50 Book Challenge 2016 Part One

[southeastdweller]

Thread one of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2016, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

Who's in for this year?

Haven't read it yet - got it from my stepmother on Jan 2nd, and we only came home again yesterday! Will start it soon and tell you what I think.

tooextra and only - I've also got Spill Simmer Falter Wither (great title) close to the top of the pile.

thriftymrs - how are you getting on with The Seed Collectors? I looked longingly at it in the bookshop before Christmas but thought of my huge reading pile and restrained myself. Was sorely tempted by the beautiful cover though.

Bugrit, what's Black Rabbit Hall about? I like the title.

Gawd knows. It looks sort of fantastical, possibly a bit gothic, centred around a crumbling old mansion. The cover is very appealing but doesn't give much away.

Sounds intriguing!

Re Costa Awards - I will take this opportunity to talk about the fantastic biography of quantum physicist Paul Dirac titled The Strangest Man, which won the Costa Award in the Biography category in 2009

Regulars of these threads will remember that I loved this book and rather insistently promoted it for a long time. It is the fascinating (and surprisingly accessible, given the difficult subject matter) story of not only this singular genius, but also the rush to the atom bomb, when the field of quantum physics was jus being developed and its applications discovered. Characters in this book include Einstein, Bohr, Oppenheimer, and Heisenberg , for example.

Don't miss it if you are remotely interested in historical non-fiction, especially on science topics.

Just place marking. I go through phases of not reading (for a month or so) but love books.

Just bought 4 more on Amazon kindle 12 day special sale (ends today) to add to the half a dozen or so paperbacks waiting to be read.

The Kindle are "The Watchmaker of Filigree Street" and "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" plus a couple of thrillers by an author I haven't read before.

Let us know what you think of 'Watchmaker', Freeriver; I've just finished it.

I loved the first half of The Seed Collectors - I remember reading in a happy daze of beautiful writing and interesting characters - but then it rather failed to deliver on its early promise, plot-wise.

Cote - I bought the Dirac book for my science loving mother for Christmas, turns out she's already read it of course! She loved it so I've asked her to give it back to me.

1. Finished my first book of 2016- hurrah! Sadly a bit of a mediocre read, a gothic thriller that takes place in Sussex 100 years ago or so. It was ok, but nothing special and I'll definitely have forgotten all about it by the end of this year. Very atmospheric though, and lots of rain so very topical! It was The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse.

I've moved on to Golden Son by Pierce Brown, which I said I wouldn't read as I thought the middle bit of Red Rising (1st book of the trilogy) was duuuuuullllll. So far I'm really enjoying Golden Son, cross fingers it doesn't get boring...and thanks to whoever told me it was only 99p on Kindle - bargain!

Anne - Pursuit of love is so fabulous, might be her best but you definitely need to read Love in a Cold Climate. Just gorgeous.

OnlyLovers I shall. It sounded very interesting from the customer reviews etc.
Did you enjoy reading it?

Oh yes I loved the Dirac book too!

Book 2 done. I diverted from Bill Bryson's The Road to Little Dribbling as it was too big to put in my handbag, instead grabbing Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive. It's a terrific book, somewhat memoir/somewhat self-help, about his struggles with depression and anxiety. He articulates the physical and mental feelings so clearly that it made me anxious to read. He also talks a lot about the things that help him, one of which is reading. I thought this passage was quite appropriate for this book-loving thread:

“[Books] were, in and of themselves, reasons to stay alive. Every book written is the product of a human mind in a particular state. Add all the books together and you get the end sum of humanity. Every time I read a great book I felt I was reading a kind of map, a treasure map, and the treasure I was being directed to was in actual fact myself. But each map was incomplete, and I would only locate the treasure if I read all the books, and so the process of finding my best self was an endless quest. And books themselves seemed to me to reflect this idea. Which is why the plot of every book ever can be boiled down to ‘someone is looking for something’.”

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1. A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan
2. Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig

Could those that have read that Dirac book given me some idea if it would be any good for a very science orientated 10yr old?

Free, I loved the setting and the characters and dialogue – there's some very dry humour and banter.

The mix of real and speculative history is very interesting too. It's a period of time that I thought had been done pretty much to death, but the angle on it felt very fresh to me. I didn't know about the Japanese show village, for example.

I found it a little confusing though and (without spoiling it for you) lost track somewhat of some of the characters' movements/motives/whereabouts towards the end.

EinsteinsMum I think he might struggle to be honest (unless your username is accurate!). You could give it a go though.

Damn, I haven't read 40% of War and Peace. I've only read 35%. DD or DS appear to have been reading ahead flicking through my Kindle app without me noticing

Hello to all the new newbies!

Yes please to people writing a few sentences to review the books they read.

Also, can I tentatively suggest that people start to put book titles/authors in bold, wherever possible/they remember to? It would make it easier to catch up and zone into conversations, now these threads are getting so enormous, so quickly!

I think I'll finish book 3 tonight, the latest Robert Galbraith - so far I'm liking it much more than the second, which I hated.

I thought Andrei's force was a sign of his frustration, rather than hate

On reflection, I think you're right and I made the mistake of seeing it as violence for the sake of it, almost.
I think his disillusionment with his marriage is an early sign of his fatalism, He's never going to allow himself to be happy and lead a contented life. It's nothing wrong with Lise, he says that quite clearly, it would be the same with any woman.

I could say more about that but don't want to add any spoilers.

Hello, can I join too?

I made over 50 last year, but only because I read all the Jack Reacher novels which was fun.

To those reading Cassandra Clare, I didn't love her books (which is a shame as I did love her fanfiction!) but she sometimes cowrites with SarahRees Brennan, and if you like Clare, I think Brennan is better- try the Demons Lexicon series.

I need some advice on the three body problem- it got good reviews, I like s f (loved world war z, quite enjoyed the Martian) but so far it is soooo dull! Is it worth sticking with?

Sort, don't know why that other bolding didn't work!

Ds has had a grasp of string theory for years which was why I wondered about it. As we are both scientist by nature I was thinking that it might be something we could do as a read together/discussion type book. Reading age wise ds is at a far higher level than me.

I have completed
1 Kushiel's Chosen- 2nd part in a fantasy trilogy. The first didn't really appeal to me from the description but it was 99p in the sale so I have it a go and got sucked in. The world building is excellent and it has plenty going on but it's amazing how invulnerable and wise the heroine is! That said its been entertaining and I am now on book 3.

1. The Guilty- David Baldacci

A run of the mill thriller with a pseudo Jack Reacher hero Will Robie. I think this would have been enjoyable enough guff as a book but the narration on audible wasn't great and highlighted how nonsensical some of the plot was.

So I am now reading Kushiel's Avatar on kindle to finish off the trilogy and am going to begin to listen to Alan Cumming's biography on audible after all the recommendations on MN

I'm not going to count this one on my tally list because it's only a short story as opposed to a book, but for any fans of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, there is a short story available on Kindle for 99p called How the Marquis Got His Coat Back. It features the Marquis de Carabas who is trying to find his coat, which was sold by the sewer folk during Neverwhere. Also features the Elephant of Elephant and Castle and the Shepherds of Shepherd's Bush. I did like the Marquis and it was great paying a brief return visit to London Below.

Hello everyone! Are all the newcomers enjoying the thread?

We're over half-way through the thread already?

I'm still on book 1 - Untold Stories. I already suspect it'll be in my top 5 at the end of the year. Alan Bennett really is a superb writer.

Remus Good idea about making authors and titles bold .