50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 2

[Southeastdweller]

Thread two of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

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

Previous thread here

Remus, was going to do 'Pilgrim' next but I'm a bit worried now! It does seem to be a marmite book but I'll give it a try. I do agree that there is a gap in the market for 'Shardlake' type books, I have two left in the series and will feel quite sad when I finish them.

1. Far from the tree - Andrew Solomon

Andrew Solomon tells the stories of parents who not only learn to deal with their exceptional children but also find profound meaning in doing so. I learnt so much from this book, the author wrote with such empathy and understanding. I have a new respect for parents coping with these conditions.

I'm 60% through, 'The Martian.' Not sure if I'll ever get through the other 40% but v v occasionally there's a line or two I like, so I'm keeping going. Also, it's the only fiction book I currently have to read, having abandoned, 'I am Pilgrim' in disgust.

Really I just want to wallow in post-apocalyptic chaos, but I can't find anything to inspire me at the moment.

Remus - Have you looked at Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel? It seems to be gathering popularity on Goodreads. I haven't read it yet but is on my long tbr list. It may fit the bill or I might have got it horribly wrong. Not really a recommendation :)

Brace yourselves, I've news of a terrible crisis, I managed to break my kindle . It was in my going out bag (why? Why why why did I think I needed my kindle when going out for dinner????) and I sat on it, noooooooooooooooo. What's more I'm stuck in the boonies so can't even look into getting it fixed. It's an old keyboard one but it has 3g and I want to keep it.

Tk god I have a library book with me, Moon over Soho or I'd be fecked entirely...

Have read Station Eleven btw Remus. It's not as post apocalyptic as you might expect. Ok only imo.

Oh no wilting

I would be very upset if I broke mine!

Same here How broken is it? If it's just the screen it might be fixable?

Rebooting and all that jazz not working. Screen mostly frozen but one corner working away. DH thinks it's cracked in one corner. Might be fixable I think. Just have to get back to the city and start making enquiries. Boo hoo.

Thanks, both. I read some reviews and it's not really sounding like my sort of thing.

Have just been to the library (again!) to take back, 'I Am Pilgrim' so that I wouldn't feel tempted to pick it up again.

I got a Ray Bradbury, 'Dandelion Wine' plus, 'Ready Player One' which the wonderfully geeky male librarian told me he'd loved and I think I remember Cote talking about, plus, 'Jonathon Strange' which I may or may not attempt. Geeky librarian said he'd found it unreadable, and that is certainly what I thought last time I picked it up. Will see.

:( to broken Kindle. It took me a long time to get on the Kindle wagon, but I'd be lost without it now. Hope it's fixable.

@ Geeky Librarian. He sounds a lot more useful than the elderly ladies in ours

I was just saying to dp that the male ones are so much more useful, and so much more friendly, than the elderly ladies. The ladies spend their time sighing and looking morose, for the most part, whilst the chaps engage in conversation and actually seem to have read something other than Barbara Cartland.

Number 4 finished, I feel very behind you all!!
I enjoyed What Alice Forgot, although not as much as The Husbands Secret, but more so than The Hypnotists Love Story. I found the story did repeat itself somewhat as Alice was trying to regain her memory but the ending surprised me!

Not sure what I fancy next...either crime or historical? Shall decide tonight

I very much disliked Jonathan Strange Remus

Wiltingfast that happened to one of mine and Amazon declared it dead

Proven - Thanks for that. I want to love it, because I do love Cote (sticks tongue out at my book-choosing nemesis) but the things that she loves are generally the things that I hate!

Cote - there must be something other than, 'This Thing of Darkness' that we can both love!

I feel honoured just to get the very occasional 'hi' from any librarians I encounter here in London

Love you too, Remus, even though you make it hard sometimes by saying stuff like you hate Ian McEwan, Cloud Atlas, and JS & Mr N

I really enjoyed Ready Player One. Don't expect literature, though. It's fun, full of clever little references, a somewhat dystopian page-turner - my kind of beach read

wilting That jerked a tear out of my eye! Heartfelt condolences for the sudden demise of your Kindle. I'm hugging my Kindle as I type this with one hand

Good - am really not in the mood for literature right now!

And 'pah' to Ian 'Get me, I'm so clever' McEwan.

I don't know if he is clever but he is a great author.

Neal Stephenson is very clever but his prose is only marginally better than Perez Hilton's. His new book Seveneves is coming out towards the end of May. I can't wait.

I wanted to punch my kindle after reading The Children Act.

My objection to him is that every line seems to ooze with grease, as if he's thinking about how clever he is whilst writing it.

Not read any Neal S.

If you are interested in my kind of beach reads, you might also like to check out Lexicon.

Then again, The Martian is also my kind of beach read, so I honestly don't know what to say to you now