50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Two

too much definitely read Behind the Scenes at the Museum it is excellent. God in Ruins follows Ursula's brother Teddy, and takes a different narrative approach to Life but still playful.

18. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson Started this yesterday and finished today, honestly couldn't put it down. Explores the idea of one person having many different lives on the basis of the decisions they make and things that happen to them. Takes the form of a family saga with a twist. Covering the period from 1910 to beyond the Second World War it had echoes of the Cazalet Chronicles but with a twist. Really,really enjoyed it. Believe there is a follow up God in Ruins which I will certainly read. Will also look out others by this author.

1. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Based on an idea from Carnegie Medal winning author Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself.) Thirteen year old Connor is coping with bullies at school and his mothers life threatening illness at home. As things spiral out of control in Connor's life an ancient monster, in the shape of a walking talking yew tree, arrives to tell him three tales and demand that Connor tells the fourth story himself - revealing Connor's reoccurring nightmare and the truth he is refusing to articulate. A children's/YA book that deals sensitively with the subject of Cancer and doesn't try to wrap everything up with a neat 'happy ever after' ending.

1. The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

I needed something a bit lighter to calm down after The War on Women so chose the fourth in the series featuring Irene Winter, Librarian, who works for the Library which is a world between worlds that collects copies of all books and helps to maintain balance between the rigid order of the worlds in which dragons are in control and the chaos of the fae. She is sent to a version of 1920s America on one world where two dragons are seeking a rare book as part of determining which of them will win high office in one of the dragon courts. A young Librarian has been drawn into the conflict and Irene, assisted by her apprentice Kai (a dragon), has to avert possible disaster if the Library is believed to have broken its long-held neutrality. Cogman has improved as this series has progressed - the first novel was a good idea with weak execution but it feels like she has settled into it now.

1. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney. Written from the perspective of Frances, a student, this is about her relationships with friends and family, and especially her affair with a married man. I think this one has had mixed responses on this thread but I really enjoyed it. I found Frances an interesting and believable character.

1. Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder

This was a very good corporate thriller. A salesman with little prospects of promotion has a chance meeting with an ex-military guy, and gets him a security job in his company. Very soon, everything starts going his way and his rivals are having freak accidents making them lose deals. He gets a promotion and life is looking good, but then people start dying.

I would totally recommend this book.

And bringing my list over:

1. Would They Lie To You? by Robert Hutton
2. High Crimes by Joseph Finder
3. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

Meanwhile

Thornbirds has just reached point Very Bad News for the Family (sad about the first and thought the second seemed a bit daft). Priest remains mostly smocked but has discovered snogging.

6. The Furthest Station - Ben Aaronovitch
A very quick read, as this is just a novella in the Rivers of London series. It has all the usual elements, without a huge amount of depth as it is so short, but fun and I preferred it to the last full-length one. Interesting to see Abigail shaping up as a more major character - I assume we are going to be seeing more of her in the next few books.

That’s brilliant Terpsichore

I once went to an afternoon matinée of Blithe Spirit while at a loose end. A touring production in a major city with some well-known actors in it.

There were about 6 of us in the audience and there are 7 in the cast. Everything went wrong - phones rang when they weren’t supposed to. Scenery fell over. The cast corpsed. It was like 'The Play That Goes Wrong' years before its time. At the end the cast gave us a round of applause.

Happy memories

I’ve not seen the film or the play comeagain. Will add them to my to watch' list

scribbly blithe spirit is one of my most favourite b&w films. Yet funnily enough I've never read the play. Need to add it to my good reads "to read" that is growing fast

1. Blithe Spirit by Noël Coward

Blurb on the back says that the play was written in 1941 and remained the longest running comedy in the history of the British Theatre for three decades thereafter.

Following a dinner party Charles and Ruth Condamine inadvertently recall Charles' first wife Elvira from the other side during an ironic seance. Witty ascerbic repartee, cucumber sandwich consumption and ornament breakages ensue.

Really enjoyed this. Properly laughed out loud many times.

1. Diary of an Ordinary Schoolgirl by Margaret Forster

A very quick read, reviewed by others earlier on the thread. An odd one - the fifties seem very remote now, and yet there are so many phrases that are utterly familiar. She does talk about school a lot!

I’m not sure what I think about life then in general. This is only three years before “You’ve never had it so good”; but Margaret’s mother had to give up her job the moment she got married; and Margaret, when mother is away, just expects to make meals for her father and older brother, without question. And yet, dad’s job in a factory pays for their secure council house and everything else they need. Margaret ends up going to Oxford, but went to Grammar school before that - presumably there must have been others as creative and intelligent who just missed out on the 11 plus - maybe they were later developers - who therefore missed out on Grammar school and the world missed out on their great novel or play or whatever.

Of course putting any of that on a sixteen year old schoolgirl is clearly ridiculous! This is in the end a period piece, and entertaining enough. And I love the fifties style, cloth covered small format hardback, happily for my eyes it isn’t set in vintage type!

I've added War and Peace to my list too, thank you as without this thread I wouldn't have considered attempting it.

Thanks all. Looks like I'm adding War and Peace to my TBR list then.

I loved war and peace but I did skip some of the war bits 😳

Just started Restless by William Boyd, weirdly nervous about it as I adored A Good Man in Africa in my teens and I don't what that ruined for me haha

I tackled War and Peace last year and I'm so glad I did - agree the military sections aren't as good but the characters and story were really good, it's still kind of "with me" if you know what I mean?

I've been very slow to post here so far but making more of an effort!

1. The Way Back Home - Freya North
2. The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith
3. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
4. Behind her Eyes - Sarah Pinborough.

It's really hard to review Behind her Eyes without giving away the twists - a very addictive read which really doesn't end how you think it will. I finished it late last night and I honestly couldn't say if I liked it or not.

Now reading My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante after hearing it recommended by seversl people.

I also found War and Peace an easy, absorbing read. The characterisation is brilliant! Like others, I skimmed the military strategy parts. The Pevear translation flows beautifully.

I started off knocking of a chapter at a time at bedtime while reading other things but then got absorbed. I too read it on Kindle despite having a beautiful hardback edition - it’s about 1200 pages, but it didn’t feel like a slog.

War and Peace is sitting on my kindle waiting for me to get around to it...!

Seconding War and Peace not being difficult. The military history is fine but skippable (or at least skimmable) but it really is a wonderful story with memorable characters. It is an absolute doorstop though. I read it on kindle and was a bit taken aback when I realised just how big a book it is after seeing one in the bookshop the other day.

ghostie If you speed through some of the deeper military rumination (you’ll know these bits when you see them, they can get repetitive towards the end) War and Peace is not a difficult read, I loved it. Tolstoy draws characters so well, and writes beautifully so you feel like you are in and out of their thoughts and sometimes looking over their shoulders. And the war stuff is also great when he is describing battles etc.

It's been a busy few weeks but I'm hanging on in there...

1. Aunt Margaret's Lover by Mavis Cheek

Next up, Jacob's Room is Full of Books.