50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Thread three 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.

First thread of 2016 is here and second thread here.

How're you getting on so far?

Just marking place in new thread, will pop back later!

I've gone on another diversion.. I was meant to start Matt Haig's The Humans but ended up reading Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke in the bath - at least they're both alien related, albeit from different perspectives! I thought it would be a bit dated and rubbish, and it is very dated but also a very interesting read and pretty engaging considering it's 60 year old sci fi. Only a few chapters in but interested to see where it goes. Here's the blurb:

"Spaceships have suddenly appeared in the skies above every city on the planet. Inside is an intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior alien race known as the Overlords. At first, their demands seem benevolent: unify Earth, eliminate poverty, end war. But at what cost? To those who resist, it’s clear that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. Has their arrival marked the end of humankind . . . or the beginning?"

Finished so far: (and I'm going to steal a pp's idea of highlighting my favourites )

1. The City and the City - China Mieville
2. The Guest Cat - Takashi Hiraide
3. Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
4. John Dies at the End - David Wong

Just finished Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan. A quick and easy read. Pretty 30-something girl, needs a new start, moves to Cornwall, finds rundown house on the harbour with incredible sea views, peppercorn rent (yeah right!), sets up bakery, finds love etc etc. Fine if you like something light and romantic, baking bread, bees and Cornwall. A bit too chic-lit for me.

Now on (5) The Target - David Baldacci

19 Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.
Like a pp, I was much more impressed by this than I had expected to be. I thought she did a good job of not victim blaming, and acknowledging the structural inequities that women are dealing with, while giving some useful thoughts on ways to deal with them at a personal level. Obviously - again as she acknowledges - it's mainly relevant to a fairly small segment of educated middle class women, but that's not intrinsically a bad thing. I've passed it to DD to read - having opted out of the rat race myself years ago and run away to be a hippy

Next up I've got Fair Girls and Grey Horses by the Pullein-Thompson sisters. Saw this mentioned somewhere on MN (I think) and greatly looking forwards to reading it :)

That's a blast from the past sadik, I used to love the Pullein-Thompson pony books. Will be interested to see your review.

#9 Purity: A Novel by Jonathan Franzen

I mostly read non-fiction, and this foray into fiction reminded me why I have a hard time with novels. Purity is a Cinderella story, and it's also story about a cult leader; it's a story about narcissistic people who use other people. Only one of the three intersecting storylines is interesting. The book is overambitious, some of the characters are totally implausible. Franzen is really skilled at describing everyday miscommunications, people who bicker at each other. I cannot fathom why he decided to write a novel that features Wikileaks, nuclear weapons and billionaires. It's like using watercolors to paint the frescoes of Sistine Chapel. Parts of the book are really well-written and thought-provoking, but a lot feels like a first draft. Cannot recommend this at all.

Book 7 The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Enjoyed this one. Particularly impressed with the three very distinct voices of the three first person narrators.

Book 8 Save the Cat by Blake Snyder

Have been meaning to read this seminal screenwriting book for a long time. Very entertaining!

Book 10 - the hypnotist's love story by lianne moriarty - yes it is basically chick lit but good chick lit, with a bit of a twist. The story line is a bit silly in places and the characters all a bit similar but she has a very good eye for relationships and social interaction and can be very funny. I liked the main character Ellen a lot. A very light read, a 'palate cleanser'!

23. The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson. Book 2 of the Mistborn series. Vin and Elend struggle to save the city while simultaneously being manipulated by a mysterious being. Patchy. Some of it dragged and it didn't grab me as much as the first one did - felt like a chore at times.

TooExtra - I felt the same way, I enjoyed the first of the Mistborn books, but wasn't at all as impressed by the second.

I'm in the middle of The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins and loving it.

I popped on the thread to see if anyone of you use www.bookbub.com? It lists free and bargain bestseller ebooks. You add your email, select your favourite genres and authors, then it lists recommended ebooks.

28. The Damned by Andrew Pyper. I really didn't like this. A man is haunted by his twin sister who died when she was 16. It descends into horror nonsense, really not my thing.

Moosey - I use Bookbub but prefer Daily Cheapreads. And, of course, ereader iq, which is the most comprehensive catalogue of book price drops.

Talking of price drops, The Summer Book by Tove Jansson is 99p on kindle daily deals today.

11. Edward Adrift by Craig Lancaster the sequel to 600 Hours of Edward, and it was lovely to be back with him. Edward has Aspergers and OCD, and by the end of book one things were looking up for him. We join him three years later to discover some things haven't turned out as expected. This covers a three week period that takes him further out of his comfort zone than he's ever been. Narrated in the first person with humour, insight and quirkiness, the author has left the door open for a third Edward book. I hope so - I love Edward!

12. The Spanish Game by Charles Cumming Spy thriller set in Madrid in 2003 - so post 9/11 but pre Atocha bombings. It was an interesting snapshot of what the main political concerns and preoccupations were in Spain and wider, barely more than a decade ago. Pacy writing, good plot, great depiction of Madrid / Spain, but the final twist was a twist too far for me - without giving too much away, I hate it when spies stop trying to fix the world and just spy on other spies - pointless. The main character is interesting but I felt little sympathy for him. Overall a good read.

tumbletumble, I also absolutely loved Flight Behaviour, it's one of my very few 5 star rated reads. Like you, I wasn't sure how the raw material was going to become something really special ... and then it did. I do intend to try more of Barbara Kingsolver's works, although I couldn't get into The Lacuna at first try.

I also really loved The Long Road to the Deep North and This Little Life, both in my 5 star rating, but realise just how marmite reads they are! But then life would be boring if we were all the same, or all liked the same stuff

I've been having to read lots of raw material in order to write my employer's Corporate Social Policy Sadly, none of it has come in book form, so it doesn't even help my count ...

Quogwinkle Thanks, will try reeder iq too

*reader

8 Rachel's Holiday By Marian Keyes

Rachel is the middle of the Ealshi girls and descends into drug addiction while working in New York. she is brought back and placed in rehab in Ireland. I love Marian Keyes for my chick lit fix. I first read this when it originally came out so this again is a re-read, however since I last read I worked as an admin for the substance misuse team in a prison so read it with fresh eyes, and actually having lived a few years between first reading it and now some parts did touch a nerve about how Rachel did lead her life.

Next is The Night Manager, I know it starts in Sunday by I do like a Le Care book.

Museum I also love Edward and have put the second book on my to read list.

Just seen the thread on Chat - Harper Lee has died, aged 89.

joyless yes I was aware while I was reading it I was in a minority with not loving deep north; it's hard when things have almost universal acclaim and it just isn't working for you. Who knows what chemistry makes things click for some and not for others?

I'm 30% into A Tale for the Time Being, which extends my unintentional Japan/WWII phase. It is very easy reading, enjoying some parts more than others (dual voices) so far.

24. Nine Coaches Waiting, Mary Stewart. I love Mary Stewart books. They're so gentle. Happy endings, sweet love affairs, smart heroines, slightly old-fashioned...but utterly compelling suspense. This is one of my favourites. It draws strongly on Jane Eyre and Cinderella - and Macbeth - all are quoted frequently. Delightfully comfortable.

I loved Flight Behaviour and the one about a woman living a hermit's life on a mountain as well. I did like The Poisonwood Bible but not as much as the mountain one. I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called!

Satsuki, A Tale For The Time Being is marvellous! I hope you like it. I loved it so much I picked it for my book club and it was one of the very few books that everyone enjoyed.

Prodigal Summer is the Barbara Kingsolver I was talking about! I read it at least 6 years ago - think I'll revisit it soon.

20. Fair Girls and Grey Horses by Christine, Diana and Josephine Pullein-Thompson.

A jointly written account of the Pullein-Thompson sisters' childhood - with the sisters taking it in turns to write a chapter each. I loved their pony books when I was growing up, so picked this up after I saw it mentioned on another thread.

Overall, I'd say it was a 6 or maybe 7 out of 10 for me. I didn't find their early childhood that interesting, and there was a lot of flipping back and forwards to try to figure out who was who amongst the various relatives mentioned. I liked the second half much better (once they started to collect ponies) and I thought it was a shame that they stopped once they reached adulthood, rather than writing more about their riding schools and novel writing years. Still, worth reading I'd say if you liked their books especially if you enjoy memoirs of pre-war childhoods.