50 Book Challenge 2015 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Thread five 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, third thread here, and fourth thread here.

Happy reading

119. Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. Hated it. It started off ok, but descended rapidly into weirdness and never regained my interest. Skimmed to the end just to get shot of it.

Need to search my shelves for something good to read. Am feeling cross I wasted time on this book.

Ah I read that too Duchess and was also disappointed. Descended into weirdness, but wasn't half weird enough. Boring weirdness!

Remus

Duchess - I agree, it wasn't great. A similar but imho better book was The End Of Mr Y.

55. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler. Rose has two siblings, one of whom is missing the other seems to have run away. Story based around two siblings and their adopted simian sister. Readable but forgettable. I ended up speed reading just to get it over with it.

56. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs. Jacob isd a teenager traumatised and vulnerable after the death of his grandfather who told of many strange stories in his past. Jacob goes to a Welsh island to uncover the truth. It is a peculiar tale told around very haunting and strange photographs. I enjoyed and looking forward to the second book in the triology.

57. At Home: A short history of private life - Bill Bryson. I listened to this on audible. In typical Bryson style it goes off on tangents and takes you everywhere from the development of the concept of public health and epidemiology to the discovery of Otzi The Iceman in North Italy. I really enjoyed it and will be recommending it to my 12 year old. She will love it.

58. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman. We listened to this in the car on route to school over the Halloween period. This is the story of Bod who is brought up in a graveyard after his parents have been murdered. It has always been one of my NG favourites so it was interesting to listen to it as narrated by Neil himself. This is undoubtedly one of my favourites of the year. My kids loved it and hung onto every single word so it was a success all round.

59. Because She Loves Me - Mark Edwards. Audiobook. I enjoyed the Magpies by the same author and read that some of the aftermath of that story was covered in Because She Loves Me. This came up on an audible daily deal so I bought it. It was 10 plus hours of my life that I will never get back. The premise for the story was good but the execution was awful and parts were more 50 shades (which I have never read) than thriller. If it was a kindle or paperback I would have skipped most.

I am now reading Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon on kindle and Humans by Matt Haig in paperback. On the school route we are listening to Northern Lights by Philip Pullman. I am torn between Terry Pratchett's Jingo and The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer on audio.

Yes, I should have added boring into my comments, wilting. I have no objection to strange novels, odd and quirky tales often appeal but the turn this one took did nothing for me. I'll make a note of your suggestion, Cote, thanks.

I think I fancy something dark and gothic next.

83. The Crossing Places -Elly Griffiths. Dr Ruth Galloway is a forensic archaeologist who gets involved with a police search for two missing girls when a child's body is found on the salt marsh. This was really well done, a believable leading character and an interesting story. What really stood out for me, living near one myself, was the description of the salt marsh. This was recommended on another thread, I'm delighted to gave found another writer along the lines of Anne Cleeves.

84 and. 85. Two books by Jenny Colgan. Pure chick lit but very enjoyable and easy reads on the train this week.

56 to 60 were more enjoyable than 51 to 55. Here they are:

56. Career of evil by Robert Galbraith
    The latest in the Cormoran Strike series. Very entertaining, though also a bit gruesome in places. I do think it's hard to beat JK Rowling just in terms of being able to construct a novel and pace it, with a good twist at the end. I had an idea very early on about the killer, and turned out to be wrong, which was quite pleasing in a way - I don't like it to be too easy.

57. Slade House by David Mitchell
    Slade House is set in the same universe as The Bone Clocks but is a lighter and shorter read - a kind of ghost story. It centres on the disappearance of people every nine years in the proximity of a particular alley. It's obviously nonsensical but also brilliant fun.

58. SPQR by Mary Beard
    This is Mary Beard's latest - a history of ancient Rome from its beginnings to about 200 AD. Very well-written and comprehensive, and looks at the lives of ordinary people as well as the emperors and senators. Worth a read if you're interested in Roman history.

59. Number 11 by Jonathan Coe
    Had been looking forward to this for ages. It's a kind of sequel to What a carve up! It's really an attack on modern Britain, satirising everything from the tabloid press to reality tv, with some suitably monstrous characters. But it's very funny too. It's his 11th novel, was published on 11 November and the number 11 appears in various guises all the way through, including, wonderfully, Birmingham's outer circle bus route.

60. Cockfosters by Helen Simpson
    Helen Simpson is one of my favourite short story writers, and she only publishes a collection once every five years or so. I didn't enjoy this one quite so much as her earlier ones, but it's worth a read. Most of the stories now are about people in middle age (late 40s, early 50s). I particularly liked the last one, about a middle-aged couple travelling reluctantly to Germany to see a production of The Ring Cycle, bought as a present. There's also a nice, funny one in which male and female roles are reversed, and the man lies in bed worrying about his childcare responsibilities and whether his wife still fancies him.

The 24 hr Bookstore gas been on my TR list for about a year now - don't think i will bother now . I did read and enjoy The End of Mr Y last year.

Book 72 - Lasting Damage by Sophie Hannah - a charity shop find and the only one I have read by this author. Don't think I will read any others.
The initial idea is quite good and intriguing and I was looking forward to reading this thinking it would be very similar to The Magpies or Before I Go To Sleep and stayed with it in the hope that it was a slow burner. Sadly, the characters were totally unbelievable (particularly the police officers)and in the case of the central character Connie, it was worse than just unbelievable - it was deeply irritating. This book is full of some truly clunky and ultimately pointless dialogue - Very disappointing.

Hoping to finish listening to Career of Evil today and then fancy a weekend reading some old childhood favourites.

Soneet Yay to old childhood favourites (shhh - don't tell Cote)!

I'm still enjoying the George Mann Holmes book, although it's taken a while because I'm only reading it on the bus. Am also re-reading some Bryson (Down Under) plus a huge history book.

55. Run Rabbit by John Updike. Someone reviewed this upthread which reminded me that I'd been meaning to read it so thank you to whoever that was. Well written but I didn't really like Rabbit and it was hard to have sympathy for him as he walks away from him marriage and child without giving much of a thought to how his pregnant wife will manage. But that was Updike's point and was a bit of a riposte to the On the Road philosophy of just clearing off and leaving everything behind. Updike illustrates that you can't just please yourself in life without there being repercussions (although a particularly harsh one in this book). Will read the other ones at some point.

56. My Life on a Hillside Allotment by Terry Walton. Entertaining book about allotments if you are interested in that kind of thing. Which I am.

57. Less that Angels by Barbara Pym. Although written in the 50s has some contemporary themes about trying to get funding for university studies and sucking up to potential funders. Funny.

58. The Leopard by di Lampedusa. Apparently this is considered a classic novel in Italy. Set in Sicily in the 1860s it focuses on the Prince of Sicily and his family at a time of great change. It is well written and funny as well as sad. The heat and dryness of Sicily is powerfully evoked. Really recommend this one.

59. Ashenden by W Somerset Maugham. Based on his own experiences it is a spy novel set during World War One. Some of the descriptions expose his prejudices (particularly the description of an Indian who has been campaigning for Indian independence) but if you can accept that as of his time it's a good read.

60. Crampton Hodnet by Barbara Pym. Set in North Oxford it is a social comedy set in the 1930s. It has a brilliantly funny proposal of marriage in it among other funny set pieces. Recommend this.

I thought it might be a challenge to get to 50 books but actually it hasn't. This has been a great thread for new ideas of books to read.

93. Tea on the Blue Sofa: Whispers of Love and Longing from Africa by Natasha IllumBerg. This is partly a memoir and partly a love letter from a woman to her murdered lover. I made the mistake of googling the real story of the murder half way through the book. The book is really touching and beautifully written but knowing the real story took from it a lot.

94. The Wallcreeper by Nell Zink. Tiffany marries Stephen, a scientist she barely knows, so that she can be a wealthy housewife and go shopping. They move to Berne where he becomes heavily involved in bird-watching and environmentalism and their life together takes many unexpected turns. I thought this was brilliant.

56. The Flood by Stephen Baxter

This apocalyptic story started out a bit slow and weak in character development, but then picked up with rich detail & credible plot and I ended up staying up most of the night to finish it. I heartily recommend it to fans of apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fiction, especially those of you who thought Emily Whatshername's Station Eleven was something special.

The Flood describes a near-future world where deep submarine seismic activity leads to seabed fragmentation, and the opening of deep subterranean reservoirs of water. Sea water levels keep rising, and not by just a few meters. Or even a few hundred meters. The resulting apocalypse, humanity's struggle to not only survive but also to preserve some knowledge and technology for future generations, wars for high land, raft societies etc are all is very well thought out. I'll definitely read the sequel.

I've picked, 'The Flood' up several times in the library and put it down again! Will now try to get it.

Book 143
'The Will of the Dead' - George Mann (Sherlock Holmes)
I enjoyed this, so thanks to Chillie for the rec. It was an ultimately quite satisfying combination of typical Victorian Doyle-esque narrative of toffs in trouble, and steam punk. I really liked the policeman character (given far more of a role and far more sympathy than the police generally get from Doyle!) and Mann's depiction of Holmes and Watson was entirely credible, although laboured just a little too much at times. I'll definitely read more of these.

25. Behind the scenes at the museum by Kate Atkinson. This is about the sixth book I've read by her this year and I really enjoyed it. Set across generations, linking one family together through the second world war and earlier through to the early 90s. The bit in the 50s in particular was so vivid and reminded of me of how my mum described her childhood. It's funny and devastatingly sad too. Does anyone know how the title goes with the book by the way?!

I'm onto To the lighthouse by Virginia Woolf (audible) and Meadowland on the Kindle. Thanks for the recommendations up thread.

89. The King in the North by Max Adams

Subtitled 'The life and times of Oswald of Northumbria', it's not so much a biography of King Oswald but of Northumbria itself. Adams covers the complexity of the line of monarchy, focusing a fair amount on Edwin and also Oswald's successors. He covers battles, both tribal and in the spiritual sense, as the competing influences of the British/Irish churches and Roman church are brought to a head at the Synod of Whitby. Adams relies a lot on Bede but examines Bede's motivations and claims in his writing. It's a very accessible read of a quite fascinating time and location in the history of the creation of England.

Cedar03 - that's funny, I've just downloaded The Leopard and am now really looking forward to reading it. I've got two or three other books to get through first but it's great to have a recommend - I wasn't sure about it, as sometimes the prospect of reading something everyone describes as a classic can be a bit off-putting.

I had slightly mixed feelings about Rabbit. I didn't like it well enough to read the rest of the books in the series. (I sometimes think about starting a thread about series where we've read the first book and never progressed to the rest - there are a whole load in my case.)

53. Umbrella by Will Self. This is a Cote recommendation and is definitely one of the most brain hurty books I've ever read! It is written as a stream of consciousness and moves without pausing between the viewpoints of the protagonists - Audrey Death, who suffers from encephalitis, her brother Stanley, who fought in WW1, and her doctor Dr Busner. I actually started it a while ago, got halfway through and needed a break, and just came back to finish it.

Having said that, it is well worth the effort. This is a work of genius, with some incredible imagery, and feels like a true insight into the mind of a mentally ill person. I agree with Cote that it makes something like The Shock of the Fall seem amateurish in comparison. Recommended if you fancy something challenging!

I'm glad you enjoyed it, tumble. Well, "enjoyed" is probably not the right word but found it stimulating and worthy. I'm happy to know one more person in the world who cracked Umbrella.

I'm also very happy to see that the word "brainhurty" is gaining acceptance. Just checked and it seems I have been flying its flag on MN all by my lonesome except for 1 previous post of yours from July and 1 by someone else. I love it

no 87 Tammy Cohen's latest First One Missing

Another pyschological thriller this time about young girls being abducted & killed , looks at the aftermath and investigation with a twist at the end

Now need something light hearted so no 88 will be
Mike Gayle's Seeing Other People

90. The Demi-Monde - Spring by Rod Rees

Second in the series. The Forthright are marching into Paris, and Lilith is awakened to bring a new form of evil and threat to the Demi-Monde, the cyber-training ground created for the US military. Nora Williams, daughter of the US President, remains trapped in the nightmarish world and realises that if she, her friends, and the Demi-Monde itself are to survive then she is going to have to lead the resistance.

It's a brilliantly nasty world that Rees has created, really quite compelling and although there's a fairly massive deus ex machina it still works as part of the plot and at least doesn't get dragged in too much.

Happy to be helping you fly the flag for brain hurty Cote

hackmum I read The Leopard for a book group and had never heard of it beforehand. I don't think it's a book I would have picked up in the shop otherwise as the cover isn't that inspiring. I enjoyed it loads more than expected and I think it's a book that can be read again and again. Hope you enjoy it.

Book 144 - A re-read of Bryson's, 'Down Under.' It's excellent, and made me even more disappointed with, 'Little Dribbling' in retrospect. I immediately ordered a history of Australia to follow it. Have read several of these before but mostly about convict stuff, so will hopefully be good to get a broader perspective.

There's a decent Kindle sale on at the moment. My recommendations are The Two of Us by Sheila Hancock, and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole.

Hello, I've been reading your posts for ages and would love to join. All my life I've been a complete bookworm and always had my nose stuck in a book. The arrival of a reflux-ridden non-sleeping DS four years ago saw an abrupt halt to my reading habit, and this is the first year I'm finding my way back into bibliophilia. I may not quite crack 50 books by the end of next month, but I'm so relieved to be 'back', and have taken great inspiration from you all.
Here is my list for 2015 so far:
(I'll copy some of you by bolding my favourites)

1. The Girl Who Saved The King Of Sweden - Jonas Jonasson
2. Daughter - Jane Shemilt
3. Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
5. Alys, Always - Harriet Lane
6. Reconstructing Amelia - Kimberly McCreight
7. The Rosie Effect - Graeme Simson
8. The Photographer's Wife - Nick Alexander
9. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

10. Drowned By Corn - Erika Hayasaki 11. Tales Of The City - Armistead Maupin 12. The Murder Bag - Tony Parsons 13. The Secret History - Donna Tartt 14. Longbourn - Jo Baker 15. Because She Loves Me - Mark Edwards 16. The Judas Scar - Amanda Jennings 17. We Were Liars - E Lockhart 18. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty 19. A Sight For Sore Eyes - Ruth Rendell 20. Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase - Louise Walters 21. Just What Kind Of Mother Are You? - Paula Daly 22. Elizabeth Is Missing - Emma Healey 23. The Burning Air - Erin Kelly 24. I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh 25. The One Plus One - Jojo Moyes 26. The Suspect - Michael Robotham 27. The Ice Twins - SK Tremayne 28. The Sleeper - Emily Barr 29. Bachelor Kisses - Nick Earls 30 This House Of Grief - Helen Garner 31. In My House - Alex Hourston 32. What The Dead Know - Laura Lippman 33. The Last Anniversary - Liane Moriarty 34. The Expats - Chris Pavone 35. Astonish Me - Maggie Shipstead 36. The Followers - Rebecca Wait 37. Stranger Child - Rachel Abbott 38. A Private Place - Amanda Craig 39. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler 40. Gentlemen And Players - Joanne Harris 41. The House We Grew Up In - Lisa Jewell

Reading back over these titles I can see that I have been leaning more towards 'lighter' reads than my usual style, and I think this is as part of my effort to get back to voracious consumption. I've had a lot going on over the past few years, and this combined with very little sleep has taken its toll on my capacity for escapism. Anyway, onwards and upwards.