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

18. My Inventions by Nikola Tesla

This is the autobiography is Nikola Tesla, arguably one of the most important engineers in history, the genius inventor of alternating current, induction motors, and the Tesla coil, among others. It is concise, and talks not only of his inventions but also of his views on various subjects like war, peace, and foolishness of believing in "spiritual phenomena".

This was a great little book. I would recommend it.

I hope you heal quickly, Lammy. Fractured back sound awful

22. Selected Poems -Simon Armitage

This was not the quick read I thought it would be as it's a large volume, a number of the poems are long and I needed to read most of them twice (at least) to feel I understood them and to get a sense of their rhythm. Overall, apart from the odd few, which I liked very much, I didn't warm to the vast majority, partly due to the subject matter I think. It's as if he wants to keep the reader at arms length somehow. However, I felt the more I read certain poems, the more I would appreciate them, as is often the way with poetry I think. I decided at the start of the year I would read five books of poetry, so three more to go!

Thanks for the good wishes Joyless, Cote and Froglet :) it is really kind and encouraging to get such lovely messages.

My book list is growing and growing.....this book thread is great fun!

I am sending an able body out the weekend to get me Rosie Project part 2 and a few other recommended reads, so I will keep you all posted.

24. A Bend in the River, V.S. Naipaul Salim, a young man of Indian descent in Africa, leaves his family of coastal traders to build a life for himself in the unnamed African interior. He opens a shop selling little more than sundries to the natives. He thinks himself master of his own destiny but in reality he finds himself living an insular, solitary life, anxious about but removed from the brutal political upheavals surrounding him in post-colonial Africa at the time of Independence. A new generation of Africans is emerging: educated, proud of itself, looking forwards to a bright African future; and it is painfully obvious to Salim that he's been left behind.

Another Naipaul masterpiece, rich in detail and incident; another exploration of a man's freefall into failure due to his own lethargy and passivity in times of turmoil.

25. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad A tense and chilling tale of the horrors of colonialism in late 19th century Congo. Beautifully written. Conrad had visited the Congo in 1890 expecting to find the exotic Africa of his boyhood dreams; instead he found what he later described as "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience". Thus the heart of darkness metaphor, as described by Conrad, could be applied both to the way Africa was perceived back then by Europeans as well as to the brutal actions of the colonialists themselves.

BshhBosh - I loved Heart Of Darkness, both the subject matter, its execution, and the writing style. It's amazing that English wasn't Joseph Conrad's mother tongue.

Book 15: The Farm - Tom Rob Smith. I've had a quiet day at work and have finished this (my book club read) in virtually one sitting. Daniel's parents have retired to a farm in rural Sweden (his mother is Swedish). He has avoided visiting them as he'd have to come out to them about his 3-year long relationship with Mark. He receives a frantic phone call from his father saying his mother is ill, hinting at mental health issues. Then his mother rings to say she's been released from the asylum is coming to meet him in London. The story slowly unfolds with the reader (and Daniel) having to decide if its real or paranoia.

It moves along at a great pace and I'd recommend it, even if the ending felt like I was a student and the teacher was up at the blackboard making sure I could see how everything tied up.

Now finally reading my first Terry Pratchett ...

Bssh thanks for the recommendations (and the inevitable straining of the wishlist at the seams!)

Book 12 Daddy Love by Joyce Carol Oates.

I've been wanting to read this ever since I saw it reviewed in the Times, but somehow didn't get round to it.

It's not for everyone; a six year old is abducted by a sexual predator Daddy Love and kept as his son/prisoner.

The 'unflinching' subject matter didn't bother me. I loved Room. But this book...I hated it.

The style is so complicated (as opposed to complex). It's like wading through treacle. The opening (the abduction) is told three times! All pretty similar. What is JCO trying to say? What is she trying to impress upon us?

The book is literally littered with parentheses and italics, presumably to show the thought processes of the characters, how questioning they are, how nothing is certain, but it is that fucking annoying. This goes into over drive when the scene is from the mother's point of view. We get it Joyce! The mother can't think straight!!!!

The best scenes are from Daddy Love's POV. Revolting in his perversity, yet he has a logic, an authenticity. JCO shows us not only how this man ticks but also how he makes his actions work, how others allow it.

I loved My Antonia by Willa Cather. Haven't read it for years. Might have to dig it out and reread.

Book 11 was Instances of the Number 3 by Salley Vickers which I picked up because I thought I hadn't read it but I think I have just a while ago. Peter dies in a car crash and his widow Bridget meets and makes friends with his mistress Frances. There is also a young man called Zahin who was a friend of Peter's. Lots about grief but it's funny as well. A good read.

Book 12 was Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky by Patrick Hamilton. This was written in the 1930s and was originally published as three different novels. The first story focuses on Bob a young man who works in a pub and who falls in love with a prostitute. The second story is about Jenny and describes how she becomes a prostitute. The third focuses on Ella who works at the pub with Bob and is in love with him. It's got some very funny scenes particularly in the first and third parts. First is a little over written but does describe how you can think you're in love with someone but actually not know them at all. I really enjoyed this one.

24. Where Angels Fear To Tread by E M Forster

My very first Forster, and a good one to ease myself into reading his novels. It's a short novel - just 148 pages in the edition I read.

In other hands, perhaps, this story of a hasty marriage and its tragic aftermath could have descended into melodrama, but the story was told with a deftness of touch, intermingling light and dark, humour and tragedy in just the right amounts to make it an enjoyable read.

I loved the way he wasn't afraid to show all the characters' faults. There are no heroes, no villains. No-one to like particularly, or loathe (well, perhaps Harriet!) and an ending which I hadn't expected.

25. Nocturnes - Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro

I'm not a big fan of the short story genre, but I like to read them from time to time to see if I can change my mind. Sadly, though, this collection didn't really do that for me.

Kazuo Ishiguro is a superb novelist. I know that but, like for many novelists, the short story appears not to be his strong point. It is a very difficult thing to get a short story right and they are so much harder to write than a novel.

There were some good ideas in this collection, and I liked some of the stories better than others. My favourite was the first one, Crooner, but unfortunately the rest didn't quite match that one.

19. Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Sci-fi fiction set in an interplanetary society post the death of Earth. It follows the basic structure of the Canterbury Tales as each of 7 pilgrims tells the story of their connection to the planet of Hyperion and why they think they have been chosen for the final pilgrimage to the Shrike. It's extremely well written and really interesting with many revelations coming throughout the novel which made me want to keep reading. I found all of the pilgrims stories fascinating but the scholar's particularly so for me. The book is part of a four novel series called the Hyperion Cantos, and you do have to continue onto the next book as there is no ending, rather an end of the beginning. Have downloaded the next book but intending to take a break with This House of Grief first.

In other news it was my birthday on Tuesday and I received a kindle paperwhite which I am really pleased with. No need to have a ridiculously large font size anymore!

Well, I finished The Miniaturist and I keep thinking about it ever since. The ending could seem very disappointing and I admit I felt a bit like that too. However, I immediately reread the prologue and that made more sense than it did to start with and I have just read the Mumsnet interview with the author Jessie Burton and she has given me a completely new way of looking at how the book ended and her reasons behind the book itself - very thought provoking and also added a different twist on the prologue I hadn't spotted! I also learnt that there may be a sequel...

Onto We Were Liars next....

Belated Happy Birthday, Provencal

Very envious of your new Paperwhite. DH has one and he loves it. Wish he'd buy me one

Thanks Duchess I absolutely love it. And it was getting ridiculous how big I had to have the print on my old kindle.

Treated myself to The Far Pavilions as well. Was hoping it would decrease in price but nothing doing so just downloaded it anyway.

10. The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory, second in her Cousins War series. I listened to this on audible so it was a slightly different experience. I enjoyed the book but found it quite repetitive both in this book and also the previous White Queen. I found Margaret Beaufort's very superior opinion of her son quite annoying but that probably was how she was. All in all not such an exciting period as the Tudors but I will keep going with the series.

(pst, reading specs Provencalrose ... I succombed and they work!)
Happy belated birthday!

And get well soon Lammy

I've finished number 11 The Humans by Matt Haig. Loads of positive reviews on amazon but I was not impressed. It was a quick and easy read though.
Mathematician sloves a thing about prime numbers that would propel human technology into fast forward. Alien superior life forms are not happy with that as humans are greedy and violent. So, they kill him and send one of their own in the form of the maths-guy to kill everyone that knows about his breakthrough and all the work he has done on it.
It ends up being a morality tale. Anyone remember the naff song 'wear sunscreen' from the nineties? Well, it's like that. These little gems of wisdom about humans. Gave me the rage haha. But it's very easy to read and I wanted to know how it ended. After history tome it was okay.

I have reading specs Molly but I always forget them!

Oh dear MollyMaDurga, I have The Humans on my to be read pile. It may have just slipped to the bottom.

I'm still reading the first Merrily Watkins book and really enjoying it. I am also listening to the first Shardlake (from audible) and its brilliant so far. I went for a bath last night and couldn't decide whether to read The Wine of Angels or listen to Dissolution - I love having two good books to choose between .

Book 16: Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. This comes with a bit of a fanfare ... its my first ever TP book. I've read a collaboration he did with Stephen Baxter (all 3 parts) not long before he died, but heard tell that there were only brief sparks of the man himself in those. I have to agree, the humour was buried beneath the science-fiction. Now back to this book: TBH, I was hooked from the opening "about the book" where it talks about how the wearing of trousers changes everything. I really enjoyed the book, it was fun, it raced along, but there was a serious point being made without being heavyhanded about it. I gave it 4 stars on goodreads and I'm really mean with my 4 & 5's. Literary fiction is still my first love, but I am delighted to have such a large back catalogue to plunder with TP.

Oh & Provencalrose, I'm with Molly on the reading glasses - I have pairs all over the house, in every bag, on my desk, by my bed ...

Joyless I have Guards Guards on my kindle to read also having never read any TP. Took recommendations from the TP thread as to the best first one to have a go at.

I'm glad you like Terry Pratchett JoylessFucker, there are so many great ones!

Hyperion sounds interesting so I'll have a look at that..

And yes to reading glasses all over the place, one pair is definitely no good. They need to be everywhere.

Provencalrose my SIL was responsible for my starting choice - she's a good girl, she knows what buttons to push!

Hyperion is not my favoured genre, but this thread is the cause of my buying it today ... My kindle groans under the weight of the unread

I am currently laid up in bed with a nasty chest infection. I have started Jonathan Strange, but keep falling asleep (due to illness, not due to the book)! I did manage to finish:

23. A Journal of the Plague Year -Daniel Defoe

This was an interesting, though fictionalised account, of what it was like living in London during 'The Great Plague' year of 1665. In summary, loads and loads and loads of people died BUT some people lived (not many though). I will write more when I feel better because it was very interesting. I am also grateful of the fact I myself am not currently laid up with the plague (else my book challenge would be at a premature end), as would I.

Joyless - Hyperion is very good. You won't regret it.

That sounds right up my street whippetwoman, and free on the kindle so already on its way.
Get well soon, and yes, better a chest infection now than the plague then. Mind you, a chest infection could have topped you then as well.. eeks.
Almost finished Roy Porter's small book on disease and medicine in England from 1550 to 1860.. Not a great time to be sick (and a lot of people were of course)