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

I think I'm one of a very, very small minority on here who really doesn't like, 'Owen Meaney.'

Duchess: I really hope you like the Shardlakes - I'm a big fan.

YA folk - I'm currently reading Patrick Ness, 'More Than This' and will more than likely finish it tonight. Has anybody read it? I'd put it off because it's in the present tense, but having survived, 'Red Rising' I thought I'd give it a chance. There are some really good bits of almost poetic writing in it, but I'm not sure yet what I'll think overall - need to see where it goes in the final quarter!

Thank you, Joyless . The pain's been getting me down quite a lot this week. Have got yet another hospital appointment tomorrow. Will be glad to get that one over and done with.

Lammy - I've got The Land of Decoration in my tbr pile. Will tackle it later on this year :)

I picked up my audio copy of Red Rising from the library .

But it's in the queue. I've already got two audios on the go. Can't add more.

Hi Duchess: Hope tomorrow goes well for you. Nothing worse than being in constant pain

Remus: what is More Than This about? Seems I like YA a lot

not sure what to start tonight: On my "by the bed pile" is The Night Circus hmmmmmm?

Lammy A boy dies. The he wakes up, covered in bandages, in a place he thought he'd never see again. This place though is now deserted and decaying, and there's nobody around. He dreams a lot. And then things start to happen. Is he dead? Is this hell? Can't really say anymore yet, and I honestly have no idea how it's all going to wrap up!

Have you read the, 'Chaos Walking' trilogy?

Hi Remus: that one sounds good, I might try it thanks! No I haven't read the "Chaos Walking" trilogy. I will look at them on the Book Depository. I'm one of the old fashioned crew who still buys books and hates Kindles
Note to self: must join library !

Yes to the library - that's where I get most of my fiction (apart from those that cost 99p or are free on Kindle)!

On my must get/read list are:

Secret History
We Were Liars
15 lives of Harry August
some Patrick Ness books (Remus recommended)
Toying with getting the other two Delirious books

I like quirky books, nothing mushy or too descriptive, something a bit unusual for example loved the Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden and his other book about the 100 Year Old Man....so all recommendations welcome, thanks

Libraries are a wonderful resource in many ways. I actually took out a book yesterday that wasn't officially published until today!

hackmum - I loved A Fine Balance - I love a good Indian family saga even if they are very sad.

Remus I thought Owen Meaney was overrated although I can't remember much about it now!

25. Home Fires by Elizabeth Day, story of a couple who lost their only son after he is killed by a land mine. Quite thought provoking, well written and moving.

My books so far...

1. City of Veils by 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 North 7. The Undertaking by Audrey Magee 8. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

1. 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 13. Brilliance by Marcus Sakey 14. The Ask and the Asking (Bk 2 in the Walking Chaos Trilogy) by Patrick Ness 15. A Discovery of Witches by Barbara Harkness 16. A State of Wonder by Ann Patchett 17. Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovich 18. Nobody is Missing by Catherine Lacey 19. Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones 20. H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald 21. Life of Pi by Yann Martel 22. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 23. Station 11 by Emily St John Mendel

Highlights in bold, italics for the not so good. I've found it quite hard to chose my favourites as I have really enjoyed a lot of the books I have read this year but I can't highlight them all!

Remus Thank you for the Steinbeck recommendations - I have added them to the long list of books to be read that I have on my Amazon wishlist..

Pinkglow Grapes of Wrath is definitely my favourite so far as well.

I'n not sure if I'll hit 50 but I will definitely read more than last year..

I loved both a Prayer for Owen Meany and A Fine Balance (but yes it was pretty harrowing!). Life of Pi is another great book that someone has highlighted, highly recommended and I enjoyed the film too.

Lammy - I read the Secret History a very long time ago, and I really loved it. I would be quite interested to re-read it and see if I still thought as much of it. I hope you enjoy it.

I am now thoroughly immersed in Bone Clocks which I am really enjoying, but I love David Mitchell so I am heavily biased! I'm about a third of the way through and still have pretty much no idea what is going on, but that is pretty standard for his books I think, definitely not predictable!

Has anyone read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr? It won a prize recently and a very enthusiastic Waterstones clerk highly recommended it to me. It might be next on my list.

Sorry, I have just seen a separate thread about All the Light We cannot see! Sound like people have really enjoyed it, definitely next on the list.

I have never heard of the Owen Meaney book! Is it controversial?

Amazon mention it in the same breath as Robertson Davies whom I am a huge fan of. Anyone read The Cornish Trilogy? Fantastic books :) Ostensibly about the life of a wealthy man, the art he collects, it manages to delve into questions of philosophy, morality, war, medievalism, art, forgery, authenticity, gypsies, opera, tarot, courtly love; they have a wonderful sense of gothic magic. Really if you haven't tried him please do!

I hated A Prayer for Owen Meany. I wouldn't say it's controversial as such - just weird!

Lammy - I'd recommend The Night Circus, especially as you say you like quirky books.

28. Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson, from the point of view of a girl called Ruby Lennox, born in 1952 and living in York with her unpleasant parents and her sisters. Also side stories and flashbacks about other members of her extended family, mainly their war time experiences.

This is the second Kate Atkinson I've read. I enjoyed it a bit more than Life After Life, but I'm not planning to read any more. Her writing just doesn't seem to work for me for some reason.

I loathed, 'A Fine Balance' - thought it was even worse than Owen Meaney.

Book 73 - 'More Than This' by Patrick Ness
Well, I didn't know where this was going when I posted about it yesterday, and, I'm sad to say that I still don't where it was going, and I don't think the writer did either. I thought the ending was an absolute cop-out, and made me think badly about the book as a while, even though I'd really rather enjoyed it up until then. I knew it was all going wrong when I realised how close to the end I'd got and how there was absolutely no way he was going to be able to bring things to a satisfactory conclusion in the time available. It was like he'd got tired OR (even worse) as if he was sticking two fingers up to the reader and saying, 'Ner' at us.

Lammy - Don't bother with this one! Read, 'The Knife of Never Letting Go' instead.

Owen Meaney not controversial - just tedious and stupid and having his usual obsession with sex. It would have made a half decent short story but it makes a very dull novel.

39. Martyr by Rory Clements

I do seem to read a lot of Tudor era murder mysteries, for which I am blaming CJ Sansom entirely. This one is Elizabethan (1587), and the hero is John Shakespeare, brother of William, who is one of Walsingham's intelligencers. A plot to assassinate Sir Francis Drake is uncovered, and the would-be assassin is believed to be a Jesuit priest. A high-born young woman is found murdered and mutilated in an illicit printing house, and as Shakespeare investigates he finds links between the two. He also comes up against one of the Queen's men, Topcliffe, who has a hatred of Catholics and believes torture is the way to investigate anything.

Sansom and Parris are better writers in this genre but then this was Clements' first and it's reasonable enough. I will probably read more of his.

I really liked Owen Meaney.

No 51
Putting Alice Back Together by Carol Marinelli

Alice is the friend you wish you had . The girl who makes a party more fun and makes you laugh when you're crying over your ex. But Alice has a secret....

I really enjoyed this book , it's about self discovery , a quick read , probably a good holiday read too . It is a bit confusing though because the narrative jumps backwards & forwards to demonstrate how Alice is the way she is & lead up to what the secret is

The Janissary Tree (Yashim the Ottoman Detective Book 1) by Jason Goodwin is £0.99 on the Kindle. I wrote about these books before - genuinely well-researched murder mysteries that take place in 19th Century Istanbul of the Ottoman Empire. Don't miss it if you would be interested in this sort of thing.

Biblio - I think you would like this book.

61. The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion. 2/5 stars. Whilst I enjoyed The Rosie Project very much I thought this one had run out of steam. It was a lot more serious in tone with very little to laugh at. Don Tillman was just a bit dull now.

Struggling to find a good book atm, going to try The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel next.

53. Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Very much enjoyed this. At its core, it is a love story between Ifemelu and Obinze, but it touches on much more, such as the nature of African hair and what it means to be an immigrant in America and Africa.

54. I'll Have What She's Having, by Rebecca Harrington -- I know a couple of people have read this. It's extremely short, and padded out to look longer with wide spaces between each paragraph to make it look longer. I think if I'd bought this I would be pretty irritated and I blasted through it in less than an hour. It's an enjoyable diary-style account of living on different diets for very short periods of time. It's funny, but very scatty, and shallower than a slate tile.

55. The Torso in the Town, by Simon Brett -- another cosy South Downs murder mystery. When the dessicated torso of a woman is found in the cellar of a house during a dinner party, Jude and Carole set to solving the mystery. Another light, fun read.

Next up, I'm rereading Hannibal.

24 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell. This was a very thoughtful book about a young girl sent to an asylum and is not spoken of again in her family. But when the "asylum" is closing her great-niece is asked to take responsibility. As my mum worked at an old hospital that had been an asylum she dealt with the same situations in the early 1990s this felt quite personal to read. The structure is fascinating with little interjections from Esme's sister Kitty who has dementia. The author manages the thought processes of both sisters very effectively. Recommended!

25 The Book of You by Claire Kendal. I couldn't put this down! I feel I've been spoilt by reading such great books lately. This book about a stalker was quite scary as the incidents built up. The inclusion of the jury service was different and added an interesting sub plot. I liked the character of Clarissa very much and was rooting for her - she felt real and vulnerable but also taking control of her situation. Great little added interest in her hobby of sewing and designing. I would definitely recommend this to people who liked Girl on A Train. This is superior in its writing and structure.

Next up.....aaargh trying to decide now!