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

bookwormbeagle - listen to a sample of the the Poisonwood bible
Is read by the author.... I had to return it
every single audiobook read by it's author was a disaster for me to listen to

I will Antimatter, thanks for the tip.

#7 The Book Thief - what a great book, I did struggle to begin wish but once I got into it I really enjoyed it and was sad to see it end

#12 The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell. I really enjoyed this. It may not be quite up to the heady heights of Cloud Atlas, but is still a good read. It's 6 interlinked stories with a fantasy plot going on in the background (which is probably it's weakest part). Quite a few characters pop up from his other books which made me want to revisit them.

I've got Her waiting too BssBosh but am going for another Booker Shortlist first - the Joshua Ferris one.

I loved Judy Blume too - Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing and Are There God it's me Margaret particularly. Im my first job, I had a boss called Ralph, really struggled with memories of Forever

Book 22 - I feel as if I've been reading this one for weeks, but finally reached the end last night due to a bout of insomnia!

"The Black Robe" by Wilkie Collins

This was okay, but not one of his best. It featured an evil Catholic priest, whose double dealings all got a bit wearing. I did like the ending though, and not just due to relief! :)

Bookworm - thanks for the memory jog! I absolutely loved the character of Celia in the film and her developing relationship with Minnie.

Whippet - I'm sorry but I don't agree with you about Atwood (don't hate me!). I like, 'The Handmaid's Tale' but I don't think she's written anything else close to it. 'Alias Grace' was okay but the ending really annoyed me. 'Oryx and Crake' was awful. I didn't mind, 'After the Flood' or whatever it was called, but didn't like it enough to read the next one in the series. 'The Blind Assassin' was unreadable.

I've come to the conclusion that she bangs her agenda home so brutally that it gets in the way of the story, and have vowed not to read any more of hers. Sorry!

I've only read one of Wilkie Collins's books, The Woman in White, which I loved. Would like to read more, which others would you recommend Remus?

'No Name' is my favourite. 'The Moonstone' is worth a read, and one of his better known ones. It's considered to be one of the first English detective novels. 'Armadale' is another of his more critical acclaimed ones, but personally I found it less appealing.

1. The Wrong Knickers - A Decade of Chaos by Bryony Gordon. This is a memoir of her 20s as a journalist.

Kind of Bridget Jones with more sex and drugs - a lot more! A fast-paced read, mildly amusing but not as funny as it was trying to be.

10. Risk Wise by Polly Morland

I really like her writing but this isn't as good as The Society of Timid Souls. She's found some interesting people to profile who take various types of risk (and one in particular who backs up some of Matthew Syed's theories of 10,000 hours) but ultimately this is disappointing. It's too thin, clearly affected by the sponsorship (by Allianz) and why Alain de Botton provides such a big, boring, trite explanation at the end is beyond me.

11. The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Honestly this is wonderful. Incredibly moving, beautifully written. Brutal but luminous in a lot of ways. There is one chapter in particular that really stands out for me. I won't spoil it but I was flabbergasted why, of all the things he described, this one almost innocuous chapter floored me so I was reduced to sobbing on a packed commuter train into Waterloo. My only criticism is it goes on a little too long. Not that it's a long book but it could have been edited to cut out some of the repetition towards the end.

Bringing over my January list...

January

1. Us (David Nicholls)

2.A Dog's Purpose (W. Bruce Cameron)

1. The Road Home (Rose Tremain)
2. Schindler's Ark (Thomas Keanally)
3. What If (Randall Munroe)
4. The Woman Who Stole My Life (Marian Keyes)

...and starting my February one...

February

1. Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch)

I didn't really like this book much at all. I found the sense of humour cringy, the plot too rambly and uninteresting, and the writing style annoying. Didn't really care about any of the characters very much (although I did quite like Beverley), and found the various folklore and fantasy elements boring and contrived.

Needless to say I wont be reading any more in this series!

1. Wolf In White Van - John Darnielle

I got this because Darnielle is one of my favourite singer/songwriters (as The Mountain Goats); without knowing anything about the novel. But it was far better than I thought it might be. It's a beautifully written and quietly devastating tale of a young man who, recovering from a terrible accident, takes refuge from the world by creating his own imaginary game world that others play by mail. But for two players the lines between fantasy and reality become tragically blurred.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is that it was over too soon - I really didn't want it to end.

riverboat - I didn't particularly like Rivers of London, thought it all a bit strange but picked up Moon over Soho which is the second one and thoroughly enjoyed it. That was the one that got me into the series. But if you're not really into Ben Aaronovitch's humour or the characters but that one probably won't appeal either. I have to admit I do fancy Peter Grant just a teensy bit

"then that ..." (autocorrect fail)

Book 4 was The White Album by Joan Didion. It's the second book of Didion essays I've read and I really enjoy her writing style and the breadth if what she writes about.

I'm now half way through NW by Zadie Smith which I'm whizz ing through. Loving the way she plays with language and I feel like she know her characters incredibly well iykwim.

Beagle - I'd recommend No Name too. Collins give me One-more-chapter-itis!

DuchessofMalfi and I admit to a literary crush on DCI Thomas Nightingale . I should get back to reading the series as I really enjoyed reading them last year.

I'm 60% of the way through Her by Harriet Lane and am absolutely loving it. Beautiful writing (rare in this genre) and chilling plot line.

bsshbosh, duchess ooohh me too, something very appealing about Peter Grant and Inspector Nightingale.

Got Foxglove Summer on the go at the moment, tis very good.

11. Her, Harriet Lane The main problem I've had with books such as Apple Tree Yard, Girl on the Train and Gone Girl - the reason why reading them has been unsatisfying, even boring in spite of an intriguing plot - has been the poor quality of writing. But Her is really well-written with some wonderful descriptions that make reading the novel a real pleasure. Moreover, the author has given much more depth to her characters than other writers in the same genre which makes me much more empathetic towards them. And, of course, the depictions of motherhood and stepping off the career ladder and the consequences of these on personal identity rang true.

Initially the "reveal" puzzled me; I was underwhelmed by it. But then I realised that the fact that Nina seemed so "undone" by something so, on the face of it, insubstantial does show how easily damaged she was and made her actions all the more chilling. I loved the ending.

A pacey, engaging read.

Okay, so all this talk about literary crushes , I'm off to read Ben Aaronovitch's Whispers Underground next.

14. Do No Harm, Henry Marsh. I enjoyed this a lot. I sometimes fantasize about an alternative life as a doctor, and I love the picture of sweeping down hospital corridors, full of confidence and competence and Doing Good. In this fairly self-lacerating account, it's not like that at all - he more often feels doubt and anxiety and guilt, and any sweeping down hospital corridors tends be done while in a rage at NHS bureaucracy. There's a strong sense of telling it how it is.

Book 5 "All Change" by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The last one of her Cazalet series. Really enjoyed it although feel that she had so many characters on the go that it sometimes got a little confusing and I don't think she was able to give the depth to some of the characters' motives that she achieved in the earlier books.its left me wanting more and to know what happens next but as she died last year there won't be.

On the subject of Margaret Attwood I enjoyed Alias Grace and some of her earlier works such as Cat's Eye but didn't enjoy the Blind Assasin and gave up on it. We do have her more recent ones sitting on the shelf and I should probably give them a go at some point.

Like you Cedar03 I really enjoyed Atwood's earliest works. I devoured Cat's Eye, Edible Woman, Surfacing etc as a teenager but the author lost me on Blind Assassin and Alias Grace. Then I never bothered with her. I suspect I need to give her recent work a go.

Book 10 - The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty
I read her more recent book The Husbands Secret last year and enjoyed it so got this one as it was cheap on kindle. I enjoyed it a lot more than The Husbands Secret.
It's similar in that there is a central mystery (a baby found with the parents disappeared in thin air) but I found the secondary storylines a lot more interesting and sympathetic. Lots of strands including post bagel depression, affairs and weight loss plus the over riding theme of how well you know your family. I enjoyed it.

Not sure what to read next. I feel like there haven't been any books this year so far that I have been really looking forward to reading. Last year it was The Lumineries and The Goldfinch but haven't seen anything this year that has got my interest. Back to searching the kindle offers!

Bssh Have you read Notes on a Scandal? It's similar to Her, but superior, and as I know you take an interest in the Booker awards, this was shortlisted in 2003.

Southeast I'll add it to my to-read pile. Thanks!

Not a fan of Ben Aaronovitch - I found his 'jokes' very wearing tbh.

*Cote" Have started reading, 'The Martian' but not terribly impressed thus far. It's irritatingly adolescent and puerile in tone (all the boos, yays and ughs) so that I'm really surprised that somebody who dismisses YA outright wasn't pissed right off by it. And the pages and pages about square metres of potatoes, and acronym piled upon acronym are all rather wearing too. Please tell me it gets less tedious.