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.

37. Everything I Never Told You - Celeste Ng

Nope, this didn't do it for me. A family grieves for their dead daughter/sibling and we find out about what happened to Lydia and why the actions of her family and their past lead to her death. It was quite well written and gave an interesting perspective on what it was like to be a Chinese American in the 1970s, but I wasn't gripped, although it's a very sad story.

53. The Slaves of Solitude, Patrick Hamilton. Recommended upthread. Written in 1947, set in a boarding house during WWII. Very interesting as a portrayal of female frenemies. I did quite a lot of comparing and contrasting with my favourite author, Barbara Pym. Patrick Hamilton has a much darker view of human nature, and includes a lot more boozing and smooching on park benches, but Barbara would have appreciated the detail about the American's Laundry back home.

54. Law and the Lady, Wilkie Collins. Not one of his best - particularly ineffectual husband, unworthy of the heroine's attempt to clear his name. I did like the scene where the heroine is frantically searching a cabinet for clues - reminds me of "escape room" games where you have one hour to solve the clues. This fell short for me due to the lack of light relief plus disturbing attitude to disability.

55. Land of the Blind, Barbara Nadel. I'm very fond of this Istanbul-set crime fiction and this is a worthy addition to the series, set against the backdrop of the 2013 demonstrations. Not the place to start if you're new to the series, as it helps to know the character's back stories.

I can't remember if I've read, 'The Law and The Lady.'

I've read The Law and the Lady. From what I can remember it was highly improbable and not his best by a long shot.

I know that Remus agrees with me that Dickens is a superior writer

Did somebody say something? Whistles...

No 44 finally arrived from the library

The Girl On The Train

Been waiting aggeesss for it ! Can't wait to start it

14. Romany And Tom - Ben Watt

Absolutely loved this book by the Everything But The Girl musician about his parents. It's based on the premise that we only know our parents for half their lives and is a very moving account of how he got to know about his mum and dad's early lives as well as dealing with their often fractious relationship as they declined into old age. He is a brilliant writer and I really recommend this.

Need to get a move on with my reading now - am a good six books or so behind target!

I was thinking of reading that book, Meg, so thanks for that review. I loved his wife's first book - Bedsit Disco Girl - and got the impression from that that Ben was a talented writer.

esiotrot2015 - I really enjoyed The Girl on the Train. It was an exceptionally good story that will stay with you forever IMO but it's a page turner and was easy to read.

With your fast reading I am sure you will have completed it in a couple of days!!

tumbletumble glad you enjoyed it - it's one of my favourites.

I've had an exam so been getting a bit of studying so not been reading too much.

Got 'Pharmakon' by Dirk somebody which I picked up at a publishers clearing house - absoutely love those places and make a beeline for it.

Also reading love, Anthony. I'm not sure yet. The parts told from Anthony's viewpoint are both well-written - however the rest of it seems cliched and clunky. It's almost like two different authors have written this book.

Also reading non-fiction 'allotments for dummies'. I do love the 'for dummies' books.

35. Mysteries of the Druids by William Winwood Reade

This was first published in 1861 so I think it was probably in the heart of the romantic revival of interest in the Druids. Bit of an overly romantic and not necessarily historically accurate account - he's very definite about the rituals and ceremonies of the ancient Druids when as far as I am aware there is very little written evidence of them at all. I suspect Winwood Reade has transposed Masonic traditions back onto the Druids. He was clearly a Freemason himself and saw them as the heirs of Druidry. Not as dry a read as I was anticipating though, given when it was written.

Winwood Reade himself sounds like he was quite an interesting character. He explored South Africa and Angola in 1862 and was later imprisoned by a local king somewhere in west Africa for three months. I may investigate to see if there is a biography somewhere.

18. Nobody is Missing by Catherine Lacey.
    Elyria suddenly leaves her husband without telling anyone and goes to New Zealand to hitch-hike, travel and escape herself and her family. I didn't like this book or the lead character. The sentences went on forever, giving an idea of how Elyria was feeling and that worked to a certain extent, it's just I didn't enjoy reading it.

19. Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones
    Audiobook. Story told from the view point of Matilda, a young girl, about a community on a tropical island hit by civil war. Her impressions of her relationship with her mother and her stand-in teacher, the only white man in the village who teaches Great Expectations and how war intervenes even in their remote village. There was a lot to like about this novel and I find myself still pondering it all. Very good.

And since then I have been struggling to find a book I want to read. Tried Philip Pullman and his fairy tales- managed half way through but thought it all a bit pointless, not bringing anything new to the stories. And then a fantasy book, The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay, that I found boring. So I'm trying H is for Hawk, which has been universally loved on here!

Remus, given your abiding Wilkie-love (snigger) I'm sure there are bits of Law and the Lady you'll like, but it generally doesn't hold up well. One character was born without legs, and he's portrayed as semi-deranged and as leaping around the room propelled on his hands in a non-human way. It's an uncomfortable read.

I've come to the end of Thames: Sacred River by Peter Ackroyd, but I'm not going to add it to my tally as I skipped and speed-read a lot. It would have better if he'd been more selective, rather than flinging in everything he'd ever read about the subject. The whole thing was soldered together with vaguely portentous statements that didn't mean much: "The Thames is a river of death". Well, kinda, but then again, not really. And his reach was wide rather than deep. I was anticipating more discussion about the literature of the Thames - The Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland, Three Men on a Boat, and he more or less mentioned their existence and that was it.

Shake, I remember that Guy Gavriel Kay book - part of a short series. I liked it in my teens, but think I'd be less keen now.

Also snap on H is for Hawk - next on my list (unless I get sidetracked). The library has told me The Buried Giant is waiting for me too...

Biblio - Having read your latest, I know I've definitely not read it! Will do so.

Have given up on Akroyd. His novels irritate me, and his non-fiction just goes on and on and on. A shame because much of his subject matter is v much my sort of thing. His Frankenstein novel was absolutely ridiculous.

#19. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton. Mixed feelings about this. As a first novel, it was well-written in as much as the story was well-executed, and the use of prose was very good. The plot however, left me a bit stumped. I am still not sure what the first lines I read had to do with anything. I don't understand how the miniaturist knew so much. Those two things to me were massive holes in the storyline. On the plus side, there were a few twists I didn't see coming.

#20. Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson. Loved this. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started, but I knew I liked the way Atkinson writes. Lots of dark issues bubbling away under the surface of the life of a morose 16 year old. Very well constructed, and the time-slip elements made it all the more engaging.

Mrs Cosmopilite - you might want to have a read of the book chat Jessie Burton did on the monthly book club page on MN back in February. She explained the role of the Miniaturist rather well. Made an interesting read.

50. Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles by Clare Balding

This is the second of Clare Balding's memoirs I've read and I would say that I enjoyed this one more than the first. There was less emphasis on her beloved horse racing and more on walking and her family and her own life and other sports, which I found far more interesting. That's not to say that I didn't like the first one, though - that was enjoyable too, but I'm just not that into horses and horse racing.

Clare, as always, comes across as a thoroughly decent, likeable person who seems always pleasant, friendly, easy-going, and very funny. Her natural enthusiasm for everything shines through in every sentence of this delightful book.

Still ploughing on with no. 51 which is a rather long and detailed biography of the Mitford sisters by Mary S Lovell. Enjoying it, but it's taking a long time to read and I'm getting a bit weary of Facism vs Communism now.

I'm quite a quick reader and have lots of enforced rest time during the day so am ploughing through books

Ah well I'm doing a lot of that too :o

Finished Girl On A Train
Didn't disappoint

Not sure what to read for no 45

Starting a new job next week so won't have as much time to read

Wahoo Rhapsody by Shaun Morey - I think this is number 19, very much in the style of Hiaasen although set in California/Baja Mexico instead of Florida, full of larger than life characters and situations, but a fun read