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?

50. Friends of the Dusk by Phil Rickman

I hadn't realised this was due out until I saw it in Waterstones earlier in the week. It's a stormy one for Merrily Watkins, Herefordshire diocesan exorcist. Quite literally in fact, when a storm uproots a tree near the cathedral to reveal an ancient corpse with an unusual burial, the discovery of which apparently leads to murder. But things are stormy with the job as well, as a new bishop has been appointed who doesn't seem to think much of the deliverance ministry. This wasn't as good as some in the series, but I always enjoy a new Phil Rickman.

There will be the fifth in the Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter coming out later in the year, I found out today. And a second book of short children's stories by Pterry after that. They may not be Discworld, but at least I have a bit more of his writing to look forward to.

31. Wild by Cheryl Strayed I love a good account of a long distance walk with some searching for meaning and finding oneself thrown in, and this was a great example of the genre. Following the death of her mother, the break down of her marriage, and a fair bit of going off the rails, an ill equipped 26 year old Cheryl sets off to walk the Pacific Crest Trail. Honest and thoughtful, with just the right level of detail on the walk, but maybe just a little too much on her back story, but I could forgive her that, because I warmed to her very much.

As an aside, my mother apologised to me today for giving me My Brilliant Friend for Christmas, having now read it herself. She also read the other three (strange masochistic woman) "to see if it got any better". It doesn't apparently

44. A History of Loneliness by John Boyne. Feeling quite emotionally drained after reading this. It examines, through the narrative of a middle aged priest Father Odran Yates, the impact of the scandal of paedophilia in the Catholic Church in Ireland. It is an upsetting read, and it will stay with me for a very long time, if not for ever. An incredibly emotional and powerful novel, packed with anger and sorrow and so so much to reflect upon about human nature.

No idea what to read next but nothing too demanding I think.

20. The Versions of Us - Laura Barnett

This was a book club read and not one I would have picked, at the start, didn't really enjoy it but got hooked! The premise is basically like sliding doors, one incident with 3 different outcomes, and so 3 versions of the two main characters (Jim and Eva) lives. Follows them from the incident in 1958 at university, to 2014 and ultimately the death of one of them (in their 70s). One version leads to them meeting and falling in love, another to them not meeting until years later and ending up with other people, and the 3rd starts with them dating, then spliting up, but their relationship having knock on effects. Jim is really a complete wanker (the degree to which he's annoying does change in the different 'versions'), Eva is lovely.

It is cleverly written, spanning their whole adult lives really is a bit more ambitious than many writers would have done (I reckon most would what taken it up to their 30s, possibly 40s). I don't know if it's the stage I'm at in my life, but by covering such long periods, I like that it doesn't just show love as a romantic thing, but the long slog of decades together, the love of caring for a partner at end of life. Would say it took to nearly 100pages to grab me, but worth a read.

Just don't read if you have a "one that got away" person in your past, you'll be googling them before you know it...

oh and it doesn't help that I met DH on a night out when I was at Uni, when I was going to go home for Easter that day but at the last minute changed to go home on the Sunday instead - meeting at the end of the night when some of my group of friends had gone home early and I had nearly left with them, but decided to stay out a bit longer with the other 2 who weren't going. The now DH was in our Uni town for the weekend for an event, but at the time living/working overseas - I really nearly didn't meet him, it's unlikely our paths would have crossed again, and spent a lot of the time reading this book wondering if there's another version of me who's rich living a very different life with someone else.

Good review Dinosaurs, that's on my to-read list but after reading your review might have to bump it up to the top!

9. Emily of New Moon - L.M. Montgomery

I don't think I've re-read this since my late teens, and as I always preferred Emily to Anne as an L.M. Montgomery heroine, I was very interested to see what I would think of it now. Emily is also an orphan, although here we see her father die at the start of the novel (and I found this part incredibly moving) whereupon she is sent to live at New Moon with her two maiden aunts. Emily lives to write and the book(s) trace her development as an author.

While I have always loved Emily (she has far more 'spunk' than Anne) and in particular love her view that she is only the lift of a curtain away from a world of pure beauty, and gets the occasional 'flash' of that world, I did find parts of the book(s) unsettling both when I first read them, and even more so now. Some of the themes, such as Teddy's relationship with his mother and Dean Priest's clear infatuation from the moment he meets Emily with a 13 year old girl, much younger than himself (he was, in fact, a contemporary and friend of her father) make uncomfortable reading.

22. Finally finished Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet. It wasn't terrible but wasn't worth 1076 pages of my time. It's a very long story based on a cathedral being built in the 12th century. The characters are either good or bad and the plot goes like this: bad thing, good thing, bad thing, good thing, really bad thing, quite good thing ..... Ad nauseam. I stopped caring about 600 pages in but felt quite invested by then so had to finish. I really don't get why this came 33rd in the BBC's Big Read (best loved novels) a few years ago.

21. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - I finally got round to reading this (YA book, set in future country of Panem - made up of the rich/powerful Capitol and 12 districts which are all in poverty and supply goods to Capitol, each year 2 children from each district are selected to go fight in the Hunger Games - fight to the death, victor's district gets lots of stuff - our heroine's little sister is picked, she volunteers to go in her place, obviously as it's a trilogy, she wins). Was rather good even with the teenage angsty vibe. Read it just in a day yesterday so really not taxing. Not sure I can be arsed reading the other two, might download for days when I want "doesn't require brain usage" reading.

Ladydepp - I must say on those "big read" lists there does seem to be an element of books being picked that people think they should read/enjoy rather than actually do.

20 The Shining by Stepehen King

This was an audible book and I loved it, have read loads of his books but never this one. Have not been brave enough to see the film, while I like to read horror books I can't watch them! I love the fact that there could have been a slight twist at the end but there wasn't. Kept on tenterhooks the whole way through and the descriptions of the dead people were great. Really fired up the imgination

book 18 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets I read this whilst still reading birdsong (which I am enjoying but it's a bit slow). I am still not convinced that JK Rowling is a good writer. birdsong has now become my evening reading so I am looking for something else.

Time for an update! Still working my way through the various GCSE reading lists! Read An Inspector Calls the other day. I enjoyed it, although it was spoilt rather a lot by whoever wrote the preface giving away the ending . Have also finished Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, which I picked up in the charity shop yesterday. With my impending career change (becoming an English teacher) I felt I needed some background on the Bard and reading a book by Bryson seemed like an easy and fun way to do this. It worked! It's light-hearted and easy to read but factual and informative. Now back to Great Expectations why is it so long??

Forgot to mention: those were nos 8 and 9 (I'm not counting the study guides I read alongside them or the boring textbooks I need to read as well )

78. Victoria Wood: The Biography by Neil Brandwood

Good to find out more about her childhood and earlier career. It only goes up to 2006 though. It's a shame she never wrote her autobiography to get her perspective on her life.

32. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer Thought this was YA, but it's probably more aimed at 10 to 12 year olds. That said, I wouldn't recommend it to them, or anyone else alive. Main character is a deeply unpleasant boy; other characters are mostly fairies and other supernatural creatures. Most of the book consists of dialogue where all the characters are needlessly horrible to one another, with a nice vein of sexism running through as a bonus. It is supposed to be humorous, as an excuse for the unpleasantness, I suppose, but didn't raise a single smile from me (and I'm usually easily pleased in that department). I would have ditched it, but I have never given up on an audio book, and didn't want to set a precedent, plus it was mercifully short.

28. Dark Fire by C. J. Sansom (Shardlake #2)

This was recently reviewed on here so I won't go into details, but this was exquisite. I love Shardlake. I love the writing style. I love everything about this series. You have to suspend disbelief just a little bit but characters ring true, the story is interesting, plot & building up suspense are very good, and portrayal of the morals, beliefs, facts, and way of life of the period is masterful. It's all very good.

I'm just happy that there are several more books in this series to read & the author is alive, well, and writing regularly

39. From Cradle to Grave - Aline Templeton. So far I've really enjoyed this series about Scottish DI Marjorie Fleming but this one was poor, confusing and unbelievable. It didn't help that I missed out the previous one in the series by mistake so there were lots of allusions to previous happenings and characters from earlier in the series seemed to have gone missing. I suppose I'll go back and read that one sometime.

My precious reading time has been curtailed as I've been joined on my morning commute by an old colleague who wants to chat. He's lovely but sometimes at 7am I just want coffee and my book. Fortunately my return commute companion understands the need to read and we have a brief chat about our days then it's Kindles out.

Tempted to try Shardlake again as I started halfway through the series last time and gave up.

17. Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan
18. Lost for Words, by Edward St. Aubyn
19. Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren
20. The Big Rewind, by Libby Cudmore
21. The Westing Game, by Ellen Raaskin
22. Farthing, by Jo Walton
23. Ha'Penny by Jo Walton
24. Modern Lovers, by Emma Straub

I'm currently reading The Untouchable by John Banville and Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum. I'm very much looking forward to Half A Crown, the final book in Jo Walton's Farthing triology.

Oops, forgot one:

25. When Will There Be Good News, by Kate Atkinson

What did you think about these 9 books that you have read, Vanderlyle?

BestisWest - can you start sitting elsewhere on the train/standing at the other end of the platform? People who insist on making small talk at that hour of the morning aren't to be trusted...

Dinosaurs, It's a tiny station and a one carriage train, two if we're lucky! I like him and he's interesting but I think I'm going to arrive at the station Kindle in hand next week. Hopefully he'll get the hint.

27. Career of Evil - 'Robert Galbraith'. The third in the Cormoran Strike crime story series, this is set in London in 2011 where a Ripper-esque killer from Strike's past is on the prowl. Boy, I was disappointed in this. This book is far too long at almost 600 pages and the twist easy to guess thanks to a heavy-handed clue quite early on. There was also too much surveillance stuff and the story often meandered. I like the main characters so I'll read the next book when it's out (next year?) but I'll get it from the library or wait for the paperback.

Ooooh I am tempted to start Dark Fire now rather than save it for when the weather gets hotter...does anyone else like to read books at the time of year in which they are set?! Or is it just me....?

tessie I am reading Watership Down and the action so far is taking place over the late spring / early summer. I am enjoying the descriptions of the natural world (more than the odd, of their time, ideas the author has imposed on rabbit society), and probably the more so for having accidentally read it at the right time of year.