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?

No Best not a Weegie. Different intimidating jazz loving bosses then.

I have The City and the City on my wish list and was thinking of getting rid of it after Cote' s review, but will leave it on after other people defended it. I did read Perdido Street Station many years ago, and enjoyed how imaginative and fanciful it was, but was left with the impression that I'd missed something important - like why all this was happening - maybe it wasn't just me then.

Book 80
Into Darkness by Anton Gill
Nazi Germany and the assassination attempt on Hitler at Wolf’s Lair is just about to fail. The novel follows the aftermath of a policeman, sympathetic to the resistance and therefore on the Gestapo hit list. I really enjoyed most of this. It was meticulously researched and I really liked the central character. Occasional grammar issues grated a bit, but not enough to ruin the story. Unfortunately I thought the ending really let it down – it suddenly felt rushed and a bit clichéd.

I've got Anatomy of a Soldier on Kindle to try again, and am still ploughing through with Stalin.

"Sadly, the third one is still extortionate"

Yes, I'm still waiting for the 3rd Red Rising book to come down in price, too.

Meanwhile, I'm reading Under The Dome. Being stuck in a place where weird and dangerous things are happening is sadly rather similar to my current predicament

I'm 16% in and on page 136. I didn't realize this book was so long! (And dull)

58 Forensics by Val McDermid. Reviewed on here before, I thought it sounded just the kind of book I would enjoy, and I did. So thank you to whoever read and reviewed it before. Thoroughly recommended if you are at all interested in the history of the development of forensic science.

59. Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The third novel in the Cazalets series. This one covers the years 1942 to 1945 with some big changes to the lives of some of the characters. Still enjoying the stories.

60. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling. Read to DS, which he thoroughly enjoyed, but we will wait a while before continuing with the rest of the series.

61. The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. Never read one of his novels before, although DH had some time ago. Wouldn't say that I loved it, but it was good, well written, but with a bit of an abrupt ending where nothing was concluded and the story just stopped. This was an audio book, read by Samuel West (lovely narration). Set in and around a group of gay friends and acquaintances in London pre Aids, early 80's, it is quite graphic at times in its descriptions of gay sex and there is rather a lot of it. Not one to lend to my MIL, I think

Cote -
I don't think you'll like Under the Dome. I enjoyed it until the end, which was ridiculous.

73. The Pumpkin Eater, Penelope Mortimer

Another of my mid-century sensitive women's books - I know they're not to the taste of all posters on here...

Written from the perspective of a woman with many husbands (sequential) and many many children (undifferentiated). With a faithless husband and no longer able to have children, she's trying to work out who she is, if that's not too reductionist a way to put it.

What I liked about it is the oddly detached descriptions of her children - one great mass of dirty knees and clutching hands. She has a mordant eye which makes it less gloomy than it sounds.

Under the Dome is not his best by any means, but I thought it was enjoyable enough. Never re-read it mind you...

21- Uprooted-Naomi Novik

This has been reviewed already on this thread but I will add my voice to those who enjoyed it. A beautiful fairytale story for adults although the romance seemed a little superfluous to me.

I think I will space the Temeraire series out Tanaqui. As I say, I did enjoy it but it's not in the 'I must read more immediately' category.

66. What's Left?: How Liberals Lost Their Way by Nick Cohen

This was first published in 2007 but it has recently been republished, no doubt in the light of the insanity which appears to be infecting the Labour party at the moment. It's a scathing examination of how elements of the Left have so lost their moral compass that they will support dictators and tyrants as long as they are in opposition to America. He starts by looking in detail at the way that the Left, which supported Iraqi dissidents - the trade unionists and Kurdish human rights activists - in the 1980s against the sadistic, murderous tyranny of Saddam Hussein, turned its back on the very people it had previously supported the moment that Hussein became the enemy of America and, as Cohen puts it, marched "to protest the overthrow of a fascist regime". He looks at how the likes of Noam Chomsky denied the existence of Serbian concentration camps and the Srebrenica massacre, and how there is a streak of left wing thought that refuses to listen to Al Qaeda's (written pre-IS, remember) stated motivations and instead seeks to blame 9/11 on American foreign policy, or on Mossad. It's pretty damning stuff.

Just making an appointment for my first tattoo. I hope that some of you on here will be very pleased to know that it's going to be a Stephen King reference. :)

CMuseumOfHam I really enjoyed The City and The City, far more than Perdido St. Station, which I thought was just far too long. However, I do also like jazz . . .

ChillieJeanie - I bought Waiting for the Etonians by Nick Cohen a few years back purely on the strength of the title (which I still think was inspired as a summary of where we were in 2010), but I thought he was just immensely fixated on a tiny fraction of the left wing that actually bears little relevance to anything real within the UK political scene.

Sadik - I'm afraid it's over between us

28. Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell. Complete dross. I read about 40% and couldn't finish it as it was so terrible. book 22 of the Scarpetta series. It was a free ebook and I used to like the Scarpetta books many moons ago so thought this would be a good, light read. I forgot how bloody annoying the main characters are. I'm counting it as one of my 50 as I wasted an hour or two of my life on it

29. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. I really enjoyed this crime thriller about a retired cop trying to catch a dangerous psychopath. There are a couple of big plot holes but I found it really gripping. King really knows how to write a page turner.

Oh, I don't know Sadik. It may be a fraction of the left wing, but it is the one that is currently in charge of the Labour party in the form of Jeremy Corbyn, so it seems pretty relevant at the moment.

David Mitchell's Ghostwritten is 99p on the Kindle just for today.

I'm not convinced, ChillieJeanie, but not sure this is the place for political discussions, so probably best just to agree to disagree :)

I'm currently reading Paul Mason's Postcapitalism, so far (half way through) I don't agree with his analysis, but am finding it an interesting read anyway figuring out why I think he's wrong.

Oooh, Remus, what's the tattoo going to be?

remus is it "they all float down here" are something less terrifying

Is it the lobster "monster" in Dark Tower?

I was very tempted by 'We all float down here' (not by the lobster though!).

67. The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

I've been seeing a careers coach who has been pushing this book for a while and saying how amazing and life changing it is, so I thought I might as well give it a read. Not terribly convinced, but who knows, it might be worth a shot. Basically, it's about how doing six things in the morning can set you up for a brilliant day and start transforming your life from the mediocre to the amazing. Bought it on Kindle so it was only £1.49 and it's quite short. It would be even shorter if all the repetition was cut out, mind. Still, I suppose there is something to be said for trying to organise the start to your day in a purposeful way. I'm just not convinced that it can make the kind of difference being claimed.

37. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
Very much enjoyed reading the Three Musketeers! My favourite quotes:"D'Artagnan wondered at the fragile and unknown threads from which the fates of nations and the lives of men are sometimes hung". Scarily could apply to today's politicians and leaders. "Life is a chaplet of little miseries, and the philosopher tells it over with a laugh. Be philosophers like me, gentlemen. Sit down and let's drink. The future never looks so rosy as when it's viewed through a class of chambertin." Anyone for a relaxing 🍷? And lastly ""In general, people ask for advice", he used to say,"only so as not to follow it;or, if they do follow it, it's only so as to have someone to blame for having given it.""

The whole thing reminded me of a modern day soap opera, very in keeping with the BBC's current rendition. All in all very good.

38. The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff.
Urban fantasy which is really just a byword for witches, dragons, romance and adventure. I liked it and will read the next in the series.

I agree with Remus, Under the Dome was fairly entertaining till the absolutely ridiculous ending. I would be AMAZED if you enjoyed it, Cote.

Remus, a tattoo, how exciting. Very curious to know what you're getting..