - guess as he's just won the Costa for his latest as mentioned by southeast

I have bought Stories of Your Life and others by Ted Chiang which I've had wishlisted for ages - the recent film "Arrival" was based on it, might appeal to sci-fi lovers here, award winning novella and stories.

I've just started "Sex, Drugs and Chocolate: The Science of Pleasure" by Paul Martin. (number 16, though 15 was a bit of a cheat as only 55 pages)

I read "Counting Sheep' The science of Sleep" some time ago and it was really interesting, so when I saw this on the withdrawn shelf at the library, I grabbed it. He's a very engaging writer and can get complex concepts across in a simple and amusing way.

Oh well, she was happy!

Or was she, Chessie? JA Sutherland writes books picking apart the puzzles in classic fiction, and he suggests otherwise, based on his analysis of both their characters; that like many relationships, when they actually have to live together Edward Rochester will make her life a misery (IIRC - it's been some years since I read it. Actually, I think I'll dig it out - I've still got it somewhere. Thank you for reminding me

Mumsnet 1910 would have had a field day with the mother

This is very serendipitous, Ham.

Only yesterday I was thinking about starting a "What would MumsNet 1817 be like?", (Picked the date because it was a straight two centuries ago -long enough to be far away, but close enough to be relevant) but I hadn't the time to think of a starter entry.

Or maybe a MumsNet Through The Ages . . . (If anyone wants to run with this, I won't claim copywriter, but please link me so that I can join in.)

Coo - You will LOVE the Barchester Chronicles. They are wonderful (personal favourite is "The Small House at Arlington" which I think is number 5 in the series. The character of Johnny Eames is thought to be based on Trollope himself when he was an aspiring young clerk in the Post Office.).

Trollope's characters are so believable and his stories are timeless - I think because they are character-driven as well shaving really good plots. Enjoy!

12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Enjoyed this although there is a very large coincidence which I found hard to believe in, and (spoiler alert in case anyone hasn't read it!) I did question Jane's logic in agreeing to marry a man who would have quite willingly entered a bigamous marriage. Oh well, she was happy!

Just finished book 11 The Essex Serpent . I really enjoyed the book. Lots of interesting questions about beliefs and values, enjoyed the subject matter regarding science v religion. Particularly found the portrayal of her son Francis very interesting- had a strong feeling he had Aspergers.
Interesting discussion on The Sellout which was chosen by my book group last night as one of our future books. Would not be something I would naturally gravitate towards.
Next book - need to read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . read it years ago but my son is doing it for GCSE and keeps asking me things I can't remember!

Checking in again after a few days off the thread and it's moved forward about 10 pages!

Ladydepp, I've read the first three Shardlake and found the first one hte slowest (and also got confused about all the different monks!) The third one is the best so far IMO.

DrDiva- I also enjoyed Pillars of the Earth, but enjoyed World Without End more- set in the same town, with descendants of the original characters 200 years later, set around the time of the Black Death. Again, it's a long read, but well worth it.

I've just finished Fellowship of the Ring (#6) (a re-read)- starts slow but you just have to get into the MIddle Earth mindset and drift along with it.

and Journey into the Heart of Borneo (#7) - for my new book club tonight. Was OK, it was written by a naturalist so lots and lots of long descriptions of birds, long chunks of quotations from a previous book on Borneo written c1850s, and a few amusing anecdotes about leeches on willies. Got a bit political towards the end. Meh

crapfatbanana I have The Outrun on my TBR pile, a present from my sister. And I'm hoping to go to a remote Scottish island for a week this summer myself so would be good to read it first .. or maybe while there.

Interesting that you are loving The Sellout. We're due to discuss it at my book group shortly. I know that without exception everyone who's already read it has loathed it and found it really difficult. I'll attempt it nonetheless and good to hear that at least one person has found it a worthwhile read.

re Trollope yes, Cedar, I have The Warden ready to read first, but thanks for your thoughtful post. I do like to read series in order

Satsuki I would recommend The Way We LIve Now as one of Trollope's best novels. His own reasons for writing it below :

Nevertheless a certain class of dishonesty, dishonesty magnificent in its proportions, and climbing into high places, has become at the same time so rampant and so splendid that there seems to be reason for fearing that men and women will be taught to feel that dishonesty, if it can become splendid, will cease to be abominable. If dishonesty can live in a gorgeous palace with pictures on all its walls, and gems in all its cupboards, with marble and ivory in all its corners, and can give Apician dinners, and get into Parliament, and deal in millions, then dishonesty is not disgraceful, and the man dishonest after such a fashion is not a low scoundrel. Instigated, I say, by some such reflections as these, I sat down in my new house to write The Way We Live Now.

Couldn't be more relevant currently ...

And weebarra yes he certainly had an interesting life. And for a man who held down a full-time job with the Post Office, what a prolific writer!

17 Truly, Madly, Deeply - Liane Moriarty

I usually like Moriarty's books - although they are quite 'chick-lit', there's always a dark undercurrent to them and it's a change to read books set in Australia that aren't Neville Shute.
This was about three couples remembering the events of a traumatic day and its aftershocks and very much in the same style but I just didn't like any of the characters and didn't care very much what happened to them.

YY Ham - the whole set up in Thank Heaven Fasting is awful (as in the subject matter - not the writing) but so utterly believable you feel you have to read on.

I was listening to The Handmaid's Tale on audible ages ago, I don't know why I stopped. I just finish it.

1. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. This took a while to finish, given I'm not reading as much now and it is a right tome! However, I really enjoyed it. (I missed the mention of horse chestnuts...) it is the story of the building of a cathedral, with a rich tapestry of lives around it. Prior Philip also features large. I really liked that there was no clear cut good and evil - everyone makes choices for a reason, and good people make bad choice ices and vice versa. It's ages since I read a historical novel like this and it was wonderful to start again.

frenchfancy The Handmaid's Tale has been on my wish list for ages, but I'd never thought of listening to it on audio - I might just shamelessly copy you. Once I've finished 11.22.63 which I may have mentioned a few hundred times, as I've been listening to it for two and a half months. Just under an hour to go.

1. Thank Heaven Fasting by EM Delafield Stultifying but strangely compelling tale of Monica, a rich and privileged young woman, coming out in pre WW1 London, whose whole shallow existence revolves around getting a husband and being pushed around by her overbearing mother. Mumsnet 1910 would have had a field day with the mother, and the very few friends and relationships that Monica does manage to cultivate. Very readable despite the rather depressing subject matter. Beware the cheapo kindle edition - littered with typos - looks like it's been scanned from a PDF then not properly proofread.

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - Audiobook

I have been meaning to read this for ages so this thread inspired me to get it on Audible. I'm a great fan of Dystopian fiction and this is often held up to be one of the best.

This is a thought provoking and even frightening scenario, particularly given the current political situation in the US. Most dystopia doesn't seem believable or possible, but this did. Whilst it is very much written from a feminist perspective, there are many other groups that are targeted. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter and the way it shed light on the history.

It worked well as an Audiobook, particularly given the way the last chapter pans out.

I can completely understand why this book is used as an A-level text, and I think it should go on to those lists of 100 books you should read.

Just caught up with this thread. Saw the Oliver Sachs books in a discount bookstore last week and so very nearly bought them, very tempted to after what people have said on here. Is there a particular one people would recommend first?

I did however buy The Skeleton Cupboard off the back of this thread, oops looks like my TBR pile is not getting any smaller.

5 A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

This has been reviewed quite a few times on here so I won't go into details. It took me quite a while to get into this - it jumps back and forwards quite a lot, sometimes in the same paragraph (or at least it seemed that way) which I found a little confusing. Once I got into it I enjoyed it. I like the idea that the war effects more people than just those who fought in it, and for much longer. I'm not sure about the ending though, it didn't seem fully explained, as though it were an afterthought.

Well, just finished "Suite Francaise", and it was excellent.

The characters are so well-drawn that you really like/dislike them and worry about what is going to happen to them. The panic when the Germans break through the French lines and advance on Paris is so believable - tiny details that bring the reality home; families crammed into vehicles with all of their most precious possessions and pets; the desperation as they can't get everything in; the growing awareness that they are running out of time; the hideous journey on a road too packed with people fleeing on foot, carrying small children, leading dogs, pushing handcarts of possessions, to allow vehicles to move - the selfishness of the wealthy with their cars full of valuables ignoring the plight of the poor.

This book is all about emotion - how people feel, what motivates them - and what happens springs from that as much as from the situations they find themselves in.

Really wonderful writing.

Have started another "Ollalla" by Robert Louis Stevenson. This is a bit of a cheat as it is a short novella published as one of the Penguin Little Black Classics and only 55 pages, but I really wanted to end on a "round" number (this will be 15) and hey - a book is a book!

Just finished number 5, Those who leave and those who stay by Elena Ferrante, the third in the Neapolitan trilogy which follows the lives of two friends from the slums of Naples in the early 50s to the present day. The strength of the first two books was, for me, the complexity of the relationship between the two main characters, Elena, the narrator and her childhood friend Lila. There's an unsettling bond between them, Lila, who, so far, never leaves Naples and Elena, who, through education, moves away and up in society. I found the other two books page turners but took nearly three weeks to get through this one. I found the communist/fascist unrest events bored me. Perhaps because the two womens' experiences in this period were mostly separate. Only in the last 1/4 of the book when the friends met up again did I start to get absorbed in the book again. Perhaps I'm shallow but I definitely read fiction for the who, not the what. People fascinate me and I think I read to feed this interest as I'm a bit of a loner/introvert by nature in real life. The book ended on a shameless cliffhanger with enough clues throughout the book to ensure that I must read the final book, The story of the Lost Child. Just waiting for my reservation to come through at the library. In the meantime am about to start on number 6, The Unravelling of Oliver by Liz Nugent. Front cover has a quote from the Daily Mail which would normally put me off but it's been highly recommended here and I love a good "psychological crime thriller" so looking forward to it.
Recently took up crochet again to stop me eating so much crap these dark evenings. On the plus side, I've lost 7kg and am halfway through an enormous, cool looking blanket for our bed but it's really cut in to my reading time. Can't believe I've only read 5 books this month. I'll give myself a target of 8 this month. Perhaps I'll get good enough to read and crochet at the same time....

5 - Phillipa Gregory - The White Princess - I used to really like Phillipa Gregory but I found this one almost laughable in places. It was nice, however to read something light and frivolous after reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I have now started The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood and I have high expectations as I have really enjoyed the other books of hers I have read. .

1. Troublesome Engines by Rev W Awdry
2. Mainline Engines by Rev W Awdry

A little light relief. I was a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine stories as a child, forty years ago. I read them to my grown up daughter; my partner read them to her daughter; and now we're reading them to our youngest. The attraction doesn't seem to fade. Of course there's a whole gamut of toys and other media available now that I never had! The Thomas the Tank Engine Fan Club is about as much as I remember.

I did once think about writing some spoof business books based on lessons from Sodor; many of the problems are of the Fat Director's own making, like buying (probably cheaper) dirty coal and contaminating engines' fireboxes ;)

1. The Autism Discussion Page on the Core Challenges of Autism by Bill Nason

I think that this book's premise, being a collection of posts from an internet page, usually leads to a poor reading experience; not in this case though. This is a densely packed book, with lots of information. Some we've put into practice straight away; a lot more will I'm sure need many more readings. This was from the library, but I suspect it might be the book that breaks my "no new books" rule first. I'll tell myself it doesn't really count as it's a tool ;)

1. F ia for Fugitive - Sue Grafton. Another installment in the alphabet series and you can see the author's ability to tell a story improve. The ending unlike some of the earlier installments didn't feel rushed and thus i didn't feel cheated as to why the crime happened. Kinsey si called to a small town of Floral beach to investigate a murder of a 17 year ild which happened 17 years ago. The claustrophobic nature of the town and the family with which she is working really helps with the tension in this story,

Now onto 7. Code by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs. This is part of her YA series with her son which i've read 1st two in the series.

I think I've got Hallucinations somewhere on the depths of my kindle unread - I got it for the exact reason that I suffer from vivid hallucinations at night, particularly when stressed or if I've had alcohol. Always random people in the room or the bed; no one I know! They're terrifying at the time, always have to get the light on to make them disappear. I went through a particularly awful spell where it was spiders. Might read it finally. Does it have any tips for getting rid of the buggers?

Tarahumara, I also love Oliver Sacks. His book Hallucinations was fascinating especially as someone in my family regularly has hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations - usually dead relatives!