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

No 69

My Sisters Secret
Tracy Buchanan

Really enjoyed this , it's a story about three sisters , two of which die untimely deaths but there is mystery surrounding all the three sisters
It jumps from past to present but is easy to follow & readable

V jealous of all this talk of food and bookshops.

Will finish, 'The Mangle Street Murders' tonight, so will report back tomorrow.

Tessie, congratulations by the way, when are you due?
.

Thank you Best. I am due in December!

Congratulations, Tessie. Maybe this thread will inspire you with the perfect literature-inspired name?!

Book 108 'The Mangle Street Murders' by M. R. C. Kasasian

This was a book of two halves, I think. I quite enjoyed the beginning, and the concept - orphaned young woman goes to live with strange and eccentric male guardian, who happens to be a private detective. There's a murder and detective is hired to investigate - young woman assists. But I got a bit fed up of it by half way through and by the end I felt really rather disappointed in it.

There are some fairly terrible attempts at jokes, the detective is a pain in the arse (deliberately) but the young woman is also (and I think we're supposed to like her). There's a whole load of italicised stuff about something that happened in the past and that isn't developed, presumably in an attempt to get us to want to read the whole series; some of it attempts to 'cleverly reference' Conan Doyle etc but is about as subtle as a whack over the head with a spade and adds nothing to plot or character development, and the ending was stupid. I doubt I'll read another of these. Sorry, Sonnet.

Congratulations Tessie , a Xmas baby !

Esioxx

Congratulations Tessie :)

86. Mr Gum and the Power Crystals by Andy Stanton. Another amusing tale in the series.

87. Meadowland - The Private Life of an English Meadow by John Lewis Stempel. Really enjoyed this. It is a year in the life of a meadow at the foot of the Black Mountains in Herefordshire. A close study of the wildlife that visit, combined with details of running the family farm.

88. The Library Book compiled by Rebecca Gray. A compilation of essays and short stories by various authors Inc Susan Hill, Kate Mosse, Caitlin Moran and Alan Bennett all in support of the public library. Short and sweet, a quick read which I liked very much.

Next up - reading The Demon Dentist by David Walliams for DS's bedtime story. Deliciously creepy. I like it.

54. 1984 by George Orwell

Wow! I can't believe I've never read this before, I absolutely loved it. The scene where Winston & Julia are arrested is utterly chilling but adored the whole book. Wonderful read

Just started The Establishment. Can't remember who recommended this but it's fascinating so far

Provencal-I loved it too. I listened to the audiobook read by Samuel West, which was brilliant. That moment when they are arrested made me jump. Was shaking after

Duchess me too! Am going to see the theatre adaptation in a couple of weeks. Really looking forward to it now

Theatre adaptation - that sounds wonderful. Hope you have a great time :)

southeastdweller MN suggested that any other website where you use the same password should have it changed. As I couldn't remember which of my passwords it affected (I know I've used at least two of them on here), I felt I had to go for safety and change the lot. If you're more organised than me (or just have a better memory), then you probably won't need to make such sweeping changes. Sorry to have been offline for the weekend - hope I haven't caused you to worry

Many congrats tessie

Also joining in with the over visits to Hay-on-Wye. I read Orwell when in school and the feeling that I should re-read is growing ...

Aww thanks everyone, yes a Christmas baby will be lovely!

Getting on well with The Murder at the Vicarage. Agatha Christie are so easy to read

Gosh I haven't posted for ages on here! Just catching up with the thread and adding to my "to read" list - which thanks to you lot never seems to get smaller!!!

Last few from me:
38. Golden Son Pierce Brown - the 2nd book from Red Rising (thanks Cote fo the recommendation). It's very good, continues the story well, but wasn't happy with the point the story ended, without giving any spoilers, it felt rather on a cliff hanger, whereas the end of book 1 was the end of a story in Darrow's life, even though it was clear his next stage would be another interesting story, it felt like perhaps Brown wrote books 2 and 3 as a story and just stopped book 2 half way through. Which is annoying as book 3 isn't for sale until January and I want to know what happens next now ! (stamps foot like a petulant child). That said, if you loved Red Rising, read Golden Son, and Red Rising is very good!

39. Blue Lightening - Ann Cleeves. The 4th "Shetland" book, murder mystery type. It's a good old fashioned locked house murder! it's set in a bird watching hostel on one of the smaller, more remote islands. It's end of the season so not many people there now, only a handful of guests and a few staff. A storm hits, so the building is locked up, so the murderer has to be one of those people in the hostel, the storm continues so no one can leave and the people in the hostel have to continue to live together knowing one of them is the murderer. Our detective Perez is visiting the island as it's where he grew up and has to conduct the investigation with no help or forensics etc. It's well written, and I started having a soft spot for the passion of twitchers by the end!

40. Curtain Call - Anthony Quinn - another recommendation from here. Set in early 30s, a woman sees the face of a 'ripper' who's been killing woman, only problem is she was in the hotel as she was having an affair with a married man so can't really be honest with the police. Bit of a light read, with lots of very camp gay characters who are taking huge risks at the time.

41. The Husband's Secret - Liane Moriarty. A book club choice or else I'd not have read it. There are a number of characters who's lives interact around a primary school. The main story involves a woman finds a letter addressed to her to be opened on the event of her DH's death while her DH is away with business. She doesn't open it then, but does later on. There's a lot of fall out. relatively good as this sort of fiction goes, although all a bit predictable. and I'd have ripped open the letter straight away

42. Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee. This has been reviewed a lot, to add to it, it didn't feel like it was the same characters as the previous "To Kill A Mockingbird" - read as a story by itself, it's quite good. The problem is it's been compared to something so good as "To Kill a Mockingbird", and it's nowhere near as fabulous.

43. The Importance of being Earnest - Oscar Wilde - bit of a cheat as it's so short, not sure if it should count! Light and fluffy fun.

I've started reading and not finished 4 books since then, need to find something I can get my teeth into again.

Remus, sorry The Mangle Street Murders wasn't for you. It's still better than Moriarty though!

tessie, congrats on pregnancy, and I agree that Agatha Christie is great for these kind of situations.

95. The Sleeper, Emily Barr. If you loved The Girl on the Train and wanted something along similiar lines, this would probably fit the bill. It was fairly credulity-stretching by the end, but these kind of books usually are.

Now reading The Story of Alice: The Secret History of Wonderland by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst. I think Karoline Leach's In the Shadow of the Dreamchild was more revolutionary (she argues that after Carroll's death, his family unwittingly contributed to a later portrayal of him as a paedophile, by their Victorian censorship of his interest in adult women).

Love, 'The Importance' - and even better in the theatre than on the page. The last production I saw of it had Lady Bracknell lost for words and just mouthing, 'A handbag' - very funny.

Biblio - I'll stay well clear of, 'Moriarty' I think!

Book 109 - 'The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon' by Alexander McCall Smith
I really like these books - they are nothing earth shattering and can get a bit samey, but they are so lovely and feel-good. This wasn't my favourite of them, but it was a pleasant way to while away a couple of hours - just wish I'd had some cake to go with it though!

oh
my
GOD

I was kicked off the site last WED with all the hacker brouhaha and I have only managed to reset my password TODAY Kept getting a "Expired Link" message when I tried to do it, took three emails to MNHQ to sort it out although I do suppose they probably have had a lot to do the last few days

Whew. Must now read over the thread and see how you are all doing :)

I finished the Churchill book (by Roy Jenkins), it was mammoth. Took me ages. Very interesting, very dense, deeply political [duh I know]. Incredibly detailed. Plus lots of very obscure vocabulary [obloquy anyone? anyone? Jejune? I'll be v impressed!]

I'd love the real book as things like photos and maps are just not that great on a kindle. Definitely want to read more about WW2, might try a Max Hastings book, I understand they are good.

Would only recommend if you are very interested in Churchill and politics. His career spanned something like 65 years so it is not for the lily livered!

Thanks for the welcome back and good wishes folks. Hope hospital goes well Duchess, Remus continues to feel better and Best enjoys Hay - On - Wye

Remus - I haven't read The Mangle Street Murders yet - maybe I won't bother now

Hello to all those of you I don't know and congratulations Tessie on your pregnancy. Just think of all the reading you can do throughout the night feeds!

Book 42: Northanger Abbey – Val McDermid
This was a 50p charity shop find. I began reading it not having heard of “The Austin Project”. It was quite a gentle book and I kept waiting for the pace to pick up and the suspense to start having read a couple of McDermid’s previous novels. It just didn’t happen…. I flipped towards the back of the book and seeing the words “The Austin Project” I did a little googling. For those of you that don’t know (I suspect I am in the minority here!) “The Austen Project pairs six bestselling contemporary authors with Jane Austen’s six complete works: Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Persuasion and Mansfield Park".

I am afraid it just didn’t do it for me. I found it boring and did not engage with any characters. I just plodded through to the end. It reminded me of “Death Comes to Pemberly” and I did not like that novel either.

I joined Audible a few months ago but have failed to get to grips with it. My credits stacked up so prior to going on holiday in July I downloaded lots of “light”/chic lit type books. Lying on a sunbed and listening to an audio book just sent me to sleep though….I have now decided to make a real effort (not least because of the amount of audio books I now have) and have finished my first one –Book 43: Mud, Muck and Dead Things by Ann Granger (the first in a new Cotswold Crime series featuring detective duo Campbell and Carter). I have never read any of her books before but it reminded me of the Agatha Raisin books that I have enjoyed.

Book Synopsis: "Lucas Burton hates the countryside. To him it's nothing but mud, muck and dead things. And he's right. When he turns up at a deserted farm in the middle of nowhere hoping to conduct a business deal he stumbles across the body of a girl. And that's just the start of his bad luck: Penny Gower from the local stables has spotted his silver Mercedes leaving the scene of the crime. Suddenly, for Lucas, things are looking very bleak indeed... Inspector Jess Campbell is on the case, but with few leads and a new superintendent, Ian Carter, breathing down her neck, she's beginning to feel the pressure. Then another dead body is found..."

I am finding it difficult to describe my feelings about this book without resorting to clichés – A book about good old fashioned gentle sleuthing, an easy listen making no demands on the listener. Perfect for turning on and off whist cooking, cleaning and gardening. I don’t think I will read them in book form but will certainly listen to them via Audible again!

I am currently three quarters of the way through Book 44 The Undertaking by Audrey Magee and loving it! Another 50p charity shop find

Sorry, Sonnet - It was Biblio who mentioned it, not you. Must check back properly!

Just managed to get back on - what a time it has been for MN HQ

I had better update before Mumsnet goes again...

Book 44: The Undertaking – Audrey Magee
Another charity shop 50p find and well worth it! The story follows two storylines – Katharina a newly-wed wife in Berlin and her husband, Peter on the Russian frontline. Peter marries a photograph of Katharina in Russia whilst in Berlin Katharina marries a photograph of Peter – a marriage of convenience that ensures Pater a period of Leave from the traumatic Russian frontlines and Katharina a “Widow Pension” in the event of his death. When they first meet they fall in love and begin to imagine a life under the bright promises of the new Nazi Germany. But as the tide of war begins to turn against the Germans the couple find themselves facing the terrible consequences of being ordinary people. I thoroughly enjoyed this – memorable, often bleak and defiantly not for those who like gentle romantic, heart-warming war stories.

Following my love of The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver I have just started The Lacuna by the same author. I have also started another Audi Book Wish You Were Here by Catherine Alliot chosen as I hoped it would be easy to listen to. So far it has had me smiling at her observation of teenagers

No 70
Lisa Unger Crazy Love You

Ian Paine has had a lot to deal with in his life. As an overweight child, he would be constantly bullied by kids at school and was to scared to stand up for himself. Ian's family would also fall apart after his younger sisters death. After that his mums mental health would deteriorate and his only escape would be to go into the nearby woods to spend time with his only friend, Priss. To start of there relationship was like all other children with lots of playing and fun times. That soon changed when Priss discovers the bullying that Ian has endured and goes out of her way to protect him and make the perpetrators pay.

Years later and Ian is doing his best to move on after losing a fair bit of weight, becoming a successful graphic artist with his own popular line of comics and living in New York. Priss though refuses to leave and will continue to be his Achilles heel as he tries to drown his past in booze, drugs and sex. Things will seemingly go full circle when Ian meets the beautiful and sweet Megan and fall in love. Ian wants to be a better man for Megan and after proposing is the happiest he has ever been. Priss though is not happy and will do everything in her power to make Ian suffer for ever wanting to leave her.

I can honestly say this book was not quite the way I thought it would be. I thought Priss would be the possessive ex who was very dangerous and although she was creepy i was not prepared for link that connected her and Ian. Nothing in the story is quite as it seems with the story going from one twist to the other. I really enjoyed it . Might try some of her others , has anyone read any of hers ?

Esio xx

What a terrible time MNHQ have been having. Hope that's the end to all the attacks on the site, but suspect it isn't though :(

Hospital went ok-ish I think. Seen Consultant and had another MRI scan today. DH was sat in the waiting room and when I came out he said he was a bit bored - had read the magazines, and read a bit of his book. I said how about lying motionless on a bed in an MRI scanner for 40 mins with no book - that's boring :o

Hope you get good news Duchess - will send positive vibes your way

I too suspect this is not the last attack