50 Book Challenge 2014 Part 3

[Southeastdweller]

Thread 3 of the 50 book challenge. Here are the previous threads...

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

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

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adult_fiction/2000991-50-Book-Challenge-2014-Part-2?

Those who have read The Luminaries - is it worth a look? I'm compiling a list of books to take on hols and I need something in the 'long & literary' category

I enjoyed it Nessalina - took me a while to get into it. IMO it is a book that you need a good long reading session to start with...

It's gross and unnecessary Nessalina, one mention would be enough I thought, but there were at least five over a couple of pages.

That quote from Attwood is annoying me more than it should be...

My list so far with highlights in bold:

1. Quiet - Susan Cain
2. Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty
3. I Laughed, I Cried - Viv Groskop
4. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal - Jeanette Winterson (the best memoir I've ever read)
5. Running Like a Girl - Alexandra Heminsley
6. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend
7. Kiss Me First - Lottie Moggach
8. Girl Most Likely - Liz Jones
9. What Color is Your Parachute? - Richard N.Boiles

10. Bedsit Disco Queen - Tracey Thorn 11. The Color Purple - Alice Walker 12. The Red House - Mark Haddon 13. Notes on a Scandal - Zoë Heller 14. By Nightfall - Michael Cunningham 15. Demon Barber - Lynn Barber 16. The Hours - Michael Cunningham 17. Maggie & Me - Damian Barr 18. The Casual Vacancy - J.K Rowling 19. A Curious Career - Lynn Barber 20. The Snow Queen - Michael Cunningham 21. Lost for Words - Edward St Aubyn

Have three short books on the go at the moment and aiming to finish book 26 for when we reach the half-way point in four weeks time

I did heavily paraphrase the Attwood quote, the full article she wrote about it is here for anyone that wants to be further annoyed not that I read all of it, it's a but up it's own bum

Nessalina - I loved The Luminaries - great story, beautifully written, very insightful. And I generally loathe books written by female authors (I know how that makes me sound, too )

Case in point - I'm currently 10% into Life After Life and wanting to slash open my wrists because of its pointless droning on and non-existent plot. Thankfully, there is a bit of cynicism in it which gives me hope that it might turn out to be slightly more than a typical "women's lit" book.

Gods, Cote - what on earth are you reading Atkinson for? I would bet my hat that you will absolutely detest her. I liked one of hers and the others I read annoyed me so much that I vowed never to read another, so will not be reading, 'Life after Life.' She is the queen of convenient coincidences, and it drives me batty.

Sorry for them 'Long and boring' comment by the way all - I just prefer people's direct opinions, rather than people copying swathes of stuff from other people/Wikipedia/whatever. As I tell Yr 12, one short, pertinent quote is worth more than twenty general ones etc etc.

26. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I really enjoyed this, thanks mumslife and others for the recommendation upthread.

Now for Lexicon, really looking forward to it (although not feeling qualified to enter the dystopia discussion!).

Mumslife - no, but it's on my kindle now

Remus I fully understand. I'm a lit graduate I'd have failed my degree if my essays were like that :) Problem was, Cote didn't like my opinion so I figured I'd throw some others in and see if it converted her to my way of thinking Failed miserably!!!!!

Ah, I loved Life After Life! Behind the Scenes at the Museum is one of my all time favourites, but many of hers since then have been a bit 'meh'. I though LAL was a real return to form! I do love a bit of weird plot device in a book though, have just downloaded The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August which looks to be along sort-of-similar lines.
I might give The Luminaries a stab then!

I have had at least 3 attempts at The Luminaries this year.

As far as Atwood is concerned, I loved Alias Grace and have read it a number of times, I thought the Handmaid's Tale was ok but have failed to finish any of her other books.

Atwood's biggest problem is that she always lets her feelings about men get in the way of the story. 'Alias Grace' one of her better ones, until the ending - which really annoyed me.

That article was quite interesting in its comments on sci-fi, until it got to the Ustopia stuff, which was ridiculous.

Wednesday - you are forgiven (but don't do it again!). Stick around and you'll find that quite often Cote and I argue for the sake of it (with each other too) and when either of us is in that mood, no amount of quotation will convert us!

I've not read'Alias Grace', but it's sat on my shelf waiting to be read. Will I regret it?

I was on the thread last year too, but kept out of the debates as I was a bit fragile at the time. I really enjoyed my debate with Cote though. I might read something else off her list just to have another argument :)

I consider myself thoroughly chastised Remus!!

42. Eeny Meeny. - M.J. Arlidge Really really really good serial killer 10/10

I should think so too. And :)

I will have to go and look up the ending of Alias Grace now as I have a vague recollection that it might have annoyed me too but have no memory of what it actually was despite having read it at least three times.

It was like she needed to, 'Punish' men iirc - I know I threw it down in disgust anyway!

whatwoulddexterdo Have you read The 50/50 Killer by Steve Mosby? [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0752881574?pc_redir=1401765341&robot_redir=1 The 5050 Killer ]]
When I first saw the blurb for Eeny Meeny I thought it was a joke and Mosby's blurb had been posted onto a fake book. The books sounded so similar I'd love to know what someone who's read both thinks.

Marking my place.

Have had a manic & stressful few months & not made the progress I'd hoped but starting to get my mojo back so will review & update tomorrow.

Can't believe how many some people have read !

Remus - I'm reading Life After Life because lots of people are talking about it and I got it on my Kindle when it was 99p in December. That's it, really. So far, I'm 13% in and absolutely nothing has happened except that the same girl has died in various ways in different points of her alternate lives. It reminds me of the film Final Destination - you can escape death but it gets you soon in some other way. Her lives are all terribly boring and it feels like divine punishment that she is made to live them over and over again. (Punishing the reader at the same time?)

FYI - You weren't 'right' re Dystopia, especially since you bizarrely argued for both sides:

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Sun 01-Jun-14 10:03:35
Present day stuff can deffo be dystopian, I think

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Mon 02-Jun-14 22:31:23
I've read, 'Dr Sleep' and imho it is not Dystopian because it is clearly our world, with added supernatural elements, rather than the imagined society which I think is necessary for a true Dystopian novel.

Anyway, I just want to make it clear to those who are about to read Lexicon that this is not really about that book but a more general discussion about what a Dystopian book is.