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?

Anne I've just discovered that I have three Jorge Amado books on my shelves, Dona Flor and her Two Husbands, Gabriela: Clove and Cinnamon and the War of the Saints. I will be having a re-read fest sometime in the future. I so hope I still love them. My tolerance of crap attitudes to women, for example, has diminished greatly since my last read, and I hope it doesn't spoil the books which are so much of that time and of that place.

You can keep Louis de Bernieres, though I'm suitably impressed that you've met and chatted to him.

Thanks anneetaramis. Yes, couldn't get on with BWW for some reason, Partisan's Daughter had a weird feel to it. Have still read all his output though. Loved his Latin American trilogy.

Funnily enough I've met him too nothing interesting to divulge. He does play a lot of music these days though. Just seen he has a poetry collection coming out late Jan.

Finished book 2 The Children Act by Ian McEwan. Loved it Beautifully written. Number 3 now. Was going to go for Michael Faber's 'The Book of Strange new Things' but as everyone has slated it I might reread one of my favourite novels of all time:'' Sunset Song' by Lewis Grassic Gibbon. I actually loved The Crimson Petal and the White and Under the Skin so in two minds. Decisions decisions!!

Book 3 Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R.Tolkien

I bought this for my older DC who like drawing and Lord of the Rings. It's a collection of the letters Tolkien wrote to his children pretending to be Father Christmas from 1920 to 1943. The book has copies of the letters in spidery handwriting and the fantastic pictures he drew or painted.

The first letter was written after his eldest son asked what Father Christmas looked like and where he lived. Tolkien drew pictures of FC and his house which are on the front and back of this edition as you can see here

cover pictures at wordery

Obviously Tolkien never intended the letters to be published as a collection but you can see the ideas developing as he has help from the polar bear and trouble with the goblins. It's sweet to see how he weaves a story to explain to his kids why some of the things they wanted might be missing and why some years he only has time for a shorter letter and a sketch.

I love that book, chillywhippet, I found it so poignant how quickly you see childhood disappear in the space of a few pages as the children grow up. Counted in Christmases it seems so short.

1. Do No Harm - Henry Marsh

Read after seeing it recommended many times on here, and I can only add my voice to those recommendations. It's a quite extraordinary book about brain surgery, written with unflinching honesty and black humour.

satsuki Señor Vivo is my absolute favourite. He is completely unlike I would have expected someone who writes as he does to be and by his own admission a grumpy old man.

2. The Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
So, you've met the man of your dreams, had a child and fourteen blissful years together, you adore him, the community adores him. Then you find out he raped and murdered a 15 year old, is he the man now or the man he was? Absolutely ridiculous premise, didn't like this one much at all. A lot of writing about flowers for some reason.

3. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
Follow up novel to the Lovely Bones, and someone pointed out the structure of the titles. Anyway, hated this one too. Fifty year old woman kills her mother and then 24 hours later we have whizzed through the claustrophobic suffocating life of mental illness, suicides, agraphobia and shagging your best mate's son. It's grim - well written but not at all happy or fun. Hated the characters of the books I've read so far this year. Need to up the fun I think.

Love the challenge though, did it last year and it felt really good to get a chunk of books under my belt. Reviewing last year's list, it was the 'hard' novels that got to me, not the fluffy stuff like Gone Girl or the like. So I must remember that this year and start some of the more challenging books rather than the quick thrillers...

Daphne I also loved Shades of grey and keep looking out in hope for a sequel, but it keeps getting pushed back.

The Gilded Chalet by Padraig Rooney. Non-fiction; Irish teacher at international school in Geneva moseys around the country writing about Swiss writers and expat writers in Switzerland. It was okay. I didn't altogether get on with his style, and there's only so much you can get out of discussions of authors you haven't read.

Late to the party, but have just started Game of Thrones. I've watched series 1, so I'm reading the book to fill in the gaps of my understanding (I never understood all those muttered conversations in King's Landing). So far, book and tv series are very closely aligned, although the characters are strikingly younger in the book. I feel I have room in my life for a fantasy epic, so this should fit the bill.

book 3 read pied piper by Nevil shute
set in WW2 in France and70year old John Howard, a kind, gentle Englishman finds himself trapped in France due to the German invasion and he is desperate to escape back to England. He is asked to take 2 English children back with him and what follows is a description of their dangerous journey ahead and he also comes across 5more children who need his help.
A compelling story, beautifully written,compassionate and I enjoyed every minute of it! Do read!

Book 2 An Unsuitable Attachment by Barbara Pym. I've read several of her books in the last year as she was a new discovery for me. This one was OK but I don't think it's her best. The book has a group of characters who live in north London. One of the characters falls in love with a younger man at work and all her friends think he's unsuitable but he doesn't really come across like that. It's a book of it's time, I think it would be fair to say, in terms of the attitudes and worries of the characters. (25 year old girl desperate to find a husband so she's not left of the shelf for example). Anyway I enjoyed reading it but it wasn't outstanding.

I like Jasper Fford but wasn't too keen on the Shades of Grey one. It took a while to get going and I thought the revelation at the end was obvious. But he's always inventive and it had some good ideas in it.

I agree that's not one of her best, Cedar. If I remember correctly, she couldn't get it published when it was originally written, and it wasn't till she was rediscovered by the reading public near the end of her life that it got published. That said, I do enjoy the trip to Italy.

My favourite Barbara Pym books are: Excellent Women, Some Tame Gazelle, No Fond Return, Crampton Hodnet, Quartet in Autumn, although there are always bits to cherish in her other books (except for some reason, A Glass of Blessings, which I just don't get on with).

Finished Book 2:

Families and how to Survive Them Robin Skynner and John Cleese

The whole book is written in dialogue form between John Cleese and his old Therapist (Skynner). They discuss the psychological development of the child and how it can be disrupted. How we chose our partners and how families repeat patterns of behaviour down through the generations is looked at in great depth.

They discuss some very complicated psychoanalytic theory in a very accessible way, without once mentioning any technical terms. I already know a great deal of what they were discussing, but I found revisiting the topics in this friendly format gave me a firmer understanding. There are humorous exchanges at times but without making the book comedic.

I really enjoyed this non-fiction book, even though I didn't agree with all of the opinions within it (what makes people homosexual for example).

Next up: The Children of Hurin JRR Tolkien

Bibliomania that's right she couldn't get it published at the time and she was very disappointed because she just got straight rejections rather than any kind of suggestions on how to improve it. (According to the introduction to my edition). I liked the Italy parts, I just thought that the man Ianthe falls in love with wasn't really portrayed as being unsuitable except for the fact that he was slightly socially inferior.

I haven't read some of your favourites yet. I do like Excellent Women and Crampton Hodnet both of which I read last year. I will look out for the others.

Book 2: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. I enjoyed this tremendously, especially the first part, which is a collection of letters, emails and dialogues. I fell in love with the character of the mum, Bernadette and her war with the 'Gnats'. The dialogue from the intervention scene had me crying with laughter. I did find that it slowed down in the second half, set in Antartica. I think this is because the letter/email format is replaced with a more narrative style. There were times when I struggled to stay interested because of this.

Overall, though, I found the book extremely entertaining.

Cedar, I'm not sure if we have the same edition, but mine says she originally intended to make the unsuitable man a lot dodgier, but as the story went on, she couldn't quite bring herself to crush her heroine's hope.

1. An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

(As recommended and mentioned by loads of people upthread, and on last year's thread too apparently)

Recollections from a career in the space business (with a side helping of inspirational wisdom) by Shuttle, Mir, Soyuz and ISS veteran (and Space Oddity youtube sensation a little while back) Chris Hadfield.

There are some funny moments, and some interesting anecdotes about spaceflight. The author is clearly someone hugely committed to success in their chosen field and a driven individual. I can't say I was that inspired though. Maybe you need to be like this to succeed in that business - in fact, I'm certain you do.

I started Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann last night, and am finding the writing style rather like wading through cold porridge with extra lumps. After keeping going with The Incredibly Long and Boring Book of Strange New Things with Extra Wanking Preacher Action do I really want to continue with it? Has anybody read it?

I have read 3 books so far this year!
First was A Life Like Other People's by Alan Bennett. This was good but very depressing really. Enjoyed it but was left down in the dumps!
Second was The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory. Never read any historical fiction before but absolutely loved it and could not put it down!
Third was The Seafront Cafe by Vanessa Somebody ( can't remember now and given it to my sister!) This was a nice easy feel good read.
Good thread!
About to start The Boleyn Inheritance by P Gregory 😁

remus some of us have book of strange new things on our to be read list - none of us are going to be surprised when we happen upon a maturbating man of the cloth now

If he's not masturbating, he's having wet dreams. Believe me, you will learn far more than you might have wished to about this.

Well, sounds like the title is spot on, at least

No 6. Harriet Lane - Her

This was a very frustrating read.

Nina and Emma meet by chance. Nina remembers having met Emma before and is nursing a major grudge against Emma. Emma doesn't remember Nina at all. Nina sets about inserting herself into Emma's life and screwing with her. She steals Emma's wallet so she can return it. She kidnaps Emma's toddler from the park so she can call Emma up and say "hey, I found your son! He's fine!" And so on.

The story behind why Nina secretly hates Emma isn't revealed until very late on in the book, and it really doesn't seem like a big enough reason to justify Nina's obsession with Emma. And then the book ends on one of those irritating cliffhangers. Lots of signposts up to suggest Something Really Terrible Is About To Happen..... but no follow through. Has the terrible thing happened, or was it just all a false alarm / lucky escape? Author couldn't decide so she's just stopped the book there?

Anyway. Hopefully the next book I read will be more satisfying.

Still stuck on Jerusalem. Am finding it VERY hard going