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

Book 17 Pagan Britain by Ronald Hutton

I've actually been reading this one for a while, but reading others at the same time. Finally finished it today - non-fiction always takes me longer to read. It's an analysis of the evidence for religious belief in Britain from the Palaeolithic through to the coming of Christianity, looking at the archaeological evidence and what can be surmised from that about religious beliefs and practices, how things changed (the evolution of different types of burial for example), what we can actually know about the uses of ancient monuments, etc. Fascinating read.

Dosh i've read a lot of Rose Tremain. I particularly recommend Music and Silence and Restoration. I have Merivel waiting to be read but want to reread Restoration first (it's the sequel). Like The Colour, these novels are set in the past in interesting periods which RT evokes extremely well. The Road Home is quite different as it tells a the story of an economic migrant finding his way in modern-day London and is also very good.

Is your number 8 choice Earth and Heaven by Sue Gee? One of my favourite books. I don't cry easily but one scene in E&H did reduce me to tears. She's a writer who deserves to be much more widely known IMO.

10. The Messiah Secret by James Becker

Another archaeological adventure. This one features a piece if parchment, the India/Pakistan border and minimal gratuitous violence. Enjoyable if a little far-fetched.

9 Guilt by Ferdinand von Schirach. Short stories by a German barrister who has fictionalised some of the cases he's been involved with. All examining the nature of guilt. Really liked this,
10. Itch by Simon Mayo. Read with my DSs. We all loved this and are currently reading the sequel.
11. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. First book I've read by him and thoroughly enjoyed it.
12. George and the Big Bang by Lucy and Stephen Hawking. Read with DSs. Lots of (quite difficult) physics in this one. stopoory not as good as previous George books
13. The Expats- Chris Pavone. Silly spy story

'story' not stopoory or whatever I typed

21. The Love-Charm of Bombs. About five writers during WWII, and during the aftermath. The author seems to want to attribute their "restlessness" at least in part to the "live for the moment" attitude of the Blitz, but the book seems to focus mainly on their adultery, which spans the period before, during and after the war, so she doesn't really make her case. The book doesn't quite gel.

22. Censoring Victoria. How the two editors of her letters chose a biased and unrepresentative sample of her correspondence for publication. If I were about to write a biography of her, it would be a useful warning about primary sources, but I'm not sure it's of massive general interest. It was mercifully brief, at least.

Can't wholeheartedly recommend either. Hoping to hit a better streak soon.

highlandcoo - yes by Sue Gee - I loved it. I was trying to explain the plot to my dad and why I liked it so much but it just sounded so boring, cos not a huge amount actually happens....but I thought it was beautiful., and heartbreaking.

Thanks for recommendations, will look at those. Really enjoying Longbourn so far.

Oh my, I am feeling very behind compared to all you prolific readers! So far have read
1 Northern Lights, Philip Pullman
2 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken
3 Accordion Crimes, E. Annie Proulx
4 From Me to You, poems by UA Fanthorpe and RV Bailey
5 Apple Tree Yard, Louise Doughty
6 Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
7 The Greengage Summer, Rumer Godden
8 The Invisible Woman, Claire Tomalin
9 Mountains of the Mind, Robert Macfarlane
10 The Man in the Wooden Hat, Jane Gardam

And finished this weekend 11 The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neil Gaiman - my first full length Gaiman novel, really enjoyed it -
and 12 The Time Travellers Guide to Elizabethan England - very accessible, full of fascinating details about everyday life and society. Still quite a dense read though as just so full of information.

About to start Harvest by Jim Crace as was lucky enough to get a MN giveaway copy.

Book 18 The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

A 15-year-old boy, Michael, embarks on a relationship with a woman, Hanna, in her 30s. After some time, she disappears on day - quitting her job and moving to another city. Several years later, as a law student, Michael attends a war crimes trial and there he sees Hanna in the dock. During the war she had been a guard at a concentration camp. Her behaviour seems odd and does not help her case. Eventuallly, Michael comes to realise the secret Hanna is desperately trying to conceal.

It's a relatively short book, told in the first person from Michael's perspective. Hanna remains slightly out of reach throughout, it's never entirely clear whethe Michael's understanding of her motivations is correct, but it's a well-crafted story without being sensationalist.

16. On The Map: Why the world looks the way it does by Simon Garfield

At risk of sounding incredibly boring I am always fascinated by old maps so loved this book about the history of maps. It's very readable. I think I'll hunt down his book on fonts to read too...

Ooh I like the sound of the map one. :)

#28 - The Peculiar , Stephan Bachman . a steam punk sci-fi fantasy mash up.

#29 - Rescue Me - Melissa Wareham - heartwarming true stories from Battersea Dogs Home.

Audio book #6 Den of Thieves , Julia Golding
#7 Billy Elliot novelization by Melvin Burgess.

1. Mr Love and Justice - Colin MacInnes

Last of the London Collection finished, I enjoyed this one but Absolute Beginners was my favourite.

I'm going to add that maps book to my list! Currently reading a book about motorways (engineering geek) and just started Cider With Rosie as I need a break from roads every now and then.

23. No, I don't need reading glasses, Virginia Ironside.

Enjoyable read, undemanding, very similar to No, I don't want to join a book-club and The Virginia Monologues.

Book 38 - the last one of the Mortal Engines series, 'A Darkling Plain.' I recommend these to anybody who likes YA/fantasy/dystopian stuff. They are easy reads but pretty gripping, with some nice touches of humour.

28. Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin
    This is a re- read but I plan to read them in series before a read the latest one. This is a fabulous book, if you've never read it give it a go.

29. More Tales of the City - Armistead Maupin. Although I have read others in the series i had missed this one. Again a fab read.

18. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern - the ability of this book to create such a vivid picture of the circus blew me away; I could all but see and smell and hear it even though when judged objectively it is an unrealistic thing to have a circus as an arena for a contest of magic

19. March - Geraldine Brooks - the story of what happens to the father from Little Women while he is away at war. I didn't warm to the central character, finding him a real prig, and this marred the book for me (curious, as I love Little Women which is also full of worthy characters!)

20. The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford - a tale of forbidden love between a Chinese American and a Japanese American against the backdrop of Pearl Harbour and internment for those of Japanese descent. It was OK but not amazing.

21. The Good Earth - Pearl S Buck - the rags to riches tale of a Chinese peasant. It was quite a compelling read, though I did very much feel as if the book were written by a foreigner trying to imagine how the farmer would have thought and would have justified his behaviour.

Wowsers, I'm behind now.
Last night I finished A Life in Small Things, a Jane Austen biog.
I enjoyed it, found it v readable. I have previously enjoyed the authors Evelyn Waugh biog too. Only recommended to other Austen fans though. That was no. 8

So now I've started Life After Life.
About 50 pages in , so far so good.

19. the Rembrandt Secret - Alex Connor. Utter shit.
20. Daphne du Maurier by Margaret Forster. One of my favourite authors on another of my favourite authors.

21. The Good Thief's Guide to Berlin - Chris Ewan. This was an audio book, and quite short. I hadn't realised it was part of a series, but it doesn't really matter, as it was quite easy to follow. Unfortunately it wasn't that good, and I guessed a couple of major plot twists - disappointing. Gave it 2/5 on Goodreads. Won't bother with the rest of the series.

Thursday - I really enjoyed, 'A Life in Small Things' but am a huge Janeite! :)

11. The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Starts off well but then Celie's sister takes over in the middle with her boring tales of missionary work in Africa. The structure of the story in the screenplay is much better to the novel though I wish the film had been more explicit in the lesbian stuff.

Starting the last Mark Haddon book later. I adored Curious Incident and A Spot of Bother so hoping this doesn't disappoint.

Book 19 Let It Bleed by Ian Rankin

One of the Inspector Rebus novels, this one has a dramatic start with a police chase involving at least three police cars after a couple of late-teens suspected of kidnapping the Lord Provost's daughter which ends in rather a nasty crash. The situation slowly becomes more complicated, involving a suicide and later a murder, and it all seems to be tied into high level industry and the Scottish Office.

Rankin goes for quite complex plotting, and Rebus himself is quite a complex character with a strong sense of morality and desire not to let people get away with things, while making some dubious choices himself to get to his end goal. I really enjoy these novels and am in the process of working my way through the series, but each stands on its own merits and I don't think it's necessary to read them in order.

Me too Remus, it provided some interesting insights into the novels. I've also read recently What Matters in Jane Austen which was good too (although now I think about it, I think that was recommended on a MN Austen thread that you were probably on!)

I'm even considering a reread of Mansfield Park

Loved both Jane Austen: A life in things and What Matters in Austen.

Had a couple of longish train journeys and a couple of early nights, so ploughing into my "To Read" pile.

24. Body Count, Barbara Nadel. Crime fiction set in Istanbul. I really like this series and have built up a lot of affection for the main characters. An enjoyable read, even if I did guess the murderer (rare for me).
25. Little Failure, Gary Shteyngart. Memoir by a man who moved from the Soviet Union to the US as a child. How our parents fuck us up with a side-helping of the immigrant experience. I admired this a lot - you can feel the sadness and anger but it's reported with black humour and a lot of vigour. He feels self-pity and sends himself up for it at the same time.

Currently reading (26) The Golden Scales, by Parker Bilal. Crime fiction set in Cairo, detective with tragic past. Recommended to anyone who likes crime fiction set in exotic places - very atmospheric. Down these mean streets, a man must walk alone...