50 Book Challenge 2015 Part 4

[southeastdweller]

Thread four 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 can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

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

Happy reading

Ah cote t'was you!

I've just ordered it from the library. I've decided it's not YA. Sort of The Hunger Games meets The Oddessy.

I would call it a cross between Brave New World and Lord Of The Flies.

18. Falling in love by Donna Leon

Latest in series of Venetian detective Guido Brunetti. A visiting opera singer has a stalker. Well written and life in Venice portrayed well, but the plots are rather far fetched, and seem quite dated.

Need to make a serious effort to have any hope of achieving fifty books!

51. Bad Science by Ben Goldacre

Looking at the dubious claims of various industries, including detoxes, nutrionists, pushers of various 'miracle cures', Gillian McKeith, Patrick Holford, and also the media for their ridiculously bad science reporting and their role in the likes of the MMR hoax. Very interesting and entertaining read.

42. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson

Much more affecting than Life After Life, A God in Ruins tells the story of the life of the brother of the main character in L.A.L. This is one of the most enjoyable and haunting novels I've read for a while but I'm not thrilled about the ending. Mumsnet is referenced in one chapter, btw, which makes me wonder if the author is on here. I hope this makes the Booker longlist, which is announced at the end of this month.

Next up is The Go-Between.

I loved AGIR southeast and it led me directly to read Inferno which is amazing. Also annoyed by the ending - it felt a bit Dallas.

46. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Capote's book on the senseless murder of the Clutter family in Kansas in the 50s is really very good. His writing is beautiful and takes this above the usual true life miser story. He does a great job of describing the family, the aftermath for people who knew them, the hunt for the killers and the killers own story.

Moving onto an icod recommended book about Jimmy Saville called In Plain Sight

Have ordered the Genghis Khan book from the library - must be special to unite Cote and Remus!

78. Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig. About his depression and how he copes with it. A bit like an extended article, if I'm being critical, but I also found it enlightening. I haven't (touch wood) experienced anything like the total collapse he describes - I understand better how it can be so crippling, and how different it is to my occasional fit of the glooms.

79. Man at the Helm, Nina Stibbe. I was a bit dubious about this, as I didn't enjoy the whole "provincial naive encounters urban literary sophisticates" vibe. But I thought this was great. Children trying to fix their divorced mother's situation - funny and poignant, and the whole naive voice really worked in this setting.

Sorry, my bit about Nina Stibbe doesn't make sense - I meant, I didn't like her earlier book, Love Nina. Thought Man at the Helm was really enjoyable.

biblio I'm still enjoying it at 37%. Who needs Game Of Thrones when you have this true story of people & tribes that have actually existed? Still about it all.

28. Winston S Churchill; Youth 1874 - 1900 by Randolph Churchill; I enjoyed this, not sure why it took me so long to get through it. Latter half was a bit dull as I am not that interested in long forgotten (to me anyway) wars in India or South Africa though the account of his escape from a Boer prisoner of War camp was interesting. V v driven young man, v focused, amazing what he had achieved by 26 when this comes to an end. V readable book also, was a bit afraid it would be too dense or overwrought but no, very clearly and engagingly written.

That said, I have just realised it is part of an 8 volume series and not sure I am up for that. Will have to seek out a more concise biography. IUf anyone can recommend a ONE volume biography focusing on the 2nd WW I'd be v pleased

Tumble did you get your kindle sorted? I can commiserate, I lost mine last Feb and took me a month to get myself another one.

The Genghis Khan book looks vg and have purchased , feel like something light next though so might try Driving Over Lemons which I picked up last week cheaply.

I couldn't read Bad Science Chillie, but I loved his Bad Pharma. You should definitely try it!

biblio I'm adding Man at the Helm to my tbr list based on your review - I was iffy about it before as I felt the same as you about Love, Nina.

Today has not been conducive to reading thus far, so am only about 16% into Genghis. Still enjoying it though - a period of history I know virtually nothing about.

wilting Not yet, I'm taking the opportunity to read all the books on my bedside table first, as I know they'll be relegated to the end of the list when I get a new kindle!

Remus and Cote, I remember reading in an article that 8% of Asian men (which equates to 0.5% of the men in the world) are direct descendants of Ghengis Khan. Extraordinary!

33. The Children Act by Ian McEwan. This follows a brief period (a few months) in the life of a fictional judge specialising in family law (the book's name refers to the 1989 Act concerning children's welfare) - the cases she is undertaking and her personal life. I thought this was excellent - well-written with interesting characters and a well-constructed plot. My favourite McEwan since Atonement.

southeast how are you enjoying the Go-Between? I haven't read it for years, but it made a big impact on me at the time.

wilting - Winston Churchill biography sounds interesting. I might check it out after the Genghis Khan book

tumble - Yes, it's astonishing that 1 in 200 of the world's men are direct descendants of Genghis Khan, and not just in Asia, either.

I thought I knew quite a bit about his story but reading this book, I realise that my knowledge was very superficial. It is absolutely fascinating.

55. Out by Natsuo Kirino. A woman kills her abusive husband. three of her co-workers help her by disposing of the body. As well as having to outwit the police they end up with a yazuka loan shark and a dangerous casino owner on their trail. I loved this. There weren't many plot twists and it's not really a conventional thriller-it's much more than that. All of the characters are so well drawn that I was completely caught up in the story. You get a real sense of what life is like for women struggling to make ends meet by working night shift in a Tokyo factory. I'd highly recommend it but with the warning that it contain a lot of extremely graphic violence-it's not a Miss Marple type mystery.

I read Bad Pharma a few years ago wiltingfast. It was absolutely fascinating! Especially in the tactics that pharmaceutical businesses use to try and get their drugs on the NHS lists - I've been watching the campaign behind the meningitis vaccination and seeing pretty much every step Goldacre identified coming into play.

I agree, Bad Pharma is excellent. Quite an eye-opener.

56. All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque

I’m so glad I have finally got round to reading this classic German WW1 novel. It was banned (and burned) in Nazi Germany, probably because it was deemed unpatriotic. All the horrors of trench warfare are here, along with the sense of alienation felt by soldiers on leave and the intense comradeship of men thrown together in the worst circumstances imaginable. Powerful writing. I couldn’t put it down.

Whippet - I thought, 'All Quiet' was astonishingly good. One of the best books that I've ever read.

52. The Green Roads of England by R. Hippisley Cox

First published in 1914, this is a survey of the Stone Age ridge roads roads of southern England, with details of the hill forts and earth works found along the way, as well as the relationship of their siting to the watersheds. It's a fairly dry kind of survey with only the very occasional anecdote about King Alfred or beliefs about King Arthur, but it is interesting to see how it all connects together and just how visible these centuries-old tracks still are, or were a century ago.

69. The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett - 4/5 stars. Enjoyable, well-written. Have reviewed on the thread for this book.

Still continuing with Fingersmith. Am nearly two-thirds of the way now. Still enjoying it.

Still reading Fingersmith here too - am nearly halfway. Enjoying it but finding it a bit slow in places