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?

A light book read with serious brain numbing insomnia - Why the whales come. Agree with Ds that Morpurgeo is over rated and it felt like he got bored and ran out of word count with this one.

Taken delivery of a whole box of old si fi classics including gems like I robot which I am filter reading for suitability before handing on. They have proper old book smell and I am starting with this one as I was warned that it was not really suitable in concept. Got part way into it and googled the title to find out it was turn into a film which I have watched.

south, yes, A God in Ruins is wonderful. Teddy is so kind and so real – a dream grandfather – and his life is sad and lovely and sweet. I love the line (I'm paraphrasing) 'Teddy had always considered love to be a practical act – clean clothes, regular meals.'

I have got that, cote but I'm sitting on my hands now, I don't need any more books!

I started last year off with The Secret History, a good one to kick off with I think youcantcallmebetty you can call me Al

Can we have a War and Peace discussion thread? There seem to be quite a few of us trying it just now and I think I'll need some encouragement to keep going!

Cheddar I'm up for that. It could be really helpful and interesting.

I am a bit late for the thread, but kept putting off posting because I couldn't catch up. I have given up for now but thought I should post and catch up later.

So far I have managed

1. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood carried over from 2015
2. Inshallah by Alys Einion (I hated this one, though I guess it has some interesting details about life in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War)
3. The King and the Slave by Tim Leach
4. The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse

I am currently reading The Wild Places by Robert MacFarlane. It is different to other books I have read but I like the descriptive tone and the ramblings as I am stuck in a big city and would quite like a few adventures in the wild.

Next will be Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See.

I have about 20 books lined up from the Kindle 12 days of Christmas sale, but wondered how you all choose the books you read? I am abroad so rely on my kindle and because I don't have much spare money have a price limit of £2. I do not buy anything available on kindle unlimited because not much appeals and I plan on reading the few I am interested in later when I use the month's free trial. It is cheap but it also means my reading is quite influenced by whatever is on offer at the time.

I tend to look at reviews in the papers, plus I have a few authors whose new book I always look out for. Sometimes I get personal recommendations.

At this time of year, in the UK press at least, there are some great features on upcoming books. I add the interesting ones to my Amazon wishlist so I don't forget about them.

I try to look for book reviews and have a few authors that I look out for too Only, but unfortunately the £2 price limit does for most of them. Occasionally I make an exception, but the only time I can remember recently was for Their Eyes Were Watching God which I would never be able to find here.

That's a good tip about the wish lists. I should really make a wishlist instead of just buying whatever pops up that day.

Thanks Cote for the heads up on the Astronauts Guide. DD was loving this in paperback but has mislaid it. I have been trying to get her into reading on the Kindle, have a way now! I like to have one factual and one fiction on the go so will read it next.
Finished A Man Called Ove. I found for me, the sadness far outweighed the chuckles - maybe it's because I have a couple of 'Oves' in my family. Glad I read it though.
Am currently reading The Life of Poo, which was a present from my DH, I think I already know what my review of it will be, but will plod on. Fiction is The Fiery Cross, by Diane Gabaldon had the paperback, but have got it on the Kindle now, as it is 1412 pages

altered, how about 'saving up' the £2s to buy one book that you really badly want at £8.99 or whatever? Apart from anything else, it'd keep your reading list shorter and more manageable!

Thanks for the heads up Cote, I've just bought Astronauts Guide on Kindle too, in direct contravention of my aim to only read the physical books still in the house - because I've heard so many good things about it both on here and elsewhere.

Now, the only problem is, I still can't find my kindle. Can I just ask, has anyone seen my kindle?

Can I join? I did read 50 books last year but only just! I did join in on the thread last year under a different username but tailed off in the last few months.

I'm halfway through Nicholas Nickleby so it will be a while before I can add even one to the list.

Somebody further up mentioned they were slowly reading war and Peace but reading a tiny bit everyday - that's how I read it, I quite often have a large book in the background this way.

I would be interested in a War and Peace thread, but I have not started mine yet, as I have been too into the other two I'm currently reading, and my children have not been obliging me by going to sleep at a reasonable hour.

I would probably prefer to just get stuck into it than bit by bit but my copy is such a brick big beautiful one that realistically it's not going to be possible except in small chunks with some pillows for support. But if you start one I will join and catch up when I can.

War and Peace thread here

Altered have you used ereaderiq? You set up alerts for authors or books that you're interested in reading and it notifies you when the price falls on Amazon. It also tells you if you should get it or keep tracking it.

Finished The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson last night. It covers another journey around Great Britain, 20 years after the one he documented in Notes from a Small Island. Having read a number of Bryson's books, I had a strong sense of déjà vu I am certain a few sections (the Lake District one, for example) were borrowed from other works but still chuckled throughout. A nice, light read.

*

1. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
2. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
3. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson

I'm reading World War Z - thanks to whoever recommended it upthread. Really enjoying it - highly reminiscent (in a good way) of The Stand and I can't help but wonder if there are a few deliberate references to the Dark Tower series (Topeka and Blaine...)

No, I haven't Stokey. That is an excellent idea! I have quite a long reading list at the moment thanks to the Christmas sale, but I usually have no more than one or two lined up, so I will check that out, thanks!

I have had a really stressful day so am looking forward to sinking back into The Wild Places as soon as I can find something to keep the toddler busy. I don't read a lot of non-fiction unless it is history or science related, so I am looking forward to getting stuck into another novel once I am done. I am really looking forward to All the Light We Cannot See.

The Miniaturist, Wolf Hall, Ghostwritten, The God of Small Things, Gilead, Under the Skin, Suite Francaise and Farenheit 451 are all lined up too, so I would be interested to hear opinions about them. There were a couple of years where I stopped reading and so I am playing catch up!

Gosh! I am signing in as this thread is moving so quickly I will end up dropping out as I can't keep up

I am still reading Book 2 A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara and think I will be for some time. About 15% of the way through and enjoying it so far.

I also have A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale on the go on Audible and a couple of non fiction (below) that I dip in and out of.

Meadowland by John Lewis -Stemel I actually read this last year after a recommendation on last years thread. I am now reading it a month at a time at the appropriate time of the year so I can appreciate my country walks.

The Story of England by Michael Wood Michael Wood tells the extraordinary story of one English community over fifteen centuries, from the moment that the Roman Emperor Honorius sent his famous letter in 410 advising the English to look to their own defences to the village as it is today.

Not enjoying Jerusalem at the moment. It's pretty poorly written and rushed right now. Hope it gets better as it's quite chunky

I'm still here but I'm finding it quite difficult to finish The Long Earth and only getting through a few pages a day. I read so many books over Christmas that I need a bit of a break. Plus it has trolls in it.

I've had Astronauts Guide on my Kindle for ages but haven't got around to reading it yet. I'll add it to my soon to read list.

Can anyone please tell me how I "bookmark" to my last post please?

alteredimages Wolf Hall remains one of my all-time favourite reads. I'recommend saving it until you have a bit of time though - I think I loved it because I read it on holiday and could really immerse; friends who have read it in a more usual fashion, in half-hour stints, have struggled a bit.
I enjoyed the miniaturist too but not as much as I had hoped to.

Sonnet, I find I can only do it on the desktop -- no luck with it on iPad or phone. On the PC, hover your cursor at the far right bottom of your post, directly above the "Message Poster" at the top of the next post, and a bookmark button should appear.

Jeez, EinsteinsMum, pretty sure I read the Midwich Cuckoos as a young teen or so. Loved it. My recollection is that it was quite enjoyably creepy. May be a bit dated now, but I can't think what would render it unsuitable for a precocious reader?

2/7 Tanaqui you say?! I'd persevere a bit more. It really is VERY slow to get going.

Provencal, don't say that! I've Jerusalem waiting too and I'm really looking forward to it!!!