50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Thread four 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, second thread here and third thread here.

How're you getting on so far?

The comparison to The Martian was in the annoying as hell adolescent-esque narration. Nothing else. It's dreasful, Cote, and you would absolutely loathe it. Don't go there and don't let your dd anywhere near it either. I'm astonished that so many people seem to like it.

What attracted me to the St Mary's books was that they were great fun, and the concept was good. I thought the author, having been thrust to sudden word of mouth popularity for her first book, would go on to hone her craft on the job, but sadly it seems not, so I'm done with them now.

28. Divergent by Veronica Roth chosen as the least bad option in a kindle giveaway a while back, so didn't start with high expectations. YA set in a future where humans belong to one of five factions, based on predominant personality traits. I had so many problems with this concept, and with the practicalities of how society functioned. For example, if you accept that these are humans with the same biology as us, and that the factions are merely a construct, surely nearly everyone is Divergent (not fitting neatly into one faction). So serums that don't work on Divergent people, how? And many such other pedantic gripes. However, when I just went with the flow, I did quite enjoy this, and liked the main character, Tris. I would have loved this book as a teen. Will put the rest of the trilogy on my wish list, but am in no rush.

Remus - I didn't think The Martian had "annoying as hell adolescent-esque narration". It was an intelligent man put in an extreme survival situation, alone, and had to keep up his spirits in an upbeat tone rather than gaze into his navel and cry in order to survive. That is quite realistic, since astronauts are chosen not only from among scientifically-minded and driven people but also those who are upbeat and are not far less prone to negativity & depression than the average person. He was never going to mope around crying into his pillow and wailing "Whyyyyyyy?!?!?!"

I think I said this before but celebrated astronaut Chris Hadfield was in the initial screening of the film The Martian and told the audience afterwards that this is exactly how an astronaut in this situation would behave - not panic, "work the problem", keep positive.

Then again, if you found that parts of The Martian to be "boring science", the book was never going to work for you, would it? It's like me reading a YA romance book and saying characters were juvenile and it talked all the time about feeeeeeliiiiiiingsssss

I finished To Kill a Mockingbird a few days ago. Absolutely amazing! Also enjoyed reading the GCSE study guide with it to learn more about the characters, themes and context. Total for this year 7

We will have to agree to disagree about the narrator of The Martian, Cote. I thought he was an annoying pillock.

Book 58
Just One Damned Thing after Another - Chronicles of St Mary's
Dreadful. Great concept – secret historians backed by teams of researchers, tech-people etc etc do lots of time travelling for the worthy cause of historical research. In reality though, this was absolute tosh. It didn’t help that it’s narrated by the most irritating female driveling idiot known to literature since Emma Bovary. It also didn’t help that it was dreadfully written, so that even when it was about potentially seriously exciting stuff like being chased by a tyrannosaurus rex, or threatened by a time lord-esque psychopath, it was all just mind-blowingly, excruciatingly boring. Just awful – I’m astonished that it was ever published.

I just found it hard to credit than anyone would react only and totally like a Boy Scout to the situation in The Martian. Would agree with Remus the result was an adolescent sounding and I engaging narrator. I'd speculate it's a much better movie than book. You wouldn't miss the characterisation so much in a movie. Still a pretty good read albeit v focused on potatoes

Hi everyone, can I please join here? I hope some of you may remember me from posting on last years thread - I was pregnant and unfortunately didn't complete reading 50 books as I had lots on my mind so I dropped off the thread and MN altogether really. Anyway, I gave birth to our beautiful little girl at the end of December so I have been extremely busy and sleep deprived of late! I have only managed to read one book so far this year but I am hoping to get back into things now we are in a good routine! I have missed reading so much!

Book 19) foxglove summer by Ben Aaronovitch; I really enjoyed this. Had a hot a bit tired of the series so this has been sitting on my kindle a while. Smart assed and quirky, thought the change of scene from London was enlivening and the story around the missing girl (you may recall I am not a mystery fan, too much exposure in my youth ) surprisingly absorbing. Flew through it, would definitely recommend and will definitely buy the next one.

Hi Tessie.

Welcome back and congratulations on your recent arrival!

10. The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin I really enjoyed this. An account of the author's attempt to take happiness seriously and dedicate a year to changing her life to make her happier. Quite honest with the stories she used but also about the resoultions and goals she made that she didn't stick to and why. Also found it was well balanced towards homeopathic ideas (not sure if right word), she gave them a go but also argued about why for her they didn't work without looking down on those for whom it may help (i'm not an advocate of these but understand it may work for some). Overall a good book for me to read in my current state.

Number 11 is my first Agatha Christie - the murder of Roger Ackloyd. So far i'm enjoying it and it's an easy read. Decided to hold off on a few books im eager to read for my holiday (flying + airports + lots of spare time).

30. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness - this was my 6th of the 8 on the Carnegie shortlist. It is about a group of teenagers who have almost finished high school and the strange things that start happening in their small town. The premise is the idea that they aren't the type of kids who end up getting dragged into the strange happenings, like a clichéd teen novel - they are just there at the same time and dealing with their own issues. I'm not sure what I thought about this one, overall - it was very YA in a way that the others on the shortlist don't seem to be. It was very, very easy and quick to read and definitely not Ness's best. There's a quote from John Green on the cover about Ness being an 'insanely beautiful writer'. He can't have been talking about this book. Having said that, it wasn't awful - there was something about it which I think teenagers would quite enjoy. I just can't see it as a serious contender to win.

Welcome back Tessie and congratulations on your DD.

Looking -

I'm reluctant to go back to Ness after More Than This which made me really, really angry. You're not selling this one to me! Probably won't bother with it, unless I happen to see it in the library.

26. Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson.

Second in this series of epic fantasy books. Flew through it even though it was very long (one of those 2 parts in 1 book similar to Game of Thrones). Liked it, didn't love it but will read the third. If you like epic 90's fantasy then you'll (probably) like this.

27. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck.
Ah, he just writes so well. This is about the inhabitants of Cannery Row. No real plot, just a meandering through the town, setting the scene and meeting the characters. Very nice.

Welcome back Tessie, I didn't read for the whole year after DS2, couldn't concentrate!

Remus - I have to say, I don't think you should bother. Teens would get something out of it, adults not so much...

47. Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Harry's arrangement with Mab results in him being loaned out to his most dangerous enemy as part of a bank heist. As if working with a millennia-old psychopath powered by a Fallen Angel liable to double-cross him at the drop of a hat wasn't bad enough, the vault to be raided lies in the Underworld, and is the property of Hades himself.

So, that's the Dresden Files re-read complete. I do hope that Jim Butcher brings another one out soon. There is a title apparently, but no hint of a publishing date yet.

I've been accumulating a fair few books while on this series re-read. I might go for something completely different and give Vanessa Collingridge's Boudica a go next.

Thanks, Looking.

Nice to have you back tessie and congrats on your newest family member

Congratulations Tessie & welcome back

Congratulations, tessie. It took me ages to get back to reading properly too, maybe a couple of years before I was able to concentrate fully on a novel.

Anyone ever read Freeman Wills Croft? His Hog's Back Mystery is 99p on Kindle Daily Deal. Is it worth a read?

Best, my book club read the Hogs Back Mystery and it was liked all round as a good old-fashioned read. It's not great, or fantastic, or superb, but it was a pleasant enough read. Mind you, as I'm happy to read St Mary's for light relief, you may not want to take my word for it!

Remus, I'm sorry you hated St Mary's. Your review has it spot on: a great premise but with sketchy (at best) characterisation, she "tells" and never "shows", and how the sex scenes haven't been nominated for that award for the worst ever is beyond me. All I can say in my defence is that my mind needs pap at the moment as will be evidenced by:

Book 24: Longbourn by Jo Baker - the servants view of P&P.
Book 25: Man at the Helm by Nina Stibbe - children who are determined to save their mother and their lives by finding a man for their divorced mother.

Currently reading A Song for Issy Bradley only 27% in and I am itching to smack her father, the (Mormon) Bishop, already. Maybe I'm recovering ...

Oh and HUGE congrats to tessie and welcome back

Will download it then Joyless. I read my fair share of pap.
Just seen that Love, Nina has been made into a TV series with Helena Bomham-Carrer.

Carter