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50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 3

993 replies

Southeastdweller · 21/03/2015 17:46

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.

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 09/04/2015 19:23

Yes, Jewish monument looks/sounds amazing.

I've put half a stone on in the last couple of months, so had better lose some before hitting the foods of Berlin!

Sorry for the thread hijack all - back to book talk now!

MegBusset · 09/04/2015 22:35

Remus - I love Berlin, you'll have a great time. As for books, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold is a must.

JoylessFucker · 09/04/2015 22:52

19 & 20: 1Q84 Books 1&2, 1Q84 Book 3 by Haruki Murakami. This is my second Murakami and I enjoyed it greatly. I don't think its just because of the "happy" ending either.

This is the story of Aomame and Tengo who meet briefly when 10 years old and finally re-connect 20 years later. Both are outsiders who've had isolated upbringings - her within a religious cult, him with a heart-broken father who was obsessed with his job. Aomame is a fitness coach/physical therapist who discovers a method of killing which leaves no mark. She works with a rich dowager to punish men who subject their wives to domestic violence. Both are protected by a gay literature-quoting bodyguard of extraordinary ability. Tengo is a mathematics child prodigy, who decides he wants to write. He edits/co-writes a fantasy novel which becomes a bestseller. There are shifts in reality (this is Murakami) and one needs to accept the inexplicable, but the story has structure and an outcome, and was all the more satisfying for of it.

Next up, the new Patrick Gale as I'm scheduled to write a review on my blog.

JoylessFucker · 09/04/2015 23:03

Bssh thanks for the recent review - I've added the Teju Cole to my wishlist.

Remus I'm sure you'll love Berlin. I really want to go again as I injured my knee on my visit. There was a lot of renovation work being done when I went (last year), so hopefully that'll be mostly completed. Oh & I concur with troll on the food - really high quality.

OllyBJolly · 10/04/2015 10:16

#14 The Sense of an Ending Julian Barnes

Another recommendation from SouthEastDweller - thank you. Wonderfully written, very moving, poignant book. Thought provoking and sad, but enjoyable.

Downloaded some of DuchessofMalfi's suggestions - although saving them for a weekend away later in the month. Next book is The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan

Original poster
Southeastdweller · 10/04/2015 10:28

I'm delighted you enjoyed that and the Ian McEwan one, Olly Smile

OP posts:
CoteDAzur · 10/04/2015 14:26
  1. The Children Act - Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan is one of the most gifted writers out there and I am a fan but he rarely has a good story to tell. What actually happens in this book can be told in its entirety in three sentences and the rest is Fiona's thoughts and feelings, which is all well and good, but even those are not terribly consistent and well thought-out imho.

The characters were flat and some of the book just didn't ring true, I felt.

SPOILER... SPOILER.... SPOILER...

In particular, I really really don't think a 60-year old judge would kiss a teenage boy under any circumstances, least of all a subject of one of her controversial rulings and in plain sight of her colleagues. Even if she is a bit upset/unsure re her marriage.

MollyMaDurga · 10/04/2015 16:19

16 A place beyond courage Elizabeth Chadwick.
The book before the greatest knight, giving a back story to William Marshall, set in the time around the death of Henry I, the war between Stephen and Mathilda. Really enjoyed this! Will read the other books in the series as well. Not very familiar with British history as didn't go to school here and I'm catching up, great stuff.

Ellisisland · 10/04/2015 16:52

Book 16 - The Kings Curse by Phillipa Gregory

This is the story of the life of Margaret Pole. A definite improvement on the The Red Queen and Kingmakers Daughter this book, although treading familiar ground with the rise and fall of anne bolyen and Henry VIII wives, reads like a new story and Gregory really conveys the feelings of shock and confusion that people of England must have felt whilst all this was going on. Recommended.

mumslife · 10/04/2015 18:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheWordFactory · 10/04/2015 18:45

Book 15 - I am Legend by Richard Matheson.

This book was written in 1954 and was hugely influential in making zombie books popular.

Odd one this in that I watched the film first, and definitely liked it more than the book. The film bears little resemblance to the original plot and is the better for it IMVHO.

That said, the book is well executed considering it's a first person narrative with little scope for dialogue for a lot of the time (main character is the last surviving human in a zombie apocalyse). It doesn't become too introspective (as could easily have happened) and the tension rarely flags.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 10/04/2015 19:29

Thanks, Joyless. Do feel free to DM me with any specific recommendations. :)

One of my current reads is, 'East Lynne' by Ellen Wood. It's a Victorian sensation novel and I am enjoying it, but I seem to have been reading it forever and am barely a third through it so far. Has anybody read it?

DuchessofMalfi · 10/04/2015 21:01

  1. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. Very strange story but so beautifully presented. I loved it and will want to read it again soon Smile

  2. The Laying on of Hands by Alan Bennett. A shortish novella. Rather good.

  3. More Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell. Really entertaining collection of more silly things overheard in her bookshop and others.

Pinkglow · 10/04/2015 22:18
  1. The Rosie Project. This was well written and a cute story, I read it on holiday and it was a perfect book for that. Can't quite understand why its as massively popular as it is but its certainly a nice read.
thelittlebooktroll · 11/04/2015 08:45

Sorry to hear about your dad Mumslife SadFlowers

Duchess, is the bookshop book the one where a customer is asking if Ann Frank wrote a sequal? Must add it to my list. I think I must have more books soon than my local libraryConfused

DuchessofMalfi · 11/04/2015 09:18

Yes it's that one Grin Really cheered me up yesterday.

Original poster
Southeastdweller · 11/04/2015 13:16
  1. Not Quite Nice - Celia Imrie

A comic, chick lit novel about ex-pats in France, this was nothing extraordinary here but I enjoyed it for the diverting and very entertaining book it is and I'd read another novel of hers if she writes one.

  1. Three Stories - Alan Bennett

Three typically amusing and perceptive novellas, I liked The Laying on of Hands most of all, which Duchess read also this week. You can buy that and Father! Father! Burning Bright, and The Clothes They Stood Up In individually and cheaply on Kindle, btw.

Currently reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

OP posts:
DuchessofMalfi · 11/04/2015 13:49

:o Coincidence Southeast. It was very good. Really enjoyed it.

I listened to The Clothes They Stood Up in read by himself a couple of years ago - was also good. Might look out for the other one you mention, too, especially if it's cheapish on kindle :)

MrsCosmopilite · 11/04/2015 14:20

#17. Falling Skies - Philippa Gregory. A reread for me after a long, long time.

Showgirl Lily marries Stephen, a wealthy lawyer who works in the family firm, after the first world war. An inequal partnership from the beginning, the stifling middle-class household is a shield for unexpected horror. I'd forgotten quite how gripping this story was, and how manipulative Stephen was. Like an onion, there are more and more layers to this, with a real nail-biting finish.

DinosaursRoar · 11/04/2015 16:55

hello all, I've been 'outed' on here in real life, so this is a name change - not a newbie. Anyway, I've just read book 20 - The Gatecrasher - Sophie Kinsella - I was lent to me by a friend and felt I had to read it as she's asked a couple of times. Was ok, bit predictable and I didn't really like hte main characters, but better than her shopaholic series with slapable characters...

Also, I've just been given a Kindle, so hopefully i'll stop being limited by how often I can get to the library/book shop (and I can stop adding to our groaning bookshelves). Any bargains you'd recommend?

swarskicat · 11/04/2015 17:17

I can't remember all the books I have read so far this year, but would guess at about 2-3 a week so since 1st April:
no 15 - Redeemer by Jo Nesbo
16- The Boy in the Tower
17 - A most Unladylike murder
18 - The Devils star by Jo Nesbo (in library in hotel on holiday and should have read before Redeemer!)
19 - All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (really depressing - not a good holiday read!)
20 - Still Alice, Lisa Genova
21 - Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain (great holiday read)
22 - A boy called Hope
23 - Nora Webster by Colm Toiban

And now halfway through 'Stoner' by Mark Williams which is really hard going!! and also 'The man who mistook his wife for a hat'. I like to read two books at the same time Smile

swarskicat · 11/04/2015 17:20

So many good recommendations on here - about to start adding to my wish list on Amazon!

tumbletumble · 11/04/2015 19:46

Welcome swarskicat. I read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat years ago and loved it!

I've been on holiday this week so just catching up with the thread, will post my latest books soon.

ShakeItOff2000 · 11/04/2015 21:36

Remus - I was wondering how he was going to finish off the series (Chaos Walking). A difficult job with the situations he has created. I'll let you know how I get on!

tumbletumble · 11/04/2015 21:47

Here are my recent ones:

  1. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I loved The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, but I was a bit disappointed by this. Still set in Afghanistan, instead of one story it's made up of several loosely interconnected stories. I found that this meant I didn't get as involved with the characters or care so much about what happened to them. Some of the sections seemed to finish quite abruptly as well.

  2. The History Boys by Alan Bennett, about eight bright sixth form boys trying to get into Oxbridge, and their eccentric teachers. Loved this. The film is brilliant too.

  3. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. This has been reviewed lots of times on this thread already. It's certainly a page turner, but ultimately forgettable. Similar to Gone Girl but not as good.

  4. Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope. I like Joanna Trollope - I think she's a bit like an English Anne Tyler. This is a reliable, comforting read.