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?

Thank you for your compliance, Booty. Hope that we didn't come across as too naggy.

Thanks too for the rec re the Middle Eastern thing, Molly, but can't be doing with religion, sorry.

Sorry!

1. The Scorch Trials is the second book in the maze runner trilogy which is aimed at young adults - it's a dystopian novel set in the future where solar flares have pretty much destroyed the earth, second book focuses mainly on a trial to get through a barren area of land to get a cure

1. The Death Cure is the third book in the maze runner trilogy, dystopian theme again but set in a populated city area, with some fitting thrown in - quite heart wrenching stuff this particular book

1. Die Again is the 11th Rizzoli and Isles novel (crime/gore) - different writing style than normal for the author but worked very well in this case. Rizzoli and Isles are investigating the death of a taxidermist plus there's a flashback series of events too

The two sequels are ok, but not quite do good imv. Agree about the dalrymple..

Remus, the one about Yemen, travels in dictionary land, Is religion free and excellent. As is dalrymple's first, xanadu. Have you read ( sorry, you prob have) Forgotten Kingdoms? Do you like diaries? Have you read Pepys? I spent a most enjoyable time reading them. Infuriating that his eyes gave out, poor man.

I also love notes from a small island, especially the bit about the British enjoyment of moderate luxuries, wool rich socks, fruit shrewsbury biscuits,.never fails.

Half way through a book on George Herbert. Will report when finished.

Sorry, broke rule about Xanadu. Student gets travel grant to go off with female friend ( Laura iirc) to search for historic site of Xanadu in middle east. Meets the indigenous population and at one point teaches them Scottish country dancing....

2# Lucky Jim. It's taken me ages to get round to reading this, kept having false starts. This isn't the fault of the book, I read it in 2 sittings (well, one sitting and one bath) when I made the time.

Set on a university campus it follows Jim Dixon's attempts to keep his job as a reluctant history lecturer and stay on the right side of his boss. This involves some old school social networking of a variety at odds with his laziness, drunkenness and mild case of misanthropy, with a couple of complicated romantic entanglements thrown in to distract him further.

It is tightly plotted, well observed, well written and funny. I already know I will revisit it.

Thanks, Ancient. The Yemen one sounds like a contender.

Finished #3 the photographer's wife, it was a light read and I had pretty much guessed the twist, but the ending was so meh

#4 the one hundred year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared

Number three: Gossip by Beth Gutcheon. It was ok but a bit sad and rushed at the end. Downloaded Mr Mac and Me, Man at the Helm and I Am Pilgrim.

1. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. YA fiction. A love story between two mis-fit teenagers. Loved it myself. Well drawn characters, intense feelings, life..

4 - I heart paris - Lindsey Kelk
I've had a bad week, with being ill and having a big essay due in, so wanted a nice easy read. This was just what I needed, it was light and fluffy and fun. It was a bit far-fetched but chick lit often is.

Name changed from the start of the thread.

1. The Seven Days of Peter Crumb - Jonny Glynn. I did read this years ago but in a mission to declutter some of my bookcase, I'm rereading the ones I can't really remember before passing into the charity shop. Story is of a man who intends to kill himself in a week, going out in a spree of violence. We learn that he suffers from some sort of split personality or mental illness caused by a tragic event in his past. A book not for the fainthearted and is pretty gruesome and graphic. Can't remember feeling quite so sullied by it the first time I read it, think I'm becoming more sensitive since having dc.

1. Apple Tree Yard. I really did like this book, but I did think the end was a bit of a whimper compared to the rest of the book. I liked how the main character was pained as strong and intelligent, but wasn't clever enough to work out how badly things were going.

1. The prayer of the Night Shepherd By Phil Rickman. This is the sixth book in the Merrily Watkins series. A compelling read where ancient and modern evils are intertwined and all based around the question where exactly did Cannon Doyle get his inspiration from for The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Book 6 will be The Smile of a Ghost by Phil Rickman - I am on a role now!

1. The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. Took ages to get going but once it did I really enjoyed it. Set in post war London, with impoverished genteel mother and daughter having to take in a couple as lodgers.

1. The Pile of Stuff at the Bottom of the Stairs by Christina Hopkinson. Read this because I needed something light and easy to read. This wasn't quite as funny as I'd hoped but a lot of it was much like posts on MN, and I did get through it quickly.

Not sure what I'm going to start on next, feel the need for something engrossing. I got a copy of The Quincunx at Christmas after multiple recommendations on here, that might fit the bill.

Not at all Remus!

I am starting 'Us' by David Nicholls

Amethystus I agree with you about increased sensitivity after having DC - now when I watch news stories, I have a far more emotional response than I would have done pre-kids, though I think that my appreciation of the horror hasn't changed.

Book number 4 for me was Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey. As others have summarised, it is narrated by a woman suffering from dementia who is convinced her friend is missing but, given her memory, can't convince others. I loved it for the first third and couldn't put it down, but then the style started to grate. There were too many clumsy links along the lines of "As I sipped my cup of tea/put on lipstick/sat on the chair it reminded me of the time when I was a child and I sipped my cup of tea/put on lipstick/sat on the chair" Not sure how the author could have otherwise navigated between the time frames though!

Book Four - 'The Wild Places' by Robert Macfarlane

As I said before, pretty but ultimately pretty unsatisfying. There's only so many times you can say, 'Aren't trees and stuff nice?' without it getting a bit tedious.

1. All the bright places by Jennifer Niven - it's aimed at YA - such a lovely book, the blurb says 'the story of a girl who learns to live from the boy who wants to die' - very well written and I'd highly recommended it

A late comer here. I'm on bed rest at the moment so hopefully I should be able to get ahead before DD is born.
I only managed 18 books last year which is pretty poor for me.

1. Possession by A.S Byatt I've had this on my TBR pile for 12 years it was worth the wait it was brilliant. Strangely I didn't really warm to any other characters but it didn't seem to matter it was more about unraveling the mystery and which side would win the scholarly battle.

1. We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler.

I enjoyed this book but was suprised it was nominated for the Booker it wasn't that good. I got a bit frustrated with some of the characters too the were either way to passive at times or over reacted. Plus we never really found out what happened to Harlow It was like Fowler forgot about her.

Currently reading Wolf Hall I'm 100 pages in and starting to get into it.

Book Five just finished in the bath! 'The White South' by Hammond Innes

Found this in a charity shop when looking for something else and bought it a) because it was 99p and b) because it had a pretty cover. It was a good investment! Not great literature but an exciting and well written story of survival in the Antarctic. It was a good, 'manly' adventure but had one great female character too, who was just as tough as the men. I enjoyed it.

Remus - I've nearly finished reading The Wild Places, and have mostly enjoyed reading it. What has amused me whilst reading it has been the number of times he's said something along the lines of "and I took off my clothes and went for a swim", moments after having broken through ice to get a drink. He's not human, is he? I've spent most of this week, unwell, shivering and wrapped in extra layers and a blanket :o

Hope you feel better soon. Maybe you need a dip in a frozen lake, or to gaze at a tree for a while.

1. Earth, Air, Fire and Custard - Tom Holt. Loved it. All the possible weird machinations of fate with a generous dollop of magic, coincidence and acts of god thrown together in a blend of fantasy writing that has more plot twists than an episode of Dallas. If you don't like suspending belief in normality from page 1, this is not for you!

1. The Shock of the Fall - enjoyed this very much, selected it after reading lots of positive reviews on here. An interesting insight into family dynamics when it comes to mental health problems, the main character was very likeable and the author did a great job in painting a picture of a tortured soul at times. Don't want to give away any spoilers but it's most definitely worth a read!

1. Sense and Sensibility - took a while for me to get into this one (have previously read and loved Northanger Abbey and P&P) but I persevered and was glad I did. Was very surprised at how risqué this book was, in comparison to her other works. I nearly gasped out loud "Upon my word" on reading the paragraph about the young girl who'd been seduced by the cad Willoughby, with reference to her confinement and being close to her time. Obv I'm not so naive as to imagine this kind of behaviour didn't occur but surprised me nonetheless!

Am still plodding on with The Help, but as it's an audiobook I only get time to listen now when I'm cooking.

Kindle - Dracula 10% in and have high hopes for this one as read a few good reviews.

From the library today I've got IQ84 and The Universe versus Alex Woods.

Audiobooks - have paused my audible membership as now got 4 to read including Foxglove Summer and The Poisonwood Bible, looking forward to both of them.

1. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins.

I had been meaning to read this book for the last 20 years. Really glad that I finally got round to it.

1. In Cold Blood - Truman Capote.

The book details the murders of four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas and explores the relationship of the ex-convicts that committed the crime, the lives of the victims and the impact of the crime on the community. I thought the book was excellent.

1. The Next Always - Nora Roberts.

This was a very light, undemanding, predictable, romantic story. It is the first book in a trilogy - I won't be reading the other two.

Next is going to be The Missing - Tim Gautreaux.