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. Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey

Like a previous poster I felt this was a good novel but found it dragged towards the end and was a tad overlong. Writing a novel from the point of view of someone with severe dementia can't have been easy and I felt the author did an amazing job in that regard. It was often quite an uncomfortable read, sympathising with the confusion and memory loss of the narrator and the difficulty faced by her family in dealing with it.
Now off to read some Tim Winton and Virginia Wolf.

Hallo I've just found this thread and am going to join in. I commute to work so have a nice chunk of time to read in and am always looking for new ideas.

So far I've read The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.
I quite enjoyed this - it was well written - but I don't think she made enough of the Miniaturist part of the plot. The idea was creepy to start with but it wasn't really fully developed. The main plot became overblown and slightly hysterical with Nella running from one dramatic scene to another so that the ending became a rush of terrible things happening in which her only role was to react to things.

The idea of the house being a replica of their own house and then the dolls being exact replicas reminded me of the Oxford Reading Tree Chip Kipper, etc Magic Key books when they move into their new house and find a dolls house with dolls that look just like them.....

I'm now reading She Wloves which is non fiction so taking a bit longer but is good so far.

A Tale for the Time Being - I listened to it last year and loved it. Loved the grandma character a lot

Book number 3: Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn. An autobiography by the singer with Everything But The Girl. I enjoyed the subtly humorous way this was written, helped by the fact that I now live near where Thorn spent her early years and got unnecessarily excited by mentions of my nearest town - parochial, moi?

Book 2 The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery; This is from the author of the Anne of Green Gables series and is a sweet short novel about a girl who is down trodden by her family, learns she only has a year to live and breaks her bonds with wonderfully unlikely results youthful v romantic fiction, v pleasant untaxing old fashioned read and a nice trek down memory lane for me who LOVED AoGG and Emily of New Moon growing up.

Next, might try the Rivers of London series...

May I join?

May I read v light stuff, fact and fiction and thought?

Best thing Ive read this year is The unknown unknown, a defence of the traditional bookshop. V short, v good.

Have been reading all the Inspector Alleyn books . That means something like 33 so far. V v fast. I've been loving the new Zealand bits, and also the descriptions of life in the late 50s. Pretty condescending though in parts.

Reread the blue castle as well. Bits if it were used, virtually word for word , in the The Ladies of Missolonghi.

And a bitter post first world war bit by LMMontgomery.

cedar agree completely re the miniaturist - and it not having much impact on the plot in general.

ClashCityRocker - felt really disappointed that in the end she just left the city without finding out any more about what she was up to. Felt there was a really creepy storyline in there that just got lost - when Nella discovers that she's not the only person who has received the miniatures - for example.

Book3 Awkward. Enjoyed it light and quirky!

Not sure what to read next.

booty - Awkward what? Who is the author? Can you tell us anything about the book?

Would newbies please fall in line get into the habit of giving some detail about the book as well as what it is about, what it is like, etc? It is how/why these threads have been going on for years - because it is great to read about the books others have read

I agree with Cote. Just a few sentences to say what you liked/disliked would be great. And in your own words, please, not a blurb.

Thank you. :)

I'm fed up. Have virtually nothing to read and no ideas for what I want to read, either.

I love hearing what other people think of the books they've read. It's fascinating to see how differently people respond to the same books on these threads.

Anyway, no 4. Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson.

I love, love, love this book. I must have read it at least 10 times in 20 years. For those who have never read it (there can't be many) he's an American taking a last trip around Great Britain in the 1990s. It's funny, gentle, sweet. Someone up thread said it was dated but for me, that's how a good travel book should be. It's of its time, if that makes sense.

Is it too late to join in? I've just read In The Light Of What We Know by Zia Haider Rahman - very hard going, but am now reading The Invention Of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd, a book about slavery in The American South in the 19the Century - gripping stuff so far (nearly half way).

Hi Sally. It's never too late to join

I also enjoy reading other's opinions here on the books they've read.

1. Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub

This is a sequel (ish) to The Talisman, and picks up with Jack Sawyer as an ex-lieutenant in the police force who is drafted in to help after a series of grisly child murders. I say 'ish' because it can be enjoyed as very much as a stand-alone book, and I don't think you'd lose much if you hadn't read The Talisman first. I would go so far as to say that the links to the talisman seem somewhat laboured, and this would be a better book if it was just done as a 'standalone'.

The writing style is different from most SK books - Straub's influence I guess. There are some genuinely creepy moments, and most of the characters I adored. Jack Sawyer is a bit too bland for my taste though - a bit of a rent-a-kit retired superstar cop.

Kept me hooked though, and although not on par with his best, a satisfying read.

Remus weren't you a nonfiction reader? I am reading Heir to Forgotten Kingdoms by Gerard Russel, about the religious diversity in the Middle East. Very current, about the Yazidis and about IS, but mostly it is a well written portrait of people who adhere a faith that is on the verge of dying out. And yes of course a lot of times that mean people get killed but that is not the main issue of the book. The writer is fluent in Arabic and Farsi, workedas a civil servant in the region for years and is now a Harvard lecturer. Im am slowly reading it, not finished but can already sing it's praise.

Next to that I have a novel on the go : After me comes the Flood by Sarah Perry. Surreal and atmospheric? A man goes to see his brother, there's a heatwave of sorts. His car breaks down and he comes upon a house where he gets welcomed as if the people (an odd group) has been waiting for him. Intrigueing (spelling?) but not finished either.

Remus, have you read The Immortal Life of Henriette Lacks? I enjoyed that.

Apologies

The story of Awkward -- RK Ryals. This is a fairy tale type story and may appeal more to those who like young adult fiction. Easy, quick read. Hard to ðescribe without giving the plot away! Has a moral undertone. Feel good story.

1. The Iceberg by Marion Coutts.

Marion Coutts's memoir about her husband's diagnosis, treatment and eventual death from, a brain tumour is an incredibly accomplished book. The prose is dense, poetic, sometimes hard and often requires a second reading.

Did I like it? I'm not sure whether I did, in all honesty. But I'm glad I read it. It is an important book - it tells it how it is, from the partner's point of view, with all the raw pain, anger, frustration, hatred, love, fear and, on occasions, barely concealed violence.

What comes across, above all, is Marion Coutts's fierce protective love for her husband. She is prepared to fight the authorities all the way for the best care for her husband. They are a very tight-knit and loving family and it makes it all the more poignant that their little boy, Ev, lost his father at such a young age - as he grows up he will barely remember him away from the photos and written memories.

I am now banning myself from reading any more books about cancer. They are emotionally draining - I've read three in the last two months and that's quite enough for now.

Finished #1.

The Bad Mother, Esther Walker.

Very light easy read; episodic, anecdotal writing about early motherhood. Walker has a funny, frank, conversational style, it's like having a chat with a friend about all the shit bits of parenting under threes, without having to add the usual 'it's all worth it' qualifier, but ultimately positive and thoughtful. I would say this is strictly for those still in the thick of it with small children.

1. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. This is a short book written by a Japanese autistic boy, in the form of questions and answers about autism. Interesting if you know someone with autism.

1. Elephant Moon by John Sweeney.

It is set in Rangoon (Burma) during the end of the second world war. Plot describes the mass exodus of a school for orphans, led by their indefatigable teacher Grace. Some jumps in the plot, predictable moments, and bits that seem to be shunted together to speed up the story. Seeing as it is the authors first foray into non fiction, it was ok, readable but not amazing!

Just about to start the one about the middle eastern faiths, demanded it for Christmas. If you likr travel books mixed with archaology and religion, can I recommend Travels with A Tangerine, following the path of Ibn Battuta?

Reread armitage's translation of Gawain. Outstanding, after a slow start.

ancient I liked Travels with a Tangerine, though never read the sequel (Hall of a Thousand Pillars or something). My favourite is his book about Yemen - fascinating stuff. I spent one night in Sana'a a few years ago (stopover when using Air Yemenia) and it really did look magical. Not v safe for tourism right now though .

Also on travel/ancient religion, William Dalrymple's book To the Holy Mountain is good, but dense (and overtaken by events) and one of my all-time favourites is The Lost Ark of the Covenant by Tudor Parfitt. The blurb compares him, inevitably, to Indiana Jones, and it's huge fun to read.

My most recent reads:

5. Hospital Babylon, Imogen Edwards-Jones. I find myself gobbling up these books in a sitting. She interviews people in a particular sector (A&E here, but also fashion, pop, the hotel industry) and then takes all the best stories and presents them in a lightly fictionalised version, all happening to one person in a 24 hour period.

6. To Dream of the Dead, Phil Rickman. While I feel well-disposed to this series, I found this one a bit of a slog. The books are a mash-up of genres, so you have crime fiction, parish politics, archaeology and the supernatural all mixed up. It felt like a bit there was a bit too much going on.

7 Butterflies in November by Audur Ava Olafsdottir
Round trip on Iceland with newly divorced woman and 4 year old boy she is looking after for her friend. At first I found the writing a bit too quirky but I warmed to the book and really enjoyed it. I especially liked the development of the relationship between the narrator and boy.

8 Elisabeth is missing by Emma Healey
Very well written book and amazing on dementia, but lacking a bit of mystery for me. One of those books so hyped up the reader has too high expectations? looking forward to the chat with The author here on MN