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

Not including my failed attempt to read Rick Stein's autobiography .....

100. Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear by Andy Stanton. I think the stories are getting weaker, but the humour is still there, and that's what is keeping us reading. They are quirky and silly and make us laugh far too much at bedtime!

101. Dark Fire by C J Sansom. Didn't really enjoy this. I should have loved it, it's exactly my kind of book, so am puzzled - had enjoyed Dissolution. Maybe it was the audio book format that isn't right. Will try reading the next one and then decide whether to continue.

102. Longbourn by Jo Baker. I liked this. It held my interest throughout, enjoyed the stories of the servants. Was shocked at the Mr Bennet/Mrs Hill connection, liked James's story and his experiences in the army.

Have just started The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell. I may be a while on this one :)

Thanks Reums - I may try a Shardlake. :)

36. The Magnetic North by Sara Wheeler - Non-fiction. The author travels to various parts of the Arctic (Russia, Canada, Lapland, Alaska etc...) and tells stories of her travels plus adds a bit of history and quite a lot of environmental doom and gloom. I absolutely loved her book about the Antarctic (Terra Incognita) but this wasn't nearly as good for me. Just a bit too much ecogloom for me, and too little of the funny stories about the other people living and working in these extreme environments. She is a very good writer though.

I have just added the Brian Sewell dog book to my wish list! Sounds lovely.

Code Name Verity is 99p on Kindle today if anyone is interested.

Agh, I am struggling too with some Franz Kafka. Metamorphosis and other stories. Metamorphosis was fine. A guy turns into a beetle. I can handle that. Now I'm on an interminable one about a dog that I can't make myself finish. It's not a short story either, about 50 pages. I don't know what's going on! So tempted to give up, but I won't, because I am stubborn.

I have managed to read:

81. The Lover - Margeurite Duras
    This short classic and essentially biographical novel tells of an early, passionate romance between a French teenager and a Chinese native of Indochina in the pre-war years. I've never seen the film but I think I will now. Her family is absolutely awful and I'm amazed she managed to escape them to fulfil her dreams to be a writer.

82. The Sound of the Waves - Yukio Mishima
    A romantic story set in a remote fishing village on a small island in Japan. I really enjoyed this and it's my first go at reading Mishima. I will definitely read more by him.

83. The Trespasser - D.H Lawrence
    I know he's not for everyone but despite very little happening in this novel about an affair, mainly set on the Isle of Wight (lots of feelings analysed and descriptions of nature, which I personally enjoy) I couldn't stop reading this. It's very male and heavy somehow, with a lot of veiled meanings, but I was gripped by this. You can see him building up to Sons and Lovers, which I think he wrote after this and which is one of my favourite novels.

I am also reading City of Djinns by William Dalrymple on my Kindle which is great fun.

ok, carrying my list across, finally! It's out of order btw but who cares?! Highlights in bold.

1. The Crimson Petal & the White by Michel Faber
2. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery - actually, anyone who enjoyed Enchanted April would probably like this, from the author of Anne of Green Gables
3. Risky Business by Amy Andrews
4. Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon
5. Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
6. Countdown City by Ben H Winters
7. The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters
8. World of Trouble by Ben H Winters
9. World War Z by Max Brooks
10. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
11. Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch
12. When I Met You by Jenna Forte
13. Sovereign by CJ Sansom
14. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
15. John Dies at the End by David Wong
16. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke
17. The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett
18. Longbourn by Jo Baker
19. The Martian by Andy Weir
20. H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald
21. Operation Mincemeat by Ben McIntyre
22. The Barbarians at the Gate by Byran Burrough & John Heylar
23. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
24. The Humans by Matt Haig
25. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
26. The Children Act by Ian McEwan
27. The Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes
28. Winston S Churchill: Youth, 1874 - 1900 by Randolph Churchill
29. The Atlantis Gene by AG Riddle
30. The Atlantis Plague by AG Riddle
31. The Altantis World by AG Riddle
32. Driving Over Lemons by Chris Stewart
33. Biocentrism by Robert Lanza
34. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
35. Bedsit Disco Queen by Tracey Thorn
36. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
37. Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton
38. Us by David Nicholls
39. Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh
40. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
41. Churchill: A Biography by Roy Jenkins
42. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin
43. Dune by Frank Herbert
44. Mr Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Had to take a break from Armageddon which is excellent but unrelenting in its depiction of savage events in WW2. So I took a break and swiftly read;

45. A Fete to Remember by Julia Stagg; This was a short sweet read, not particularly original but full of good humour. Enjoyable. I might go back and read some of her earlier books actually.

Have new energy for Armageddon now and hope to polish it off this week

Gosh this thread has moved fast!
Book 51 - Meadowland- I cannot add anything to the already excellent reviews on here. I read this book inspired by this thread and absolutely loved it. I will go back and read each month at the correct time of the year and savour the descriptions. I am sure it will enhance the walking I do around the fields near my home.
Book 52 - To Kill A Mockingbird - A re-read for two reasons. Firstly, to help me help my dyslexic daughter with her Eng Lit GCSE and secondly as a prelude to Go Set A Watchman* that is on my to-read list.

Can't wait for this evening to choose Book 53 from my to-read pile

Remus That Rick Stein autobiography is truly awful, isn't it?

Posting again after a long break caused by my ineptitude/laziness to sort out my account following Hackergate - used to post on here from time to time as Dragontrainer . . .

My recent reads ( books 50 - 55) are:

The Secret Place by Tana French - murder amongst the pupils of an exclusive Edinburgh school. This would probably be more appreciated by an - ahem - younger audience; I am so over all that teenage angst and earnestness

The Sudden Departure of the Frasers by Louise Candlish - purchaser of a house becomes obsessed as to why the previous owners sold so quickly. I found this enjoyable trash which I won't probably remember in two months' time

Do No Harm - Henry Marsh - anecdotes from a curmudgeonly neurosurgeon. This was an interesting insight into a fascinating character and subject matter but is definitively not one for the squeamish

Hyperion - Dan Simmons - a diverse group of pilgrims travel through space to encounter a threat and amuse themselves by telling their life stories. I found myself both loving and hating this book by turn. Some of the tales told had me absolutely gripped; others I found myself skim reading.

Bad Blood - Lorna Sage - an autobiography outlining a childhood as the grandchild of a lecherous but lively vicar. To me this was extremely self indulgent and I wouldn't really recommend it.

76. Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers. Gentle novel about a retired schoolteacher who moves to Venice after retirement and the death of her flatmate. Miss Garnet falls in love, learns to appreciate art and realizes that she has lived too quietly. It was way too light and improbable for my taste but Salley Vickers is a good writer and I imagine it would be a more enjoyable read if you've ever been to Venice.

77. Kinder than Solitude by Yiyun Li. Set partly in Beijing and partly in the US. A suspicious poisoning throws a shadow over the lives of three teenagers. It's partly a mystery and partly a novel about damaged people trying to make sense of life. Highly recommended.

78. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. I've been reading this for days without making any progress. If it doesn't pick up soon it will be my second abandonment of the year. The first was the Joanna Trollope Sense and Sensibility.

Old Hag, I liked Bad Blood but agree that The Secret Place was a bit overly angsty.

started Book 53 last night - Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. It has been on my "to read" pile for a while now. A 100 pages in and the story is unfolding nicely. I am going to enjoy this!

Book 121
'Whitby Vampyrrhic' by Simon Clark
This was as bad as it sounds, although I did finish it (desperation!). It's set in Whitby, 2nd World War and has vampires, all things which would tick my boxes. And tbh the story isn't dreadful, but the writing was really poor quality and there were lots of grammatical mistakes and even spelling errors. The writer could do with some lessons in punctuation, and the editor (if there was one) needs shooting. Stay away, folks.

I feel as if I've read an awful lot of rubbish this year. :(

" The writer could do with some lessons in punctuation, and the editor (if there was one) needs shooting."

Great review Remus

I don't WANT to scathing and horrible, though. I want to read wonderful books, which make me enthuse with admiration and delight. Where ARE these mysterious and elusive creatures?

To BE - my editor needs shooting, too!

mmack how far are you into I Let You Go? I thought it picked up a lot from when the second half begins (but I don't think it's a great book).

Remus - You still haven't read Measuring The World so won't get another recommendation from me

mmack I too thought I Let You Go was a bit slow and I actually asked on here whether it eventually picks up (a bit further up thread) as I was feeling disheartened by it, but it really does get better and I really enjoyed it so much so I couldn't put it down!

I know - library hadn't got it and I'm cutting down on buying stuff.

Remus have you read Tom Holland 's vampire books? I came across their existence the other day but haven't read any of them. But they sound interesting, silly but possibly well written?

I've only read about 75 pages in 4 days and I usually read 2 books a week. I think it's partly because I already think I know who did it. I also have A Place called Winter by Patrick Gale checked out and I wish I had started that first.

mmack I really think you should stick it out - please believe me when I say at 75 pages in you aren't on the right track in your predictions... many twists to come!!

13. Diary of a Nobody - George and Weedon Grossmith. Loved it! I grew up around the area it's set in (athough there's not much talk of the streets) which perhaps makes it more 'fitting' with me. I really enjoyed Pooters pomposity and failure to move with the times.

It's ages since I posted so here is my latest update.

56. A Man Called Ove by Federil Sachman

Book group choice which I wasn't that bothered about reading but it was absolutely wonderful. Sort of in the vein of the 100 Year Old Man but much more touching than that. I cried.

57. Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey

I enjoyed this so much, partly because it is all set around Wentworth Woodhouse which is where I grew up. Fascinating story of the decline of the Fitzwilliam family but also an interesting view of labour conditions, especially in the mines, during the 20th Century.

58. The Second Coming by John Niven

God decides that the Renaissance looks like it's going well so takes a week off to go fishing. In earth terms this is 400 years and when he returns he's horrified at what we've done to the world. So he sends His son back to earth; Jesus is a stoner guitar player who decides to try and spread his message by going on an X-Factor type competition. Very funny and irreverent; not for the faint-hearted.

59. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain

I've become quite a fan of Paula McLain with this and her first book The Paris Wife. This is a fictionalised account of the life of Beryl Markham, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West. Thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the depiction of Kenya in the inter-war years. Has driven me to want to read more.

60. Kill your Friends by John Niven

Profane, violent, mysoginistic, racist, homophobic. John Niven's tale of the music industry during the 1990s is pretty abhorrent but very funny with it.

61. Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Another book club read, Paver does a good job of depicting life of Svalbard during an Arctic winter. It's kind of silly but she almost pulls it off.

Currently reading two books:

The Go Between - decided not to watch the TV adaptation until I've read the book. So far very much enjoying.

Listen to the Moon by Michael Morpurgo - trying to encourage S to come out of his comfort zone by reading this at the same time as him and discussing it as we go along.

provencalrose - sounds like you have had a good run of books, wish I could say the same, here's hoping!!

37. Go set a Watchman by Harper Lee - I was never as obsessed with To Kill a Mockingbird as some and I had already heard that this wasn't on the same level, but I was still quite disappointed. There were quite a few pages where I didn't have a clue what was going on, I guess my American history is just not good enough. Yes, it was interesting to read about these now famous characters much later in their lives, but on the whole it felt very disjointed. Not a terrible book but I am glad I've finished it and can move on to something else!

Books 50 & 51 are further candidates from the Booker (now shortlist): Satin Island by Tom McCarthy & A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

Satin Island is a rather odd read about an anthropologer & ethnographer who is employed to find The Big Project for The Company. It all seems a bit rambly and disjointed but what I was left with was the mess the civilized world is making of the planet. Short & interesting.

A Little Life is just wonderful and my vote for the Booker (so far). The story of Jude, his harrowing childhood of physical and sexual abuse and how he finds friendship, a successful career, a family and a relationship - and whether the love and kindness of his adult life are enough to heal the wounds of his childhood. Beautifully written, with moments of great sadness and great joy. Read it!

56. Late Fragments - Kate Gross

Short memoir from Kate Gross, who died last Christmas, originally written as a memento for her two sons to read. It's occasionally moving but I wasn't keen on her writing style and couldn't relate to her life.

About to start Did You Ever Have a Family, by Bill Clegg.