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

Posted too soon.

It is an incredible book, breaking all the rules of plot, arc, detail ( boy is this book detailed). Yet it's not boring, in fact it's oddly compelling. And I admire Knausgaard for his commitment to truth and rejection if artifice.

Will I read the other 5 books. We'll see.

The Versions of Us is 99p today on Kindle.

Thanks southeast - have snapped it up for holiday reading

Thanks southeast. That was on my To read list. Just got it.

88. The Girl of His Dreams, Donna Leon. Another Venice-set detective novel. This was interesting for its portrayal of the Gypsy community - not what you might call sugar-coated.

I'm not going to count Victoria: A Life by A N Wilson, as I skimmed most of the political part - wasn't really in the mood for 19th century debates on electoral reform. I am interested in the family psychodrama side, and little anecdotes like Victoria downing whiskey with John Brown.

Biblio - Have you seen the film, 'Mrs Brown'? It's v good.

No 62

Caitlin Moran How to be a woman

Been meaning to read this for ages after several friends have recommended it

Very witty although I did skip a few bits
Not as good as I was expecting it to be

Biblio - I bought DH A N Wilson' book on The Victorians. He should have loved it. Just his kind of book but he struggled to read it and gave up. Maybe it's his style of writing that's quite difficult?

40 Noah’s Ark – Barbara Trapido
The main character is Ali. She has been married three times. The first husband is barely mentioned. The second husband Mervyn Bobrow who was a very controlling and bullying, left her for another woman and still tries to interfere in Ali’s life. Ali is still with her third husband, Noah, a scientist. She is also still in love with her first love, Thomas Adderley, who unexpectedly comes back into her life and rocks the foundations of her marriage to Noah.
The book is set in the 1970’s and feels quite dated. I didn’t really feel any sympathy with the characters and it took me a while to get through it.

41 Disgrace – J.M. Cotezee
Set in South Africa, 52 year old Professor David Lurie lives in Cape Town. He has been divorced twice and now lives alone. He starts a relationship with one of his students. The student then files a complaint against him. After an investigation David loses his job. He goes to visit his daughter, Lucy, in the Eastern Cape, where she lives alone on a small holding, growing vegetables to sell at the market and running a kennel for dogs.
Then one day a terrible thing happens. David and Lucy are out walking the dogs when they meet three strangers, two men and a boy. When they return home the strangers are waiting for them and say that they need to use the phone. When Lucy lets them in they are attacked and robbed and Lucy is raped.

42 The Wrong Knickers – Bryony Gordon
This book has been reviewed several times already on this thread. I wouldn’t say that it is a real life Bridget Jones or that it is particularly funny.

43 The Lady in the Van – Alan Bennett
A homeless lady, Miss Shepherd, lived in a van on Alan Bennetts driveway from the early 1970’s until her death in 1989. The book was created from notes he had made in his diary over a number of years. Strangely the book Love Nina, see 44, below mentions Alan Bennett being a neighbour and often coming for dinner but never mentions the lady in the van, apart from once saying that Alan Bennett driveway was being used – but did not say what for.

44 Love Nina – Despatches from Family Life – Nina Stibbe
The book is a series of letters written by Nina to her sister Victoria. It is set in the 80’s and Nina has escaped to London from Leicestershire initially to become a nanny to Mary Kate Wilmer’s two sons and later to study at Thames Polytechnic. This book has also been reviewed several times already on this thread, I enjoyed it.

Hi I seem to have been away for a long time. It's very nice to be back .

28 The Lie by Nora Roberts
29 Cesar Vallejo' s Season in Hell by Eduardo Gonzalez Viana. This was a book about a chapter in a poets life when he was put in prison. Cesar Vallejo is a very well known Peruvian poet. It was a beautiful book in many ways, the man's poetry is wonderful. Not a book that you could skim read. After every chapter I had to take a break and really think about it before I was ready to move onto the next chapter. Thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it. However other people in the book club didn't like it as much.

29 The Final Minute by Simon Kernick given to me very kindly by mumsnet. A fast paced thriller that left me breathless.
30 The All Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg. Loved this book. A woman whose children have grown up. All she has to worry about it her batty mother and whether she will end up in the same mental health hospital as other relatives. Then she discovers she is not who she thinks she is.

31 A Hunger like no other by Kresley Cole. Quick romance read
32 The Goldfinch by Donna Tarrt loved this very much
33 sleepyhead by Mark Billingham. Serial killer on the loose in London
35 Death on The Nile by Agatha Christie
36 Highlander Betrayed by Lauren wittig
37 A Man of Some Repute by Elizabeth Edmondson. An earl disappears on a snowy night in the middle of a dinner party. Years later a body is discovered
38 The Viper by Monica McCarty
39 The Ranger by Monica McCarty
40 Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
41 The Shadows by ,J R Ward.

32. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archives Bk 1) by Brendon Sanderson
    The first in a proposed series of fantasy novels. Epic fantasy of the magic, swords and intrigue type. Really enjoyed this. The second one in the series is currently £10.99 so watching until it comes down in price till I dive into the second.

33. A Town called Alice by Neil Shute.
    Classic novel written in 1950. Follows Jean Paget, a girl in her late teens, caught in Malaysia in the Second World War. After the war she inherits money and goes in search of life, starting first by returning to Malaysia. I liked this book; the female protagonist is a great role model and although the start of the book is sad the book has a go-getting positive attitude. However the reason I didn't love it is that I found the style of writing quite stilted. Still recommended, though.

I have tried the first of the Lemaitre books (managed one chapter) - and it was already too gruesome and gratuitously graphic, never mind adding newborn torture. How horrific.

Remus, haven't seen that film, although I've been vaguely meaning to. My concentration for films/TV is much poorer than for books. Would like to see it - I'm sure it will be on TV one of these Christmasses...

Duchess, I also read The Victorians (confusingly, The Victorians and Victoria, both by A N Wilson, are two different books, although with a lot of overlap). Again, I had to skim it. The Victorians had quite a few enjoyable nuggets, but all the detail is overwhelming. Come to think of it, I nearly always end up skimming books by this author.

Book 98
Am on a mountaineering roll! 'The Beckoning Silence' by Joe Simpson
I really, really enjoyed this. It isn't about anything in particular, and is a bit meandering, but it's beautifully written and has some really powerful passages - one about the death of a friend was particularly moving; another about a storm on a mountain was just a stunningly poetic piece of prose which I will almost certainly be using in my teaching next term. Highly recommended.

Biblio - Billy C is v good, and it's one of the few Judi D films I've seen that hasn't made me shout at the screen in frustration. I don't like her much, but she's good in this.

No 63

Sue Jolly Dead babies and seaside towns

This is another one I've been dipping in and out of as the subject matter is so bleak
It's autobiographical and tells of the protagonists journey to have a second child
The stillborn chapters are heartbreaking
It's not a pleasurable read but by the end you do get a sense of Hope literally
I think people who have struggled more than I have to have a family would get more out of this book than I did to be brutally honest

I'm so sorry it's by alice Jolly

28. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. I'm not sure I can say I loved this book as I found it so heartbreaking to read, but it's a book that I would recommend highly. It's about a boy's descent into mental illness after the death of his brother. Beautifully written and very moving.

After reading Irene (which is a gruesome book about a serial killer) this was a nice change. It made me feel much more emotional than the high intensity horror of Irene, as it just seemed so much more real.

I read the Beckoning Silence many years ago, I might give it another look as I don't remember much about it. I think I read all of Joe Simpson's books after I saw Touching the Void in the cinema.

Hi can i join? Nowhere near 50 books as ive actually just got back into reading now i have better work hours giving me more time to read. So my list so far...

1. A piece of cake - Cupcake Brown.

This is one of those misery lit books about a girl in America who is abused and gets involved in gangs and drugs. Really good ending though

1. Defending the guilty - Alex McBride.

Anecdotes from a criminal barrister. Really enjoyed it

1. The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time.

Read this after seeing it mentioned on this thread. Possibly one of my favourite books. Absolutely loved it.

1. A Real Boy - Christopher Stevens.

Written by the father of a severely autistic boy. Very moving

1. The Reason i jump - Naoki Higashida

Written by a teen with Autism answering questions about why children with Autism do certain things. Didn't enjoy it as much as id hoped

1. The Boy in the striped Pyjamas - John Boyne

Hmm liked the actual story but wasn't keen on the way it was written

1. Jacobs Ladder - Brian Keaney.

Was quite gripping

1. Street Kid - Judy Westwater.

Another "misery lit" that i bought from the charity shop whilst waiting for my amazon books to arrive.

And now reading

1. 102 minutes - Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

Accounts from survivors of 9/11 and what went on that day

Welcome Heisenberg

I've started reading the Veronica Roth Divurgent series : Young adult series which is like a scifi Twilight or Maze Runner
Has anyone read it ? Not sure it's for me really despite being so popular , they're making the series into films
Think I might pass it on to eleven year old ds

80. Awful Auntie by David Walliams. Read to DS and we both really enjoyed it. David Walliams knows how to write a good children's book.

81. A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray. Didn't like this very much. Felt emotionally manipulated. That and the excessive religious content annoyed me.

Now reading The Bolds by Julian Clary and The Life and Loves of a He Devil by Graham Norton which I am enjoying.

Been out of the loop for a while thanks to a combination of holiday (yay!) and sick children (boo, but looks the virus has finally left us!)

Quite a few to report, so in no particular order:

#39. Eeny Meeny - M G Aldridge - interesting premise (two people imprisoned with their only chance of escape being to kill the other) but the writing was trully awful and the lead detective irritating

#40. A God in Ruins - Katie Atkinson - the life of a fighter pilot from the Second World War and how he adjusts to peace time life. I loved this, particularly the depiction of his daughter

#41. My Dear Bessie - Chris Barker - the letters of a WW2 soldier to his lover and, later, wife. Made me feel a bit voyeuristic

#42. The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett - three possible outcomes of a chance encounter between a boy and a girl. This was OK but required slightly too much concentration from a sleep deprived brain to distinguish between the three possible lives.

#43. My Family and Other Superheroes - Jonathon Edwards - my first venture in to reading poetry unconnected with DC's school work in a long time. Quite good.

#44. My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante - growing up in the Italian slums. So so - I doubt I'll bother with any of the sequels.

#45 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight - Alexandra Fuller - unsettled childhood of white settlers in various African countries - loved, loved loved this. Fascinating view of how the author developed.

#46. The Girl in the Red Coat - Kate Hamer - girl goes missing at a festival, detailing both her subsequent life and that of her mother. Surprisingly interesting.

#47. You are Dead - Peter James - latest installment in the Roy Grace series. Good beach read

#48. Genghis Kahn - Frank McLynn - not sure if this is the same book as others on this thread have read on the same subject. Nearly abandoned it in the first chapters (only so much you need to know about how the Mongols felted their yurts) but glad I persevered as it got progressively more and more interesting

#49. The Seeker - S G Maclean - basically Shardlake but set in Oliver Cromwell's protectorate. Not as good as Shardlake but still worth a read

Phew - mammoth post over!

Sorry about the sick children on holiday, Dragon. I know too well how hard that is.

Genghis Khan book that you have read is not the one that I read, by the way.

43. A Scanner Darkly - Philip K Dick

This is a great book about an undercover FBI agent who is tasked to investigate himself while he lives with a group of drug addicts under a secret identity. I had read it before, about 12-13 years ago, and found it brilliant. I picked it up as a Kindle cheapo some time ago, and hence the reread. It is funny, interesting, with more than a few insights into the concept of identity as well as heavy drug use. This book is quite different from the author's other books, in subject if not style, possible because the author wrote it after he got 'clean' after long and heavy drug use. Highly recommended.

54. Tuesday's Gone - Nikki French. Second in the Frieda Klein series of psychological thrillers.

Hmm shogun is 70p on Amazon! Anyone read it? I just recall there being a TV series I think??

For Emily St. John fans, one of hers is £1.19, Last night in Montreal.

Otherwise 40 is Dune by Frank Herbert. Epic absorbing tale nicely contrasting religious fervour with the brutish practicalities and corruption of power. Bit of ecology thrown in. Credulity and logic is somewhat stretched at times but still, hugely enjoyable. Would recommend.

41 An Enchanted Aprilby Elizabeth von Armin; this was a sweet old fashioned story of love redeeming all. All read a bit unlikely and somewhat dubious at times to my cynical modern eyes but I did enjoy it. Reminds me of The Blue Castle that I read earlier in the year. Something light after Dune.

Have started my Churchill biography next, it promises 19h of reading so I may be some time! or may flag and read something else