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

Number 7 finished - girl on the train. Enjoyed this one, finished it in a day and much better than gone girl but similar sort of story with twists along the way.

Just finished reading Mr stink to ds aswell do does that count? If so 8 done.

Next is the fault in our stars (and Charlie and the chocolate factory)

I counted them when I read them to DO, Sirzy . Love David Walliams ' books for children. I like them better than Roald Dahl now.

DD not DO. Autocorrect fail

Mary - yes I read that last year. I thought it was an interesting take on P&P but, like you, I thought it took the characters off at an odd tangent. I thought the plot was quite good, but it seems a little like she had had the bones of a plot in mind and then fitted it into the setting of Pemberley. But, that said, I did think that if you take the book purely on its own merit, it's fairly well written and it is worth reading if you enjoy older literature and crime fiction.

15. The Wine of Angels, Phil Rickman.

The first book of the Merrily Watkins series - exorcist meets parish politics meets crime fiction. As I've read later books in the series, I knew some of the twists in advance. Not all that scary.

Currently on The Lamp of the Wicked by the same author. There are references to Fred West, which seems in somewhat bad taste to me - he doesn't belong in anyone's escapist literature. I'm still turning those pages though.

Book 24 'Warm Bodies' by Isaac Marion
I enjoyed this, and it was far better written than I feared it might be. It's basically, 'Romeo and Juliet' with zombies, but it only nods to the original, rather than blatantly following it, and was therefore more interesting and less predictable than I expected. There are a couple of really nice bits of imagery in it, a few sweetly tender moments, and a few funny bits, although the film played the humour angle more than the book does. If you like zombies, I recommend this one.

I think I've decided I'm not going to bother with, 'Jonathon Strange.'

Some short books I recommend:

The Children's Act - Ian McEwan (he's also wrote shorter books but I haven't read any)
Brokeback Mountain - Annie Proulx
The Hours - Michael Cunningham
I Feel Bad About My Neck/I Remember Nothing - Nora Ephron
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Maurice - E.M Forster

More ideas here

Thanks for those ideas, Southeast. Brokeback Mountain and The Hours are two of my all time favourites. Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach is very short too. I haven't read The Children's Act - maybe I will at some point but I always feel I admire his writing but don't love it IYKWIM, so not in any rush to read this one.

I like the sound of this challenge. I managed an unimpressive 15 books last year and have set my goal at 20 this year but I'm secretly hoping I can surpass that. I don't think I'll make 50 but will keep popping in for the inspiration!

My list so far:

1. A Street Cat Named Bob, James Bowen
2. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
3. The Guest Cat, Takashi Hiraide
4. Lady Oracle, Margaret Atwood
5. Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I'm currently reading Selected Poems by Christina Rossetti and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.

Next in line are Nora Webster by Colm Toibin and First Love and Other Stories by Turgenev.

1. Grimm's Fairy Tales. Worth reading if you never have before - they are a lot darker than the modern versions. I felt that a couple of the stories were very similar, for the example The Goose Girl, and The Three Little Men in the Wood. I also felt that a few of the stories ended somewhat abruptly.

13. Gloucestershire Folk Tales by Anthony Nanson

30 tales from around the old shire county of Gloucestershire (including Bristol), including the ghosts that haunt the likes of Dover's Hill and tales of the faery folk, not to mention the Deerhurst dragon. Not brilliantly well written, but interesting to come across local legends I hadn't heard before.

Interesting, ChillieJeanie, I'm from that area!

1. The Other Typist - Suzanne Rindell - set in New York during Prohibtion, the story of Rose and her friendship with Odalie. It is narrated by Rose who becomes captivated by Odalie. Well written and a few twists in the tale. I'd be interested to have opinions on the ending if anyone else has read it, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it!

12. Whispers Underground, Ben Aaronovitch A young American is stabbed on the London Underground and DC Peter Grant is called in to investigate the magical aspects of the murder. His investigation takes us deep into London's tunnel system and mysterious past. I wanted a bit more magic, and my printed copy was full of annoying grammatical errors and typos, but all in all it was another fast-paced, witty and enjoyable urban fantasy from Aaronovitch.

1. 'The Children Act' Ian McEwan - quite enjoyed this, but it was very short so in spite of the subject matter it felt a bit flimsy. Diverting enough though.

7 Late fragments by Kate Gross

Finished in virtually one sitting...and I feel emotionally drained!

Profound, eloquently written non fiction book on the author's life after a cancer diagnosis. Found the bits about imagining her families life going on without her very poignant. I was initially a bit confused, as i thought it was going to be a book specifically written to her two boys, but it didn't seem like it was to me. I found it more of an exploration of self rather than the 'how to deal with life' manual i thought it would be.

still plodding on with the biography of the duleep singh family...gave up on americanah for the minute.

7 Late fragments by Kate Gross

Finished in virtually one sitting...and I feel emotionally drained!

Profound, eloquently written non fiction book on the author's life after a cancer diagnosis. Found the bits about imagining her families life going on without her very poignant. I was initially a bit confused, as i thought it was going to be a book specifically written to her two boys, but it didn't seem like it was to me. I found it more of an exploration of self rather than the 'how to deal with life' manual i thought it would be.

still plodding on with the biography of the duleep singh family...gave up on americanah for the minute.

Can I join? I know I'm very late, but I followed this last year and swore I'd start in 2015, then promptly forgot.

I was once a voracious reader but last year I managed a grand total of 4(!) books and gave up on 3 others. This year I've been doing better but am definitely on the lighter stuff compared to other posters; I like biographies and comedies at the moment but am trying to branch out. So far I have read:

1. Backstory by David Mitchell (Comedian not Writer)

This is as expected, an autobiography set along a walk around London. Although I often enjoy David Mitchell as a comedian live or on TV, I didn't think this translated well to the written word. The tone was lost and I couldn't understand the relevance of the walk, aside from him having recently taken up walking; it added nothing. His often comedic neuroticism became just neurotic and I felt bored and irritated by him.

1. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

Enjoyable, funny and insightful, this charts Poehler's rise to fame concurrently with her struggle to write the book. Amy is honest, but she seemingly glossed over some events I'd like to know more on, and understanding the book and it's guest writers is really dependent on being familiar with her work.

1. I Partridge: We Need To Talk About Alan by Alan Partridge/Steve Coogan

Absolutely hilarious, I sped through it laughing aloud at seemingly every page. A knowledge of partridge isn't necessary as some previous material is featured but that doesn't detract from comedic value. My DH listened to this as an audiobook, which was of course narrated by Alan and was often crying with laughter.

I'm currently reading The Girl On The Train by Paul Hawkins, seems to be a lot of buzz about this amongst my friends and I'm gripped by it already, one chapter in.

1. Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges.

This was brilliant, but easily one of the five most difficult books I have ever read (and that from someone who enjoys reading brain-hurty books). It is a gross injustice to call it a biography of Alan Turing, because it is so much more - a detailed history of mathematics starting from before WWII, including Alan Turing's contributions but also an overview of the many problems and discussions preoccupying mathematicians of that era, exact methodology through which the Enigma code was broken (more than once), and the multi-pronged simultaneous efforts in several different places to build the first computer. Alan Turing is a major player in this story, but it is by no means just about him.

Once the author is done telling us all about the bombes that cracked the Enigma code, and then the construction of the first computers and I mean every little detail about the mathematics and technology behind them, he does focus again on Turing and especially his prosecution for being a gay man. Again, you learn all that you may have ever wanted to know about UK's persecution of homosexuals in 1950s, hows/whys. I found it particularly interesting that "sexual perverts" were hunted down especially in positions of national security, following the disappearance of double-agents Burgess and Maclean.

The book also gives the impression (without saying so) that Alan Turing's death may not have been a suicide - the apple found next to his bedside was never tested for cyanide which killed him, at his home there was recent shopping, travel arrangements, and RSVP to an upcoming event. Most importantly, his very existence was a huge embarrassment to the government at the time of his death - an openly homosexual man who knew highly classified state secrets and yet travelled abroad for sexual affairs after being condemned & punished for this practice. His death was very convenient for both UK and US governments, to say the least.

In all, a great book. I am glad to have read it although it almost killed me but my next few books will be light reads, I think.

Welcome mama and I, too, loved the Alan Partridge book and laughed outloud frequently and agree you don't need to have knowledge of him to enjoy the book. I hugely recommend it to anyone who's after a funny light read or/and is sick of the typical self-aggrandising celeb bio's.

Hi everyone
I've just finished Gone Girl - I actually watched the film first & found the book much easier to read after watching it !
About to start Elizabeth is missing - has anyone read it ?
Have added Girl on a train
Thanks for the recommendation

Cote, I'll bear that one in mind for when I feel like a challenge!

1. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. This follows the lives of six Americans, from the time they meet as teenagers (in the 70s) to their fifties (present day). I enjoyed this a lot - the characters and the writing style really drew me in.

Now I'm on to Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. I may be some time!

9 - the fault in our stars. Wow fantastic book, the first fiction book That has made me cry.

Now need to find something a bit lighter for number 10!

12. The Miniaturists - Jessie Burton

There's at least two reviews upthread so that saves me the bother of doing one, but I guess I could have done one if I'd liked the book. I thought the story would have been much stronger if she'd focused more on the relationship between Nella and Johannes instead of endless boring on and on about the merchant stuff (some of which I realise was necessary). The writing was at times overly descriptive, the main character poorly written, and the ending had no impact. An easy read and seemingly well-researched, but a very unsatisfying book in general.

Along with a few others (and what seems like half the country), I'm now on The Girl on the Train.