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. Colour: travels through the paintbox, Victoria Finlay

A mixture of art, history and travel. The writer travels the world to find the sources of traditional pigments, dyes etc used to make the 7 colours of the rainbow plus black, white and ochre. Fascinating stuff written in a lively style - occasionally there's a bit too much of the intrepid writer heroically delving into the unknown in the name of research - but sometimes it is really poignant, such as when she visits the Bamiyan buddhas in Afghanistan months before their destruction by the Taliban. Would recommend it.

Books 8 and 9

I'm putting these two together, so the 'serious' one balances out the 'silly' one.

8 - 'The Reptile Room' by Lemony Snicket
The second in this series which tells the terrible events which befall, after the death of the Baudelaire siblings' parents in a horrible fire.
Once more, I highly recommend them to anybody who has children aged around ten, of a quirky disposition!

9 - 'Hide and Seek' by Wilkie Collins
One of his earlier novels, I think, and occasionally this shows in the writing. Most of it is exactly what he does best - a collection of mildly (and some very!) eccentric characters, whose pasts are intertwined in some way, and whose secrets, hopes and sorrows will be revealed over the course of the novel. There are a few absolute laugh out loud scenes, and much pathos to contrast. At times, though, his methods to take us to a high point and then leave us hanging for a while got a bit boring - pages and pages of waffle about architecture or about painting - and got in the way of what was otherwise a really enjoyable story. This is the first time I've ever accused dear old Wilkie of being somewhat Dickensian, and, very fortunately, he mostly isn't!

6 - Someone else's skin by Sarah Hilary. Police are called to investigate an attempted murder in a women's refuge. A decent page turner and only guessed the twist towards the end, however, the protagonist is yet again another 'damaged' female detective.
7 - Keep Your Friends Close - Paula Daly. I enjoyed Daly's debut novel What Kind of Mother are you?, but this is nowhere near as good. The plot was unbelievable - oops my best friend is really a sociopath and oops in one week husband falls in love with best friend. In the meantime we manage to run an amazing boutique hotel in the Lake district.
8 - The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins - Rachel travels to London every day and observes the perfect couple who live a few doors from where she used to live with her former husband. She becomes involved in a murder investigation involving the perfect couple and her ex-husband and his new wife. In summary this is a decent page turner.

Oi, Remus I love Dickens! So much better than Wilkie Collins IMHO.
I am shocked, shocked I tell you

frogletsmum the book on colour sounds really interesting. I am going to look it up right now.

DuchessofMalfi I certainly preferred Mrs Dalloway to the Virginia Woolf I have just read. Later in the year I am going to read The Years as I read over half of it a few years ago and my bag got stolen with the book in it and I have never finished it.

It is clear that you and I are destined to never be friends, Whippet.

Dickens comes across as a tedious, woman hating bore, with a nasty case of verbal diarrhea, and a permanent sneer pervading everything he wrote. Wilkie, on the other hand, oozes a sense of him being a fun guy, with a wicked sense of humour, who wrote books full of compassion and who clearly loved a good time.

Remus
Faints at such profane sacrilege...

1. We are all completely beside ourselves. I really enjoyed this, it was about something I knew nothing about and it was quite unexpected. I felt I learnt quite a lot and it was written in an amusing way too in parts.

1. The Wicked Girls. Loved this. Told the story of child murderers from their perspective which was an interesting twist and shows you things, particularly those reported in the media, are rarely as they seem.

1. Now reading The Fault in Our Stars. I suspect there may be tears before bedtime......

1. One Virgin Too Many by Lindsey Davis

Intrepid PI in Ancient Rome investigates possible child abduction relating to the Vestal Virgins. I bloody love these books!

I enjoyed the Wicked Girls too blossom, but loathed We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves with a passion, and stopped reading about a third of the way through!

1. The girl on the train by Paula Hawkins. A light read between the religious stuff I was reading. Alright, page turner bestseller material, bit predictable, instantly forgettable but enjoyable enough. Thoroughly annoying main character, good for having little rants at.

1. So It Is Liam MurrayBell- I really did not enjoy this book, found it depressing and upsetting for large parts of the story.

I also really didn't like we are all completely beside ourselves! bloody weird and couldn't finish it!

Am joining late (sorry) but I do love reading (mostly rubbish and some stuff I absolutely will not be mentioning here ha ha ha)

1. The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson: I think I loved this more than his first book (100 year old man who got out the window and disappeared). It spans a long time frame and is completely fantastical with a plenty of crazy characters!
2. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer: Made me cry and feel angry too. My anger was directed at society and the taboos associated with mental health issues. An easy read about a very uneasy topic (that makes sense to me)
3. Identical by Scott Turow: Managed to finish it but I didn't care about the characters. Not the best thriller ever.
4. Delirium by Lauren Oliver: Loved this and have tried every local book shop for book 2 and 3 but alas will have to order them online. Set in the future (and aimed at teens really) where love has been eradicated as they believe it caused all off the world's problems and is a disease. (Reminded me a bit of Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill, but I read that last year so cannot add it here!)
5. Children of Eve by Deirdre Purcell: started it last night and it is good. A mother abandons her 3 kids for almost 40 years and then a man gets in touch with them to say she is in America and had an road accident and wants to see them.
6. (this is a durrrty one I read in between the others) Revenge by Sharon Osbourne: I enjoyed it (am kicked off this thread now?) Complete thrash but Mrs O did a good job of it!

btw I have "We are all completely beside ourselves" on my list of books to read! Hmmmmm

WAACBO is quite a marmite book. Personally I loathed it and I'm appalled it made the Man Booker shortlist but the recent Ian McEwan book didn't.

1. Red dust - Ma Jian

"account of a three-year exploration of China during the first wave of economic liberalisation following the death of Mao Zedong" I hated and loved China listening to this book. His travels started in 1983, I was 17 and I can relate to some comments as I grew up under Communist in Poland, yet so different. We never suffered from desperate hunger as he describes some places but the same feeling of lack of aim in life and living just for today rang the bell. I am going to read more of his books. I ordered few. He lives in London now and just been nominated as an author for the The International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award www.impacdublinaward.ie/ I recommend this book if anyone wants to learn more about recent history of China.

I quite liked waacbo, found it an easy read and interesting in places. It was ok. Wasn't sure when I got to a certain point, but was worth persevering with at least.

1. Ashes of the Earth: A Mystery of Post-Apocalyptic America by Eliot Pattison.

Regulars of these threads might remember that I am rather fond of this author's crime fiction series of stories that take place in contemporary Tibet under Chinese occupation. So when I read that he published post-apocalyptic book, I rushed to read it.

Well, it wasn't great. He has written pretty much exactly the same book as his Tibetan mysteries - someone is killed, the person trying to find the murderer is a disgraced investigator, working against a brutal regime etc.

I'm quite disappointed in this book and the author, really.

antimatter - That book sounds interesting. I am from the same generation although slightly older than you and remember Perestroika & Glasnost, as well as when the iron curtain fell.

CoteDAzur - pierestrojka
how about oporniki?

I like the sound of Red Dust too. I spent a month travelling in China 20 years ago - really interesting country.

As for WAACBO, I enjoyed it but didn't feel it was Booker standard.

Agree with you *tumble - I didn't think WAACBO was quite Booker standard but then it was the first time the prize was open to writers from other countries. I didn't dislike the book but don't think it should have been shortlisted.

Ah I disliked WAACBO, but do agree it's a bit of a marmite book. I can see why some people liked it.

It's an easy enough read, and I would read something else by the same author, it just felt undeveloped for me.

Red Dust also won some Travel Award.
I can imagine most travel books written by foreigners visiting other countries. He was able to make his way across the country working odd jobs, teaching and writing.