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

Book 74 - 'Finders Keepers' by Stephen King
This features the same trio of 'investigators' as in, 'Mr Mercedes.' It's not King's best book but I enjoyed it much more than I did, 'Revival' and even when not at his absolute best, I'd rather read King than most contemporary writers. I won't say much about this, as some of you will probably be wanting to read it soon, but it would be good to talk about it later. It looks as if there will be another one of these, judging by the way it ends.

33. Echopraxia - Peter Watts

Well, this wasn't good. It's the sequel of Blindsight, which was pretty interesting. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen and was ultimately disappointed. Some interesting ideas but not enough to recommend it.

I'm on to Crash by J G Ballard - one of his few books that I haven't read, and that is because I watched (and was in awe of) the film directed by David Cronenberg.

37. Disclaimer - Renée Knight

Yet another psychological/domestic thriller set in contemporary London about a woman whose life unravels when she receives a book from a myserteous author that recounts a day in her life from twenty years ago that she's spent years trying to forget. The characters didn't ring true and as ever with books of this ilk, there were many plot-holes, and sorry if I come across as bitchy, but I think the author had been 'influenced' by the superior Apple Tree Yard. The twist I didn't see coming, though, and some passages were effectively harrowing. The kindle version is just £1.79 at the moment, if anyone's interested.

Now on Funny Girl, which so far is delightful and reminding me why Nick Hornby is one of my favourite authors.

Margaret Atwood's book of short stories Stone Mattress: Nine Tales is £0.99 on the Kindle today.

Can't remember last time I posted (it's been a busy few weeks) so just going to do my full list.

1. Life by Keith Richards
2. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein
3. The King's Curse by Phillippa Gregory
4. The Book of You by Claire Kendal
5. The Constant Princess by Phillippa Gregory
6. We Were Liars by E Lockhart
7. The Soul of Discretion by Susan Hill
8. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre
9. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon

10. Risk Wise by Polly Morland 11. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan 12. Lady Chatterley's Lover by DH Lawrence 13. The Etymologicon by Mark Forsyth 14. The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene 15. One Night Markowitz by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen 16. Vanessa and Her Sisters by Priya Parmar 17. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullogh 18. Diary of a Nobody by Weedon Grossmith 19. Hyperion by Dan Simmons 20. This House of Grief by Helen Garner 21. The Far Pavilions by MM Kaye 22. Aloft by William Langeswische 23. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews 24. I'll Have What She's Having by Rebecca Harrington 25. Camille by Pierre Le Maitre 26. A Room with a View by EM Forster 27. East of Eden by John Steinbeck 28. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 29. The Rise of the Islamic State by Patrick Cockburn 30. Good Girl by Fiona O'Neill 31. Open by Andre Agassi 32. Guards Guards by Terry Pratchett 33. Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett 34. Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett 35. Jingo by Terry Pratchett 36. Lean In by Sheryl Sanders 37. Do No Harm by Henry Marsh 38. The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett 39. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett 40. Thud by Terry Pratchett 41. A God In Ruins by Kate Atkinson 42. Snuff by Terry Pratchett

Stand outs for me are:

The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Aloft
East of Eden
Do No Harm
A God In Ruins

Bugrit I've just come on to log my next completed read as I'll Have What She's Having by Rebecca Harrington and couldn't agree more with your views. An easy and trivial way to while away an hour or so. I think the book could have been vastly improved by setting the author's word processing package to automatically delete the words "literally" and "actually" together with the exclamation mark, all of which were massively overused.

46. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

Tragic Nigerian tale of the downfall of a man whose fate is finally sealed by the coming of the missionaries. Nobody comes out well here, be they native or incomer, as the flaws and superstitions of both groups are laid bare.

47. The Testament of Mary - Colm Toibin Very short (104 pages)! but quite interesting fictional account of the time of the crucifixion from the point of view of Mary. It certainly presents an alternative view of events, especially the bringing back to life of Lazarus.

Back on the go-slow trying to read two novels at the same time now but I will be raiding the library this evening for more good stuff...

I finished number 21 yesterday - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. This was a re-read for me, but I wanted to read it again after watching the first episode of the BBC adaptation and realising it would be a good idea to try and refresh my memory of the storyline. I loved it just as much second time around, and I even felt a bit tearful at the last page and the ending.
Now looking forward to watching the 4 episodes which I have waiting on my Sky planner.

No 52
Blake Morrison And when did you last see your father ?

Has anyone read this ?
It's quite short , easy to read very evocative portrait of family life & the relationship between a son and his dad - it jumps between the present ( where his dad is ill in hospital ) & recounting his childhood holidays etc

It's poignant & made me laugh & cry

40. A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie

I bought myself a Miss Marple omnibus the other week, and while I've seen the Joan Hickson TV adaptations many times I've not actually read the stories before. But while I knew whoddunit, it's still a good read.

Rex Fortesque dies suddenly in office at the heart of his business empire, and a handful of rye is found in his pocket. Suspicion instantly falls on the family, particularly the young wife who has an overly friendly relationship with her golfing partner. But when Adele is also poisoned over tea in her parlour, and the maid is found dead in the garden with a clothes peg on her nose, Miss Marple finds herself in the hunt for a murderer basing his killings on a nursery rhyme.

Esio I read the Blake Morrison book years ago. Remember being really touched by it

Well, I finished Hannibal, and found it rather more enjoyable than the first time round.

Now onto The Luminaries. Took my a little while to get into it seems like it took an awful lot of unnecessary blather to actually get going but it's got my interest now. Only a little way into it though.

38 - The Bed I Made - Lucie Whitehouse
Kate meets Richard in a bar and starts an intense relationship. However, everything is not as it first seems and 18 months later she flees London and rents a cottage on the Isle of Wight. Richard hasn't given up on her and is trying to find her. An OK read. Lucie Whitehouse has been compared to Daphne Du Maurier by some critics, I would say that she is no where near as good.

39 - Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
Very clever book. Based on the relationships between three women whose children have just started Kindergarten. The story opens six months before the school trivia night. You know from the start that someone dies, but you don't know who, or how. The Police are investigating and interviews with the parents and teachers are interspersed with the story. I would highly recommend.

I had a lovely surprise this morning: a free book from Mumsnet (thank you) The Girls from Corona Del Mar by Rufi Thorpe! So nice to get a parcel in the post :)

35: Jane Hill thriller "Never Let Go"....bit dull and repetitive I found. Girl goes to San Francisco when she is 18 and has "affair" with 40 year old man who she kills. She gets away with the murder and now she is 35 and in London and someone is stalking her and telling her she will be punished! I guessed the twist mid way through but the final little twist at the end I didn't guess and it was good. A light, quick read but not brilliant!

36: Anita Notaro A Moment Like This: Her last book she wrote in 2012 before she died in 2014. Simple, quick read about a mousy type woman who has an amazing singing voice and wins an "X Factor" type of competition in Ireland.

37: Am going to try Night Circus next :)

oops the Jane Hill book is called "Can't Let Go"....actually I let it go very easily

I got that book too,Lammy. I've bumped it up my list, but still need to clear some of the backlog of library books waiting to be read. It's lovely getting free surprises in the post, especially books.

Bugrit: I was delighted and it looks like a decent story!

It's a while since I've posted and I'm not quite sure where I was up to.
22. The Allotment Diaries by May Sexton. Mixture of a diary with tips about growing vegetables and recipes too. Enjoyed it as I have an allotment so it was all very relevant.
23. Death of a Glutton by M C Beaton
This was a light read about a woman murdered while on a singles weekend. Lots of suspects, nice twist, undemanding which was what I needed.
24. I needed an easy read because I was also reading Maiden Castle by John Cooper Powys. This was a book club read - it was turgid and had a ridiculous plot. Gave up (which I almost never do) but still counting it because of the effort I put in.
25. A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor. She was a writer in the 1940s and 1950s. This one is set in a run down post war seaside town where the local doctor has an affair with his wife's best friend. I really enjoyed this one - it has some brilliant descriptions.
26. The Flemish House by Georges Simenon. An Inspector Maigret novel. The first one I've read. He is asked to investigate the disappearance of a woman by the family who are suspected of killing her. Slightly weird ending but good.

Oh, I got a book from Mumsnet too, but mine was as part of a prize for a photo competition I entered. Here's my review of it:

Book 30: That Girl from Nowhere by Dorothy Koomson. My first comment is that the cover page seemed a bit fence-sitting. Is the model in the picture actually black, or is she mixed-race, or even just very tanned. The main character is black and the whole book is about her identity; as the author I wouldn't be content with that image.

The story is about Clem who is black and adopted by a white couple. Her mother has a problem with acknowledging the obvious physical differences, whilst her father does not. He takes Clem to a black hairdresser and learns how to do her hair, he talks to her about their differences. He is a huge figure in Clem's life. But he dies, then "something" happens that causes Clem to leave her (secret) husband and her mother imposes herself upon Clem when she tries to relocate across the country to start anew. Clem meets her birth family via a series of coincidences and things get a bit screwed up when her grandmother asks Clem to help her die. Drawbacks with it were that I felt the ending tied things up a bit too neatly with some of it lacking reality. All the male characters were ciphers except for Clem's Dad who certainly came alive on the page. Ms Koomson clearly is more comfortable with female characters. Overall, a decent enough sorbet read.

Duchess any joy with your most recent hospital visit?
Esio & Provencal I've added that Blake Morrison to be TBR pile, thanks.
Galaxy I just loved Maggie O'Farrell's "Esme Lennox" too - a really beautifully written book on a tough subject.

Current read is a real piece of trash ... hey ho, it won't take long, then back to something good. I just need to choose ...

Hi Joyless: Isn't it great to get a surprise free book
Hope your own health issues are going well for you?
I started driving today!!!!! It is great to have that freedom again after not being able to since the end of February!
I like your review of Koomson's book above, I've read some of hers and they are decent enough for light reading.

Joyless - last week's ultrasound didn't show up anything bad, which I'm very pleased about. I did think my GP sent me for that as a ruling things out measure rather than looking for something specific, so am relieved.

Hope all is still going ok with you? And Lammy?

Still enjoying The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher. That's a sentence I never thought I'd hear myself say :o But it is good - the stories are deliciously dark, a bit twisted and off-kilter. Just what I fancied right now.

Oh and thanks for the tip-off about Stone Mattress, Cote. I've never tried Margaret Atwood before. Am enjoying short stories atm.

Duchess: All is good with me now thanks, starting to build up back strength again by walking and going to the pool. One more month and should be fit for work again! Glad nothing bad showed up for you! It is such a worry waiting on results!

Anyone looking forward to the Marian Keyes web chat tomorrow?

Me!
I love Marian Keyes, have been a fan since her first book Rachel's Holiday I think it was ?
Love her later stuff too

I've fond memories of reading Watermelon & Lucy Sullivan is getting married in my single days
I loved her along with Freya North & Jill Mansell