50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Eight

Ah well, that’s fair enough.

That’s a good find - I’ll review Into Thin Air soon. It’s ignited a bit of a craving for more of the same I’ve got the Apsley Cherry Gerrard to go into. It’s just so fascinating.

32. Harry Potter and the cursed child. I rather enjoyed this. A lovely Christmas read. Nineteen years after the last book we’re back at Hogwarts with Harry Potter’s middle son Albus and Draco’s son Scorpius. They have lots of adventures and the original gang are heavily involved. This was better than I was expecting.

Going to start Scarlett Thomas’ children’s series next.

Satsuki - agree re losing the rose-tinted glasses, but I just thought that getting bogged down in the sister and then the 'revelation' around that was so much less interesting and felt like a side-line, rather than something purposeful, as if she realised it wasn't going to be a sentimental happy ending, but didn't know what to fill the novel with instead. I found it frustrating and not terribly effective.

Up Everest in a storm = a great place to be (in book form; absolutely not in reality). I've got a couple of new polar books, so I'll also be in snowy mayhem at some point soon too).

Look at this beauty:

94 Dangerous Crossing - Rachel Rhys - Similar to Clueless I loved the setting of this both in terms of the period of time and that it was set on a cruise liner. I found the narration a bit clunky in places but I did keep me hooked and I was pleasantly suprised by the ending. However, I think I can understand why Clueless felt a bit disappointed by one aspect of this.

Sorry you were so wrong about Rush Oh remus

Whilst the ending wasn’t as strong as the first half, I didn’t feel that was because it didn’t know what it wanted to be - I thought the comedy and romance represented her rose tinted view of the past, and the industry, whereas the ending gradually reflected the sadness and disillusionment that came with the passage of time, a reality which she was still fighting against. I think if the romance or comedy had been the main theme it would have been too sentimental. I enjoyed the writing and set pieces in the beginning so much.

Meanwhile the kids are off school and I’m still up Everest in the middle of a storm

118. A Christmas Carol. Have never actually read this before. Usually find Dickens hard going. This was ok. Probably because everyone knows the story, I didn't have to think to hard.
My school finished yesterday, the kids don't finish until lunchtime today. Currently lying in bed with the dog next to me about to dive into my To Read Pile. Bliss!

118 The Man in the Snow – Rory Clements
A novella featuring John Shakespeare, solving crimes (I reviewed some of his novels earlier in the year – they are basically fake Shardlakes and nowhere near as good, but diverting enough). This was poor though – it felt lazy and the crime was solved by a sudden moment of intuition by our hero. Not recommended.

I think your passion for music is delightful, Cote.

Sadik, a friend of mine admires Solnit and highly recommends Wanderlust. I'm looking forward to reading it.

85. The Faithful Couple, AD Miller

This is billed as being a wonderful taught depiction of a male friendship with extra hidden-secret-from-past psychological tension but TBH I found it all rather meh. Neither of the two main characters were engaging, and the plot didn't really go anywhere or contain any tension at all.

86. A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki

Thank you to Shakeitoff who recommended this further up the thread. I too had had it on my Kindle for yonks, and I didn't know what I fancied reading so decided to give it a go based on your description. It's a lovely book - it brings together zen philosophy, quantum physics, computer engineering, Japanese pop culture, a middle-aged novelist living on a remote island off the coast of Canada, the relationships between parents and children, loss, depression, grief and so much more, and does it all with a lovely lightness of touch. You don't quite realise what she's doing, telling you a bit of a silly story about a missing cat or a teenager writing in her diary, and then she tugs a string and BOOM - suddenly you're looking at the big questions of human existence. It wasn't perfect but it was lovely, and made me think a lot.

Need edit function. The oysters were not free.

139. A Paris Christmas, by John Baxter

Australian married to French woman, now lives in France, and regularly cooks Christmas dinner for the extended family. This book is his account of the Christmas dinner he is preparing, with an awed account of French savoir faire, speckled with some mild jeopardy regarding whether the suckling piglet will have its skin on, whether he'll be able to get enough free oysters, and whether the wine will be of sufficient quality. But never mind, he'll always be far more comme il faut than you'll ever manage, dear plebby reader.

I may sound a bit scathing, but it was all pleasingly diverting. A little more foie gras?

I can see why your poor DH feels that was bait and switch, Cote!

I did some piano as a child, but had not touched a piano for +30 years when I started playing again by myself about 3 years ago and became an adult student at the local Conservatory a year later. I had no formal education in music theory & singing until 4 months ago.

It brings me incredible joy & happiness and has frankly become a bit of an obsession. DH is , especially since I joined the the same Conservatory’s Baroque choir. He says he didn’t sign up for listening to church music in his home every day when he married an atheist from a Muslim country

Pretty impressive to get to 50 with all that music Cote- did you always play, or have you started from scratch?

53. Wonder by RJ Palacio. I expect a lot of you or your dc have read this, it is a little on the trite side, but I think would be great to read with 10 year olds, and I think I would have enjoyed it is a child. I did like the motif of kindness running through it, and I am told Julia Roberts is excellent in the film!

70. I Am Watching You - Teresa Driscoll

Ella is on a train to London and two young girls are getting to know two boys. However these two have just been released from prison but she doesn’t step in and minds her own business. The next day one of the girls is missing and Ella is full of regret. A year later on the anniversary Ella is receiving threatening messages. Is there more to the story than meets the eye?

Hated having to go to work and stop reading this one! Doubt there will be many more before the New Year unless I just ignore everyone

103 The Mother of all Questions by Rebecca Solnit

A collection of essays written between 2014-2017, subtitled 'Further Feminisms'. A standout book for me overall, though as often the case with essays some are stronger than others, and there's a certain amount of overlap.

The strongest essays for me deal with the nature of language, and the way in which different groups of people have been silenced throughout history. I'll definitely look for her other books, and I hope that my teenage dd will read at least some of the essays in this one.

Thanks Remus. I saw Decline and Fall when it was on TV recently and really enjoyed it, so I may well try the novel.

50. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed this surreal ride Created by men's imagination and sustained by their adoration, prayers, and sacrifices, men come to America in the hearts and minds of immigrants. But now their strength is fading as people turn away from the old Gods and worship more and more at the altars of their new Gods - television, shopping malls, etc. A conflict between the old Gods and new ones seem inevitable.

I liked the writing style and character building. The plot was secondary, which is unusual for me. It felt similar to The Goldfinch in that sense - enjoying the ride without worrying too much about where the story was going.

And that makes 50 books. Music has taken over my life this year, with 2-3 hours of practice per day plus evening classes on 2 week nights, leaving very little time to read. This is a big drop from the 64-65 books I have been reading in the past 3 years, but I'm pleased to have at least completed this year's 50-book challenge

CJ _ Try Decline and Fall or A Handful of Dust next, maybe? Both excellent.

Stitches - it is a v silly ending, but I do think there's enough good stuff in Under the Dome for it to still be worth a read. Other than the ending, it felt like a return to form for King, after a few duff ones, when it was published.

Is the v. silly ending to Under The Dome bad enough to spoil the book?

I’ve been trying to declutter, and found a copy of Under The Dome that I’d forgotten I had in a mountain of books. Wondering whether to start reading it once I’ve finished with the current batch of library books...

86. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

The only other Waugh novel I've read was Vile Bodies and I can't say I was taken with it, but Brideshead Revisited is utterly glorious. I adored this book and feel a little bit in love with Sebastian Flyte (inevitably), which made his decline all the more heartbreaking. For those who don't know, it is the reminiscence of Charles Ryder who, during WWII, is a Captain in the army and finds himself billeted at a camp based in and around an old country house, Brideshead, which he knew in his youth. He tells about his time at Oxford where he meets Sebastian, an aristocratic and troubled youth with an affection for his teddy bear Aloysius, Catholic guilt, and mummy issues. The story progresses through the 1920s and 1930s, detailing Ryder's involvement with the Flyte family including his affair with Sebastian's sister Julia, and in so doing covers the dramatic changes to society which tool place between the wars. The language is stunning, and the mood changes are subtle and brilliantly done. It moves from a feeling of gilded youth into the oppressive feel life under the shadow of the coming war. Utterly, utterly brilliant.

Book 117
Rush OH! by Shirley Barret
Hmmm. Really liked the first half of this but thought it lost its way in the second half, and by the end I was bored. It stopped being a comic novel or potential love story, but didn’t really seem to know what it wanted to be instead. Not worth £4.99, I’m afraid!

Glad you enjoyed it Tanaqui!

52. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. I love it when this thread gives me a book I would have never otherwise come across- I really enjoyed the narrative voice in this (thank you Sadik!), and (unusually for me!) didn't mind the open ending. Also nicely short for upping my numbers!

Yes, that’s trademark PKD