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?

Sadik I was thinking of Mortal Instruments, because that is what I have heard of! What is Mortal Engines?

Mortal Engines is by Philip Reeve. I've only read the first one of the series, but that was very definitely fine for an 11 y/o.

Mortal Instruments is much more teen romance. I'm very fond of them myself but I'd say they're more aimed at secondary age upwards.

Ah ok. Will go for the engines for now then (even though she did read the sex bits of the princess diaries and goodness knows what else - I have enough to read myself without reading everything for her first!).

If she is keen to read them, the Commonsense media site I think is a fair representation of their content. I generally find their summaries reasonable for books I know myself (and I'm pretty relaxed about what dd reads).

That's a good site to know about, thank you. She hasn't expressed any desire to read them - I've just seen them discussed as YA and am always on the lookout for new things for her.
I don't think I am particularly uptight about what she reads, but perhaps I am if I prefer her not to be reading graphic sex or violence aged 11? I certainly am compared to some of my friends (for films too). Probably overprotective. I'd be OK with 'forever' - going back to my own teens - but not with 'lace'.

It's a difficult age, isn't it. Fortunately my dd is older now (13, 14 shortly) and gets all her books pretty much from the school library.

book 3 Drop by Katie Everson.

Billed by the Bookseller as 'the most compelling and honest account of a teenager's experiences with drugs since Junk .'

It really does not deserve that accolade. In fact it's much more a coming of age story. The teen angst and humour is the best thing about it.

The drug use is almost incidental and indeed doesn't kick off until over the half way stage.

Not a bad book, very funny in parts, but not delivering what it purports.

Sadik, my DD's school library has a 'only for over-15s' shelf and they are allowed anything else. Seems sensible to me (not sure if it is standard). I should get her to see where the Mortal Instruments books are shelved. Though so often with these series it seems that the first one or two are completely suitable but the author gets to book three or four and decides it needs spicing up.

I think often in series the characters get older, so a bit of kissing might happen in book 1 and 2, when the heroine is 15, but by book 3 she's now 16 or 17 and statistically it gets a bit less likely that she'd not want to shag the love of her life (and he's always the love of her life in YA, particularly vampire/fantasy ones!)

Amazing how fast this thread is moving!

Book 4: The Whites by Richard Price. It's a police procedural set in New York, focused on a group of current and former cops and their "whites", or criminals who got away with crimes. It's gritty, with some fantastic dialogue. My sole complaint was that Price tried to pack a few too many storylines into one book, but overall it was quite the page-turner. I'll read more of him eventually, but next up is Spill Simmer Falter Wither.

*

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
4. The Whites by Richard Price

BigBadBarry Don't go anywhere near Mortal Instruments' prequel series (Infernal devices) as torture is a running theme and actually more detailed in description than when the books deal with sex.

Clockwork Prince last in the Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare Answers all the questions raised in previous books and the mortal instruments series are tied up with a little bow nice and neatly answered. Weird cross over with 'The shadow of the Night' by Deborah Harkness which is rather unsettling.

Did you like the Infernal Devices series, EinsteinsMum? I found them rather disappointing myself - Will just seemed like a bit of a pale copy of Jace.

Bought three books already based on this thread. Has anyone else tried word runner on their kindle yet? It helps speed up your reading. I'm rather enjoying Graham Norton's latest autobiography.

I gave up on The Wild Places without finishing it, having absolutely loved Mountains of the Mind. I found it really repetitive and dull in the end, which was such a shame as it took away from the wonderful intentions of the text. There's only so many times that a man looking at a pebble can be an intensely moving experience for the reader.

I think you need to read the books in the series in fairly quick succession as the characters are not strong enough to stand up to a gap of 4mths between 1st and 2nd book. It is not as good as Mortal instruments. I am glad I read it as I can see how things developed to how they are in mortal instruments but I dislike the cross over. It really spoilt the series a bit. I even had to check to see if they weren't written by different pen names of the same author. I am considering rehoming the series tbh. Which I think is a long winded way of saying the same thing Sadik

SheGot - I remember reading Junk when I was about 15 and remember it seeming very adult themed, despite clearly being aimed at the YA audience. Lots of hardcore drug use, sex, prostitution (gay and straight), stealing, violence and vandalism. Lets just say that it definitely got the message home to me that "drugs are bad"!!

at drinking game. Maybe RM should have done this. The book could have done with more Wild in with its Places

remus I have Mountains of the Mind but have never fancied after the slightly laborious experience of WP - should I reconsider then?

*fancied reading it

Only if you're interested in mountains, Satsuki! I thought it was superb, but iirc Cote didn't get on at all with it.

I re-read Junk three or four years ago, and thought it hadn't aged very well.

I seem to remember, when I read The Wild Places, counting up the number of times RM broke a hole in the ice to get water to make a cup of tea and then five minutes later stripping off for a swim. Shivering still at the thought :o

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (audiobook) JK Rowling

This was a 're-read' for me and having read the whole series I now have a much greater appreciation for the thought and planning that went into the story as a whole. There were some terrific hints laid out for the much later books! Great fun.

All of the Harry Potter books are a comfort to me in a way, I have so many fond memories associated with reading them the first time round and of the suspense and anticipation building up to each new book release.

This is the first time I have heard Stephen Fry narrate the book though and I really enjoyed it. He has a wonderful animated voice and even though I knew what was coming next, he brought a freshness to the story.

I also have Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban audiobook narrated by him and am looking forward to that now.

grey Drop is definitely missing darkness or any real consequence.

DH got £50 of Waterstones vouchers for his birthday last week and I have just been helping him spend them. I We now have the second Queen of the Tearling book, The Invisible Library, the new Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (book 3), Fingersmith and The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

Goodness! It has taken me this long to catch up with all the posts. I'm joining in again, managed 52 books last year but starting a new job this year so would be happy with 40.

Fatowl- I loved listening to Americanah last year, the narrator is excellent, such a lovely voice. The same narrator reads Half a yellow sun which I am re-reading via audiobook.

Cote, I am relieved you liked Black Swan Green in the end as I read it at the end of last year and very much enjoyed its depiction of growing up in the 80's (scabby queen and all).

1. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.

A Christmas book from my DH. Depicts the story of a young woman in Italy in the 1950s from childhood to late teens (it is part of four books). The story starts off slowly and I wondered if I was going to like it but it develops into an interesting portrait of Lenu, her hopes, the difficulties of being a girl in those times with the pressures of her family to get married and from her school to continue her education. With continuing education she begins to feel isolated from her community- where does she fit in? I very much enjoyed this book in the end and will go on to read the second.