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

I have very much enjoyed all the Ishiguro novels I have read but I am yet to read Never Let Me Go. I will have to read it soon to find out all the fuss is about.

I am still going on This Thing of Darkness as it's MAHOOSIVELY long. I have been reading away but am still less than 50% of the way through! I blame Remus
I am enjoying it though!

Bssh I really want to read The Interestings!

whippet - Never Let Me Go on its own is bad enough, but reading it after This Thing Of Darkness is not something I would wish on anybody

I remember reading This Thing Of Darkness which I called This Hand Of Darkness for weeks, to general hilarity on these threads and Cloud Atlas in quick succession, and then feeling depressed wondering what on earth I could read after those two that would not be a sheer disappointment.

Not checked in for a while, been very busy with Wolf Hall and Bring up the bodies!

1. Little Lies - Liane Moriarty. This has been reviewed already. Not really my thing and I guessed the twist. An easy read though.
2. Sheltering Rain-Jo Jo Moyes. Never read any of her books. I liked the story, mostly because it reminded me of my own Grandparents when I was growing up. However, I didn't love it enough to want to read any of her other books.

8 and 9 Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel. Raced through WH but found BUTB harder going. My like for Cromwell decreased as the story continued. I loved the books though.

Not sure where to go next, I'm struggling with The Luminaries but will go back to it at some point. Have a small pile from the library but the choice wasn't great. Haven't read Apple Tree Yard yet and have a David Baldacci I want to try.

Cote I think that's an impossible task - what did you read btw?

For precisely the situation you describe, I have developed a concept called the "sorbet" book. The key aspect being that is there is absolutely no expectation the book will be anything other than light and fun. Most recently I've found the Rivers of London books by Ben Aronavitch fitting the bill. I can even handle the clunky grammar which would normally have me on a bit of a rant!

Oh & I've finished book 11 - the Shardlake - with nothing more to add to my previous comment on it. The ending points to a potentially interesting next book though.

Book 12 is work-related: What you can change and what you can't - Martin Seligman. I won't review it - unless specifically asked to - but I've been slipping well behind on my professional reading and had to knuckle down. Looking forward to the next selection for pleasure though

Joyless Fucker (love the name) - I re-read Cloud Atlas

I know what you mean. I have my palate cleanser books, too, and usually go for a speculative fiction book I've been meaning to read for a while.

Hmm, maybe I should read something else then. I could also re-read Cloud Atlas! Cote has got me worried. I am also going to end up calling it This Hand of Darkness Now. Thanks for that

I also love the name JoylessFucker! It accurately describes me whilst at work.

Finished Pepys 1665 diary! Fascinating insight into the Great Plague year as extremely interested in that period for my research.

Shakeitoff We have lived in Sarajevo for 3 years, we came here due to DH job. Have you visited? To be honest although the war was a few years ago now there is still very much a divide. I think the best thing to come from our being here is that we rescued a stray cat so she will be our Bosnian souvenir when we move on!

I am considering giving Wolf Hall another go after watching the TV series. I want to love it but really struggled with the writing style and gave up on it twice. However, I did leave my bookmark at the point I stopped as I hate giving up on a book and I think I am meant to try again....third time lucky, perhaps?

Thanks Cote and whippet, it was an insult flung at me (and a few others) on an AIBU thread by a sleep-deprived and strongly opinioned lady. I loved it so much, I adopted it

tessie much kudos to you for trying a third time. I did that with Rohinton Mistry's "A Fine Balance" but it absolutely killed the joy of reading for me. I gave up after three attempts and had to read my way through the back catalogue of Harry Potters to get my mojo back!

Books 29, 30 and 31 were numbers 4, 5 and 6 of the Lemony Snicket series. Do I feel guilty about counting them? Erm...a bit maybe, but they are really good, even if they are children's books, so I am going to shamelessly do so anyway!

Book 32 is, 'Breakfast of Champions' by Kurt Vonnegut. It is v odd. Not sure yet if I like it or not.

18. Captain Scott by Ranulph Fiennes. A Remus recommendation. Thoroughly enjoyable although obviously grim in parts, this is Ranulph Fiennes attempt to put Captain Scott back on track to heroism after several previous biographers had cast him in the role of fool and blunderer.

Fiennes won't hear a word said against him and it was nice to read afterwards that a note written by Scott ordering the dog sled team to meet him on his return was found in 2012. This goes some way to vindicating I'm.

Whippet I am so glad that you are enjoying it. It's a wonderful book. I also recommend this which is a non-fiction look at Jeremy Button and is really interesting.

I do fancy, 'Seven Years In Tibet' but is it full of religion? The only thing I disliked about, 'Into the Silence' was the pilgrims crawling along being devout.

Oops pressed enter too soon there.

19. The Hypnotists Love Story - Liane Moriarty. I needed something light to read alongside the Scott book and this was just the thing. A hypnotist, her lover and his stalker. Enjoyable Chick lit with a slightly dark side.

20. The Child's Child - Barbara Vine. A woman shares a house with her brother and his partner. She is asked to review a book written in the 1940s which explores the themes of homosexuality and unmarried mothers, themes which are reflected in her modern day life. The book is contained as a whole within the book. I'm not sure whether this device worked, I think I would have preferred it to have been interwoven with the modern day story. I also felt the ending was rushed, worth reading though as Barbara Vine always is.

Seven Years In Tibet does deal with religion a lot as it is such a central part of Tibetan culture. But not in a Westerner-finding-himself-on-the-hippy-trail way; Harrer is fascinated, bemused and in some ways frustrated by what he describes as the local superstitions (especially the distrust of medicine).

#15. Jupiter's War- Neal Asher. The third in a trilogy, dark space sci-fi.
#16. Ash - Jason Brant. Thriller about a guy who was injured in Iraq and developed telepathic powers. A free kindle book, very male American, not recommended.

I've been ill this week and inspired by the crime thread have been rereading Louise Penny. So #17 Still life and #18 Dead cold. They're a series of "cosy" crime books set in a tiny village in Canada following various artists, poets and slightly bohemian types that have settled there, and get murdered. There's also a continuing political story over the series about the chief inspector and the corrupt police force.

Remus - That Jeremy Button books looks interesting!

Also, I have Breakfast of Champions on my Kindle, too. I might give that a go after Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell which I'm re-reading again at the moment (and loving it all over again)

I'd love to know what others think of, 'Breakfast of Champions.' Not sure yet, but only about 15% through.

Joyless - I got curious about how/why/under which circumstances people would be called 'joyless fuckers', so searched AIBU for that phrase. It turns out that yours wasn't the only one. I had a bit of fun reading old threads just now

Book 14: The Little House by Philippa Gregory - cracker of a book! Thanks for the recommendation from the first thread!

Not sure for book 13 now. I have The Moonstone for book group to read but I did fancy reading 'Never Let Me Go' - not so sure now after reading the dialogue on here! It was recommended and then endorsed by a friend at book group. I have read very little in the Sci-fi genre which maybe a good thing

A great review of The Interesting BsshBosh. I really want to read it now!
FiveGoMad - I 'found' the Vera books last year never having seen the TV series. Found them a great sorbet read (as JoylessFucker would say)

I detested, 'The Little House.' I appear to be in a minority of one.

Best - Missed your post, sorry. Glad you enjoyed the Scott book. I've become a bit of a Fiennes-groupie since reading it.

Sonnet-go on give Never Let Me Go a go Then you can add your comments on here too. I have nearly finished reading it and it has been a fascinating page turner. But it does have many flaws. Cote sthoughts on the book's plot failings are right but nevertheless I have enjoyed reading it because it has raised so many interesting points. Not sure if that makes sense but it would be good to see your thoughts on it too

15. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

The 80's dystopian novel, regarded by some as a modern classic, I found the plot confusing and hard to understand and just couldn't engage with the book in general - thank God I didn't have to study this book because I know I'd have to have read it a few times. Some of it I did find interesting, though (such as her use of language) so I read most of the York Notes Advanced book on it but skipped a third so I'm not counting it as my sixteenth book of the year. I'd only read another Atwood book if I skim-read a brief synopsis of it beforehand.

Not quite ready to start the Jonathan Strange book so next up is either The Secret History or Interlude (Rupert Smith). I'll see how I feel in the morning as feeling a bit mentally and physically exhausted at the moment.

I'm currently reading Slaughterhouse-Five but I have Breakfast of Champions on my kindle so I may read that when I finish. I'm not teaching this evening (hooray!) so I think I'll go for a long bath this evening and finish reading it in peace. I am also listening to Woman in White from audible and really enjoying it but for the first time I am wishing I had a longer commute! The narrator is fantastic.

Remus I'm only 20% into Seven Years In Tibet, but no religion yet!

started it last night Duchess - 15% in and enjoying it so far