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

I've just passed the half-way point in Wolf Hall and kind of struggling with it. I say 'kind of' because though the story is confusing the hell out of me, her style I'm finding enjoyable.

Just bought Great Expectaions, The Year of the Runaways, Jeremy Hutchison's Case Histories, and The Good Liar...that's my tbr finished for a while!

That's a coincidence, Southeast. I'm about two-thirds of the way through a re-read of Wolf Hall.I'm listening to it, this time, on audio book and really enjoying it. The story is disjointed, and jumps around quite a bit but I'm loving it. Tbh it makes a lot more sense to me this time now that I have seen the tv production and can visualise the characters, and know more about them.

DH and I went to the National Trust exhibition of the costumes last year at Barrington Court, which was just gorgeous.

I've got Wolf Hall on audio book too, Quog, after both my parents insisted that I really would like it, honest. I'm about 2 hours in (10% or so), and tbh it still hasn't gripped me - like I said to my Mum, it's not like you don't know what's going to happen It's not really my book though, being long, literary, and a prize winner!

I've put it aside for the moment in favour of City of Lost Souls, no. 5 of the Mortal Instruments books as an easy listen (I've read them previously) - though I may go back to Wolf Hall as one of the narrators on CoLS is deeply annoying.

Finished number 4 ' The Girl on the Train'. It was ok ( a bit predictable though). On to number 5 and 6. ' The Changeling' by Robin Jenkis and ' I'm not Scared' by Niccolo Ammanti. Seriously impressed with those of you who are on double figures!

Wow Cote your thread on Cloud Atlas is something else. I read it before the arrival of tornado DS, which turned my brain to mush and I am only slowly recovering from, but even back then I was not capable of such understanding and analysis. Time for a re-read I think.

1. Windhaven by George RR Martin and Lisa Tuttle I rescued an original 80s copy, complete with tight white suited 80s sci-fi cover art from my mum's shelves. It's signed to me from Lisa Tuttle in 1983. I remember her being very nice. I didn't meet GRRM! Windhaven is an early GRRM exercise in world building. It has that medieval / pre-industrial society feel to it, without the levels of violence and misogyny found in GoT. Windhaven is a planet of scattered islands populated by the descendents of a spaceship crash hundreds of years previously. Flyers are the connection between the islands, and guard their wings, made of the metal of the spaceship, jealously, passing them down through generations. The book follows the story of Maris, who challenges this. It is in three sections which are a little disjointed. It also takes itself a teeny bit too seriously. But if you're in need of a GRRM fix, may be worth a read.

1. Stalin Ate My Homework by Alexei Sayle autobiography of his childhood in Liverpool. He captures very well that childhood feeling of being different, and gives an affectionate account of his parent's foibles. It's not laugh out loud funny, but definitely entertaining. I feel like he lost interest in the audio book reading for a bit in the middle, and it sounded like he was reading out someone else's shopping list. Or maybe he was just trying to be sardonic. But he perked up by the end.

1. In Times Like These by Nathan Van Coops kindle cheapie time travel nonsense. The main character is a twenty something softball loving regular guy from Florida, and I feel this may have been the target demographic, not me. The time travel element may have had some kind of internal logic. Most of the book uses the mechanism of banal dialogue between the characters to explain this. The bits that don't are in the present tense, which doesn't always bother me, but did here, to the extent that I wished they would just go back to yelling 'Hey dude, so some psycho from 1986 is trying to murder me. How is that even possible?'. It wasn't terrible.

I'm about 60 pages in to My Brilliant Friend Absolutely Rolls Royce standard scene setting, but if the plot would like to start any time soon I wouldn't mind at all.

Sorry about the cheesy title :

#7 The Gifts of Imperfection - Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown. My co-worker lent me this book and recommended Brene Brown's TED talks. The book has been a huge bestseller in the US and was covered with Oprah.com stickers. I was tired and distracted when I plowed through it and I got lost in every chapter. The author has a powerful core idea: she wants to examine shame and other negative feelings that hold people back. She also says that sharing those negative feelings with someone who deserves to hear your story can really help. Very insightful and it really works, but after she has stated this on page 12, there are 100+ pages of yammer on Love, Courage, Gratitude, Joy, Resilience... Great themes, but only a really good writer can find something new to say about those things. I've read a lot of books on positive psychology. Many of them are lucid and well-written - this one isn't.

Wolf Hall might grate less on audiobook format, I guess - the liberties it takes with grammar and punctuation would be less noticeable when you listen to it. Reading it was torture.

14 The Skeleton Cupboard by Tanya Byron, very quick and easy read, stories about working with drug dependency, anorexia, HIV AIDS and lots more.

Quog and bigbadbarry - I'm quite mesmerised by The Buried Giant so far, but feel like I'm not 'getting' it. I felt like that with Never Let Me Go, too, though. Like Ishiguro's writing style and the strange worlds he creates, but feel like there are far cleverer people who read his books and get all the symbolism far better than I do . I'll persist, anyway.

Also - I thought I was the only person alive who didn't love Wolf Hall until I found this thread .

The Bone Clocks has been recommended to me by so many friends and I have a copy, but I absolutely hated Cloud Atlas, so can't bring myself to pick it up off my bedside table.

Loving the whole wolf hall dissapointment bit of this thread. I tried reading it when it first came out and just didn't get on with it (which really surprised me as this type of book is what I normally read when I'm not reading proper history books). However I've since seen it on tv and enjoyed it so I might give it another go.

I'm half way through Bill Bryson's a short history of nearly everything I didn't expect to enjoy this as its way out of my comfort zone but I just find his writing so accessible despite writing a book about previously inaccessible (to me that is) subjects. Definitely more bill on my tbr pile.

Another Wolf Hall non-fan here.

I'm not liking A God In Ruins either. I struggled with Life After Life, made several false starts but eventually enjoyed it, especially the writing about the Blitz. I just hope this livens up a bit.

I can't believe how far behind everyone else I am already and it's only February!

1. The Conservationist by Nadime Gordimer - The main theme appeared to be indifference and I would like to say I was fairly indifferent too but I really didn't like it. Which meant it took forever to read which made me dislike it more. It was also quite odd reading a book set in South Africa written during the apartheid years knowing that it's all about to change.

1. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin - I really enjoyed this. It wasn't what I was expecting and not religious at all. Very engaging and considering it's only 100 pages hopefully will help to get me back on track.

I'm awfully behind too Cordelia. I need to spend less time on mn reading about all the awesome books everyone else is reading and get on with some of my own

Have finished book number five.

1. Jilliane Hoffman - retribution

Recommended by a colleague and really enjoyed this! I'd guessed at the wrong suspect for a while!

1. Jane Fallon - Strictly between us

Sort of a chick lit but with a good little twist. Enjoyable read.

1. Blue Monday - Nicci French

This one had a twist I didn't guess but the ending disappointed me a little..

1. Room - Emma Donoghue

Different angle on this subject which left you missing things you wanted to know but w refreshing way to view the horrors of what happens.

1. The Silent Sister - Diane Chamberlain

I really enjoyed this book but I wouldn't say it was the best of Diane chamberlain but a good easy read that keeps you wanting to know what happens next.

13. Britain BC by Francis Pryor

Being non-fiction, this took me longer to read than a novel of the same length, but it was a really good read. Archaeologists can sometimes be terribly dry, but Pryor's enthusiasm for exploring Britain before the arrival of the Romans really shines through. As well as covering what we can surmise of what was going on in Britain from the Palaeolithic up to the Iron Age through the archaeological record, he gives us anecdotes from digs he has been involved with, sites he has visited, discoveries from other people's digs, and developing theories of, for example, the possible meaning of ritual landscapes like Avebury, Stonehenge, the Orkneys, and various sites in Ireland. It's all absolutely fascinating.

1. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

The second part of the young adult trilogy, Chaos Walking, about the descendants of settlers on another planet where all the men and boys have "Noise"; their thoughts are audible to others. There were times when this novel seemed to be losing its way a bit, but there were moments when it was absolutely gripping, especially towards the end, so I would recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the first part of the trilogy.

I'm a bit behind at the moment. DH has set himself a challenge to watch 150 films this year and I end up watching them with him. So my opportunities for reading have become limited.

1 Going to Sea in a Sieve - Danny Baker I really like Danny and a lot of his anecdotes were funny or interesting but he's so full-on it was exhausting. Possibly didn't help that I read this immediately after Russell Brand autobiography. Overdose of cheeky chappiness.

2 Little Women - Louisa May Alcottt (audiobook) A reread with a 39 year gap. It was schmaltzy, sentimental and moralizing but I really enjoyed it particularly Little Wives

3 Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ - Giulia Enders - fascinating read especially when she's talking about bacteria and how they affect or physical and mental health.

Currently reading Neurotribes, Itchcraft (with the DCs) and listening to a book by Rachel Abbott

1. The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild, which is a satire of the London art world. It follows an interconnected group of people after the theft of a Watteau and is part social commentary and part an examination of art theft and appropriation in the 20th century. I found some of the characters a bit thinly drawn a timessome people were mentioned twice, at the beginning and end, and more involved characters weren't always substantialbut overall I enjoyed it, probably because I'm interested in the topic generally and also love satire.

Next up is Funny Girl by Nick Hornby. I should dive into All The Light We Cannot See, but I just bring myself to pick it up.

And Sadik, I've ordered Carry On based on your recommendation. I'm looking forward to it! Have you read Landline?

8. The vegetarian by Han kang. Just astonishing, blew me away. One of the best novels I have read. Now onto The Room by Jonas Karlsson good so far.

I hope you enjoy Carry On, Vanderly, I thought it was a fun read. I haven't read Landline, but I think dd is planning to get a copy, so will read it then (my YA reading is based on what she has on her shelves!).

Currently reading The First Casualty about war reporting, depressing but interesting and well written.

11. How To Be A Husband - Tim Dowling

Pretty much a longer-form version of his Guardian columns, so if you enjoy those (which I do) then you'll enjoy this. Nothing life-changing but he has a nice line in self-deprecating humour and this was an easy and entertaining read.

These are my latest
6. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling. Harry Potter has been orphaned and is living with his Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley. Life is tough on Harry, his family seem to hate him, he has to live in a cupboard under the stairs and he suffers a lot at the hands of Dudley and his parents. Then letters addressed to Harry start to arrive which cause a lot of upset to Uncle Vernon who does everything he can to prevent Harry getting the letter. Eventually Harry finds out that his parents were wizards and he has been accepted into Hogwarts which is a school for young wizards. Life for Harry has suddenly taken a turn for the better. However all is not well, Voldermort the wicked wizard who killed his parents hasn’t really gone away and Harry and his friends have to face him in a battle for the Philosopher’s Stone. Audible have finally started selling the Harry Potter audiobooks which are narrated by Stephen Fry. We listened to this in the car on the school run and it is fantastic. We had all read it before and it still gets a big thumbs up from all in my house.

7. God is not Great – Christopher Hitchens. I have been a fan of Hitchens for a long time and recently bought this in an Audible sale. No religion or belief system escapes the Hitch treatment in this well written and concise book.

8. The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon – David Almond. I read this as a bedtime read over a week with the kids. Charming story of Paul who believes the moon is a hole in the sky. With the help of his parents, and a few eccentric neighbours and friends he manages to climb a ladder and go right into the moon where he makes more discoveries. This is a book about the unli¬¬mited imagination, following your dreams and reaching for the sky. It was really wonderful.

9. Eeny Meeny – M.J. Arlidge. Helen Grace is a detective inspector who is investigating a series of murders. These cases are particular in that two people are abducted and one has to kill the other to survive. It becomes apparent that Helen is the link with all of the victims and she has to face a few of her own demons before the final denouement. Fast paced and enjoyable.

10. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed – John Ronson. This was a really good look at what can happen when someone says the wrong thing or makes a mistake and it becomes public knowledge which results in the person being vilified and having their reputation and life destroyed. Social media has been a prime tool for this type of behaviour and it is quite scary to see how anonymous people behind a keyboard feel that they can contribute to a public shaming and don’t seem to stop to consider the consequences. It is a bit like the days of old when people were put in stocks and had rotten food thrown at them… but worse this is much worse because the power of social media can have an immediate global reach and google searches can mean that it never really goes away.

I had started The Gospel of Loki just after my last update but mislaid the book so had to put it on hold. Thankfully I found it again when cleaning the car so have just resumed it. We are almost finished the second Harry Potter and I am also reading a Jodi Taylor on kindle. I am also listening to Bill Bryson's Short History of Nearly Everything but am struggling with the narration. After a busy few weeks the plan tomorrow is to stay home, light the fire and curl up on the sofa with a book or two and a nice hot brew .

CordeliaScott good to hear about The Testament of Mary. I have it by my bed for ages. I have also read on here that the narration by Meryl Streep is amazing so am waiting for it to come up on an Audible deal or borrow it from the library.

Water For Elephants is £0.99 on the Kindle, just for today.