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?

Cote Hence the "alternate" Turkey - I don't think the language used in the book is in any way similar to Turkish language - I explained myself reaalllllly badly. I meant, and wrote very badly, that the Beszel side is more European feeling, the Ul Qoma side more middle eastern, based on the city names, appearance of the cities in the book, and other stuff I've probably forgotten, rather than Turkey itself having those qualities. But Turkey is an example of a country that combines aspects of both the Middle East and West in a unique and fascinating way.

So for me it was as if he was taking an alternate view where countries with 2 religious and/or cultural groups separated themselves in "spirit".

Imagine you have one country with a pretty homogenous population. Then, a sudden massive influx of immigrants. Different language, different culture. 2 groups living in quite segregated communities. 10 generations down the line, they each ignore the other group in order to treat the city as their own. Now, we know in real life that just wouldn't happen. People would integrate and life would go on. But in China Mieville's head, they'd definitely follow the "ignore, ignore!" route. That's the way I imagined it when I was reading it anyway, other interpretations are available, and probably better

And no, don't try to notice those people. Breach are watching..

OK, yes, I see what you mean now. Turkey does have a feel of half the people living modern European lives and the other half living weirdly 7th Century Middle Eastern ones. Sorry, I can be a bit slow sometimes

I wish Breach were the only ones watching. Paranoia is thick on the ground here and you actually got me a bit worried there for a minute.

Don't worry, I explained myself very badly, it's really not you!
Sorry for worrying you - it must be a horrible atmosphere, I hope you can stay very safe.
And let's hope that "Breach" remains very much fiction

I've read Nightfall as a short story - it's a great short story - but never realised it had been expanded into a novel.

36. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. The classic swashbuckling tale of heroism, intrigue, friendship and betrayal in 17th century France. I've never read this or watched the TV programme so I'm pleased to have done so. An enjoyable read.

51. Hope and Glory - Stuart Maconie

Loved, loved this. Travel/social history. Maconie takes a day from each decade in the 20th century and writes about the political and social and historical implications and visits the locations mentioned. A lot like Bill Bryson's Notes From a Small Island ( though he is not quite as good a writer) but with left wing tendencies. A very warm and often funny and affectionate look at Britain.

It was written around the time of the 2010 General election and in some respects made me feel quite depressed about the current situation.

Recommended if you are a left winger like me though others may hate it.

39. Guilty Minds by Joseph Finder

A gossip website is about to go public with news of a Supreme Court judge bedding a hooker paid for by a man who got a favourable judgement. Nick Heller is told the story is a lie and asked to prove it, which he does. But that is just the beginning.

This was a great beach read for those of us who prefer dick-lit to chick-lit. The protagonist Nick Heller is slightly less meat-headed than Jack Reacher and there is far more technology & general knowledge in this series, all of which I thought was an improvement over Lee Child's books. Since I have read all but the last Jack Reacher book, I am happy to have discovered this series and hope to read a few by the time summer is over.

Two pre-holiday reads:

76. Honey from a Weed, Patience Gray
An idiosyncratic mixture of memoir and cookbook, based around the author's time living in various primitive set-ups around the Mediterranean. Not sure that I'll use the recipes, not having a cauldron bubbling over olive wood easily to hand, and it's the only cookbook I've ever read with a reference to the delights of shitting under fig trees, courtesy of the author's lover, known as the Sculptor. It's certainly vivid.

77. Where Angels Fear to Tread, E M Forster
Not quite what I was expecting - I thought it would be a mild comedy about the English in Italy, guidebooks aloft and longing for tea, with a little romance thrown in. An English widow marries an unsuitable Italian man and is disowned by her relatives back at home. In the second half, an English party visits Italy to determine the fate of her son. There was more tragedy than I bargained for, but for a slight novella, it packs a punch. Beware of yielding to wild passion; beware of indulgence in aesthetic rhapsodies; but above all, beware of armouring yourself against both and never really coming alive.

37. The Levelling Sea - Philip Marsden

This is a tremendous book which I'd recommend to all history lovers. It's the story of British maritime history from the middle ages to the beginning of the age of steam, told in microcosm through the rise and decline of the port of Falmouth. Really interesting and very well written. Remus I'm sure you'd love this one.

24-The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters - Adam Nicolson

An interesting series of essays exploring the world of Homer - what can be gleaned from language, archeology and history and what this communicates to us in modern times.
I enjoyed it on the whole- some chapters were more interesting to me than others - much preferred reading about early Indo-European language than the more violent episodes of the Iliad/Odyssey. I've never read either The Iliad or The Odyssey but I'm tempted to try one as my next read. Probably the latter as not sure I can face reading about continual war...

Numbering mishap! That should be number 25.

52. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child -DD nagged me into reading this so she could have someone to talk about it to. It was enjoyable enough, of course it's a script so lacks the descriptive detail of the books but still good fun.

Ha Sadik just caught up with your review of HP.

40 Secret Seven on the Trail
41.Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I enjoyed this, it got a little samey in the middle but picked up towards the end. Vividly imagined, but not too taxing sci-fi, with an intriguing plot, a lead character to root for and a story that is satisfying and that sort of makes sense if you take a few steps back and squint a bit .

Anyone read the sequels? Are they worth it? Bearing in mind I quite liked Hyperion (hated some parts) and was pretty pissed off by the shitty, ridiculous ending, so much so that I decided not to bother with the second in a fit of pique, so whilst I like sci-fi, I don't have a massive tolerance for series unless I think the idea can be sustained well convincingly ifyswim.

Gave up on Hotel du Lac, nothing happened, didn't enjoy the writing. Reading The Art of Fielding and Sovereign, or rather will pick both up again now finished with Ender.

Have been enjoying everyone's reviews.

I've read Ender's Game and the first sequel, Speaker For The Dead

Speaker For The Dead was interesting, but it is very very different in style to Ender's Game - much more contemplative and introspective, much less action driven.

Ok that's interesting, stitches, thanks

I liked the Nicholson book, boldly - I seem to remember being startled by some of the author's more personal revelations though. I found The Odyssey itself surprisingly readable. Can't remember the name of the translator - I seem to remember it was a hard copy with black and white covers.

78. The Secret Olympian, Anon
Seemed likely a timely read. As it was by Anon, I was expected more salacious revelations, more like the Babylon series. No really shocking anecdotes, but I liked it - what it's like to throw yourself heart and soul into the experience; being one of the vast majority of Olympians who come away without a medal; the partying in the Olympic Village once your event is finished; and what it's like afterwards. I'm hardly an Olympian, but I do know what it's like to lose one identity and have to construct another afterwards - possibly most mothers do.

Satsuki, secretly pleased that you didn't get on with Hotel du Lac either!

Just re-read my points and realised the amount of "seeming" going on. I am apparently cautious about what constitutes reality.

Satsuki - Speaker For The Dead was OK although a bit too navel-gazing for my liking.

Hyperion doesn't have a proper ending because the story doesn't end there. You are supposed to continue with the sequel.

If you like SF that's not too taxing, check out Red Rising & sequels, Brilliance & sequels, Ready Player One, Lexicon.

Thanks cote. To be clear, it wasn't merely the cliffhanger nature of the ending of Hyperion that pissed me off, I just found it badly done and all a bit silly. It wasn't written in a way that sustained the suspense, but rather undercut it by descending into the ridiculous , such that I didn't want to carry on. (I don't want to SPOIL - but that yellow brick road nonsense just pushed me over the edge!) I will get round to the sequel, I just need time to get over it And it would have to get a bit cheaper...

Thanks for the recommendations - I have the first two of the Red Rising series lined up (from recommendations earlier - possibly you!) and I'm waiting for Ready Player One to drop price on the Kindle! It doesn't have to be non-taxing, I like good books of most stripes. I'm looking forward to reading some Neal Stephenson after the discussion upthread; too many tbr and too little time

Haha biblio always nice to have company

Yes, biblio the personal revelations were quite startling - one in particular was quite shocking and seemed to come out of nowhere.

Ooh Satsuki, have you not read anything by Neal Stephenson yet? I'm positively green with !

My favourites by Neal Stephenson (in order of increasing brainhurtiness):

Snow Crash
The Diamond Age
Seveneves
Cryptonomicon
Anathem

By the way, C J Sansom's book Dominion is 99p on the Kindle.