50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 1

[Southeastdweller]

Thread one of the 50 Book Challenge.

The idea is to read 50 books (or more!) in 2015.

Who's in for this year?

1. Lila
2. The Dept of Speculation

Book 4 The Wild Places by Robert Macfarlane

I mentioned before, I seem to be reading his unofficial trilogy in reverse, so while others who began with Mountains of the Mind have found this one to be less dramatic, for me it was very similar in tone to The Old Ways and so what I was expecting it to be. In this book, Macfarlane journeys to find the last wild places of Britain and Ireland, and comes to an appreciation of wildness nearer at hand as he does. His descriptions are poetic and while I wouldn't fancy camping out at night in the places he does (or at all in fact!) I appreciate his thoughts on having done so. He also throws in plenty of additional stories and bits of information, such as about the potato famine in Ireland, the writer and avid walker Edward Thomas, and plenty about his late lamented friend Roger Deakin, who seems to have been an unusual character himself with an immense affinity for wildness and the natural world. Beautiful book, but a slow read.

I've got another Phil Rickman lined up next - this one will be December.

1. Cloud Atlas
2. Let the Great World Spin, Colum McCann - an absolutely beautiful read, set in 1970's New York about the interlinked lives of several very different people in the shadow of a man walking a tightrope between the twin towers. The descriptions are lovely and it's a book that I just wanted to savour and not rush.

Moving on now to The Woman Who Stole my Life, by Marion Keyes.

1. Country Girl by Edna O'Brien.

A memoir which serves as a great companion piece to the seminal work by this writer.

Everything you could want; family rifts, inappropriate sex, famous name dropping a-go-go. All in O'Brien's rich, colourful style.

It is also an interesting insight into a writer's life, her processes, her blocks, her traumas. As ever, words are the back drop to this author's world.

Currently on (5) Winter Games by Rachel Johnson. So far, rather weirdly paced - we're introduced to a character, then get a whole chapter of backstory before anything happens. But chicklit set partly in Nazi Germany does show a certain ambition, I suppose.

I'm in, have read:

1. The House we Grew Up in by Lisa Jewell - ok, a bit different from run of the mill chick lit.
2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - totally nuts, but a hoot
3. The Hypnotists Love Story by Liane Moriarty - ok, though over long
4. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill - good, though left a bit in the dark, assuming the next in the series will answer some questions
5. The Temptress by Paul Spicer - interesting read about the goings on in colonial Kenya in the 20's and 30's.

Now onto:

1. I Am Pilgrim
2. Burial Rites

Two weeks into the year, and I'm about to finish my second book! So far so good.

My first book was The Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack. This one's set in the near future, in a world where magic and miracles are part of everyday life. The problem is, people are starting to take the divine for granted. It's all becoming empty ceremony. But then our protagonist has a strange dream, and when she wakes up, she's pregnant...

I'm just about to finish Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. To say anything about this one would be to ruin the experience for anyone who's not read it, so trust me - give it a go. You will not be disappointed.

Book #2 = Faithful Place by Tana French, which was summarised upthread, thereby saving me having to use any brain cells! It was a good page turner, though I found it very frustrating that the author dared to not use the twist that I was sure I had worked out from early on in the novel ... Honestly, these authors - can't they work out what twist their hapless readers will divine and cater accordingly?!?

2. The Maze Runner- read only because I was thinking of watching the film... YA, ok as it goes though it was hard going til unwanted to find out what the maze was about. The characters lacked any depth and the made up slang was irritating. One for teenage boys I think!

3. The Photographer's Wife- currently about half way, it's an easy enough read and thinking it will be quite predictable when the ends all tie together but enjoying it well enough. Got it on kindle unlimited, but I've cancelled it from the end of the month so trying to try any that I've downloaded on that.

Looking forward to something a bit harder going after these!

1. Holy Fools by Joanne Harris.

Really good read, set in a French Abbey in 17th century. Told from several different perspectives, keeps you guessing.

Just started Quiet but also reading Charlie and Chocolate factory as bedtime story. I can count that can't I?

Finally finally finished book number 1

1. Killing Floor, Lee Child.

Did not get along with this book. Couldn't get used to the short, choppy sentences and writing style and I found there was far too much scenery/scene building description and not enough action. For a crime thriller that is billed as easy to read I found it a struggle to get into - the story was a bit predictable and on reflection in the end there were gaping plot holes and large parts that were just too coincidental and nicely slotted in to have been thought about much. Won't be reading any more in the series.

Going to start (again) on number 2. which I'm almost halfway through from last year - A Game of Thrones (first one)

Riverboat1 Ireally like Rose Tremain and have read and enjoyed The Road Home. I would also recommend Restoration,The Colour and Sacred Country. I love it that all her novels are very different in terms of setting and characters. For example Restoration is set in the 1600s during the time of Charles II, The Colour is set in 19th century New Zealand and Sacred Country is a more modern setting about a young girl who wants to change gender.

cheminotte - I think I included Charlie and the Chocolate Factory a couple of years ago on this thread :)

Got out of the habit of reading bedtime stories, as DD seems to prefer reading to herself now. Waiting for DS to be old enough to enjoy longer books.

1. Broken Harbour by Tana French. Another good read, really enjoying this series although this one wasn't an easy read as it deals with the murder of a family including two small children. Still a page turner though, definitely one of my favourites so far. Next I'll be finishing up the series with The Secret Place.

Book 1 done! Way behind but in my defence only just started the challenge on 11th!

'Moriarty' Anthony Horowitz. Enjoyed it. Easy read. Was a Christmas present.

Book 2 'hoist on my own petard' Dan Harris.

Spoilers for 'The Road Home'
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highlandcoo - yes, that's the scene I was talking about. I definitely interpreted the scene as rape, the only thing that made me consider tempering that reading slightly was that Sophie seemed rather calm and measured afterwards, it made me wonder if she had let him do it as a sort of goodbye / full stop at the end of their relationship. I re-read the whole scene immediately as I felt rather sickened by it (I had really liked the Lev up to that point) and there were some other bits in there that seemed to be the author giving you permission to believe it wasn't rape, like him believing her resistance had gone away etc. But I don't know. I felt really shocked by it, and how Lev kind of moved right on from it and got a happy ending a hundred pages later.

After thinking about it further, I saw that there were clues put in beforehand, about how exotic and shocking it was for Lev to be with a woman like Sophie - her sexy clothes, her flirting, her sexual behaviour (begging for him to fuck her like an whore etc). She was extremely different from the women he was used to in his own country which is why he was attracted to her in that she was completely opposite to his dead wife. This all helps put the 'rape' into context and makes sense in a way that that's what ended up happening. It's the 'what happened next' part that was weird, because it was just never really dealt with and seemingly all was forgiven after a few months asparagus picking on a farm...

What did you think about it all?

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1. Touching The Void - Joe Simpson

Gripping account of his incredible battle for survival after an accident while climbing in the remote Andes.

1. Ian MacEwan- The Children Act
2. Julian Barnes - The Sense of an Ending

Anti, I really liked the sense of an ending, but wish I'd read it in a paper copy as I found I kept wanting to flip back and forth to the formula.

What did you think of The Children Act, Antimatter? It was one of my favourite reads of last year.

PeppermintInfusion - I liked it too
I will def read his other books as well.
Did you read any?

Finished Flowers For Algernon this morning. I would strongly recommend it to anyone, though I cannot stress this enough - make sure you know as little about the plot as possible before you begin. Don't even read the blurb, and if your edition contains an introduction, avoid it at all costs.

Have name-changed since joining the thread

1. Signature of all things
2. Red Love: Story of an East German Family. Interesting, but the writing style was a bit clunky. The title is a bit of a misnomer. The author's family were far from being a typical East German family.
3. Elizabeth is Missing - this is a bit of a 'Wolf Hall' for me. One of those books that everyone else raves about and I just don't enjoy. I did enjoy the first half, but by the end I was skim reading and glad it was over. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it all in one sitting?

Currently reading Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, inspired by the thread about 'village-y' books on MN. Easy but fun read.

SandraWood - I hate knowing anything at all about a book or a film. I heavily rely on recommendations such as shortlists of awards and here on MN or friends mentioning the title

antimatter a good strategy!