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

Book 3 The Boys in the Boat

Story of the Washington University rowing eight who won the Olympics in 1936, mainly the story was centered around one crew member and his life leading up to the win but also had an interesting insight into the preparations which Germany did in the run up to the Olympics.

18. The Book of You by Claire Kendal Ok stalker-thriller. I think I was suffering from psychological thriller fatigue when reading, but it's a decent enough debut and I will look out for further books by Claire Kendal.

18. The Lives of Others, by Neel Mukherjee. This was shortlisted for the 2014 Booker prize. I really enjoyed it, although it took a little while to get used to the large cast of characters (and figure out how everyone was related as well)- could have been me not paying close enough attention at first -- but once I had a handle on it, I was gripped, more by the ins and outs of the sprawling family unit than the son's political activism.

17. Wild: A Journey from Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed. Didn't really enjoy this. Found it rather boringly self-indulgent.

1. Hope, Lesley Pearse.

The story of Baby Hope, proof of Lady Harvey's adultery, whisked away and raised by the servant's family. Hope comes through tragedy and hardship in the slums of Bristol and nursing in the Crimea War.

A typical Lesley Pearse, not going to win any literary awards but an absorbing and entertaining family saga.

Moving on now to "The Death of Eli Gold" by David Baddiel - a bookclub choice and not my usual read but happy to try something different.

#10. Deep Shelter - Oliver Harris. This came to my attention as a suggested good read in a store magazine. I found it really hard to put down and the storyline was gripping. Nick Belsey is, essentially, a bent copper. He tries to stop a speeding car as he is going off duty, and ends up being sucked into a world of espionage, conspiracy, murder and kidnap. Action all the way through with many plot twist, turns, red herrings and frustrating dead-ends. As I turned the final page I realised this was the second book about this crooked by likeable character. I shall hunt the first down now.

14: Holy Machine - Chris Beckett

I thought long and hard about what kind of book could conceivably follow Into Thin Air and came up with this sci-fi book that I recently picked up cheapo as a Kindle Daily Deal. I had read a previous book of the author and was quite impressed by the richness of detail and 'realistic' scenarios that he has come up with about a group of people marooned on a hostile planet for many generations.

Holy Machine is about a future where religious governments reign in nearly all countries on Earth following "The Reaction" where labs and universities have been sacked, scientists have been forced to "recant" à la Galileo, some brutally tortured and publicly hanged, and some variation of the Dark Ages holds sway pretty much everywhere. One exception to this is the European city-state called Illyria that was built "as a refuge for Reason… a place where Reason can shelter until the rest of the world recovers its senses" – a city of scientists and intellectuals without religious belief, with advanced technology and hybrid "syntecs" that are banned everywhere else in the world.

It is an interesting premise and the author develops some interesting discussions on this theme, and not all supporting rationality over religion. There are subtle references to Illyria as the Israel of its age, a haven for a terribly persecuted group of people. This is from a public speech by its leader: "In the old world, Reason was humble. It took its place beside archaic and irrational beliefs and trusted to the human race to be able to see the difference. Then the Reaction came and we were asked to renounce Reason on pain of torture and death. Never again wil we be humble, never again will we leave Reason undefended, never until we have rooted out from the world, once and for all, the causes of irrationality… We will never again be fooled by talk of tolerance or seduced by the idea that irrationality and superstition are decorative and harmless."

I won't give away the plot in case some people here would like to read it. I would recommend this book even though it is not one of the best sci-fi I have ever read, because it raises some interesting questions and makes some very original points.

19. Rupture, by Simon Lelic

Mmm, not sure about this one. It's ostensibly a crime novel, but not really. The story follows Lucia, a police officer investigating a shooting at a school. The shooting itself is cut and dried, but not so the circumstances surrounding it, and the underlying motivation for the shooting itself.

The investigation is interspersed with transcipts (well, soliloquys, really) from witness interviews, and after a bit these got on my sodding nerves. Firstly, none of them were heading with the name of the character being interviewed, leaving me guessing for some of them. Secondly, there were far too many of them, most unnecessarily long, and all written (or spoken) in the same present tense style, by characters who, without exception, seem to the remember every conversation they have ever had, word for word.

Yeah, no.

Also, I was a bit at the main character's lack of computer knowledge, given that she's only 32. This might also be unfair, but I was also pretty frustrated by her lack of action in the face of the bullying she receives at work.

I was hoping for a decent crime novel. Instead I got a novel that was really all about the message.

Rivers Of London by Ben Aaronovitch is £1.99 on the Kindle at the moment.

"I was a bit hmm at the main character's lack of computer knowledge, given that she's only 32."

That is a bit silly. I'm in my 40s and the 1st computer in our home came when I was 8: A little Sinclair Spectrum that looked like this. After a couple of tries asking it questions like "Who are you?" and getting nothing at all, I started learning Basic

A 32-year-old character without fundamental computer knowledge better have a credible explanation for it (like, lived in a cave in the middle of nowhere all her life and was raised by wolves).

1. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Audiobook. Read beautifully by Adjoa Andoh; she really made the characters come alive. This has already been reviewed a couple of times so I'll make it short. Suffice to say it embraces the topics of race, love and life fulfilment. Very good.
2. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich. Police and magic. Really enjoyed this. It's certainly not weighty but it is fun! Will definitely continue with the rest of the series.

Next listening to The Cellist of Sarajevo on audiobook.

1. A Cat, A Hat, & A Piece of String - Joanne Harris.

A collection of short stories - I loved her previous book of short stories, and have read several of her other wonderful books. This one doesn't disappoint.

A variety of stories - some funny, some sad, some downright creepy. All brilliant. Difficult to choose a favourite - I especially enjoyed the two stories about Faith and Hope, two incorrigible old ladies in a nursing home. I also loved the two stories about the Norse Gods in the modern world. I think my favourite was Dryad, a story about a woman who loses herself in her love for a tree.

11. The Miniaturist - lots of other reviews but just briefly, I enjoyed this and read it quite quickly, however I would have like a bit more about The Miniaturist herself, as it is, the story wouldn't have lost that much if she hadn't been in it at all

Book 10 The Beautiful and the Damned by Scott F Fitzgerald.

I've been meaning to read this fit an age as I love some of the other SFF books.

The style is wonderful ( though since the Gatzby movie I can't help but here Leo Di Caprio narrate . The sense of pointlessness in the lives if the rich cones across as tragic rather than annoying which is a trick in itself.

I think though that the most interesting thing about this book is the semi autobiographical nature of the marriage of the central characters. If you're interested in the lives of SFF and Zelda, you'll want to pick over the detail here. If not then there are other reasons to read but probably not quite as compelling .

costa I felt exactly the same way about the miniaturist. The author sets the scene very well and it was an enjoyable read, but I did finish the book thinking - well, what was the point of that? - re the actual miniaturist. Part of me wonders if there will be a sequel, purely because it felt so unfinished.

I'm also going to stop reading cotedazure's reviews because they are not helping my growing tbr pile

Yes, exactly, I wondered about a sequel too - it could be a fascinating story!

It was a great book chat with Jessie Burton. She answered so many questions really well. I'm a lot happier about the disappearance of the miniaturist at the end now.

1. The Devil in the Marchelsea - Antonia Hodgson - this is a debut novel and has won the CWA historical dagger award for 2014. Set in London in 1727 the hero Tom Hawkins finds himself in the Marchelsea debtors prison and has to try and solve a murder. I really enjoyed this book, good sense of the place, fast paced story. Have read a couple of comparisons saying Shardlake is better but really I think they are both very good, just different. The Marchelsea was a much easier story to follow! Think it may be the first in a series and if so I'll definitely read the next one.

1. Gillespie and I...very slow to get going but really liked it. A little disturbing and nice social history of Glasgow at the time of the Great Exhibition.

1. Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld. Not loving this so far...

I wasn't that enthralled with Sisterland either. Read it last year for MN Book club but found the ending a bit unsatisfactory iirc.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is £1.99 on the Kindle

I Am Legend is also £1.99. I remember reading quite a bit about it on here over the years. Is it worth a read?

'I Am Legend' not all that imho. The first quarter or so is okay, but then it gets v silly. And it is v short too, so nothing to really get your teeth into.

It does look at bit silly. I watched the film, and it wasn't much but I was hoping the book would be better.

Haven't seen the film so can't comment, sorry.