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?

Yes it does sound interesting. Thanks for the recommendation, Best. Have added it to my tbr list :)

Just read this thread (still have to finish thread 2!) and I love Cote's review of High Heat- I forgot I read that and another of the novellas - possibly Small Wars?- on holiday via the library app (overdrive), like a pp I would highly recommend it, although our library doesn't have a great deal of stock, the more people who use it the better I suspect it will get.

I would also second the rec for Child 44, it's v good.

To those of you who have read Child 44, did you read the sequels as well or did you treat it as a stand alone novel? I've got a copy lurking at home but have read reviews of the sequels which say they aren't as good. Any thoughts? I've got so many books tbr that I don't want to start another series yet. Does it end properly or does it lead on to the next one?

I read Child 44's sequel and thought the story was a bit silly. I have another one by the same author (not sure if it's a sequel) on my Kindle but haven't read it yet.

I wasn't a big fan of Child 44's ending (i.e. who turned out to be the killer & why) but loved it for the ride - the story was good, and insight into Soviet Russia under Stalin was fascinating. I suppose that was why Child 44 made it into the Booker longlist - the first thriller to come anywhere near the Booker Prize afaik.

Janissary Tree also very good at portraying the atmosphere of late-Ottoman Istanbul as well as Turks as a nation, imho. I like Yashim, the eunuch given the task by the Padishah of finding the killer (as no "man" would be allowed into the harem). And I like the details the author gives about the streets of Istanbul, its multicultural heritage, and even some recipes as Yashim prepares the dishes

Ok, thanks Cote. I'll treat it as a stand alone novel then, but keep the sequels in mind as a possible later read. I like the idea of reading another thriller set in Stalinist Russia. I enjoyed One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore, an excellent thriller set in that era.

Thank you for the recommendation, Quog. I added it to my Kindle wish list

Really enjoying Call the midwife and the picture it paints both of horrendous East End deprivation and its strong community spirit in the 1950s. Never much taken to the TV series (slightly whimsical, I found) but the book is SO much better!

Long time lurker on the books threads, finally gearing up bravery to actually post--you've all given me such excellent recommendations and hours of delight going through the threads, I thought I should contribute!

Just finished no. 19 for this year, Love Like Salt by Helen Stevenson. It's a memoir; her eldest daughter was born with cystic fibrosis, and she writes about that, but there's a lot more to it: their family's move to France, her mother's dementia and eventual death, and a lot about music. She's a good amateur pianist and writes about music-making as a way of processing emotion. I'm a classical singer so know much of the music she focuses on, which added another dimension of enjoyment. Really gorgeous writing, as well. It's out on the 3rd of March (got a proof copy)--highly recommend!

I read all the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr which I really enjoyed !! Currently reading the Paris wife and also dominion by C j sansom, which is a massive book so hoping it keeps my attention

My dh is currently reading Dominion queenie and said it really kicks off half way through, he is reading it whenever he can snatch a moment, hope you find it good too. I've got a bit of a list before I can get round to it, but will at some point.

I've also got Stasiland on my (newly discovered) wishlist

Hmm I'm tempted to add the Janissary Tree to my kindle but i really don't like crime as per CJ Sansom, I do like thrillers however. Is it a straight up murder story or more involved than that? Have avoided Child 44 for similar reasons. Am I being too dismissive?!!! never!

Welcome to the thread, Grendel :)

Moving - I recommend reading all three of the Call The Midwife trilogy. I'm nearing the end of Farewell to the East End now and have found that one very upsetting in places. Hard hitting subjects such as tuberculosis, illegal abortions and infanticide are covered in this one. And yes the books are much more serious than the tv series, but I do love that too :)

What has been interesting is that Dr Turner only gets one mention in CTM and nowhere else. His character was fleshed out from references to several doctors.

I started The Janissary Tree on my commute today and am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Love all the food references (am a glutton) and one line about soup made me roar with laughter.

Congratulations & best wishes for your new job, minsmum.

Welcome to the thread, Grendel.

Satsuki & MyIronLung - Let me introduce you to eReaderIQ

Make a list of the books you want to buy on that website, and it sends you an email when their prices drop below the level you set.

Also, write down the authors you like and it emails you when their books' prices drop.

It is brilliant

Remus - I'm glad you are enjoying Janissary Tree. What was the line about soup that you liked?

Yes, Quog, just bought the 2nd book, unbelievably harsh experiences depicted of the metropolitan working class - that poor woman with the "workhouse wail" who struggled to look after her 5 kids, one on the way, alone until her accident and so off to workhouse for 19 years separated from her children by a 15 foot wall and never saw any of them again as they gradually all died there in the children's section. And this as recently as 1935 But yes, am enjoying it too.

Will dig it out later, Cote. It was something comparing flavouring in soup to signs of a revolutionary mind. Was v funny.

I've found you all again! Haven't been reading much recently, so have only 3 to add:

1. Broken Homes - Ben Aaronovitch - Another of the "Rivers of London" series with our magical police man. This particular installment didn't seem to have the pace of the others, and the main story didn't grab me, although the personal storyline of the main characters was good (with a 'twist' I didn't see coming, although looking back, it was signposted).

10. Telling Tales - Ann Cleeves - 2nd of the "Vera" books, a girl was murdered 15 years before, a woman was convicted, although protesting her innocence, she committed suicide just before new evidence proved she couldn't do it, Vera is brought in to look into the case. Interesting story, works well as a stand alone book. Good murder mystery.

11. Agent Zigzag - Ben Macintyre - thanks for the recommendation Cote - this is the true story of Eddie Chapman, a bank robber turned double agent in WWII. Very entertaining read.

Now I have to get back my reading bug. Think I might check out the Saxon series.

Hi all.

I've worked out I can fit in about 5 novels a month so far, so am aiming for 60 books this year. Below is what I've read so far, in reverse order, as sure I have bored on about some of them before.

10. The Outsider (Albert Camus)
I've just started this, as I was recommended The Mersault Investigation by Kamel Daoud but apparently you have to have read The Outsider to get it.

9. The Farming of Bones (Endwidge Danticat)
Haitian writer, story of a house maid and a farmhand set in Haiti/Dominican Republic in the 1930s/40s. Interesting read, liked her characters.

8. The Buried Giant (Kazuo Ishiguro)
Promising start but all got too weird and allegorical for me in the end.

7. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
Really enjoyed this, although not my usual thing at all. Story of a young Irish-American girl growing up in dirt-poor Brooklyn in the early 20th century.

6. By Grand Central Station I Sat Down And Wept (Elizabeth Smart) – I wanted to like this, as it came highly recommended and has a great title, but it frustrated and bored me in equal measures. Poetic prose = hard going for me.

5. The Fishermen (Chigozie Obioma)
Slow start and clunky writing in places, but ended up loving this. Story of a group of young brothers growing up in Nigeria in the 90s. They are ‘cursed’ by the town madman and the story follows how the curse pans out for each of them.

4. Broken April (Ismail Kadare) –
Been trying to read more international writers, and this is apparently an Albanian classic. Haunting and beautifully written.

3. The Patience Stone (Atiq Rahimi)
Very simple in its style and very short, but powerful. A young Afghan woman tends to her husband who is in a coma and pours out all of her secrets, thoughts and feelings that are taboo and must be hidden within their culture.

2. The Book of Night Woman (Marlon James)
Hands down my favourite read so far in 2016. The story of a slave girl growing up on a planatation in 18th century Jamaica. Brilliant writing, beautiful characterisation. He really is a fantastic writer.

1. Rivers of London (Ben Aaronavitch)
A fun read which took me out of my usual thing of proper ‘literature, daaaahling’ comfort zone, as neither detective novels or mysteries are my thing, but I didn’t love it enough to read the follow-up, put it that way

1. The Good Children - Roopa Farooki I had no expectations of this read having picked it up at a book sale for 10p! It tells the story of four siblings brought up to be 'good children' in 1940s Punjab. For the boys this means beatings and lots of study in their quest to honour the family name by bettering their father's achievements and studying medicine abroad, for the daughters this means learning to be the perfect wives and pandering to their manipulative mother's moods. The novel follows the children lives through adulthood and shows how they each deal separately with the emotional baggage they each carry from their childhood. Quite a good read, I'll look out for some others by this novelist.

1. Saplings - Noel Streatfield This was recommended on another Mumsnet thread and until I saw it I wasn't aware the Streatfield had written adult novels as well as her renowned children's books. This was a very good depiction of how many English family lives were turned upside down during World War 2. Popular culture often focuses on the camaraderie and 'make-do' spirit but this novel really touches on the emotional well-being of a happy affluent middle-class family and shows how their everyday lives are ripped apart by the decisions made by their parents to ensure their wartime safety. Great concern is taken over their physical well-being but little thought is taken over how the adult's decisions will affect the children. The changes on the personalities of three of the four children is hard to read as a modern parent as no-one appears to fully appreciate how badly affected they are by the changes. A really good read.

1. The Lady in the Van - Alan Bennett. The book which the current film (and original play) were based on. Written as a series of diary entries it tells the real life story of the homeless Miss Shepherd living on Alan Bennet's property for over 15 years. Written in Bennet's distinctive matter-of-fact style it is both comic and sad. A quick read but one that will stay with me for a while.

Aaahhhh BrokenApril isn't The Book of Night Women amazing??! So violent and brutal but so gorgeous. Have you read A Brief History of Seven Killings yet? (Also, would recommend Toni Morrison's Beloved as being in a similar vein to Night Women, though the violence is less constant.)

Also, I loved A Tree Grows In Brooklyn too--I read it for school one year, and am pretty sure it contained the first scene of men-being-creepy (/attempted sexual assault) that I recognised as such. An eye-opener.

I've read quite a few books since I last updated on here.

6 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Reviews in previous threads reminded me that I had this book on the shelf and I finally read it. It was very good although I found - like others - that the last part dragged a bit. Also wasn't convinced about how the family broke up as they left the Congo.

7 An Academic Question by Barbara Pym This was OK not my favourite book. It wasn't really finished properly by her which might be part of the problem.

8 The Woman who walked in sunshine by Alexander Macall Smith Another in the Ladies Detective Agency series. Perfect book for cold winter days. Mma Ramotswe is persuaded to have a holiday but can't quite stop herself from interfering at the Agency. Funny and lots of talk about fruit cake.

9 The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Had no idea about what was going to happen at the start (can't say any more than that because of spoilers). Sorry that it's his last ever book.

10 To Bed With Grand Music by Marghanita Laski Set during the Second World War it is the heroine's change from a bored housewife and mother stuck in the sticks to a young woman sleeping her way across London. Entertaining and quite light in tone. It was published just after the War ended and disapproved of by some critics who didn't find it very edifying because it didn't fit with the image of women staying stoically at home for their husbands to come home. But it talks honestly about the behaviour of a lot of people during the war.

11. The House on the Strand by Daphne Du Maurier The narrator has found a way of time travelling and finds himself back in the 15th Century. He is fascinated with the past and increasingly annoyed with his family and modern day commitments. Really well written very atmospheric.

12. High Wages by Dorothy Whipple Rags to riches story about a young woman who starts working in a shop. Very enjoyable.

Am currently reading a book about Lebanon where nothing very positive happens to anyone so finding it a bit depressing. Trying to break it up with other books. It's a book group read so want to get through it if I can!

Cedar - you summed up "the house on the strand" so much better than I did!