50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

[Southeastdweller]

Thread three of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2015, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. It's still not too late to join, any type of book counts, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

First thread of the year here, and second thread here.

Sorry to hear that mumslife

Big Hugs xx

I have just finished No Hayders Wolf. I love a good thriller and this one certainly disappoint! Basically a murder which effected a family years before and now said family are being held in their own house. Nice short chapters. When I thought I knew where it was heading it did a complete u turn which I didn't expect. Now picked up Poppet by the same author. So far, so good

Mumslife

Mary, you need to get a kindle to avoid situations like this one!

Sorry to hear that mumslife.

I'm trying to find a really good book for my next one...

So sorry for your loss, mumslife.

I was at my book club this evening, and it appears that a couple of the other members now spot me on a fairly regular basis before work. I assume they are in a car because I've not seen them, but they commented about seeing me walking down the road reading. It's when I read the most actually, walking down to one of the cafes near my office to have latte before going to work, or having a half hour walk on my luch break. There aren't many people on the pavements so I don't have to keep breaking concentration, and I've got pretty good spatial awareness so never walk into or trip over things. They seemed pleased to have discovered how I get though as many books as I do - for a book club, it is surprising how little some of the members actually read!

So sorry to hear that, Mumslife It does get easier but I still miss my mum 22 years on.

I'm very sorry for your loss, mumslife.

:: waves sadly at mumslife:: - I know you a little from the bereavement thread. This is a much nicer one to be on. Hope you get back into reading soon. It has been quite comforting to me, in an escapist sort of way.

mumslife

Book 14: The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
I absolutely loved this book. There have been excellent summaries of this book on this thread already but just to add that for me this is a story about memories and the feelings that can remain when memories are gone. And is it better to forget the things that have caused us pain or do they Add to who we are that its important to hold to painful memories ?
Having lost a close family member to Alzheimer's fairly recently this theme resonated with me and I would highly recommend this book

Book 19. The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower

A well written psychological read. Two sisters living in Sydney in the 1950s are put under constant mental abuse by the husband of one of them. He never gets physical with them but over the years completely destroys any sense of self-worth the women may have once had. The whole time you are reading it you are hoping for them to escape. It’s not a quick read because it wears you down and is pretty relentless. Sometimes I got confused as to who was narrating but other than that it’s well written. This is not a thriller, the pace is slow moving and takes places over several years but worth a read.

So sorry to hear of your loss mumslife. It's a huge gap in your life, and I know I found after my mum died it took time (big cliche but true) just to slowly build myself up to cope. Reading took time and I definitely found my reading choices changed a lot. I took to comfort reading and also found The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin very useful to re-evaluate my life and find distracting goals to help.

riverboat I have read The Unconsoled and whilst I would say I enjoyed it was one of Ishiguros that was the hardest to get into. I would recommend his latest one over The Unconsoled.

Mumslife so sorry to hear about your loss. I am still struggling and it's been 4 months. I still can't concentrate very well

I've managed the following since the start of the year. It interests me to see that out of 19 books I would only actually recommend 4 (starred for anyone who is interested).

1. Kraken (China Mieville)
2. The Gathering Dark (L Bardugs)
3. Monument 14 (E Laybourne)
4. Sky on Fire (E Laybourne)
5. Station 11 (Emily St John Mandel) *
6. The Book Thief
7. The 100 (Kaso Morgan)
8. Lexicon (Max Barry) *
9. The Unquiet Grave (Steven Dunne)

10. Air Bound (Christine Feehan) 11. Turbulent Sea (Christine Feehan) 12. Odd Thomas (Dean Koontz) 13. The Edge of Normal (Carla Norton) 14. The Martian (Andy Weir) * 15. Written in Red (Anne Bishop) 16. Murder of Crows (Anne Bishop) 17. Vision in Silver (Anne Bishop) 18. Forever Odd (Dean Koontz) 19. The Girl who saved the King of Sweden (Jonas Jonasson) *

I also tried one called the Highway, but I couldn't finish it as the characters were so 2-dimensional that I didn't care if they lived or died. Which is not an auspicious start for a story about a serial killer and two possible victims!

Sorry about your df, Mumslife.

I'm reading, '2001: A Space Odyssey' but not thinking much of it so far. Anybody read it? Is it worth me carrying on with it?

Remus - It is a major classic. I'm surprised that you haven't read it yet. It has massively influenced not only speculative fiction, but also various fields such as psychology and artificial intelligence. I'd say you should read it, if only to understand what all the references in popular culture are about.

This reminds me - I was once on a conference call and one guy introduced himself as "David Bowman". Rather unprofessionally, I went "Really?!?!" and realised soon that he had no idea why I was surprised. This man called David Bowman from birth had not read 2001: A Space Odyssey, had not watched the film, and did not know about David Bowman

I amused myself to no end by using the line "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave" during that conference call, though

I don't know how I've got so far without having read it yet! Will persevere.

Has anyone seen anything decent in the Kindle Sale? I'm after recommendations.

There's a couple of classic Agatha Christies (Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Death on the Nile) for £1.49 and Longitude - which is a great non-ficton read - for £1.99 but I didn't see much else I fancied.

Book 12. Phil Rickman - Merrily Watkins - The Wine of Angels.

Taking over a small parish and large vicarage in rural Herefordshire, Merrily finds sinister undercurrents bubbling underneath the placid surface of village life. It took me a while to get into this one - the first third or so is quite slow - but by half way through I was hooked and I sat up after midnight finishing it off last night. Great read and I will definitely watch out for the second in the series.

On to H is for Hawk next.

I have a cheapo Kindle recommendation:

I am reading The Three-Body Problem at the moment. It is extraordinary sci-fi - imaginative & original like Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age and geeky & brainy like his Anathem. Those are in my Top 10 books ever, so this is very high praise. And it is currently on sale for £1.79. If you have any interest in sci-fi, don't miss this book.

One of the interesting things about it is that it's written by a Chinese author and translated to English exceptionally well by an American-Chinese sci-fi author. I usually don't read translations because I find them clunky and they get on my nerves, but this one is brilliant. You don't suspect that it is a translation, at all. I imagine that it must be a very difficult task, given how different Chinese is from English.

Here is the Amazon blurb which does not do it justice IMHO:

1967: University student Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during the Cultural Revolution. His crime? Failure to recant his belief in science. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind.

Four decades later, after a spate of apparent suicides among elite scientists, Beijing police ask nanotech engineer Wang Miao to infiltrate a secretive cabal that styles itself the Frontiers of Science.

During the course of his investigation, Wang is inducted into a mysterious online game that immerses him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredictable interaction of its three suns.

This is the Three-Body Problem and it is the key to everything. The key to humanity's place in the cosmos and the key to the extinction-level threat it now faces.

to mums life and all those struggling with loss.

I'm trying to catch up with the thread, had a resurgence of a pain from a chronic condition these last couple of weeks and have been unable to concentrate on reading, which has made it doubly miserable.

So, 14# (I think) The Quiet American, Graham Greene. This is a reread but from so long ago I'd forgotten the details and it probably meant more to me this time around than when I was a teen.

I can't really praise Greene's style enough. Attention to detail without superfluity, heart without sentimentality, wisdom without sanctimony. Just great storytelling. The story here, of a war fought on behalf of democracy and amidst the legacy of colonialism, is still sharp and strongly resonant today. He captures human relationships, emotions and motivations with accuracy and compassion.

Hard to follow. Have half heartedly started the first Shardlake, hope to get into it.