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

You read chick lit for light relief, I read dick lit (Jack Reachers) for the same purpose

I must credit Remus for This Thing Of Darkness. One of the best book recommendations ever. Thanks Remus

I have Fermat's Last Theorem in my Wish List, and I'm waiting for its price to drop.

I'm just glad that people have loved it as much as I did, as I could only get one of my real life friends to attempt it.

the last policeman by Ben Winter series is c£1.79/book if any one is interested. Haven't read it yet but been on my watch list a while. A murder mystery set in a collapsing USA as an asteroid is due to wipe out life on earth in 6m. Won prizes I'm told

Otherwise

56. Feminine Feminism (Entrepreneur Journeys) by Sramana Mitra. This is a collection of interviews with women who have founded successful companies in silicon valley. I hadn't really heard of them or their companies . It was an ok read, suffered a bit as the author is not really a writer, and the style was cumbersome and did not lend itself to much insight really plus everyone was a silicon valley typr entrepreneur which made it a bit repetitive. Sites founded were steals.com, eventbrite.com, envato etc. Some effort was made to delve into how they managed their companies and family/personal life too.

57. The checklist manifesto. By atul gawande. This was a v interesting short read. A simple idea mostly scorned but the writer makes a vg case for applying it routinely to extremely complex variable situations (such as surgery). Short clear read, well argued and thought out.

I'd say that's it for me this year. Am reading The Crimson and the Petal and it seems good enough to me. The contrast between the three women in the book is interesting though I suspect, this being victorian times, none of them will come out triumphant. It reminds me a bit of Fingersmith which I hated tbh. I'm 30% through, doubt l'll finish it in time for the NY. Also reading Far fron the Tree but again, probably won't finish it for NY.

Bought the first Rivers of London book on offer the other day and really looking forward to starting it Must read back over the thread for further recommendations! Thanks so much for sharing your reading all year, have really enjoyed the thread. I knew I read a lot but some of you are phenomenal.

63. Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome - John Scalzi

This novella is the prequel to Lock In which I just finished and liked. It is written in a style similar to World War Z, but does not provide much insight into the immediate aftermath of the viral infection that led to mass locked-in syndrome. Its priced at £0.91 in Amazon, but it is not worth reading even at that price imho.

50. The Miniaturist - reached the target just! I really enjoyed this book and would say it is one of my favourites this year. Beautifully written and a good storyline.

A big thank you to Southeastdweller for the thread. I have enjoyed reading opinions and recommendations even if it does mean my to read list is now much longer!

I've only really been able to do 50 by generally sticking to quite short books so I think I'll try 50 again next year but include longer reads.

Haven't decided on my next read but that's it for this year, see you all on the new thread and happy new year.

Marking my place for the 2015 thread.

Well done whitewineandchocolate on reaching 50 books!

79. Three Tales - Flaubert
    Loved the first one of these which includes the famous parrot (as in the Julian Barnes book Flaubert's Parrot), but I wasn't so into the other two.

80. The Invention of Wings - Sue Monk Kidd
    This is fairly good, following the story of a daughter of a prosperous slave owning family and the story of one of her slaves. A good insight into the times and based on real people. It led me to finally get round to reading

81. 12 Years a Slave - Solomon Nortup
    This had been on my Kindle for ages and I raced through it. I had seen the film so knew what would happen but it was so interesting to read his account. Interesting and distressing in equal measures.

Trying to finish up my last two titles by tomorrow which are Stardust by Neil Gaiman and Rites of Passage by Willi Golding.

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone on this thread for their reviews, recommendations and comments. My 'to read' list is off the scale now. It's been such a great year of reading and I have loved it. Can't believe I will be starting at zero again.

My favourite books this year were The History of the Rain and Farenheit 451 but I also loved The Lowland, Life After Life, Moon Tiger, Flight Behavior, Norwegian Wood and The Ghost Writer. Least favourite, The Plumed Serpent by D.H Lawrence. Don't ever go there. Seriously, you have been warned.

Just finished A Spy by Nature by Charles Cumming. There hasn't been a truly memorable book this year although I did enjoy Apple Tree Yard.

I have failed, my total is 29. I used to read 50 or 60 comfortably.
I read much less than I used to, am easily distracted by iPad and laptop, .
Must try harder.

Book 110 Dust by Hugh Howey

Unless I dig out an Agatha Christie to read, this is it for completed books for the year. I thought I might as well finish the trilogy as my final one. This is the aftermath of the revolution in Silo 18, as well as what happens to the people introduced in Shift. It's not the best of the three, but it provides a satisfying enough conclusion.

My top 5 books of this year:

1. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
2. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? - Jeanette Winterson
3. Notes on a Scandal - Zoë Heller
4. Bedsit Disco Queen - Tracey Thorn
5. The Hours - Michael Cunningham

The Luminaries is £1.89. Amazing book. Booker Prize winner for 2013. Definitely read it if you haven't already.

56. Echo Boy , Matt Haig

YA science fiction by the author of The Humans and The Radletts. It painted a nifty and mostly believable vision of the future, but wasn't as enjoyable or moving for me as his other, adult, books. It also lacked the pace and twists and turns of some of the other YA sci fi I've read this year, as well as the teeny angst that goes with all of that so well.

That's undoubtedly the last book of the year for me! This thread has really got me back on track with reading, after a couple if years where I had really let it slide. I'm really pleased I got past 50 books and am definitely going to continue next year. Thanks all!

127. Us, David Nicholls. Enjoyed this, although a bit bored with middle-aged male narrators unable to express their emotions. Quite funny, and I like accounts of the tourist trail.

Christmas seems like a good time for rereading, so reread How to Be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis, Home by Bill Bryson, The Wrong Way Home by Peter Moore. Also started reread of Under Another Sky by Charlotte Higgins.

Then added my last two for 2014:

128. Blood from a Stone, Donna Leon.
129. The Golden Egg, Donna Leon (disturbing).

Have really enjoyed this thread, not so much to see other people's numbers (although I'm glad I'm not the only fanatic reader...) but because it's interesting to see the patterns of reading - how people spend time with something challenging, then gulp down some light reads, or how they get stuck into a particular author/series, or end up casting around for ages for something really engaging. And how a consensus is created (or not) around certain books.

southeast, if you see this, the new Mapp and Lucia on TV is absolutely wonderful. Hope you found the books satisfying in the end.

Just checking in for my last post of the year
Finished book 88 Merazon House by Julia Ford - a Cornish novel about smuggling. Love Nina was set aside for this as currently in Cornwall and had a desire to read something Cornish!

Thank you for this thread. I joined it to see his much I actually did read in a year. Found some great new authors - C J Sansom and Phil Rickman to name two. My 'To Read' list has grown beyond all proportion. Thank you all for making it an enjoyable year and I look forward to a 2015 thread!

Last post of 2014 from me. Here's the last couple of months' worth:
51. Burial Rites, Hannah Kent
52. Regeneration, Pat Barker
53. The Eye in the Door, Pat Barker
54. The Ghost Road, Pat Barker
55. The Way we Live Now, Trollope
56. Mad About the Boy, Helen Fielding
57. Letters from Father Christmas, JRR Tolkien
58. 36 Views of Mount Fuji, Cathy Davidson
59. First Among Sequels, Jasper Fforde
60. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
61. One of our Thursdays is missing, Jasper Fforde

and if I stop naffing about on t'internet and get on with reading
62. The woman who died a lot, Jasper Fforde

Thanks to whoever had the great idea of starting this thread, and to everyone for sharing books and thoughts. I've never counted the books I've read before and I'm chuffed to have made it to 50 and a bit beyond. Am definitely joining in with the 2015 thread and will try to post more often! Happy New Year to all

I fell off the thread a couple of months ago when work and children got in the way.
I made it to 75 books in the end (74 was Florence & Giles by John Harding - a very enjoyable little gothic tale. 75 was Deceived Wisdom - a book debunking lots of received wisdom. It was fine, but there was nothing truly surprising in there & plenty that I already knew.)

Looking forward to joining in on the 2015 thread.

123. When Nights Were Cold by Susanna Jones.

Definitely my last complete read for 2014 :o

The novel is told in flashback by Grace Faringdon, the surviving member of the mountain climbing and Antarctic exploration society she formed at University.

There were originally four members of the group, the fate of the other three is gradually revealed to the reader through the narrative.

The flashback accounts date back to the years immediately preceding WW1, but are told from many years later (around 1940). Grace is, by then, living alone - a recluse - in her old family home. She is an extremely unreliable narrator, and the story twists and turns all over the place; we are never sure quite what to believe.

The focus of the story is the build up to, and aftermath of, the Society's preparation for an ascent of the Matterhorn. We learn about their preparations for this in Snowdonia and later climbs in the Alps.

There is a terrible accident on one of their climbs, of the Breithorn, and one of the group is killed in a fall. The remainder of the novel examines the accountability of the surviving members as seen through Grace's eyes. As I've said above, Grace's account of events cannot be relied upon and we are given strong indications throughout that she has had some kind of breakdown upon her return to London after the accident and has lingering mental health issues which have remained untreated.

What to believe? What really happened? Well, we only have Grace's word for what happened and by the end of the novel you really have no idea what is going on in her head. She seems to live in a fantasy world of her own making. Is she alone, or are there other people living with her? And what about her accounts of her sister? I have no idea now what to believe there.

I wasn't entirely gripped by this novel. I felt that it moved rather too slowly and the ending was confused (probably a strong indication of Grace's own mental confusion) and rushed. I didn't like the conclusion - it felt to me like the author was really at a loss as to how to end it and decided that would do. It didn't fit.

I felt, perhaps unfairly, that this novel was being compared to those of Sarah Waters.

Next up - Jane Austen : A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne. Have already started it and enjoying it so far.

biblio I'm loving the new version of Mapp and Lucia and I'm now more keen to read the rest of the series (only read Queen Lucia so far). I hope they film some more episodes next year!

I also want to join in with the thanks to all who've contributed to these threads. It's been fascinating seeing what everyone else is reading and it's helped with motivating me to read more - I'm really happy to have got to 60 on year-end having never got beyond 38 before. Reading more has also helped me deal with stress better and I'm even thinking of starting a RL book group next year!

New Year, new thread

Agree, southeast, would love more Lucia!

Duchess, I love the Paula Byrne book.

See you all on the other thread in due course!

Apologies - wrong title for #56 (I was ordering the THIRD book from the library, which is the title I wrote down). I read 'In your dreams' by Tom Holt. That's the SECOND one in the series. Sorry!

Managed to sneak in #57: Home - Julie Myerson. A biography of the house she lived in/lives in (written in early 2000's) with her partner and children. JM spent hours/weeks searching the archives, discovering who had lived in the house before they did. Fascinating.

Got to 50 on new years eve!
49 - Fightin in Spain - George Orwell
50 - Before the Storm -Diane Chamberlain