50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Two

That is so good to hear RMC123 I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it in case it wasn't as good. It is now on my list 😊

I was also going to recommend Slipstream, EJH's autobiography, to those of you who like the Cazalets but RMC beat me to it. It made the story seem more poignant to see how much of herself is in it, particularly Louise, who I didn't find that sympathetic in the books.

I'm reading How to be both. I had the painter first and have now got on to the second half (in my copy) which is the teenage girl who's mother has died. It's quite poignant, thinking about what would happen to my children if I snuffed it.

Frenchfancy I loved it too but I loved the companion book The love song of Queenie Hennessy even more.

1. The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce

A tale of a retired man who sets off walking to save his friends life.

I loved this book. It may well become my favourite book of 2017. It is such an unlikely subject matter and the main characters life is wildly different from my own - and yet it captivated me. It is a story of love and of loss and of how we keep going in the face of adversity.

Highly recommended.

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt - Audiobook

I am fairly new to the medium of Audiobooks and I think this novel lends itself well to listening rather than reading.

This is a very long book - over 32 hours of listening. The writing is beautiful in its descriptive qualities, and the narrator does an excellent job of keeping the (rather depressing) mood. There are definitely boring bits, particularly in the middle, and I'm not sure I would have kept up with it had I been reading, but as an audio book it has the great advantage of being able to tune out from time to time (whilst performing manual tasks) but not really missing any of the plot.

I think this book could probably warrant the claim of modern masterpiece and I think it is a very durable book but it won't go down on my list of top ten favourites.

One thing that surprised me about the book was the amount of drug use and description of drug abuse. I wasn't really expecting it and yet it is a major theme of the book.

I'm well behind on my reviews despite keeping up with my reading.

1. Black Widow By Chris Brookmyre

A follow on from my book one. This is an enjoyable enough read but doesn't have the edge that I would expect. Winner of the 2016 crime novel of the year - bloody Scotland, it is the story of a women in court for the death of her husband. With timelines running back and forth to before, during and after the crime. It is a very readable book, but not one I would seek to read again or recommend to anyone looking for a good psychological thriller. The reviews given by the press do not match the book I read.

I buy a lot of my books new off Amazon, and the odd charity shop find as well. I recently picked up Brights Lights, Big City and The Life of Pi in a charity shop for £1.29 each and was very pleased as I have been wanting to read the former since I heard the author on one of the book progs on Radio 4 (I forget which one I'm afraid) and the latter has been on my to-read list for ages.

I'm currently reading A Place Called Winter which is a slow starter but after a few initial chapters which felt rather badly written with cringey, awkward dialogue and a lot of 'telling-not-showing', it is getting better and seems as though the author is getting more into his stride. It must be good as I am very keen to know what happens next.

Saw Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland, by Sarah Moss in the library and picked it up, based on the discussion on here. It is a bit Middle Class Problems - can't get fresh herbs for cooking, fruit in supermarkets too mushy etc. The chapters where she attempts to be Intrepid Girl Reporter, capturing oral history about anti-government protests or childhood memories of elderly Icelanders, are fairly dull.

On the other hand, I admired her determine not to romanticize the place or her own family's experiences. It was the honesty about her day-to-day experience as a foreigner than rang true to me - those moments at a café or checkout when you can't muster up the courage to try out your language skills, and hate demanding that people speak English, so you just nod and mutter meaninglessly. Overall, I rather liked it.

Also read The House of Four, Barbara Nadel, book 19 in her Istanbul-set crime series. I know Cote is sniffy regarding her accuracy about Turkey, but I do like her enthusiasm for the complexity of Istanbul, and I'm fond of her characters. This author seems to pop out at least a book a year, and the book felt like a late draft rather than the final version - needed a final polish. But it kept me turning the pages to find out what happened.

Think those were books 8 and 9, but will need to check.

Re book care, I own very few new books, and the vast majority I read come from the library, so I try not to do anything unpleasant to books, but otherwise I don't think much about it.

How I choose - book reviews in the weekend papers, spotting a new book by an author I've liked previously, having a run at a particular subject (recently the Brontes, with a couple of books lined up on Freya Stark in the near future), discussions on here, serendipity in the library.

Took a break from A Clash of Kings to read:

1. His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnet

I've never broken the spine of a book and would never write in one. If I had to really study a text and highlight/make notes, I would buy 2 copies so one would still look nice! My most battered looking book is A Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder which has been lent out a lot and reread quite a few times.
Currently reading Cloud Atlas which I'm really enjoying.

1. Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch

Second in the Rivers Of London series - enjoyable enough but not as good as the first one and not sure I'll bother reading any further in the series - good fun but not much in the way of character development and a very silly plot.

7. Moving - Jenny Eclair - a book club choice (not mine). Not a comedy as I was expecting from Eclair - I haven't read any of her others, just know her from 'grumpy old woman' type TV shows.

An elderly widowed woman decides she wants to sell her old family house as it's just got to be a bit too much for her. As she is showing the estate agent around, she remembers her family life here. It then jumps to other character's stories that are mixed with the family. It's predictable in some ways, but very touching. The elderly widow - Edwina - is well written, feels real. Not as overly sentimental as it could have been. Worth a read.

Sodding hell, just read the whole thread to catch up and then found my own post halfway through so had clearly read it before. On the plus side, it's this inability to remember what I've read which means I can enjoying re-reading books!

Slow on the completion soccer because I'm reading three books at once:
Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty (blame the BBC for this one)
The Power - Naomi Alderman
Will review when I finish any of them!

And I'm another one who leaves books pristine. DH claims I'm a freak and deliberately breaks the spine on all his books - which is why he's not allowed to read mine. But look at my lovely bookshelf (one of many!) - you can't look as pretty if your books are all bashed and battered. And no, I'm not happy about the Lego but apparently it's my fault my letting books take over the house...

Looking

Cursed Child is brilliant and needs to be SEEN. I deliberately didn't read it first and having seen it all the complaints I've seen relate to people treating it like a "text" not a "play"

I won't ever READ Cursed Child, I doubt it would come across.

At the moment I'm trying not to read reviews or browse Amazon. I have far too many kindle books and books in my house I haven't read so trying to just pick a book from the massive list each time seven books down almost so I'm doing well and I haven't bought a single new book!

Most of my books lately are borrowed from the 'life-brary' as Satsuki called it (perfect) because I have too many unread books on my shelves. But I like to underline and highlight and make notes as I read - obviously can't do this with borrowed books.
When you say you follow on Instagram - is it more than a photo of the book cover, are there reviews? I suppose I should investigate.
I discovered 'Books on the Nightstand' podcast lately and although they have stopped broadcasting there is a huge archive to listen to. Loads of recommendations there.
My mother has a similar taste in books to me although she can't seem to recommend without spoilers..

When I've finished a book it looks well read, but I'm still a bit at your Dad writing a phone number on a book, Best!

I've just added the first Cazalet book to my kindle.

New books still look new once I've read them, unless they've been on any adventures to the beach in which case there will be sand falling out and smudgy suncream fingerprints everywhere! I don't mind other people borrowing my books and am not precious about what state they are returned, and as much as I love a beautifully new book, a well read second hand one is often soft and comfy and lovely in a different way.
Lots of the books in my TBR pile were gifts, I write down the name of books I'm interested in from magazines, newspapers, TV etc, and a lot of the best books I've read in the last couple of years have been lend to me by a friend who chooses novels that I have almost always never heard of and then been totally drawn in by.
Finished book 4. Lessons I've Learned by Davina McCall. I listened to this on Audible and it didn't always feel like a book - it's narrated by Davina herself and the style is so chatty that it's just been like listening to her blethering to me while I've done the dishes for the last few weeks. In book form I probably wouldn't have read it cover to cover but dipped in to pages that looked interesting. With anything like this, different bits will 'speak' to different people. While I enjoyed it and will remember a few good points from it, I couldn't recommend it as it definitely won't be everyone's taste.
Enjoying Hurrah for Gin while busy with work but looking forward to getting on to something a bit weightier (only a little bit!) - whoever was asking if anyone ever feels like they get distracted by seeing/hearing about other books while in the middle of something...YES! Definitely me!

11 The Skeleton Cupboard: The making of a clinical psychologist, by Tanya Byron
Read/reviewed by several on here. I have mixed feelings about this one. I really approve of her aim to get people to think more about mental illness, and how as a society we understand and relate to people we consider mentally ill. I also totally see why she couldn't use genuine cases, and needed to use what she calls 'constructs' drawing on her actual experiences.
Having said all that, I felt maybe - exploited ? - by the presentation of fictional 'people' in the context of a 'true' narrative, particularly as (as she says herself in the afterword) several felt almost designed to be tearjerking situations. She writes well, and I'd love to read a novel using all her experiences but unashamedly fictional.

I don't know if I'm being unreasonable here - I didn't have the same issue with The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz, but then his examples are much 'quieter', if that make sense, and more about the process of psychoanalysis than the cases themselves.

Finished book 3 the girl on the train I really liked it. But I'm usually a but dense when it comes to plot lines and seeing where things go, but had this one nailed ok not right at the beginning but before they give the game away. Proper chuffed with myself. Going to disappoint myself by watching the film tonight.

Will start book 4 in bed later lucky jim by Kingsley Amis

A lot of them are presents. Some are books I've heard people talk about on Twitter, or are books with a reputation. I'm in a book group too, though we don't meet every month. And I have a couple of friends with very similar tastes to me and we lend each other books.

Library! Though a telling slip.

Newspaper reviews and supplements. Friends. I follow a couple of publishers on social media; Penguin & Faber, and browsing life brary and charity shops.

Spinning one place I get recommendations is Instagram. I follow Addymanbooks who does great photos of vintage books.

Just finished Ove, my third book and have just begun The Turning Point. I am looking forward to receiving my copy of The Boy Made of Blocks.