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?

Grendel - YES, we can TOTALLY nerd out about Neal Stephenson! I am convinced that he is... um... GOD. Surely no mere mortal can come up with the stories that he has.

I loved Cryptonomicon, too. You must read Snow Crash, if you haven't already. It is interesting and brilliant, and then you come to about page 200 and the full scale of the plot is revealed, including ancient Sumerian legends that were apparently talking about hacking the brain stem with select phrases Awesomeness

The Diamond Age is also outstanding. It took my breath away when I first read it. Everything it said was so insightful and pertinent - how to raise children, different societies, the future of tribes, computing, theater, etc. This reminds me that it's due a re-read.

Anathem was also amazing. And also incredibly brainhurty. If you loved Cryptonomicon, you must read Anathem, too.

On the other hand, I didn't get much farther than Quicksilver in the Baroque Cycle. It's been a long time since I've read it, but iirc it was all a bit of a joke - pirate, girl from a harem, etc. Maybe I should give it another go at some point.

Meanwhile, Seveneves is going very well

Elle - Yes, Seveneves is just what I needed after the misery of A Brief History. I've missed reading a Neal Stephenson book for the first time! I was disappointed by his last book Reamde, which was like an gung ho action movie in the style of the TV series '24'.

26.Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

I was a bit apprehensive about this as a few people had found it dull upthread, but it is short so I took the plunge anyway.

I liked it! It follows a young woman as she emigrates from Ireland to Brooklyn, and attempts to find her feet for the first time on her own in a strange land. It is a quiet, thoughtful exploration of the idea of home and how we root ourselves in relationships and places. It is also about growing up, breaking free from the past, making a commitment to the future, and learning to endure the sometimes painful consequences of your decisions for the first time. It describes large emotional landscapes in a small, understated way. It is slow-paced, but I found it skilfully and sparingly written and subtly absorbing.

High Rise by J G Ballard is 99p just for today.

Satsuki, are you an expat or an ex-expat? I know someone mentioned that Brooklyn chimes more with those with this experience.

Well, I've been exploring audiobook freebies courtesy of my local library, so have been less discerning as a result.

First up, 26. Not Dead Enough , Peter James. It's a whodunnit, fairly gratuitous at times, quite well-written, usual troubled detective, was okay, particularly good if you want lots of background details on Brighton... About 200 pages too long! Disappointing ending, won't rush to pick up another of his.

27. Morrissey - well, his autobiography. Often extremely witty and entertaining and loved some of the background of his 70s childhood and 80s fame. But by God, he has some scores to settle! It seems that every little detail of his court cases needs to be included, many fallings out with others around him are glibly mentioned with a snide aside alluding to their failings. Not much self-reflection going on here, Morrissey! And whoever edited it should be sacked! Overall I loved it but I skipped whole chapters in the latter part of the book dealing with his legal stuff.

28. Tideline, Penny Hancock, another thriller of hers exploring the why and what rather than the who, again very much from the perspective of a deeply troubled female protagonist. I loved the depiction of the River Thames and the Greenwich area, as well as the insight into this particular female psyche. But it got a bit ridiculous towards the end. Shame as she writes really well.

No I'm not moving, or even that well travelled in general! I suppose I've always felt quite rootless and have moved about a little, so identified with the feeling of home ceasing to be home once you've left it, but the new place always being slightly alien (a bit like Neil Diamond felt about New York and L.A in that song!) I think the sense of obligation to family, versus the obligation you have to yourself to broaden your horizons and make your own way is universal but maybe it's felt more by some than others. I liked the realistic uncertainty she had in regard to her own feelings, and the idea that 'place' can have such an impact on who you are and what you want.

Satsuki, I totally agree about Brooklyn.

I don't think you need to be an expat or whatever to appreciate it; I'm not. Isn't it just about applying your imagination, like any novel?

Cote I'm definitely going to read Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Anathem. I'm trying to teach myself to code at the moment (with assistance from computer scientist DP) so The Diamond Age seems particularly apt! I can see why you might not have enjoyed Quicksilver, tbh--a lot of the Jack/Eliza dynamic pissed me off mightily and parts of it did seem a bit...silly. What I loved about it was how it captured the complexity of relationships between science and politics and literature in the C18 (which is my academic period of interest), and what I loved about The Confusion was how it explained the origins of modern banking (something which, in its contemporary guise, I find impenetrable.) Also, in Quicksilver, with Leibniz and Newton's work (but especially Leibniz's), you see the very very earliest glimmerings of what eventually became the modern computer, which just...gives me chills all over. I love that linkage over centuries.

Good to get the Brooklyn feedback, it's on my possible reads list and as you know there's been a mixed reaction to it on here. Someone way back (sorry, forget who) said it made sense if you were an expat/had experienced being an immigrant, someone else agreed, that's all. I have no idea yet but you've tempted me to get it from the library. I also relate to that rootless feeling and of course, it's always getting into the mind of the narrator, not necessary to have lived a similar experience ourselves.

Are the any Edgar Allen Poe fans here?

I listened to a spine tingling audio of 'The Raven' on YouTube read by the late Christopher Lee yesterday and loved it. So I promptly downloaded EAP's complete works on the kindle for 49p

Poetry doesn't often 'move me', but this one did and I'm hoping to come across other gems

It'll be interesting to see what you think of it moving. I don't know if the style would have sustained me over a longer book, but I found it very readable. I've thought about it a bit since, too.

As much as I like stimulating novels full of intrigue and incident, I do also quite enjoy the sort the novel occasionally where though not much appears to be happening on the surface, its all going on underneath; the beauty in the mundane. Others may just discover more of the mundane, in the mundane, however

I like Poe! I quite like Ulalume, mainly for how it sounds read aloud.

I prefer his stories - The Imp of the Perverse and The Tell-Tale Heart are the ones that come back to mind most often.

Moving

I absolutely hated the Moz autobiography. I'm a huge fan of The Smiths and have always been a Moz-defender, even when he's been at his most twattish, but the biog turned me right off him. I thought the first 40 pages or so were exquisite, but then it went from bad, to worse, to bloody awful, to even worse than bloody awful. I read it to the bitter end, because several people whose opinions I generally trust told me that I wouldn't regret it. Reader - I regretted it. I regretted it A LOT.

He certainly did himself a disservice, Remus, didn't he? Came over as supremely arrogant and totally lacking in self-awareness. But still writes beautifully.

24. The Heretics by Rory Clements

Intelligencer John Shakespeare is charged by Robert Southwell, the night before his execution, to find Thomasyn Jade, a woman who had been subjected to exorcisms by a group of Catholic priests and who had subsequently disappeared after being taken in by a noblewoman. But his search is interrupted by the news of another plot involving a Spanish attack on Cornwall. The conspirators have designs on the life of Queen Elizabeth, and are killing members of Cecil's intelligence network at the same time.

Jeanie, I've had my eye on that one! It's right up my street in historical setting and subject matter. I'd love to know what you think of it.

I thought he wrote beautifully in the opening, about Manchester and his parents etc. But once the band had been formed, I thought the writing was overtaken by the twattishness, so actually wasn't good writing either. It still makes me angry thinking about it! Such a waste of such talent.

30 Taken by Benedict Jacka.
The third in the Alex Verus urban fantasy series. Harmless fluff, ideal for a wet night in. I didn't like it as much as the first two - I felt the series wasn't really going anywhere at this point, but that could just be because I've read them in relatively quick succession. They're in the library, so I probably will continue with the series, but I'll leave it a while before getting the next one.

27. Spectacles by Sue Perkins
28. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Enjoyed both very much. No time to review right now. No WiFi at home due to house move. Catching up when I can find WiFi :)

Now reading Heartstone by C J Sansom.

17. Ready, Steady, Dig! By Rosalind Winter kindle cheapie comic archaeology novel. The household gods have been guarding a Roman villa for 1600 years, and decide to do some mischief to continue defending it after it is discovered and the site is to be featured on a TV archaeology show. Liked the concept, and the author clearly knew her stuff on archaeology and Romans. But, this was so facile that I went back to the kindle listing to check it wasn't a children's book. Plus, men do the important stuff and women make the tea, cook, and get their cleavage on telly. Ugh. Plus phonetic spelling of dialogue of anyone a bit 'thick' or rustic. First of a series - I won't bother with any more.

Is it wrong I now feel like reading Morrissey just to see the twattishness in full flow

Reading the comments on Quiksilver and The Confusion I really must give them another go. Sometimes when I've really loved a book I'm overly critical of other efforts of the same author cause it's not just like what I loved v unreasonable I know.

I'd say Anathem is his next best. Didn't like Snow Crash much.

Ok Shock of the Fall is 99p. Buy or not? I seem to recall some critical reviews???

Btw thanks for the Ballard tip cote , been wanting to read something of his for ages.

So many mixed reviews on here and Amazon for A Brief History of Seven Killings but I figure that as it won the Man Booker prize, it has to have some merit, right? Also wondering if listening to the audiobook would be a better option than reading the book as the eight narrators may help to bring the story alive - has anyone listened to it?

Not wrong, Wilting . I saw Morrissey in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago (the book, not him) and I'm really wishing I got it now.

Ugh, I read, or tried to at least, the Howard Jacobson book after it won the booker and couldn't find any merit to it. Gordon Bennett what an awful book.
I just finished my no 15 Snow Crash how timely! It was alright, my expectations were a bit high and it didn't really match my high hopes but there were brilliant bits, and then not so brilliant bits. Generally I think I'm more into the ideas and people and less into action and this book has quite a bit of action and excitement.
Equally high expectations for my next one HHhH.

" I figure that as it won the Man Booker prize, it has to have some merit, right? "
I work on the opposite principle: if it's won (or been shortlisted for) the Booker, then I most probably won't like it.

Currently reading Fever and Spear by Javier Marias, which I think will be a long slow one. So far (a couple of chapters in) it's mostly a long intertwined series of reflections and digressions, and it definitely needs concentration.

It's translated from Spanish, and I wish I could have it as a dual language version. I've been away from the country too long to read literary novels in Spanish, but I keep wondering what the original phrasing was, and feeling that I'm losing some of the sense. (Is that something you can do on Kindle - have 2 languages on a split page? If so, it'd definitely encourage me to get one.)