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?

eitak - the ones that stand out for me in this month's kindle deals are The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien, The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid. I will get the Forensics book (recommended and reviewed already on this thread) because I'm fascinated by the subject and maybe leave the other two to borrow from the library. There's also a few Ian Rankin novels, and some Fay Weldon. Not a bad selection this month :)

32. Fingers In The Sparkle Jar - Chris Packham

I really enjoyed this, although the prose takes some wading through - "Wind licks little furies on the meadow and tousles the willows' petticoats, which flounce into a fit of wild fretting" is a not atypical example. But if you can put up with the chronic overuse of metaphor and alliteration, the story beneath is a very moving one, and much darker than I'd expected - the story of a childhood spent totally immersed in natural history and alienated from pretty much everything else.

I think I'd be interested to read Fingers in the Sparkle Jar Meg. I've got quite a high tolerance for purple prose but we shall see

Irrationally, because I have unread books coming out of my ears, I still get disappointed if there's nothing I want on the Kindle Monthly deals

I would have gone for The Poisonwood Bible if I hadn't already read it, eitak. Was mildly interested in Amy Poehler's book, but I don't tend to get on with celebrity autobiogs, even if I like the person, so not sure. There's a lot of Fay Weldon if anyone's missed her. I have liked her short stories but never felt tempted by her novels.

I have just given up and started Sovereign after a dry spell reading-wise. My dd has given up her daytime nap so my time has been severely reduced Its actually been lovely spending more time with her, but I'm knackered!

I found Amy Poehler's book a mixed bag partly because she spends a lot of time - not surprisingly - talking about the people she worked with on Saturday Night Live and I had no idea who some of them were.

Cedar03, Three men in a boat is a real favourite of mine (the scene with the tin of pineapple makes me giggle just thinking about it). The sequel Three Men on the Bummel is even funnier, I'd say.

I'm mired in Stasiland on audiobook, can't decide whether to give up or not - finding the author really irritating, but there are some fascinating bits.

43. 11.22.63 – Stephen King. Jake Epping is a high school teacher who befriends Al who owns a local diner. Al’s store room in the diner is a portal to 1958. The two men plan and Jake travels back in time to prevent the assassination of JFK. In This is one of the best time travel books I have ever read and is a real contender for my book of the year. The characters were excellent and extremely well drawn. The historical research was impeccable and the different strands of the story were woven together wonderfully. This was an audiobook with 30 hours 38 minutes of narration and I loved every single second.

44. Cuckoo Song - Francis Hardinge. This was a YA fantasy novel set just after WW1. Triss wakes up after an accident and feels that something is very wrong. Everybody seems to be very concerned about her and she has this strange hunger that is insatiable. She discovers that she is a pawn in a very strange plot to harm her father and family. This was rather creepy and while it was well written and beautiful in parts it was a big of a drag. I liked it well enough but didn’t love it.

45. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August – Clare North. This is another time travel novel. Harry August was born in the 1920’s. After he died he was born again to the same mother under the same conditions but with the memory of his previous. He continues to live his lives and is born again and again. He discovers that there are others like him (Kalachakra) and they all help each other out in each life. However things take a turn where he discovers his fellow Kalachakra and friend Vincent is killing all the others by trying to prevent their first birth. This was ok and quite a good and complex idea. However it didn’t enjoy the story itself as much as I would have expected.

46. The Faceless Ones – Derek Landy. This was a school run listen. I really like these books. This was the third in the Skullduggery Pleasant series and in this one Valkyrie Keane (or Stephanie as her parents call her) is working with Skullduggery (skeleton detective) and others to battle evil. In this tale Teleporters (who can carry people from one location to another) are being murdered. Valkyrie and Skullduggery along with Tanith Lowe and all the other good guys discover that the bad guys (Billy Ray Sanguine etc) are planning to open a portal to bring the faceless ones (who are the really bad guys) back to this dimension and then all hell will break loose. The portal is opened and a magical battle between opposing forces ensue. The faceless ones are sent back but Skullduggery is transported back to the oher side as well. The next book in the series deals with his rescue and we are currently listening to that.

47. Coraline - Neil Gaiman. I read this with my daughter. Coraline moves into a new house and discovers a mysterious door and finds that it opens into a flat that is eerily similar to the one she lives in and here she finds the 'other' mother and father who want her to live with them forever. This story was creepy and spooky and we loved it.

48. Without a Trace - Lesley Pierce. I picked this up on and audible daily deal yonks ago. It was set in Somerset and London after WW2. Molly Weyward's friend Cassie is found murdered and her daughter Petal is missing. Molly leaves her village to go to London and from there she sets out to find Petal and solve the mystery of Cassie. I bought this because I thought it was a historical mystery but it is more of a romance with a hint of mystery. The social history was interesting but the whole plot seemed convoluted and didn't really flow well. It was easy listening but a bit drawn out. I wouldn't be in a rush to read (or listen) to more.

After enjoyed 11.22.63 so much I downloaded The Stand so am rereading that. I am still reading Neurotribes and I am enjoying it but it is a bulky book so not easy carry around with the result that I am not picking it up as much as I should.

I have just bought the audio of Fingers in the Sparkle Jar and I am really looking forward to it.

I'm v jealous of people reading lovely things like the Sally Lockhart books, The Clockwork Sparrow and the King JFK one. I'm still ploughing through a very depressing book about Stalin. I have to keep putting it down, to prevent slitting my wrists.

Mermaid: you are in for a treat with The Poisonwood Bible.

Fay Weldon is one of my favourites, although some of them do seem a bit dated now and everything she writes is not of the same standard. if you like Jane Austen, try Weldon's Letters to Alice.

Remus: are you reading it for a course or work?

I've got the King one on my tbr, looking forward to it now grifone.

Louisa - neither a course nor work. For pleasure, believe it or not! Having read loads around WW2 in the last year, I wanted to know more about the man who helped liberate Europe from the Nazis but who seemed in many ways to be as bad as the man he was liberating them from. I'm just not terribly taken with the writing style of the book I've chosen.

I take my hat off to you, Remus. I did pick up Simon Sebag Montefiori's, Young Stalin in a bookshop but didn't even make it to the till with it!

Are you just so far on with your Stalin that you may as well finish? Is your next book ready and does it look enticing?

I've been occassionally lurking since January and meaning to post so I hope it's ok if I join now.... Thanks for some great suggestions so far. My list currently stands

(Apologies for all the random bolds- it is my first ever post on here. Bolds were meant to be favourite books (7,8,9, 12,26 and 27) but that hasn't quite worked.

1. Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins
*2. War Game - Michael Foreman

1. The Shell Collector- Anthony Doerr
2. Children of the Jacaranda Tree- Sahar Delijan
3. The Reason I Jump- Naomi Higashida
4. Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir

^7. Memory Wall- Anthony Doerr

1. The Colour Purple- Alice Walker
2. The Children Who Fought Hitler: A British Outpost in Europe- Sue Elliott with James Fox^

10. Waiting for Anja- Michael Morpurgo 11. Soldier, Spy: A Survivor's Tale- Victor Gregg 12. The Pianist- Wladyslaw Szpilman 13. Little Black Lies- Sharon Bolton.* Thriller set on the Falkland Islands, recommended for its unusual setting. 14. The Beach Book- Short Story Collection by Roald Dahl, Anthony Doerr among others Found this quite hard going although there were some good stories in there. Most memorable though as the book itself was actually waterproof(and very heavy!) *15. Six Little Miracles- Janet Walton 16. The Yorkshire Shepherdess- Amanda Owen 17. Call the Midwife- Jennifer Worth 18. Day of the Triffids- John Wyndham 19. Sold- Zana Muhsen 20. New Spring-Spring- Robert Jordan 21. The Hunt for the Horn- Robert Jordan 22. The Dragon Reborn- Robert Jordan 23.Light Between Oceans- M. D. Steadman 24. Zlata's Diary- Zlata Filipovic 25. The Vicar of Nibbleswibble- Roald Dahl* Read in anticipation of the Summer Reading Challenge (Roald Dahl themed)- very short story (20 mins max)aimed at older children/ confident readers. Great as a quick injection of humour. 26. The Testament of Jessie Lamb- Jane Rogers. I didn't enjoy this in the traditional sense as I found it a very disturbing/ unsettling read. Dystopian fiction set in the present day near future after a genetically mutated virus is released which infects everyone on the planet causing pregnant women to die. Told from the viewpoint of 16 year old Jessie. Explores the infighting of politics and religiom religion and politics as people look for an explanation and hope for the future and young people lose Faith in the adults around them who they realise have no answers. 27. Under a Lightless Sky: An Afghan Refugee Boy's Journey of Escape to a New Life in Britain- Gulwali Passarlay. Following a very rural Afghan childhood with a Taliban sympathizing family, Passarlay's mother pays for him and his brother to be smuggled to the West after his father was killed in a raid by the coalition forces in order to prevent them being conscripted as suicide bombers by the Taliban. He was 13 years old and his brother 14. They were separated by the smugglers almost immediately. This book details his journey to the West including imprisonment, beatings, being thrown from moving trains, chemical burns from trucks in Calais, starvation..... An absolutely heartrending book, but full of courage and strength of character. Particularly moving as it explores the other side of refugee stories depicted in the news.

Welcome, Roo.

Louisa - Simon Sebag Montefiore is the writer of the one I'm reading too. Here It's huge, and there's currently about 1000 deaths on every page.

I'll finish it, but I definitely need some more fun books to intersperse with it! I've also got a Lord Peter Wimsey one on the go, which I'll probably finish tonight and review tomorrow. It's okay - not brilliant.

That is a mighty beast, Remus and I couldn't begin to read it. It should count as two!

The fact that I'm still pratting around on here, instead of in bed with Stalin, is pretty telling methinks.

You need a Five Year Plan to help finish it, Remus!

Ha!

Have also posted this on the Kindle bargains thread. Alan Bennett's Untold Stories is 99p in today's Kindle daily deal. A bargain definitely not to be missed.

Thanks cedar I might give AP a miss.

That Stalin book looks fascinating, but if the body count in the review is anything to go by, I can imagine it could get overpowering after several hundred pages. In Bed With Stalin sounds like a book that doesn't need to be written

Welcome to the thread littleroo.

Just bought Untold Stories, thanks Mermaid. Also noticed Sarah Moss's Night Waking is on daily deal - think it's been reviewed either on this thread or poss another thread asking for recs of books that depicted life with very small children realistically.

Finding it hard to motivate myself to read at the moment. Finished The Three-Body Problem which I really enjoyed, and got partway into The Dark Forest but then lost my reading mojo somewhere.

Book 74
Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers
This was okay. I like the character of Lord Peter Wimsey and love his butler, but the story was all rather predictable and it’s long-winded in places. Okay for 99p, but not worth more than that! Agree that the anti-Semitism is hideous in it too - even worse than Christie.

43. The Ladies Paradise -Emile Zola Mid 19th century tale of a Paris department store. Enjoyable enough but it did go on a bit.

44. The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot A favourite of DDs from her younger days, this was a quick bath time read*

Seriously lagging behind with my reading at the moment as have been spending all my time reading the political threads on here and watching the football.

I really enjoyed Night Waking - well worth a read if it's on daily deals.

Accidentally bought Alan Bennett's Untold Stories when I only meant to download a sample...I'm guessing I haven't made too much of an error there though, seeing as it's him?