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?

Thanks moving and Quog I will read those links when I get home from work.

I did, of course, mean to write Muskey not Musket. I am at war with the autocorrect on my Kindle Fire. It changes words at random without asking first, frequently leading me into potential embarrassment :o

Joyless - I am also very happy (nay, aquiver ) at the thought of having loads more of Dissolution-like books ahead of me. I love a good series

If you like that sort of murder mystery that takes place in a different time/place with good local and/or historical research that shines through the details, I would recommend the following:

Child 44 (murder mystery in Soviet Russia under Stalin)

Skull Mantra & sequels (murder mysteries in contemporary Tibet under Chinese occupation)

The Janissary Tree & sequels (murder mysteries in Istanbul, during the last days of the Ottoman Empire)

Well done Natasha and Looking! So impressed. W&P still waiting untouched on my kindle...

Thanks, tumble. Honestly, go for it - it really is worth the effort.

Only thing is I'm worrying myself a bit. I keep thinking things like: "Anna Karenina isn't that long" and "I've never read Don Quixote". I think I may have the beginnings of a Big Book habit...

Natasha - "Anna Karenina" is a much easier read than W&P! Go for it!!

I am ploughing through Terry Pratchett's Raising Steam - never thought I'd say that. It still has some good lines, but much more rambling than his earlier books.

Yy natasha Anna Karenina is a page turner.

16. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami

This was a lovely little book, read in a day. This novel created an atmosphere that was a pleasure to be in. Just as when I was a child I used to read Enid Blyton and want to immediately pack a picnic hamper, after this I just want to sit in a bar, drinking hot sake and cold beer, eating delicious spicy morsels with chopsticks, and have a sparse yet meaningful conversation about food and poetry, whilst waiting for the cherry trees to blossom. Tsusiko and her former schoolteacher, 'Sensei', meet again around 20 years after they were first acquainted. Nothing much happens in it, except that two lonely people develop a friendship, and that's plenty, really.

Black Swan Green next and still enjoying The Moving Toyshop whilst waiting for the kids to fall asleep.

Cote - I know. We'll have to be careful or we'll be hitting a baker's dozen before we know it.

Muskey - Sorry but I really laughed at your need to choose between Harry P and the P's Sone or Ulysses. You do realise there's no contest, right, and that one is infinitely superior to the other?

PS: I mean HP

Cote
The Janissary Tree is 99p on Kindle. Have bought.

Just a quick heads up.
The heart goes last by Margaret Atwood is only £1.49 on Kindle at the moment.

Speaking of Dissolution if anyone sees the next one dark fire drop in price on the Kindle I would be delighted to know, as have been waiting ages to read it!

OK Blue and Satsuki - Anna Karenina has been pencilled in for April on the strength of your recommendations.

I'm looking at the Rosamund Bartlett OUP edition which was recommended by someone (can't remember who, sorry) on MN a while ago. But I am drawn to Marian Schwartz's translation purely on account of the cover. Shallow, I know.

If anyone has read either (or both!), I'd welcome some guidance.

satsu I keep everything I want in my wishlist and check it often so I don't miss the price drops.

myironlung I didn't know you could use it for Kindle books, never thought of it Thanks!

27. Changes for the Chalet School, Elinor M Brent-Dyer. The Chalet School is my ultimate comfort reading and has been since I discovered my granny's unabridged originals aged about 8. Changes is the last book before the school returns to Switzerland - the last term at St Briavel's. Nothing much happens, just a lot of reminiscing.

33. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling

Another reread and the best of the series so far.

Oh no I've been away for a fortnight and a whole new thread! Marking place to catch up later, but did do lots of reading, so:

5. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegar. I am sure this has been reviewed before, but basically it just isn't a patch on The Time Traveller's Wife!

6. We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. I read this because I enjoyed Daryl Gregory's We are all Completely Fine, and I liked the title match, but it was pretty entertaining!

7. A Time Travellers Guide to Medieval England . Read because of reviews on earlier thread, very good.

8. A Man Named Ove also recced on here- made me cry!

9. The road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson- I was a bit disappointed by this, and I think he is disappointed in England!

10. The Torment of Others by VAl McDiamud- a competent mystery, most amusing because Amazon regularly recommends it by the title!

11. They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer*- not as funny or accomplished as her romances, but a good holiday read!

12. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Fillion- I got this as a free kindle book but if you like Mark Haddon's work I would definitely recommend this.

Off to read threads now!

Yes remus (the penny just dropped re Harry potter thing) I am a lotbit sad to be thinking ah yes I really must read ulyeses when I can be fantasing about a Viking warlord (see comments from grey and myself re uhthred ) or Harry Potter ( my reasoning for HP is that the films were on sky a lot over half term dd got fed up of me asking questions and told me to read the book which is what I usually tell her). In my defence however I promised myself I would try and read some stuff out of my comfort zone and decided to re try James Joyce as I failed miserably with him when I had to study the Dubliners. I have the Dubliners, portrait of an artist as a young man and ulyeses on my list. I did do the Dubliners a few weeks back (hated it but did finish it this time). So ulyeses is due. However I have decided to go with book 5 of the Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwall as I need a bit of mental eye candy in my life right now and then I'll be ready for Harry Potter and then Ulyeses will be waiting for me.

quog don't worry about calling me musket it happens a lot (dammed auto correct)

16 Stasiland - Anna Funder. A Remus recommendation and an excellent one. Just the kind of oral history I love.

The authour tells the stories of people whose lives were affected by the Secret police service in East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down and those who were members of, or informed for, the Stasi. She has an engaging, warm style and her empathy shines through, even when she is interviewing the former Stasi.

Some of the stories are harrowing and its hard to believed that this is all recent history, some of these people are my contemporaries.

Quog, I think this is one you would like if you haven't read it.

Cote I have the Janissary Tree downloaded to my kindle, so it will be read, it's just a matter of when. I was somewhat put off attempting Child 44 as I read The Farm and found it rather disappointing, I shall put Child back on the list. Not come across Skull Mantra, but will look into it.

I also have Stasiland on my radar thanks to Remus but am currently reading Red Love and HHhH is top of my Book Club list, both from the same source ...

Muskey am impressed with your determination to read Joyce

Thank you joyless I've never had a star on mn before. Proud face emticon.

Book 14 The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes this was given to me by mumsnet. I would thoroughly recommend it. It's about Shostakovich and Power. He thinks of his life in 12 year cycles. I don't want to spoil it for anyone but it does make you think about life and how we think we would react in certain circumstances.
Now I have to read 2 books very quickly, The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid for book club next week and HHhH by Laurent Binet which the library got for me but I can only keep for 3 weeks as there is a waiting list and I only have 18 days left so it will be a race against time. I have started a new job so I don't have as much time as I used to

11. The Woman who Went to Bed for a Year - Sue Townsend

'Comic' novel from the Adrian Mole author about a woman who's had enough of life and decides to go to bed for a year for reasons we never find out. Very disappointed with this, her final book, very unfunny, too many characters and too many of them were horrible. Way too long at 10 hours (or 464 pages), the narration by Caroline Quentin for the audiobook was better than the actual writing.

I'm 1/3 of the way through The Widow and thoroughly enjoying it so far.

14. Breathe by Sarah Crossan

YA dystopia set in a future where the air's oxygen levels have been severely depleted by the death of plants. People live in "the pod" and society is divided into two classes. It's an interesting concept but it takes a bit of a YA-dystopia-by-numbers approach.

Best V glad you enjoyed Stasiland. I've just got The Spy Who Came in from the Cold from the library, so will be returning to Berlin again v soon (from my bath, anyway!).

Book 25 The Holy Thief by William Ryan
This was his first novel. Have read another of his detective novels set in Stalinist Russia, so thought I’d give this one a go and it didn’t disappoint. A couple of violent killings seem to be linked, but the police detective has to tread very carefully, as the Secret Police (scary bastards) are at best, sniffing around, and, at worst, in it up to their necks. If the detective can find the killer and keep not only his job but his life, it’ll be a miracle. I enjoyed this very much, but did have one quite horrible nightmare as a result of it (v unlike me).