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

I love The Dark is Rising. It was one of mychildhood favourites and I do still read it every few years. I've got Folio editions of the whole series, along with the paperbacks I bought as a child.

Remus was this falling out in real life or within the pages of her books?

Only between the lines, Gerty!

I'm another one who loved the Susan Cooper books as a child. You have made me want to re visit them too... but what about all the unread books on my kindle?!

Another one who's returned their own books to the library here .

I complained to the librarian that one of the books I was returning wasn't recognised by the computer. She kindly pointed out that it wasn't a library book.

Book 50 something Pies and Prejudice by Stuart Maconie. Travel story about The North of England. Entertaining although I am from the South and wondered whether if I was from some of the northern cities mentioned I would agree wholeheartedly with his opinions of them. Slightly dated as it was published about 10 years ago so amusing bit about Boris Johnson being a nobody.

33 (finally!) Arctic Dreams - Barry Lopez

It's taken a long time to finish this book - over a month! It's been a long and tiring month for various boring reasons and this is a dense book that requires concentration. Absolutely worth it though - an exploration of, and love letter to the Arctic.

Am pretty sure I'm not going to make anywhere near 50 books... Or even 40! Will have to do better next year, or choose shorter books!

Thanx for sharing. I was looking for a new book)

92. A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

This was recommended to me by a management coach and I think it's the sort of thing you have to be in the right mood for. I tried starting it a few months ago and it irritated me a bit, but this week it has suited me. It's a bit on the spiritual side and I suppose it's in the mindfulness sort of sphere. All about awakening consciousness by learning to exist in the now. Some of it resonated, but I've never been good at putting this sort of thing into practice.

89. The Pure Gold Baby - Margaret Drabble. Anthropologist Jess is a single mother bringing up Anna, the pure gold sunny natured baby of the title, in sixties London. It becomes clear that toddler Anna has some kind of learning disability although what exactly is not made clear. The book follows their story into Jess's old age whilst meandering in and out of a number of topics, psychiatric care, Africa, Livingstone, Rodin.

90. The Girl in the Coat - Kate Hamer. Hated this, ludicrous tale.

Hoping I might make 100 books this year.

Wilting &Whippet - yes The Dark is Rising is just perfect for winter! I absolutely love them as a child and re-read all five of them as an adult for the first time in 2008 along with my eldest DD. I love them just as much now as I did then . Enid Blyton really reads on the other hand are tinged with nostalgia and enjoyed possibly because of the memories they provoke.

Gerty I only read David Copperfield for the first time a few years ago I absolutely loved it!
Book 80 was The Lady in the Van by Alan Bennett. funny, poignant at times and a very enjoyable read.
Book 81 * Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - just started and going down well so far

Sorry - many typos above!

54. The Blackwater Lightship by Colm Toibin. An odd little tale about Helen, who has an uneasy relationship with her mother and grandmother but is thrown into their company while they all support her brother during his illness. Unusual and charming.

John Scalzi's sci-fi book Lock In is reduced to £1.99 on the Kindle. I would recommend it to those interested in the genre.

Also, the work of amazing genius Cloud Atlas is £1.49 on the Kindle.

Cloud atlas is amazing, I second cote

In fact, at that price, think I'll buy it to have on my kindle

Feck it, it's £3.99 now!

Thanks for all the welcomes! It's nice to be amongst readers :)
southeastdweller do read A Sight For Sore Eyes. It's probably my best read of the year (despite being so old) and I think it's the most perfectly plotted book I've ever read. I finished it months ago and still marvel at just how well she tied everything up. So many novels leave a disappointed taste in the mouth, but this one is supremely satisfying. I've always been a huge Ruth Rendell fan, but mainly of her Barbara Vine books. It's been ages since I read one of RR books, and I immediately added another half dozen to my kindle! What a loss to the world the death of that woman is.

I've just finished my number 42. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica. My god! How did this tripe ever get published? It's like reading a high school student's foray into creative writing. Absolutely dire, and whoever edited it should be looking for a new job. I might read some David Mitchell next, just to get rid of the taste in the mouth.

wilting - Cloud Atlas is still £1.49 that I can see. Click on this link.

Operation Mincemeat by Ben Macintyre is £2.80 on the Kindle

I'm really enjoying, 'Operation Mincemeat'. Buy it, everyone! :)

Have given up on the history of Australia. It was so busy banging the post-colonial drum that it stopped actually saying anything. I get that the past needs to be viewed through the eyes of the present, but not to the extent that it gets in the way of actually describing the past!

Book 145 - The Lady from Zagreb' by Philip Kerr
The latest of the Bernie Gunther novels. It was okay - not his strongest and some of the dialogue felt really clunky. It felt almost as if it had been badly translated, but Kerr is British. It also really annoyed me that he referred to zucchini instead of courgettes!

I've bought Operation Mincemeat, but now DH appears to be reading it, on my kindle - how did that happen?!

Station Eleven is 70p this morning on kindle.