50 Book Challenge 2014 Part 2

[juneybean]

Thread 2 of the 50 book challenge. Here is the previous thread...

The idea is to read 50 books in 2014 (or more!)

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adult_fiction/1951735-50-Book-Challenge-2014

Marking my place - starting 'Kiss Me First' now, book 7.

Thanks for the new thread.

12 The Shadow Year. - Hannah Richell
Loved this book, devoured it in two days
My first 10/10

13. The Missing One. -Lucy Atkins Also really enjoyed this, particularly the descriptions of British Columbia and killer whales Its only £2 at Tesco 9/10

Thanks for the new thread.
18. War horse - Michael Morpurgo
A children's book but I didn't read it with any children. I am going to see the play tomorrow night and I thought it might be nice to have read the book first.

Now reading 19. The woman in Black.
Again, I'm reading this because I'm going to see it at the theatre on Thursday night and want to have read the book first. I'm also going to see Billy Elliott but I know that story so I'm not as worried about having read the book (is there a book?)

Book 13 The Murder at the Vicarage Agatha Christie

It always interests me to see the contrast between Christie's story and the TV adaptations, although Joan Hickson was such a brilliant Miss Marple that I watch those over and over. This one is written in the first person, from the point of view of the vicar in whose study the body of Colonel Prothero is found. Miss Marple pops up every so often to give her little ideas and of course solve the whole thing while the vicar is the one who actually picks up a lot of clues and interesting occurrences even if he doesn't get their significance, whereas the TV adaptations usually give the vicar very little to do.

Another finished the other day, it took me a while as I was so tired in the evenings, but still keeping up an OK pace.

1.Robert Galbraith - The Cuckoo's Calling
2.Mad About the Boy - Helen Fielding
3.Tangled Lives Hilary Boyd

1. I Am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes
2. The Rosie Project Graeme Simsion

The Rosie Project is as refreshing and good as most people seem to think it is, I really enjoyed it.

Shiny new thread Marking my place.

Also marking my place, started book 6, Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters last night.
So far just really want to go to Italy.

Oh man I am so far behind everyone!

1. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe
2. The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe
3. City of Spades by Colin MacInnes

No. 5 was book one of The London Novels collection, not sure whether I will carry on and read the other two or pick something else.

Marking my place

Marking my place too :)

I'm still struggling on with Sisterland. Got to finish it, as it was a free book from MN, but really not that into it yet. It isn't making me want to pick it up and read it, sadly. I hope it gets better, because I've got a long long way to go yet.

Go West I haven't read City Of Spades but I love Absolute Beginners (don't be put off by the film if you've seen it!)

Still on the 5th Dark Tower book, starting to drag a little but hoping it'll pick up.

I'm very behind as well. We are having a massive clear-out, so I'm re-reading lots of books before giving them to the charity shop. Here goes:

1 The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris. This was an Xmas present from my dp.

1. The Sea House by Esther Freud. A re-read that I will donate.
2. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. a re-read that I will keep.
3. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Maria Lewycka. I had heard this on Book At Bedtime but never read it. May keep
4. We are all Made of Glue by Maria Lewycka. Hadn't read this before. Will be donating it.
5. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. hadn't read this before. Have donated it.

Now reading number 26 (if not counting cook books) = The Cuckoo's Calling. It was half price in Waterstones, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'm surprisingly taken by it so far, a hundred pages in.

Meg - I really like, 'Wolves of the Calla.'

One more.

Affinity by Sarah Waters. I can't bear to part with it!

Meg, I've not seen Absolute Beginners but I did enjoy City of Spades so think I should carry on and read it next.

17. Whirligig - Magnus Macintyre I would really recommend this book. It's quite a gentle read, good characters. Humorous and bittersweet. I can imagine it being made into a film.

1. The Worst Journey In The World - Apsley Cherry-Garrard
2. The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice From TheSilence Of Autism - Naoki Higashida
3. Cook With Jamie - Jamie Oliver

1. Music In The Castle Of Heaven: A Portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach - John Elliot Gardiner

I'm trying not the gush about this book, but it's not easy. This is a meticulous, very detailed and incredibly rewarding journey into Bach's church/vocal music, written by an acclaimed conductor of Baroque music. It is like reading Shakespeare with notes from an especially insightful literary critic. The reason why it took my almost a month to read (aside from the fact that it's just huge) is that I listened to every piece mentioned in its pages on YouTube as I read the book. So, a page that would take under a minute to read took about half an hour while I listened to the cantata it was talking about, for example.

I am as big a Bach fan as is possible (I would have thought) but I had never imagined the depths of meaning I read in this book, the little nuances he conjured with his amazing talent and of course his contrapuntal music which just has never been surpassed.

I'm sincerely recommending this book, if you are wondering

I just realised that I haven't read a single fiction book so far this year, which is surprising, given that I used to just never read non-fiction. Remus - what have you done to me?

Book 1 - the Crimson Petal and the White - Michel Faber
Book 2 - The Blackhouse - Peter May
Book 3 - The Universe Versus Alex Woods.
Book 4 - Mad About the Boy
Book 5 - My Life - David Jason
Book 6 - Paper Towns - John Green
Book 7 - We Are Water - Wally Lamb
Book 8 - American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
Book 9 - What Alice Forgot - Liane Moriarty
Book 10 - The Personal History of Rachel Dupree - AnnWeisgarber
Book 11 - The Garden of Evening Mists - Tan Twan Eng.
Book 12 - The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
Book 13 - Greyhound of a Girl - Roddy Doyle
Book 14 - Gangsta Granny - David Walliams
Book 15 - The Rosie Project
Book 16 - 12 Years a Slave
Book 17 - Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
Book 18 - Life After Life - Kate Atkinson

Much hyped and in lots of ways I can understand why. Beautifully written, witty, clever and with some great characters. I adored some and abhorred others which I'm sure was the authors intent. I don't know that anybody could totally get this book without several rereads and even then not all the questions are answered. I admit to feeling lost and a bit thick at times and I need to think about it for a while before I can start to understand it. I'd love to meet Kate Atkinson IRL because she mustbe incredibly clever and dedicated to her craft. The research she must do is apparent and she peppers her work with subtly delivered nods and winks. Overall, I would give this the thumbs up although it's not without flaws :)

Cote - have you read Godel, Escher, Bach: The Eternal Golden Braid?

1. The Partner - John Grisham 6/10
2. The Story Teller - Jodi Picoult 9/10
3. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt 9/10

I've been absent for a little while having been listening to the unabridged audio of The Goldfinch. 33hrs listening and I've loved every moment of it! It is such a rich book, full of fascinating characters several of which I rather fell in love with.
It's been described as 'Dickensian' and 'a modern fairy tale' and that does describe the flavour of the book very well. I sort of don't want to say much about the plot because I knew nothing about it when I started listening, and it was all the better because of that, but essentially it's about the life of Theodore Dekker, who we meet at 13 when his mother dies.
Highly recommended, the audio book narration was excellent, I'd actually say it's one of the best I've ever heard, so in a way it's hard to say whether the audio narration has swayed my feelings about the book! Excellent 9/10

Just place marking so I don't lose you all .

Am about a third of the way through #7 The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul - really good so far.

Meg - Yes, and I intend to read it in a few months. I'm a bit Bach-ed out at the moment.

Have you read it? I expect to find in it the reason why I only love Bach & some other Baroque, while the rest of classical music, especially orchestral & opera, means nothing to me.

Marking my place on the new thread

Cote - glad you enjoyed the Bach book and I think that you 'gushed' very eloquently about it. :)

I've nearly finished, 'The Cuckoo's Calling' and will probably do so tonight. I'm surprised by how gripped I am by it, tbh. Old JK will never use just one word when she can do it in 27, but I'm liking her detective a lot. Has anybody else read it? No spoilers though, please! I have narrowed it down to 2 suspects but will probably be totally wrong.

I've bought another four books today, so my 'to read' pile should last me for at least a couple of weeks now (and only one of them is a cookery book!).

I enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling very much. She's certainly got a unique detective in Cormoran Strike - I liked him from the outset. And all credit to JKR that I didn't guess who the killer was. According to her Robert Galbraith website, the second novel in the series has been completed. Hope it doesn't disappoint.