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.

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

Book 7 Stig of the Dump

Read this with DC's and enjoyed by all. I can't remember reading it when I was a child so was nice to finally do it. Next for them is Doctor Proctors fart powder by Jo Nesbo

[CoteDAzur]

wilting - You are not helping

[ShakeItOff2000]

List so far:

1. City of Veils by Zoe Ferraris
   
2. Rabbit back literature society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
   
3. Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
   
4. Park and Eleanor by Rainbow Rowell
   
5. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
   
6. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Clare
   
7. The Undertaking by Audrey Magee
   
8. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
   
9. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich
   

10. The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin
11. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
12. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway

Highlights in bold and italics for the books I didn't enjoy so much. I've been loving my reading this year, mostly spurred on by this thread! And even though they did not reach 'bold' status I thought Rivers of London and Harry August were also very good.

13. Brilliance by Marcus Sakey.
Loved it! Just my sort of sci-fi thriller. After a run of more sombre books I raced through this one.

Cote - loved your thread of thoughts on Cloud Atlas. Reminded me of how much I admired and enjoyed the book.

[CoteDAzur]

Shake - Brilliance has a sequel called A Better World that you might like to check out.

I would also recommend Lexicon by Max Barry for you.

Thanks re Cloud Atlas. I want to read it again (3rd time) but need to wait for a while longer to forget it enough to enjoy it properly.

[TodaysAGoodDay]

16. If This Is A Man - Primo Levi. A very well-told account of a German POW camp. Descriptive, but not emotionally draining like some stories.
    
    
17. Clear Waters Rising - Nicholas Crane. A true story of a 10,000km walk from Santiago De Compostella to Istanbul. Very interesting and readable.
    
    
18. The Truce - Primo Levi. Following on from If This Is A Man, the story of how he got home to Italy from the German camp. Short but well written.
    
    
19. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton. A good read, but some unanswered questions left at the end, which I found a little annoying.
    
    
20. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline. An 80's fest of video games, music, T.V. etc, an 'Egg-hunt' book set in the future. Rather good.

[DuchessofMalfi]

This is my list so far this year. Favourites in bold.

1. Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things - Paula Byrne
2. Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery - Henry Marsh
3. When You are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris
4. The Iceberg - A Memoir - Marion Coutts
5. The Wild Places - Robert Macfarlane
6. Holloway - Robert Macfarlane
7. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
8. Academy Street - Mary Costello
9. H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald

10. Silt - Robert Macfarlane
11. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson
12. Us - David Nicholls
13. My Family and Other Superheroes - Jonathan Edwards
14. Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey
15. Reboot with Joe - Juice Diet - Joe Cross
16. Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses - Alison Weir
17. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
18. The Old Ways - Robert Macfarlane
19. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
20. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Trail - Cheryl Strayed
21. History of the Rain - Niall Williams
22. Sea Change - The Summer Voyage from East to West Scotland of the Anassa - Mairi Hedderwick
23. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
24. The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
25. The Spirit Level - Seamus Heaney
26. The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
27. Arctic Summer - Damon Galgut
28. Where Angels Fear To Tread - E M Forster
29. Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro
30. The Buried Giant - Kazuo Ishiguro

Currently reading books 31 The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (aka J K Rowling) and 32 A Room With A View by E M Forster.

[tessiegirl]

Started A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke last night...a woman whose husband dies and she discovers all that she believed to be true actually wasn't...first book I have tried by this author.

[bibliomania]

Cote, thanks for spotting the new Barbara Nadel - I've reserved it at the library. There's a new Elly Griffiths due out as well, so I've reserved that.

[bibliomania]

34. Dreams of the Good Life, by Richard Mabey. Explores the gap between the real life of Flora Thompson and the semi-fictionalised version she created in Lark Rise to Candleford and other writings.
    
    I would have got more from this if I'd read Lark Rise more recently, but I'm interested anyway in how writers fictionalise/romanticize their experiences, so quite enjoyed it anyway.
    
    It feels like a slight book, as the author didn't find out all that much about her life, but I was rather intrigued by the differences between early twentieth century housewife/mother of three and the fantasy version of herself she wrote about in her nature columns at the time - an older, childless woman with a more Bohemian existence.

[JoylessFucker]

Bringing forward the list:

1. Hotel on the corner of bitter & Sweet - Jamie Ford
   
2. The Last Tiger: A Novel - Tony Black
   
3. Pigeon English - Stephen Kelman
   
4. The Ocean at the end of the Lane - Neil Gaiman
   
5. The Shock of the Fall -Nathan Filer
   
6. Casual Vacancy - J K Rowling
   
7. Death comes to Pemberley - P D James
   
8. Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
   
9. Waiting for Sunrise - William Boyd
   

10. Olive Kiteridge: A Novel in Stories - Elizabeth Strout
11. Lamentation - C J Samson
12. The Scrapbook - Carly Holmes
13. The Poison Tree - Erin Kelly
14. The Stranger's Child - Alan Hollinghurst
15. The Farm - Tom Rob Smith
16. Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
17. The Wildwater Walking Club - Claire Cook

Book 17 was just a bit of fluff. I was expecting sad news and just didn't feel up to anything more.

I've emboldened those I really loved, there were others which were enjoyable reads and would be recommended.

I'm really pleased to see some enthusiastic reviews for Americanah. I read it with my book club who were - mostly - completely underwhelmed.

Am half-way through number 18 and enjoying it so far. Unless it goes downhill, it should be an emboldened one!

[highlandcoo]

Joyless what did you think of Death Comes to Pemberley? I thought it was one of the poorest books I've ever read. Sorry to say that as I like PD James, but all the rave reviews cannot possibly be sincere. It is awful.

Sorry about your sad news

[ClashCityRocker]

Right, finally - no.26 Jonathon Strange and Mr Norrell

There's no getting away from the fact that this is a hefty chunk of a book.
An alternative historical novel, this follows the fortunes of two English practical magicians set against the backdrop and aftermath of the Napoleonic wars.

I loved the writing - it was elegant and witty and mostly engaging. Their were some compelling characters, in particular Childermass and the dialogue feels authentic for that time period (disclaimer: I know nothing about that time period).

I did feel it lost its way a bit in the middle-later parts of the book. I felt Jonathon Strange wasn't as well developed as I would have liked and I think a significant event in the book was somewhat glossed over.

It was also a little over-long. There was a fair chunk of stuff that didn't add much to the story, and although I enjoyed reading it, I was glad to have finished it.

And the footnotes.

The footnotes are an integral part to this book - much of the story is, in fact, in the footnotes. However, there are far too many of them and my iPad kindle app isn't great at navigating them.

I felt that they disrupted the flow of the book significantly, particularly when a footnote goes on for several pages. Most frustrating was when the footnote was just a reference to another fictional work - totally pointless and a PITA.

I am really glad I read it though - and will certainly re-read it again, once its had time to 'settle' - I suspect I will get more out of it on second reading.

[DuchessofMalfi]

31. A Room With A View - E M Forster
    
    I loved it - simply perfect, didn't want to stop listening. The narration by Joanna David was absolutely spot. Couldn't fault it. Think I might be a little in love with Forster's writing!
    
    Pressing on with The Silkworm, but it's a bit of a slog - not engaging with it in quite the same way as The Cuckoo's Calling. Perhaps I'm just not in the right mood for this type of story atm.
    
    Next up, after this will be Forster's Maurice - my copy has arrived at the library - collecting tomorrow, just in time to take on holiday :)

[JoylessFucker]

highland I've never read any other P D James, but Death comes to Pemberley certainly added nothing at all to P&P. The best thing I can say is that it was a quick read! I picked it up when visiting my parents as had taken nothing else with me, so read it whilst sitting with my Dad when he grew tired of talking and wanted to read himself.

Duchess I can't remember if you've read Artic Summer? Its on my TBR pile and I wonder if it should jump up the list a bit. What do you think? Perhaps I should just go straight to the man himself ...

[MaryWestmacott]

Finally finally finished the Night Watch by Sarah Waters. Just don't bother. One of those you finish and think "fabulous, now I can go read something else". It starts in 1947, then works back to 1941, telling you the history for each person, however I must say the 1941 section seemed a little 'light' on info, each person's 'introduction'/background seemed really rushed.

That was book 15. Off to the library to return it and see if I can find something that will grab me. was going to try to start reading a few 'classics' I've missed in the past, but in no mood for anything heavy or that requires using my brain.

[DuchessofMalfi]

Joyless - I really liked Arctic Summer and would put reading that down as the thing that kickstarted my interest in Forster.

[DuchessofMalfi]

Mary - if you're looking for a classic that isn't too heavy, give Forster a go. Two novels down and I think he's wonderful so far

[mumhum]

Loving this thread as I am 38 weeks and getting fed up. I read a lot and my top books from the past 6 months are:-

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton - odd premises but good story

The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion - worth the hype

Elephant Moon by John Sweeney - sweet but not schmaltzy

We Were Liars by E Lockhart - I did not get the twist until the end

Perfect by Rachel Joyce - better than Harold Fry IMHO

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer - touching but not too depressing

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson - interesting style but makes you think

Any recommendations back much appreciated!

[BsshBosh]

Joyless how can anyone be underwhelmed by Americanah?! I'm just finishing it now and her descriptions of immigrant life in the US and as a Nigerian returnee are insightful and interesting. Whether one agrees with her reflections on race or not, her characters' experiences are absorbing. Anyway, review to follow soon...

[BsshBosh]

Cote I just got Cloud Atlas out of the library today, having never read it but having adored Bone Clocks. I suspect I'm in for a treat. But first have to read the, so far, mesmerising Buried Giant by Ishiguro.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Sorry, Cote, but your continued pain over JDATE has been making me laugh in an entirely non-sympathetic manner.

Duchess - I enjoyed, 'The Cuckoo's Calling' and really, really disliked, 'The Silkworm.' My feeling is that a) it wasn't edited because they knew it was Rowling this time around, and b) she rushed it out because of the huge demand created and therefore didn't take as much time to craft it as she did on the first.

[CoteDAzur]

Bshh - You are in for a treat. Enjoy

When you finish it, take a look at the Cloud Atlas thread I linked to on here and let me know what you think.

[CoteDAzur]

Remus - I am 14% into The Master And Margarita and am thoroughly underwhelmed so far. Still very sorry to have ever heard of JDATE, let alone read it. Goodreads reviews of that book are hilarious, though.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I've picked TM&M up in the library so many times and always put it down again. It's the one with the talking cat, yes? Too many associations with Haruki Marukami for my liking!