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

1. The Girl who played with fire by Steig Larsson.
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
3. The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves
4. Man Belong Mrs Queen: Adventures with the Philip Worshippers by Matthew Baylis
5. The Racketeer by John Grisham
6. Stay Close - Harlan Coben
7. Mad About the Boy - Helen Fielding
8. 15 days without a head, by Dave Cousins
9. Growing Old Outrageously: A memoir of travel, food and friendship by Liz Davies and Hilary Linstead.

10. Life, death and vanilla slices, by Jenny Eclair 11. Zero Day by David Baldacci 12. The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg 13. SHETLAND: Dead Water by Ann Cleeves 14. The Inn at the Top: Tales of Life at the Highest Pub in Britain by Neil Hanson 15. Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain by George Mahood 16. Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder: The True Story of a Victorian Railway Murder by Kate Colquhoun

Caught up a bit as I have been on holiday for a week. Couple of non-scorchio days in Tenerife meant a bit less swimming and a bit more reading time.

Whats in there turnoff the TV ??

I love my kindle and the ease of ordering books but I do miss the amazon delivery...

For the next 6 or so weeks, I've ordered,
The Goldfinch
Cold Comfort Farm
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Bad Science
The Universe Versus Alex Woods
The Rosie Project
Wicked!
The Husbands Secret
The Night Rainbow
The Cuckoo's Calling

Don't know what to start first!

I have 3 of those on my to read list:
The Goldfinch
Unlikely pilgrimage
The cuckoo's calling

I have to say, Wicked is a great read :)

I get my Amazon delivery kick from ordering for my dcs and dh. I actually startd to read a 'real' book recently and it hurt my wrist as I'm not used to holding them

1. Study in Scarlet (Conan Doyle) 8/10
2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) 8/10

A couple of shorter classic books for me after my Count of Monte Cristo marathon.

How was The Count of Monte Cristo? I really fancy it and have downloaded but realise I am going to have to invest some time.

Meg Enjoy number 7 - I bet it makes you want to go right back to the beginning and start them all over again.

Book 45 - A Short Introduction to Schizophrenia - very interesting case studies, but some of the scientific stuff was a bit tricksy!

Oh Remus, I might read that as one of my siblings has schizophrenia and particularly after I read Shock of the Fall.

Remus - Who is the author? That sounds like a book I would like to read.

I really, really recommend that series - they are v thought provoking and academic but also short enough to not feel like too much hard work.

Here

Thanks, I put it in my Wish List.

QueenAnne it's a long, dense novel and I'm a slow reader but I still felt it was worth it - it's a fantastic, intricate revenge story with plenty of action and suspense and great characterisation engagingly related.

Meanwhile, I'm about 20% into Wolf Hall and finding it all quite pointless and boring. So bored, in fact, that I've been avoiding my Kindle and even DH has noticed it.

What am I missing?

I loved The Three Musketeers but it took three and a half weeks! I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover Dumas to be honest.

Cote -the prospect of reading Wolf Hall makes me feel that way. Maybe it just isn't your thing? I really try not to persevere with books I am not enjoying anymore, unless it us for book club.

A very bookish friend whose views I respect has been raving about it for months. I feel I need to finish it lest I'm left with the feeling of having missed something.

Not sure what that something is, though. It's much like daytime TV - who sleeps with whom, endless bickering, etc.

It could do with some politics and strategy. You know, some stuff that is actually important.

I made it to the end of Wolf Hall, but it was a close thing. I quite liked the characterisation, and obviously the whole teetering around a despotic leader thing is historically interesting, but I thought it was let down by poor writing, which really got in the way for me. I had read two others of hers before it and hated both of them, but so many people were raving about. 'Wolf Hall' that I felt that I should see what all the fuss was about. Will never read another of hers now.

18. The Shock of the Fall, Nathan Filer

Maybe the kind of book that needs to be read through in as few sittings as possible, as it's quite disjointed and jarring within itself. There were times when I'd snatch 5 minutes with it and feel just list and depressed, and other longer reading sessions where I was really moved and into it. But I'm glad I read it

lost and depressed...

CoteDAzur - I have struggled with Wolf Hall. So much so that I put it to one side about 20% of the way in. I "should" like it so don't understand why I don't!

I do want to read it so it is still on my (evergrowing) "to read" pile

10 Dry by Augusten Burroughs, loved this, dark, bit harrowing in places, very sad too but great warmth and humour.
Am midway through Little Coffee Shop of Kabul, must read more!

Just finished book 12 - The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul. It was okay. I feel a little lukewarm about it. I enjoyed the 'story' but it is defiantly a one read book for me. I was expecting it to be more like 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' or 'The Kite Runner' both if which stayed with me long after the last page had been turned.

On to book 13 - The Harvest by Jim Crace

Book 26 Quirkology by Richard Wiseman

Subtitled 'The curious science of everyday lives', experimental psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman covers a variety of scientific studies into various bits and pieces of everyday life, including his study LaughLab which supposedly found the world's funniest joke, how you can actually tell if someone is lying, why women should ask a man to write their personal ads (interesting one, that; men turned out to be pretty good at spotting the personal adverts which would appeal to women, but women were rubbish at identifying which personal ads would appeal to men), what your date of birth actually does reveal about you, and a whole load of other quirky studies.

Sonnet - if you loved A Thousand Splendid Suns I am sure you would enjoy A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman. Set in Sri Lanka and very similar in theme and tone but a better novel in my opinion.