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?

Cheb - I have indeed run off like a good little 'sweetie' and found Remus's post that I replied to. And it clearly says present day world in it:

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Wed 04-Jun-14 18:02:01
Erm...a text can be in an imagined but still present day world, no?

Now you be a sweetie dear munchkin darling and run off to... errm.. I don't know how long I can keep this up

riverboat - That book sounds Philip K Dick-ish. Is it as good? The plot sounds like it can also go in the direction of the ludicrous. I'd love to read a book about a mathematical revelation but don't think I can take a bad book about mathematics.

Remus - interested to hear what you think of Mr Mercedes... I'm a big King fan, but I've found his more recent stuff underwhelming. Totally gave up on Under The Dome!

Chebuludo - I'm a bit of a Christie obsessive, but I often find the Marples a wee bit twee. If you want to read one that will give you a scare and a mystery 'And Then There Were None' gives me the shivers every time, I don't think it dates at all

I'm currently on 23. The Labours of Hercules - another Christie! Short stories, entertaining so far.

Oh dear, dear, child, when I said read the first quote I meant read the first quote, not the most recent one.

As in this one:

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

Shakes head at the youth of today's inability to read instructions.

(I'm just teasing btw. There may have been )

Oh, and it's Che as in Che boludo the Argentinian phrase.
(That's not a tease, that's serious)

But... but... I wasn't replying to that post!

nessalina How funny, that's the one I really want to read! I almost bought it today, but decided against due to not massively enjoying the Marple. I'll put it back on the list, thanks.

Just curious, how do you feel about the imminent Sophie Hannah Poirot?

Right time for an update.

1 Mad About The Boy
2 Mansfield Park
3 The woman who went to bed for a year
4 12 Years a slave
5 The Rosie Project
6 The great Gatsby
7 the little coffee shop of Kabul

Then a slump due to health issues and far too much real life going on, hence...

8 The complete guide to crystal chakra healing

... And note I've started getting my mojo back...

9 Urban Grimshaw & the shed crew
10 God's own country
11 Hamlet: A Novel - which I'm just getting to the end of.

If anyone else is way behind, give me a wave so I don't feel quite so much like I'm letting the side down!

You've got months yet Wyrd! If some folks are on 40 by now you can still make 50 by the end of the year just start reading some short books

Che - I am cautiously enthusiastic! Other than The Carrier, I've really enjoyed all of the Sophie Hannah books, and Poirot really is more of a caricature than a character, so if she's read all the books she's got a good chance of echoing Christie quite well. I reckon it won't be as good as the best of Christie, but might be better than some of the worst!

Thank you Remus - I have PM'd you.

Finished book 31 - We Were Liars - E Lockhart in one sitting - a haunting book that I couldn't put down and left my mind in a whirl after I turned the last page.

Just started Book 32 - Trespass by Rose Tremain

Can someone who has enjoyed Life After Life let me know if some sort of plot develops later on, preferably an interesting one? I'm 16% in.

Sorry Cote, I'm another who didn't get on with Life After Life (even though I often prefer female authors). The way the plot lines kept finishing so abruptly made it hard for me to get in to.

Ness - I remember And Then There Were None giving me nightmares when I read it as a teen!

I'm just back from a weeks holiday so managed to read a fair few to add to my list

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
3. Killer's Wedge, Ed McBain
4. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rachel Joyce
5. The Silent Wife, ASA Harrison
6. Divergent- Veronica Roth

10. Going Limp in Orlando - Craig Williams 11. Guilt- Jonathan Kellerman 12. Apple Tree Yard - Louise Doughty 13. The Light Between Oceans - M L Steadman 14 Reconstructing Amelia - Kimberley McCreight 15. The Return Journey - Maeve Binchy 16. Look Behind You - Sibel Hodge a good thriller, very fast paced with a horrible abusive husband 17. Before We Met - Lucie Whitehouse - another British psychological thriller. Was pretty good and pacy with a few twists 18. The Accident - CL Taylor yet another british psychological thriller 19. The Villa - Rosanna Ley didn't do much for me, but nice enough chick lit for a holiday.

Loved this last one, beautiful and moving.

I eventually finished Life After Life after a number of false starts and it does get better. The blitz section is very good.

I'm persevering. Currently at 26%.

Imho if the reader's going to pass the entire book inside a character's head, that character better think some pretty awesome stuff. And not live the same boring life over and over again.

That book sounds Philip K Dick-ish. Is it as good? The plot sounds like it can also go in the direction of the ludicrous. I'd love to read a book about a mathematical revelation but don't think I can take a bad book about mathematics.

I've never read Philip K Dick, so couldn't say. But as I pointed out, this book isn't about mathematics, that's more something tangenital going on in the background. It's about the good and bad in being a human. It's not a 'mathematics saves the day' type book, it's a 'love saves the day' type book.

RE: your other question about Life After Life - I really enjoyed it, but I don't think that means anything as going from your comments on this thread I'm not sure our taste in books crosses over much. Plotlines do develop, but not really one 'overriding' one. Once the main character moves out of home, things do get more interesting though I think.

I agree that the main character herself is largely uninteresting, with uninteresting thoughts. But I think that's part of the point, she is like a blank canvas, it's all the things happening around her that count.

" it's a 'love saves the day' type book."

I've read about a thousand of those in my teens. Thanks, that was a very clear description It got slightly more interesting lately, with Izzy taking more of a role.

"I agree that the main character herself is largely uninteresting, with uninteresting thoughts. But I think that's part of the point, she is like a blank canvas, it's all the things happening around her that count."

OK but we are in her head, hearing all her uninteresting thoughts about the uninteresting things happening around her. Not once, but multiple times, as she dies and story starts again at the beginning.

I like her mum better. At least she is cynical & sarcastic

The lives do get longer and more interesting as the book progresses, but if you're not enjoying by now Cote, I'm not sure you will! I enjoyed all the wrong turn lives and repetition from the beginning, I found it very absorbing

32. Outpost - Adam Baker. If you like zombies, this is rather good.

Just started 33: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. I'm hooked, and I've only read 20 pages!

Collating the full list here, to keep myself straight...

BOOKS OF 2014

1. The Aquariums Of Pyongyang - interesting but somehow not as engaging as Nothing To Envy, the best account I've read of real lives in North Korea.

1. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver- superb YA Mean-Girls-meets-Groundhog-Day. Moving and convincingly written.

1. The Universe Versus Alex Woods. Enjoyable read- I really warmed to the characters.

1. Saints Of The Shadow Bible- Ian Rankin. Great, like slipping into a warm bath for a Rebus fan.

1. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt. I almost feel like it's pointless to start another, because it's almost certainly the best book I'll read this year! Just beautiful.

1. July 1914: Countdown To War, Sean McMeekin- too much minutiae,mnot sure I agreed with his reading.

1. Twelve Years A Slave, Solomon Northup

1. Five People You Meet In Heaven, Mitch Albom- read this years ago, but it was a cheap kindle offer. More saccharine than I remember.

1. The Resistance, The French Fight Against The Nazis, Matthew Cobb- learned a lot.

10. Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple- really enjoyable.

11. The Female Eunuch

12. Persuasion, Jane Austen

13. Vanity Fair, Thackeray

14. The Secret History, Donna Tartt- wonderful, but not as good as The Goldfinch.

15. Paid For, Rachel Moran- harrowing memoir, but makes good points about its topic of prostitution.

16. The Shock of The Fall, Nathan Filer- found this depressing, tbh.

17. Blood, Sweat and Tea, Tom Reynolds- a bit dour after the better Nee Naw blog.

18. The Lewis Man, Peter May- excellent detective fiction.

19. The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion- warm and funny. Not sure if the whole aspie lit thing is getting old, mind, but I liked this.

20. Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris- hilarious.

21. One Summer: America 1927, Bill Bryson- fascinating, as ever.

22. She Left Me The Gun, Emma Brockes- excellent and moving memoir.

23. The Fault In Our Stars, John Green- this year's Me Before You; very authentic teenage voices, good.

24. Fragrant Harbour, by John Lanchester. It's a great read, and only £1.59 on kindle if you catch it before midnight!

25. Lolita, by Nabokov- can't believe I hadn't read this before. Creepy and sinister. Definitely need a palate-cleanser next.

26. Big Brother, by Lionel Shriver. As well-observed as ever, but the subject matter seemed too insubstantial a premise for a novel, really. I do like the way she writes though.

27. The Crow Road, by Ian Banks. Loved this.

28. Washington Square, by Henry James. I haven't read this since I was a teenager, but I enjoyed it even more this time around. I really recommend it- it's short (a novella, really), and so wry, yet heartbreaking. Anyone who has been put off James by being forcefed his "big" novels should really give this a go, especially if they enjoy the Jane Austen kind of observant wit.

29. Madame Bovary

30. Killing Pablo- Mark Bowden

31. Undercover; The True Story Of Britain's Secret Police (found a few references to shady groups of my past )

32. The Little Friend- Donna Tartt

33. the Jewish Candidate- David Crossland

34. I Feel Bad About My Neck- Nora Ephron

35. Do You Think You're Clever? The Oxbridge Questions

36. Fractured- Dani Atkins

37. Broken Dolls- James Carol

38. The Romanovs- Robert K. Massie

39. Under The Skin- Michelle Faber (a re-read after seeing the film)

40. Arguably- Christopher Hitchens

41. The Hell Of It All- Charlie Brooker

42. The Cuckoo's Calling- Robert Galbraith (I think JKR? Not quite finished, but loving it).

43. Every Parent's Nightmare- Bruna Dessena

44. The People's Songs- Stuart Maconie

45. The Church Of Fear- John Sweeney

46. How I Escaped My Certain Fate- Stewart Lee

47. And When Did You Last See Your Father- Blake Morrison

48. Double Cross- Ben McIntyre

49. The Book Of You- Claire Kendal

50. Operation Mincemeat- Ben McIntyre

51. A Life In Secrets: Vera Atkins- Sarah Helm

52. Agent Zigzag- Ben McIntyre

53. The Accident- CL Taylor

54. The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden- Jonas Jonasson

55. Red Love- Maxim Leo

56. Against Therapy- Jeffrey Masson

57. Weird Things Customers Say In Bookshops

58. Up In The Air- Betty Reigel

59. Grayson Perry: Portrait

60. The Skeleton Cupboard- Tanya Byron

61. Carve Her Name With Pride- RJ Minney

62. Anne Frank Remembered- Miep Gies

63. Wink Murder- Ali Knight

I've just bought a few more history books on offer on Kindle as part of the D-Day commemorations, so I'll be reading them next, I think. Plus a recommended thriller called Before We Met, by Lucie Whitehouse, and another one on offer by Kate Grenville, The Secret River, which is a novel about an early Australian settler.

20. Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
21. The Signature of All Things - Elizabeth Gilbert

Was a bit underwhelmed by americanah, it's been quite hyped up I think and maybe I expected too much? Some lovely descriptive writing but I didn't love the characters.

I really enjoyed the signature of all things, very different to 'eat, pray, love' but a great story - very enjoyable.

Book 41 Where Demons Dare by Kim Harrison

Sixth in The Hollows/Rachel Morgan series. A demon is after her and a coven of black witches keep summoning him out of the ever-after and turning him loose. As Rachel tries to find a means of keeping herself and her loved ones safe, she is also involved in investigating a particularly gruesome murder, and discovers a family secret which threatens to tear her world apart.

finally.. no more studies for a while.
Catching up time.
34. Lexicon by Max Berry. As recommended. Maybe oversold it because I enjoyed it but was a bit underwhelmed. Could have fleshed out all the stuff he hints at a bit more imho and poor Eliot got a rough deal and am not sure was quite credible in the end.
Might have to read Snow Crash.

I have started Clever Girl by Tessa Hadley; it is surprisingly good, I like the language and the way the story unfolds.

I enjoyed The Secret River. It's a while since I read it but it is about early settlers and highlights how grim the reality of it was.