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

Picking up the 3:1 score from the other thread, is Ready Player One really the only book you have enjoyed out of 150+ that I have reviewed in these threads and many others that I must have recommended?

Didn't you read Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep after I recommended it?

15. One Night Markovitch by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen

Finding it hard to review as not sure what I thought about it. It's not funny despite the reviews but is certainly moving and interesting. There isn't one heroic character but there are several lovable ones. I'm not sure I would help anyone decide to read it with my amazon review but I am glad I did.

Clash - The Holy Machine is £0.99 on the Kindle at the moment

10. Judgement Day by Penelope Lively. It's about a family who have just moved to a new village - getting to know the neighbours and getting involved in village life. I love Penelope Lively (my favourites are The Photograph and Moon Tiger) but this is not one of her best IMO.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is £1.99 on the Kindle

Oh bloody hell. Do you know how many Kindle books I've bought recently? Do you?

Oh well, what's one more? (And thanks for the heads up). What is going on with Amazon kindle at the moment? So many cheap books (and not the crappy usual suspects?)

70% through Hyperion at the moment. It's good. Didn't get to do any reading over the weekend and needing to find out what happens

8 The Brain's Way of Healing by Norman Doidge. I enjoyed this science book very much - the author explores neuroplasticity by using different stories of individuals who have beaten pain, learned to manage Parkinson's Disease, and overcome other illnesses, learning disorders or disabilities. The science is explained clearly - and though hearing someone learned to see again sounds like a miracle, Doidge explains how the brain's connections are formed ina way that makes common sense. My favourite story is the one of John Pepper who took up fast walking to overcome his Parkinson's Disease traits. He is such a determined, charismatic character and I was rooting for him to succeed. Some excellent snippets of research advocating exercise, lifelong learning and the future of lasers added to a very interesting read. I'm now reading the first book to find out the history of the discovery of neuroplasticity.

9 Lamentation by C.J. Sansom - I wasn't as gripped by this as I had by earlier books. But I enjoyed revisiting Shardlake, Barak, Guy and Tamasin. It just seemed a lot was Shardlake visiting Whitehall and meeting with the Queen then other Privy Councillors. The last third was far better and reminded me of why I loved the series, but I enjoyed the period detail.

Remus have to agree with you on "I am Legend". Not what I'd have chosen to read, but it was a book club selection. The sciency bit at the beginning was interesting, but then it just became torture. I had to read another book alongside it to get through to the end and - as you know - its dead short!

Galaxy I'm about two-thirds through Lamentation and have been feeling there's something missing. I've been putting it down to Jack Barak not being so involved. There seems to be an attempt to develop Nicholas as a replacement for Barak, but those are big shoes to fill. There's less interaction with Guy too ... So, I'm not not enjoying it, just was hoping for a bit more.

Haven't caught up in a while.

Books 15 to 18 were all by Phil Rickman and all part of the Merrily Watkins series: The Wine of Angels, The Lamp of the Wicked, The Smile of a Ghost, The Secrets of Pain. Enjoyed them, but needed a break so:

19. The Curse of Babylon, Richard Blake. Gory fun as the Byzantine empire squares up to the Persian invaders. Not for the squeamish, but I really like the central character, Aelric.

20. Bitch in a Bonnet I, Robert Rodi. A close reading of Jane Austen's work. It's funny in a somewhat one-note way, as the author talks about JA in frat-boy terms, but he's an acute reader and points out various nuances that I had missed, and he had me laughing out loud at various points, so thumbs up.

21. Bring up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel. Finished this the day that Wolf Hall finished on TV, so good timing. It felt like a stroke of luck to read them books for the first time at seeing the TV series - they really complemented each other. By the end I was feeling a real disconnect between Hilary Mantel swooning over Cromwell's sensitivity and the way he destroyed people out of political expediency, but it felt like a quite intense experience.

22. You Say Potato: A book about accents, Ben Crystal and David Crystal. Father and son authored the book, with the father being a linguist and the son a Shakespearean actor. Nothing particularly new but an easy enough read - certainly easier than the books the father wrote without his son. Liked the part about how it feels physically different to act Shakespeare's plays in the original pronunciation.

23. Why Have Kids? A New Mom Explores the Truth about Parenting, Jessica Valenti. Reads like a compilation of the more thoughtful posts on an mn WOHM/SAHM thread. Sensible enough, although it doesn't say anything particularly new and is very American-focused. I read a lot of this kind of thing when dd was a baby, but now that she's 7, I'd be more interested in hearing the perspective of the parents of older children.

Currently on the go: the second Bitch in a Bonnet book, with Foxglove Summer lined up next.

So, I finally finished Dissolution - I did guess the murderer but there is a twist that I didn't see coming. That is all I shall say! Will definitely read the next in the series.

Onto a bit of a lighter read now carrying on with The Ladies No1 Detective Agency series, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies which is number 6 of the series. I love these books, they always make me feel happy and smile.

Shakeitoff I noticed you are listening to The Cellist of Sarajevo, is it good? I live in Sarajevo so would be interested to know what you think...

18. History of the Rain by Niall Williams. Really enjoyed this. It took a little while to get going and is best read/listened to in big chunks to keep the story flowing.

Essentially it is narrated by Ruth Swain, a young girl who is bedridden at home suffering from a serious illness which is never named (possibly leukaemia). She has a blood disorder which necessitates many trips to hospital often by ambulance, but she remains upbeat and positive throughout the story which she tells of her family's history - who her father was, where he came from, and how he came to Ireland and met her mother.

Throughout the novel Ruth references the many thousands of books that surround her in her bedroom and which she has had plenty of time to read. A great book if you love books about books :). I loved Ruth's narrative voice, her humour, her observations and insight.

Next up - Book 19 is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Controversial on here, I know :o. I know nothing about the story so am approaching it with a completely open mind.

Also in line to start shortly is The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber.

And am part way through an NF book by Mairi Hedderwick detailing a summer boat journey from east to west coast Scotland. Beautiful illustrations by the author (of Katie Morag fame).

I am finally through number 20 - I Am Pilgrim

At around 600 pages, this is a fairly hefty tome, however the author manages to keep it interesting throughout and it didn't feel like a chore. If I have a criticism to make, it would be that there is a bit much backstory included for just about all of the characters and some of the deductive leaps and coincidences are a little far fetched.

This was a really good book that could have been a future classic with a bit of editing.

I was slightly perturbed as the book starts out with the investigation into a murder based on the narrators book written on forensic crime. This entire subplot was something of a distraction and I think this could have been a whole separate novel in itself - it felt unneccessary to the main plot.

Would definitely recommend it and will look for other work by the same author.

Duchess I am really looking forward to reading History of the Rain :) Great review, thanks.

Have also ordered 'holy machine' cote and think I'll read that next.

And whilst I was there, 'we have always lived in the castle' by Shirley Jackson.

Also finished my paperback book for reading in the bath:

No21 Duma Key by Stephen King

Would make a good holiday read. Following an accident leading to serious head injuries and the loss of his arm, a recent millionaire divorcee decamps to a secluded Florida key, discovers a talent for art and of course starts painting supernatural pictures.

It's fairly standard Stephen King - a good read, well-drawn characters and decent, albeit slightly predictable plot. The ending, surprisingly, is actually fairly decent (which I think is a weakness in a lot of his novels).

It's not going to set the world on fire, but is a good story told well.

Hope you enjoy it too, Bssh

I loved, 'Do Androids' Cote, so feel free to count that if you told me to read it. I can't remember, sorry. Let's call it even, eh?

Biblio - glad you enjoyed, 'Bitch In A Bonnet' - I gobbled them up delightedly at around this time last year, iirc.

Clash - Let me know what you think of the Jackson. I've only read her, 'Haunting of Hill House' and I absolutely hated it, but I think she's well acclaimed. Stephen King rates her anyway.

Remus, I think it's probably because of you I started reading Bitch in a Bonnet, so thanks!

Book 13 - The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters - the best book I have read this year. I was unable to put it down. Set in 1922 London in the aftermath of the first world war. Frances and her mother have fallen on hard times and in order to make ends meet take in Paying Guests, Mr and Mrs Barber ( who are of the 'clerk class'). Great characters, why even the house has strong charactor with its varnished floors and dis tempered walls. There is a real sense of historical period, the new social order, weary war veterans, the new flapper age. Can't tell you what happens without giving it away . Thoroughly recommended, the first of Sarah Waters books I have read but I will be reading more - why have I left it so long!

Book 14: The Little House by Philippa Gregory

Thanks Remus It's a pity that I can't get you interested in reading my sciency biographies & historical fiction like Measuring The World or The Strangest Man. I really think that you might like that sort of book.

Duchess - re "Next up Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro... Also in line to start shortly is The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber."

You might be able to survive one of those but two...? I fear for your life, Duchess. When you lose the will to live (and no doubt you will, if not while reading Never Let Me Go, then surely when you pick up a Michel Faber book straight afterwards) don't forget that we are here for you

11# Hyperion, Dan Simmons

Seven strangers are summoned on a pilgrimage to the home of a mysterious being called the Shrike. Along the way they each share their stories in order to discover what had brought them there, and how their past experiences might help them in the pending confrontation with the creature. There is space, time, new worlds, old worlds, other worlds, more time, and plenty of thingies and wotsits to navigate it all with.

This was quite good. The whole thing is very accomplished, well-imagined and well-plotted. Some of the ideas in this are brilliant, the overarching plot is intriguing, and for the most part the stories in it are vivid and engrossing. One of the sections/characters in particular though I thought was just awful though, and the weak link brought it down for me and made me less forgiving of other flaws. It is quite a dense read, a lot of information is packed in there. Sometimes this is absorbing, at other times, a little boring unfortunately. The writing is good for the genre, but does fall short of being 'good writing' at times. The dialogue is clunky and repetitive; some of the characters are two dimensional as a result, and a bit interchangeable it has to be said. It ended with a bit of a limp I felt. I will read the next one as I want to see how some of the plot lines are resolved, but I don't feel in a massive hurry to do so.

Nyone read Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton? On offer on Amazon at month (sci fi) but can't decide whether to buy or not for when I have a kindle again www.amazon.co.uk/Pandoras-Star-Commonwealth-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B003GGSTNU%3FSubscriptionId%3D1GVBN9WWNVXC5DBPE502%26tag%3Dkiq-pw-e-21%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB003GGSTNU

Otherwise I am plodding through sovereign and 11.22.63. I'd be reading the latter FT but it's from the library and actually the size of a breeze block...

Cote - Never Let Me Go isn't that bad yet - quarter of the way through. I like his writing but am reserving judgement on the story for now

The Faber novel intrigues me. I think I like the premise.

Such Ishiguro bashing! Personally I liked Never Let Me Go it was v original, well written and kinda horrifying. A good book imo. I've only read two Faber, the Crimson and the White Petal which I did not particularly enjoy and Under the Skin which I thought was great and which is nothing at all like the other. I'd certainly read more of him.