50 Book Challenge 2014 Part 4

[Southeastdweller]

Thread four of the 50 Book Challenge.

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

Here are the previous threads...

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

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

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/adult_fiction/2094773-50-Book-Challenge-2014-Part-3?msgid=49151537#49151537

99. An audio book - collection of the first six of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads monologues. So good, but will take a break before listening to the second set.

Hoping to spend a bit of time reading this afternoon, if the DC ever stop wrecking the house :(

Book 117 - 'The Enemy' by Charlie Higson. A YA zombie book and the first of a series. It was okay only, and would have been better if he could actually write in sentences. Don't think I'll bother with the others.

ok, been ages, how the hell is everyone?! Sometimes I get wearied by the need to try and update my list as I'm usually doing this on my phone and it is a PITA.

Duchess, I loved 1Q84. LOVED it. Hard to describe, its a dreamy sort of book, kind of a love story, the two moons unsettling, the characters are intriguing, their relationships feel vivid I found it deeply engrossing. My FIL was up (we have nothing in common, you never see him read a book) and he had his nose stuck in it the whole weekend.

That said it's doesn't exactly have a ripping driven narrative so depends what you want in a book.

Weirdly, I haven't really been able to get on with his other novels. I struggled with Norwegian Wood for ages earlier this year before abandoning it.

Iamblossom I read Blood Meridian from the Border Trilogy and hated it with a passion. My sister keeps telling All the Pretty Horses is a much better book but she also got me to read "The Road* which I also hated so I'm not sure I trust her! He is a good writer but I just find him utterly grim to be honest. That opinion is based on those two books however.

Ok update for me, am nearly at 50!

38 - The Everything Store, Jeff Bezos & the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone
39 - The One Plus One by JoJo Moyes

40 - Captain Jack's Woman by Stephanie Laurens (Awful, am embarrassed to have it on my list, was actually offensive in its depiction of women and marriage)
41 - Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (Southern Reach) (weird weird trilogy, you are not sure what is real or not, if your narrator can be trusted, what is happening, even the environment is unreliable. Its disturbing, fascinating, provocative, the three books are a damn good read in my opinion fwiw)
42 - Authority by Jeff VanderMeer (Southern Reach book)
43 - Acceptance by Jeff VanderMeer (Southern Reach book) (this is the oddest one imo, a bit unsatisfying in that there are no clear answers, just hints and suppositions)
44 - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler (I really really enjoyed this although I was very shocked by the twist. Had to put the book down for about 3 days. Wasn't sure if I would go back to it. Can't tell you a thing without ruining it, but it is great. One of my best reads of the year. )
45 - Gulp by Mary Roach (ok, bit grosser than I expected)
46 - Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh (usual anecdotal type medical book, better than average in that his experiences are related with great honesty.)

and I'm now reading Into Thin Air; A personal account of the Everest disaster by Jon Krakauer. This is about the May 1996 disastrous day's climbing on Everest when I think 8 people died on the one day. Very good so far.

Whew. Hope that is not all too boring to read!

Wilting - I enjoyed, 'Into Thin Air' iirc.

Book 91 Hidden by Benedict Jacka

Fifth novel featuring diviner Alex Verus. If you like the Dresden Files then this might be up your street. The early books were Jacka finding his feet a bit but he really has got into his stride in the last couple.

Alex can see the future, and one of his friends needs help as her past is cahtching up with her. But Anne, a life magician, wants nothing to do with him since she found out what Alex's past as a Dark mage's apprentice led him to do. Then Anne is kidnapped, and Alex, his apprentice Luna, and three Keepers (magical police force, effectively) go on the hunt. But rumours are swirling round London that Alex's former master Richard is back, and Alex is terrified about what that might mean.

48. The Old Ways - Robert Macfarlane

Quite magnificent and thoroughly recommended to those of you who enjoyed Mountains Of The Mind... this is an order of magnitude better, incredibly moving and poetic and really makes me want to go out on a walk right now :)

I never really got on with Murakami, I find him a bit emperor's new clothes but I know many people rave about him! I've read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Wild Sheep Chase and Norwegian Wood which I thought was the least worst.

I only liked, 'After Dark.' The sheep one made me want to rip either it or myself to shreds, and 'Norwegian Wood' was about as exciting as nibbling twigs. Just don't get him.

Wilting, Into Thin Air was one of my 50 last year iirc and I did really enjoy it. Into The Wild was another Krakauer book that I found very moving. He's not an amazing writer but he tells a good tale.

Under the Skin by michael Faber only £1.29 :)

Whippetwoman talked me into it, have actually never read any Michel Faber.

49. A Meal In Winter - Hubert Mingarelli

A random pick from the library - a short but devastating tale of three German soldiers who find a young Jew hiding in the woods in Poland.

108. About Face, Donna Leone.

I slipped in a re-read of A Month in the Country, by JL Carr, but as it's already on my list for this year, I won't count it twice. But it's like being wrapped up in a warm blanket on a cold night. I love it.

I think I'm one of the few people who disliked The Old Ways. I was bored and annoyed - my memory is now hazy, but there's one bit where he's in a boat with someone, and it felt like he was fetishizing this romantic old island man. I was raised in places that get fetishized in this way (variously a Scottish island and the west coast of Ireland), and it struck an off-note with me.

wilting, I hope you like it! I feel responsible now

I haven't read The Old Ways but I did love The Wild Places. I think he's probably a bit of a romantic but that's such an interesting view biblio

56. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern Was very meh about this and agree with everything (I think it was Cote) said up thread.
57. The Plumed Serpent - D.H Lawrence The worst novel I have read this year by a long way. Dull, tedious and just plain ridiculous. The heroine, Kate, an Irishwoman, travels to Mexico with two American companions. She hates it there, hates the Mexicans, who she endlessly describes as savages but ends up staying on and eventually marries a Mexican who is part of a cult of the old pagan religion of Quetzalcoatl. She even ends up being a goddess in the religion. There is a LOT of chanting. About 416 pages of this:

‘The great Snake coils and uncoils the plasm of his folds, and stars appear, and worlds fade out. It is no more than the changing and easing of the plasm. ‘ I always am, says his sleep. ‘As a man in a deep sleep knows not, but is, so is the Snake of the coiled cosmos, wearing its plasm.

I genuinely thought someone would appear and give me an award for finishing it this morning but I'm still waiting...

I loved The Old Ways, and have The Wild Places on the shelf to read at a later date. I bought Wildwood by Roger Deakin in the hope that it would be in the same vein but haven't been able to get into that, which is disappointing.

Ha ha that sounds beyond dire whippetwoman! No more DH Lawrence for you

18 - Perfect
19 - The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy both by Rachel Joyce.

Will never make it to 50 but 20 is looking possible now

Here are my books 61-70:

61. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
62. Please Mr Postman by Alan Johnson
63. The collected short stories of Lorrie Moore
64. Us by David Nicholls
65. The assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel
66. Granta 128: American Wild
67. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
68. Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
69. Fathomless riches by Richard Coles
70. Mr Mac and me by Esther Freud

As you can see, I've been working my way through the new releases - almost everything on the list came out in the past couple of months. So: I loved Us by David Nicholls, was a bit disappointed in the Hilary Mantel short stories, thought The Bone Clocks was highly entertaining but a bit puzzling and not quite up there with Cloud Atlas.

The Margaret Atwood stories were wonderful, as always - a definite recommend.

Nora Webster was bleak but beautifully written. The Esther Freud was also exquisitely written, though a little slow-moving, and has inspired me to read more about Charles Rennie Macintosh (the story is about his time in Suffolk during WWI, told from the viewpoint of a young boy).

Please Mr Postman - part two of Alan Johnson's memoir - was enjoyable, but not quite as moving or gripping as part one.

Fathomless riches is the memoir of Richard Coles, formerly of the Communards, now a middle England type vicar and radio presenter. This is very well-written, funny in parts and a good read, nothing like your average celeb memoir. The first part is a tale of sex, drugs and (of course) rock 'n' roll - I'll never look at him in quite the same way again.

The Lorrie Moore isn't a new book, and took me ages to read, dipping in and out as I read other things. She's a great short story writer, though, and I'd definitely recommend this collection.

I always enjoy Granta, and this one has a nice unexpected story from Martin Amis at the end, told from the perspective, of all things, of his cat.

The Interestings , by Meg Wolowitz- finished at last! I did get into it in the end, but I have to say that this character-driven timespan novel of a bunch of New Yorkers suffered rather from too much navel-gazing, and I was surprised how little attention the major event of the Twin Towers's collapse received, given how much description was devoted to relatively minor topics.

Misogynies , by Joan Smith- did exactly what it said on the tin, and I mostly enjoyed this selection of cultural analysis. I was irked by some or the factual errors in the chapter on Marilyn Monroe (I have read a lot of Old Hollywood stuff) and felt she had a skewed perspective as a result, but overall this was a good read.

Talking of Old Hollywood, I can thoroughly recommend Anne Helen Peterson's new sociocultural analysis Scandals Of Old Hollywood - you may have read some of her fascinating columns in The Hairpin. There is a heartbreaking chapter about Fatty Arbuckle, and lots of fascinating stuff about stars like Mary Pickford, Clara Bow, Clift and Brando etc etc. It is far more than just old sleb gossip rehashed: it focuses on what the 'scandals' tell us about the social and sexual mores of the time, and how we reinterpret the iconography to reflect our own anxieties. Brilliant.

I've also just finished Sarah Waters' The Paying Guests. I had mixed feelings about this one, to be honest. I couldn't warm to the characters in the way I have with her previous novels, and it did affect how credible I found the relationships and the plot development.

Enjoyed the Luminaries. The list of characters at the front of the book are useful tool to avoid confusion. Keep going as the ending is well worth the journey. I always send to the Book People for the Booker Prize list. You get six, usually hard backs for £30. Don't always find the winner is my personal favourite. Thought the Luminaries was a worthy winner but my personal favourite was A Tale For The Time Being. Just received this years selection and reading the winner The Narrow Road to The Deep which is taking me into the POW camps in Burma. Will reserve judgement as some years the selection is better than others.
Very impressed with DuchessofMalfi's list of reading. I made a list in my I Pad's Notes and added a short note about each but somehow lost half of them! My problem is that as I go from book to book I forget the content of some and need a reminder. I have only read twenty seven books this year so well done Duchess. Have you got a list of absolute favourites?

I think there are others on here who have read more than me Happy. Some of my books have been audiobooks, listened to on my daily long walks, which is how I can get through two or three books a week. No wasted empty silences when doing housework or in the car .

As to a favourite, not sure yet. Probably The Sea by John Banville, but not fully decided yet.

Are you on Goodreads? I keep a full record on there, as well as a written record.

Rather late with some responses but loved Robert McFarlane (sp?) - I've read a few of his and love his eloquence. I have to make a confession. I've abandoned the autobiography of Aung San Suu Kyi. Just could not get into it.

I had set myself a target of 60 books this year but still not sure I'm going to manage as I have a lot of catching up to do with projects for college. Will definitely get to 50 though; may pinch a few ideas from everyone else's lists!

49. The Interestings, Meg Wolowitz.

I pretty much agree with Bof's comments above. From the blurb, cover and subject matter (a group of Manhattanite teens meet at camp and stay lifelong friends) I had expected rather more wit and humour and rather less existential doom and gloom. It was quite good at building tension so kept me reading, but I wouldn't especially recommend it.

Thank you Duchess. You sound as if you have got a great system and I will go on Good Reads and glean what I can. Will make a note of The Sea. At the moment I have books everywhere including latest biography of Van Gogh which is a mere thousand pages! Got lots on my I Pad but buy so many in order that husband can enjoy them. Trouble is I also paint and this takes time and also shelves of of art books! The number of books I have is a source of amusement to family and friends. It keeps us out of mischief and must tell you that I read War and Peace when I was fourteen and fell in love with Peter Basoukov which shows you how odd I was as a child. Reread last year and appreciated the Tolstoy philosophy on war and what it was like on the battlefields. So still odd!

48. Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey. Been waiting ages for this and it's a far shorter book than I'd expected! A fictional detective is recovering from an injury and puts his skills to analysing the case against Richard III. I've not checked to see how much truth lies in the reference works detailed, but it was an interesting read. How this version stands up against any discoveries post 1950's I don't know. Perhaps something to while away a long winter evening or two?!