50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Thread two 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, it's not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

Previous 2016 thread here

This thread is hard to keep up with!

1. The Rest of us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness- clever idea, quite well executed (it is as if a normal resident of Sunnydale was recounting their life, with Buffy doing her stuff in the distance), but I personally didn't feel he quite pulled it off (won't go into detail because of spoilers), and I didn't warm to the narrator.

2. Jaqueline Wilson's Christmas Cracker I think people underestimate how hard it is to write stuff this easy to read! Only for fans though as it is mainly snippets about existing characters.

3. The three Body Problem - technically I have about 100 pages left, but I wanted to thank whoever suggested I persevere (before the thread raced on again!) as I am now really enjoying it!

Interestingly, if you'd asked me I'd have said that I tend to read more fiction by women than men. But I've just gone and peered at my shelves, and actually it's a pretty even divide for anything written post 1900.

I don't like any of the writers you listed above, though, Remus, bar a couple of Atwood's (Handmaid's Tale and the Edible Woman).

My lazy 'I won't like this' categories are 'nominated for (or even worse 'winner of') the Booker prize and as mentioned above a list of 'Questions for reading groups' in the back of the book.

Probably the majority of the non-fiction I read is by men, but I think that's purely an artefact of the fact that economics/politics/finance is still quite male dominated. There are some good women writers around (Gillian Tett, for example), but they're outnumbered by men.

Sadik - Those are the two Atwood books I most enjoyed too!

Just finished book 4. The Quaker Cafe

I wanted to enjoy it, and i suppose I did, but it wasn't satsfying. Not fluff, trying to be more than that, but not really reaching it

Remus, I've read Lonely Werewolf Girl - didn't know there was more! I like the idea of lesbian fairies.

I haven't read the Werewolf ones. Wish they'd all come down on Kindle, instead of just the one (although it is a great one!).

Yay Tanqui, that was me! I was wondering how you were finding it

Have purchased fairies of New York Remus at £1.49, what's not to like! I love a bit of silliness.

Gillian tett looks great Sadik, have put her books on watch but suspect I'll have to track the down at the library. They don't look the type for a kindle deal!

Any other good non fiction writers you'd recommend? I have Jerusalem to read but Provencal seems so bored with it, it's putting me off!

I hope you like it, Wilting. It's crazy good fun.

Oh thank you wilting, I couldn't find where it was on the other thread!

I just finished it and I did enjoy it! It reminded me a bit of Asimov's The Gods Themselves- partly the subject matter, and partly I think the writing style had more in common with those 50s and 60s hard science fiction atories, than the more urban fantasy stuff I seem to find now (I thought The Martian had the same retro feel).

Female authors - Cote do you like Diana Wynne Jones? She's definitely not all about the feeeellliiinnngggs (imo anyway).

Oh fgs thought I'd checked the bolding, sorry!

crapfatbanana/Provencal/anyone else who wants to answer - why are you still reading books you're struggling with? I give up on books a third of the way through if they don't grab me - life's too short to read books I don't enjoy is how I see it.

Diana Wynne Jones - I don't know her. Would I like her books?

Satsuki I find the opposite - non-fiction is such a pleasure for me, but few novels grab me. I've started the Doerr book and have read 40% Franzen's Purity, and am in no hurry to finish either. When I was younger, I read so much fiction, but somehow I'm much less into it now. Clunky writing, clichey characters, finicky plotlines, experimenting for the sake of experimenting - all of them are major turnoffs for me. The few novels last year that I really loved were all by female authors: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Vendela Vida, Maggie Shipstead, Ann Patchett, Donna Tartt. Oh and I loved Gone Girl...

I might give the new Richard Ford a try though.

Yysoutheast I was thinking that. I give up these days. I know in a hundred pages whether it's for me or not now and feel no remorse at ditching books I'm not enjoying. (Though I would persevere with Middlemarch, the early bit is slow but worth it)

I agree with all those flaws you listed frustratedfrugal, modern fiction is a bit of a minefield. I tend to have a good feel for finding what I like, and like reading classics so there are always gaps there to fill. What is risky for me is when I get tempted by kindle sales, nearly always regret it if I go against my instinct because it's cheap and has good reviews. I have 3 of the authors you mentioned on my to read list, so am hopeful! I'm so tired a lot of the time I think non fiction has to be really of personal interest to grab me at the moment.

I loved Diana Wynne Jones btw, can't wait to get to them with my children.

persuasion by Jane austin book 5 I loved the warm familiarity of re-reading Persuasion. For any of you who have never read it it is the story of Anne Elliot who is the second daughter of a baronet whose only two considerations are his looks and his station in life. Anne had been engaged to captain wentworth when she was 19 but had been persuaded by her friend lady russell to refuse him. Eight years later captain wentworth and Anne Elliot's path cross again.

Cote - I don't think you'd like Diana W-J - I think I'm right that YA isn't your thing? Most of her books are childrens/YA (though Hexwood definitely counts as 'brain-hurty').

I've got Fairies of New York on my list - glad to be reminded of it, I started it ages ago at a friend's house.

Non-fiction - what sort of thing do you like Wilting? Usually I read almost entirely non-fiction, but right now I seem to be in a fiction moment, mostly because I'm picking up lots of recs from this thread!

Oh God I can't stand YA. Thanks for the warning.

Extra points for using 'brainhurty' in a sentence

Cote I'm not sure you'd like Diana Wynne Jones. I think she's amazing, she was one of my favourite authors when I was young, but her books are fantasy for children / teens and you're not a YA fan, are you? My DS age 10 has just finished Charmed Life. I'm a bit disappointed that he doesn't seem that bothered by it.

Sorry cross post!

Inspired by Jerusalem - but perhaps more readable going by Provencal's reaction - From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas Friedman is quite old now, but absolutely fascinating if (like me) you don't know much about the region. IIRC I bought it after reading Imperial Life in the Emerald City which is also a bit old now, but again well written & interesting (if alarming).

Do you like auto/biographies? Just scanning my read/to read non-fiction and it's mainly that- Dickens/Alan Cummings/David Attenborough/Jane Hawking, plus Shepherd's Life and Do No Harm and a couple of Mary Beards.

Diana Wynne Jones was one of my favourite authors when I was younger.
She did write a few books aimed more at adults - Deep Secret, The Dark Lord of Derkholm and a few others - they're enjoyable reads, but they're definitely falling into the light, humorous end of fantasy novels, rather than anything brainhurty (haven't read Hexwood, so can't comment on that).

But they don't tend to dwell on feeeeelings, at any rate

Ah I love The Good Fairies Of New York, great to see it getting some love on here. Re: DWJ, I read Howl's Moving Castle last year (or was it the year before?) and adored it, she's a delight to read.

I mostly agree on female authors BTW (not that I think women can't quite. But most of what gets published is such utter tosh.) I could read Hilary Mantel til the cows come home, though.

Can't write not can't quite!