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?

I should really reread 1984 but not sure I can face it atm. I live in Egypt and it is all a bit too close to home.

" It is hard to write about something that is so socially un-normal that to consider anything else happening is difficult due to the need for rebellion to achieve it. "

I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. What do you mean by "socially un-normal"?

I am reading Animal Farm with ds. This reread is interesting in that if you strip down to the core observations then it has aspects which are still a relevant commentary on current political systems. From my experience of Orwell he seems to have been a rather canny observer and describer of human nature.

Oh yeah I am a jumpy about reader as read to mood but do binge read too Currently have a long list of books that I have started and should finished. Not picked any of them up yet and have started other books instead The main challenge is to finish off the half read books this year.

1984 is timeless imho, a very worthy read, took dc to see the recent stage play and it stood up well albeit with a c21 update. Impressive considering it was written nearly 70 years ago; Brave new World also excellent and deserves much more attention, I feel.

@Cheddar- don't get me wrong, I think Dahl is a fine writer and love his work. My kids outgrew his books a while ago now so no characters immediately spring to mind, more an abiding memory of an undercurrent of particular nastiness to his female characters, however minor. He was probably of his time but I found him unpleasant to read aloud because of this at times.

Cote i will have a think about how to translate my thoughts about it into something coherant to some one outside my brain. Need more coffee first

I think there are some Dahl books where there are very few female characters and those who exist are either portrayed nastily or are a bit wet (Fantastic Mr Fox, Danny the Champion of the World, The Twits, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). Then there are some with major female characters, good and bad (Matilda, The BFG, The Witches, even George's Marvellous Medicine). I don't remember an undercurrent of nastiness to female characters but it's a long time since I read them.

Yes, I especially like the bit in Animal Farm when they start changing the rules in the dead of night and pretend they were always like that.

Thanks Quogwinkle - it's good to make sure you know what you're doing before you begin! I love reading (always have but hardly did any for years) and it's very exciting to be able to share that experience with other book lovers

CoteDAzur - thanks for the recommendation of Black Swan Green. I read David Mitchell's Bone Clocks last year and loved it, so will be adding BSG to this year's list. Cloud Atlas probably needs to be on it too (right?), as well as a re-read of 1984 and Brave New World. Argh! The towering TBR pile is already starting to wobble!

Melgella, may move straight on to Bone Clocks from my towering pile as had enough of Last a Letter from Your Lover, life's too short to struggle with a so-so book full on annoying, self-indulgent characters. Reading meant to be for fun! Or at least an intellectual challenge of some kind. Last is neither.

"socially un-normal"... would that mean something along the lines of, for anyone writing in the time that Wyndham, Asimov, etc, lived in, things like sexism, misogyny etc would be considered as normal and unexceptional by most of society? So a book depicting modern attitudes towards women and different races might have seemed fantastical in itself, even before you add in man-eating plants or spaceships?

I find some of the attitudes expressed in older books can be very jarring when reading now, but they probably wouldn't have seemed out of place back in the 1940s or 50s. Not that remembering that makes books filled with casual sexism or racism any more comfortable to read.

Thanks for the Bookmarking tips Serendipity and Quog

Remus I enjoyed Career of Evil far better than The Silkworm.

I Loved John Wyndham as a teen but really don't want to re-read as I think I will feel let down and would rather treasure my teen memories. I did re read Animal Farm last year and absolutely loved it and am planning a re read of 1984 as soon as I have finished A Little Life

1. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

Picked this up yesterday since I enjoyed the first novel and thought I would crack on.

Irene, Librarian-in-Residence in an alternative Victorian London for the mysterious Library that exists between worlds, goes on the hunt for her assistant Kai when he is abducted. Kai's dragon heritage means that his kidnapping could be the trigger for a war between his people and their greatest rivals, between the forces of order and chaos. Her search takes her into deep into the chaos worlds, to an alternative Venice where it is always Carnival.

Another good read. I thought the writing was showing signs of improvement on the first and have high hopes for how the series might progress. Apparently Cogman is already working on book three.

50 is not much of a challenge, but it will be interesting to organize my thoughts as I read so much I tend to forget exactly what I've read. I'm starting with 'The Winter's Children' by Lulu Taylor. I'm reading it thanks to Mumsnet and it's been fascinating so far, I'll let you know my full opinion when I finish it. Also just finished Sharpe's Fury by Bernard Cornwell and as ever an entertaining read.

I read Career of Evil last year so it can't count, but in fact I was disappointed, it just didn't hold my attention at all

I think there was a lot of underlying hate towards many different kinds of people in Dahl's books, but I'm not sure it's specifically women.

It doesn't stop at 50 bernie77 - Many people on the previous years threads got well into the 100's

1. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett. My first Discworld book (since reading The Colour of Magic in 2003) and I did like it. It's a piss-take of Macbeth, written from the point of view of the three witches. The style is a bit laboured, with all the wry-ness and such, but I loved Granny Weatherwax. I'm going to read more of these, I think.

1. Propellerhead by Anthony Woodward. This is a re-read actually, someone bought me a "trial flight" voucher for Christmas so I thought I'd re-read this to get in the mood before booking. It's a cheery enough memoir - the flying isn't entirely the point, the author seems like a slightly bumbling, likeable enough character, with plenty of self-doubt and lack of confidence in his abilities. The other characters are well drawn and it's an easy, enjoyable enough read. Of course, these tales of mechanical disaster and (reasonably serious) crashes may not have been the absolute ideal preparation for my first time ever in a small plane!

I was reading this on the tube - I've completely got out of the habit of reading a "real" book on the tube, since I'm invariably standing during rush hour. At the moment I'm having to read on my phone, as I still haven't found my Kindle, grrr! The possibility of having to buy a new one is creeping up :\

I only read Triffids in 2014 and I loved. It's the most loved book that my book group have read - universally popular. I agree I don't think the plants are sentient. It's more herd behaviour I think

'would that mean something along the lines of, for anyone writing in the time that Wyndham, Asimov, etc, lived in, things like sexism, misogyny etc would be considered as normal and unexceptional by most of society? So a book depicting modern attitudes towards women and different races might have seemed fantastical in itself, even before you add in man-eating plants or spaceships?'

StitchesInTime yes this is what I mean, especially for a good chunk of society it would seem more plausible for there to be man-eating plants and space ships due to the space race and the great unknown in this respect, than it would to have a society that was heading towards equality having already recognised the need for it.

I read Triffids I think last year or 2014 and I really liked it and I was expecting stupid plants. I remember it was more about ppl trying to crave out a life after everything had gone to hell really, the Triffids were just this ever hovering threat.

I think John Wyndham was the first sci-fi I read in my early teens. My Dad had a complete reader's digest collection of him. I remember being very impressed by a short story where he meets his parallel self. I saw the 70s serial of Day of the Triffids on Beeb 4 recently and also enjoyed that.

DF also had a great reader's digest Stephen King volume of The Shining, Salem's Lot & Carrie, an early intro into horror.

Interesting to hear about the Invisible Library Chilliejean. I wanted to love this but didn't feel the first one delivered.

I've just picked up Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither and realised it's about a stray dog. My dog had to be put down last week and I'm not sure this is one for me right now!

Book 1 Shirley by Charlotte Bronte. A book group choice. It is set in Yorkshire in 1812 during the time of conflict between mill owners who wanted to introduce new machinery and the weavers who lost their jobs and were starving. It tells 2 love stories - one is Shirley's, the other is a woman called Caroline. There are some funny bits, good writing from both the man and woman's point of view and quite a bit about the position of women in society and how they are treated by men. Caroline, in particular, must reflect Charlotte's own feelings about how - unless marriage is on the cards - a woman from a certain part of society is stuck. (Although I did think she ought to get a grip and cheer up a bit after a while.) On the whole I enjoyed it and would recommend it. Will be interested to hear what the rest of the group thought about it.

I've not read any proper books so far this year, so will will probably start with the ones I've not got to reading/haven't finished from last year. I'll probably start off with either Shirley or Elizabeth is Missing.