50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

Thread five 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.

The first thread of 2016 is here, second thread here, third thread here and fourth thread here.

How're you getting on so far?

That is not the kind of encouragement I was hoping for, tumble . Everyone who recommended it kept saying how awesome it was, but it is such a drag. I had high hopes and don't know whether to endure or give up before I waste another dozen hours of my life!

Sorry!

All the people who recommended it to me seemed to have been reading a different book to the one I read. One without annoying capital letters, a tedious plot and a bizarre ending.

I was hoping it was a To Kill A Mockingbird - slow start, end that more than makes up for it. If it is going to be more of the same, may have to give in.

Ender's Game - I loved the battle stuff, but was bored by the final section so didn't read the sequel/s.

Owen Meaney - I really don't understand the love for this. I enjoyed a few scenes in it (the one with the car, in particular) but thought it was ridiculously overlong, with loads of boring sex stuff that I could have done without. I also thought that the ending was fairly predictable and that it all felt a bit laboured. It would have made a decent short story or novella, but as a novel I think it's over-written, turgid and annoyingly self conscious.

It is not looking hopeful for me sticking this one out...

I just bought Ender's Game been wanting to read it for ages.

I didn't mind Crimson Petal, didn't really go anywhere but fairly enjoyable light read.

Have had Owen Meaney waiting for a while, it's not rising further up the list

I'm not reading anything at the moment. Been ill in bed all day and can't get into anything. Hate this feeling.

Hope you feel better soon, Satsuki

I'm adding my complete list, now I've reached 50 books, with favourites highlighted.

1. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson
2. The Exploits of Moominpappa by Tove Jansson
3. The Blackhouse by Peter May
4. Overcoming Chronic Fatigue by Mary Burgess and Trudie Chalder
5. Disclaimer by Renee Knight
6. The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer
7. Sweet Caress by Willim Boyd
8. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
9. The Life Changing Magic of Tidying by Marie Kondo

10. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman 11. *Grandpa's Great Escape by David Walliams 12. Mystery in White by J Jefferson Farjeon 13. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel 14. Matilda by Roald Dahl 15. Call The Midwife by Jennifer Worth 16. Shadows of the Workhouse by Jennifer Worth 17. Farewell to the East End by Jennifer Worth 18. Billionaire Boy by David Walliams 19. The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell 20. Tricky Twenty-two by Janet Evanovich 21. The Examined Life by Stephen Grosz 22. My Life in Houses by Margaret Forster 23. The Road by Cormac McCarthy 24. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson 25. Amelia Jane Again by Enid Blyton 26. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel 27. Spectacles by Sue Perkins 28. Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig 29. Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton 30. Heartstone by C J Sansom 31. Lamentation by C J Sansom 32. The Year of Marvellous Ways by Sarah Winman 33. The Bolds to the Rescue by Julian Clary 34. Engleby by Sebastian Faulks 35. Overcoming your Child's Fears and Worries by Cathy Cresswell & Lucy Willetts 36. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett 37. The Company of Liars by Karen Maitland 38. A Very British Murder by Lucy Worsley 39. The Woman Who Went To Bed for a Year by Sue Townsend 40. Shakespeare by Bill Bryson 41. The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy 42. The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum 43. Restless by William Boyd 44. A History of Loneliness by John Boyne 45. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor 46. The Farm by Tom Rob Smith 47. Shop Girl by Mary Portas 48. The James Version by Ruth Dugdall 49. Six Tudor Queens: Katherine of Aragon, the True Queen by Alison Weir 50. The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence

Well done to everyone on 50 already!

Wilting, have you tried Overdrive (the library app)? It's good for free books!

I think I liked Owen Meany, but read it years ago- prefer the film of Hotel New Hampshire though.

36. Lies we tell Ourselves by Robin Talley. Another from the Carnegie shortlist- at first I felt she was trying to pack too much into this story (racial segregation and lesbianism in 1950s America), and the narrative voices seemed far too modern to me, but actually after the first few chapters I was gripped and really enjoyed it!

What order did your students put them in Remus? I can see why One won, out of the 4 I have read so far, although embarrassingly I didn't realise it was a poem- reading with the font turned up large on my iPhone meant I missed the layout and had to look at a real life copy!

Sorry sorry I meant Looking, not Remus! What was your pick to win Looking?

My overdrive seems rubbish. Never has anything I want to read

I loved Owen Meany, but it was about 20 years ago that I read it. I might find it tedious now, but it was the only book of John Irving's that I ever liked.....

I'm listening to a new audio book Down Under by Bill Bryson, absolutely loving it, his description of trying body boarding had me in tears (of laughter).

30. Frenchman's Creek - Daphne du Maurier

Somehow I've never read anything by her before, but I enjoyed this tremendously. It's a classic adventure and love story, with a fantastic feel for place and landscape. Would love to hear which of her other books are the most worth reading, if anyone is a fan.

wiltingfast - there are libraries in other parts of the world that you can join online for e-books, the two links below were passed on to me. I haven't found too much on them yet but that doesn't mean that you won't and if you have the time to research you may well find others and if you do please post them on this thread

webopac.canadabay.nsw.gov.au/libero/WebOpac.cls

wapldmc.lib.overdrive.com/5AF4A4B1-8150-4D2B-B855-87F491858EA4/10/50/en/Default.htm

I seem to be the lone admirer of Owen Meaney.

Meg, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel and of course Rebecca are all worth a read. Rebecca is one of my all time favourites.

Ooo I didn't realise i could use other libraries! Will have a try at that tonight....

Meg , Jamaica Inn was the first Daphne du Maurier I ever read and I loved it. Still a firm favourite.

I read a few John Irving books in my late teens/early 20s, and there are a few scenes that have stuck with - he can do memorable. But I'm not particularly keen on revisiting or exploring his other books.

62. August Folly, Angela Thirkell

More 1930s jollity amongst the upper middle classes, this time a tale of two families over a summer as they put on a Greek play, with support from humorous yokels. I'm not so interested in her romances, but I like the comedy - the Oxford men reminiscing pleasurably about the various downfalls of their contemporaries, the narcissism of late adolescence. She writes well about teenagers and the middle-aged. A good summer read.

ooo! Death's End by Cixin Liu is out on kindle! Final part of the Three Body Problem , yet another book on my want to read list

oops. feck it, it's a pre order thingy. Not out until SEPTEMBER grrr.

I've made it to 50 too so here's my list so far. Highlights in bold but with just a few exceptions I've enjoyed most of the books I've read this year with Olive Kitteridge still being my favourite.

1. An American Nomad – Stephen Thompson
2. The Hours – Michael Cunningham
3. The Unvanquished – William Faulkner
4. The Wolf Border – Sarah Hall 5. The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
5. The Childhood of Jesus – J.M Coetzee 7. Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
6. Homeland and Other Stories – Barbara Kingsolver
7. A Place Called Winter – Patrick Gale
8. Slade House – David Mitchell 11. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
9. Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig
10. A Bend in the River – V.S Naipaul
11. A Manual for Cleaning Women – Lucia Berlin
12. Grief is a Thing With Feathers – Max Porter
13. The Girl on the Train – Paula Hawkins 17. Ice – Gillian Clarke 18. In the Heart of the Country – J.M Coetzee
14. We Are Called to Rise – Laura McBride 20. Satin Island – Tom McCarthy
15. Strong as Death – Guy de Maupassant
16. Holes – Louis Sachar
17. The Martian – Andy Weir
18. The End of Your Life Bookclub – Will Schwalbe 25. Alberta and Jacob – Cora Sandel
19. Our Endless Numbered Days – Claire Fuller
20. The Housekeeper and the Professor – Yoko Ogawa
21. Jamaica Inn – Daphne Du Maurier
22. Man at the Helm – Nina Stibbe
23. The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds
24. Colorless Tsukuru and His Years of Pilgrimage – Murakami
25. The Memory of Love – Aminatta Forna
26. Allegiant – Veronica Roth 34. State of Wonder – Ann Patchett
27. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
28. Recipe for Water – Gillian Clarke
29. The Humans – Matt Haig
30. Some Hope – Edward St. Aubyn
31. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
32. The Green Road – Anne Enright 41. Love Nina – Nina Stibbe
33. Half-Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan
34. The Story of a New Name – Elena Ferrante 44. Into Thin Air – John Krakauer
35. A Week at the Airport – Alain de Botton
36. The Portable Veblen – Elizabeth Mckenzie
37. Thirteen Ways of Looking – Colum McCann
38. Home – Toni Morrison
39. Sharp Objects – Gillian Flynn
40. Crossing to Safety – Wallace Stegner

I hope you are better today, Satsuki

wilting - You got me excited there for a minute!

Can someone explain this "overdrive" thing to me? Can anyone (living anywhere) join these online ebook libraries? How do you "borrow" an ebook and how do you transfer it onto your Kindle?

Thanks for the good wishes. Just got a bug but a nasty one and feeling very sorry for myself!

I downloaded an overdrive app to my iPad, you access the books on there by selecting them on the library catalogue and they disappear after a certain period. I don't think you can transfer them to a Kindle, but I'm not certain on that. I got it on my local library website. I haven't used it as I found the page turning on it brain-boilingly slow, but that might just be down to my device, not sure.

Olive Kittredge I'd heard of as a TV series, I hadn't realised it was a book, looks interesting.

The author of Olive Kitteredge was on radio 4 a few weeks ago and it was quite interesting hearing her talking about it- she wasn't what I expected. I was in the car so I don't know what the programme was, but it might have been this:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006s5sf/episodes/player

Cote- I don't know if you can join from abroad - I needed to download the app, then add my library number and pin code, and I can only borrow from my county library. It doesn't work with kindle either. Despite that, it is very good- I think it is pretty new, and the more of us that use it the better it will probably get.