50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

Thread six 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, fourth thread here and fifth thread here.

So, so dull! I'm 22% in and I hate giving up on a book. Can anyone convince me it's worth carrying on?

I have read The Hare With Amber Eyes. I won't try and persuade you to finish it, because it wasn't the most riveting book I've ever read :) There were some interesting bits, iirc, in wartime Vienna, but it was a slow read for me. I gave up initially quite early on, but got there eventually. Life's too short to read stuff you're not enjoying.

Yeah I really wanted to love The Hare but agree it was much duller than expected. Have never been tempted to reread. If you really hate it, I say move on!

Good review museum

54. The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf Biography of Alexander von Humboldt, apparently one of the people with the most places and geographical features named after him, but now little known in the English speaking world. When I lived in Austria, I used to drink in a bar named after Humboldt, and vowed to find out more about him...so, over a quarter of a century later … obviously, I was waiting for this biography to be published. It is very engaging, and strikes the right balance between describing his life story and travels, his work, those he worked with and influenced, and the political and scientific background to the times. Have been reading this for ages, I'm always slower with non fiction, greater concentration required.

85. Time To Think by Nancy Kline

This is all about how to create a 'Thinking Environment' (mainly with a business focus, but it would work well in other spheres too). It's describing the impact on an individual and their capacity to think through issues and come up with their own solutions by basically giving them and what they are saying full attention. No interruptions or suggestions from the listener, except for key questions which are designed to identify the block in a person's thoughts, the bedrock assumption that is holding them back, and helping them to remove that assumption themselves by reflecting back at them their own words. This frees them to think things through and know they aren't going to be derailed or have their thought processes disrupted. Very interesting and I can see how it could work. I presume that the best forms of counselling use this sort of technique.

Ah, The Hare with Amber Eyes, never has a book I've chosen ever been hated so much by my book group . I actually really liked the French and Austrian bits, but was bored by the Japanese bit. To be fair, it provoked A LOT of discussion from my book group and several people said they were "glad they had read it". So that was a good thing, but if you are hating it already then chuck it aside, life is too short.

A re-read of Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield, partly inspired by a thread in Childrens' books, partly because I've been struggling to find something that grips me. Not counting this one in my tally because I've read it so many times before. A few things struck me on this re-read. There's the obvious strangeness from our perspective of the solution for Sylvia having no money being to send her 3 adoptive children out to work (can just imagine how that would go down on AIBU).

But also just how very big the Cromwell Road house must have been, to house 9 adults plus 3 children, with (one presumes) decent sized rooms for all the boarders.

Hmm, I wonder how it ended up on my kindle in the first place. I bet my mum recommended it to me

How fabulous Ballet Shoes is Sadik- I half want to read The Wisharts to see where she started, and half can't bear too in case it spoils Ballet Shoes for me!

59. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge. I think I've read all the Carnegie list now so I might do a comparative review when I have time! I liked this, but would have liked it better without the titular tree. An interesting take on Victorians for teenage girls I guess, and short without feeling abrupt. Better for teens than for adults I think.

33 Empire of Storms - Sarah J Maas
Latest in a series of YA fantasy fiction. Wasn't sure about it to start with - seemed a bit laboured and I was wondering when the plot would move on and was finding the central character annoying. It did improve and the pace picked up. Left on a cliffhanger but I'm hoping the series reaches a conclusion soon...
34 A Room Full of Bones - Elly Griffiths
35 Dying Fall - Elly Griffiths
These two were holiday reading. Easy to read but no groundbreaking crime plots. It's amazing how much one character can end up with their life being threatened. The characters are what makes the series enjoyable though - I keep reading to see how their relationships develop.

I haven't updated for a while so here goes:

55. Alan Turing: The Enigma - Andrew Hodges. I wanted brainhurty and I got it in spades! Biog of the mathematician and father of the modern computer. Much of the maths was above me but I think I am closer to understanding how Enigma worked. Took me ages to read though and I had to intersperse it with some less demanding reading. It was also quite sad. Thanks Cote for the recommendation. I think I am done with Bletchley Park now.

56. The Shell Seekers - Rosamunde Pilcher. Nice non taxing story about a family squabbling over paintings done by an ancestor.

57. Coming Home - Rosamunde Pilcher. A sort of sequel to the latter. This was ok, undemanding.

58. Saturday Requiem -Nicci French. The sixth in the Frieda Klein series about a psychiatrist working with the police. Better than the last one. I've enjoyed this series though Frieda can be a bit irritating and a bit of a maverick. There is an overarching storyline throughout the books which is nearing its conclusion and makes things a bit more gripping.

59. I See You - Clare Mackintosh. A woman sees her own photo in a newspaper advert and realises she is being followed on her daily journey to work. This was ok but I felt there were several large holes in the plot and guessed the resolution. People who liked The Girl On The Train may like it more than I did.

60. Mount - Jilly Cooper. Oh dear. I loved Jilly's early books and no one writes about the English countryside as beautifully as she does but this wasn't great. Better than the last two though.

61. My Dear I Wanted To Tell You - Louisa Young and Toby's Room - Pat Barker. I've grouped these together as they cover similar territory - The First World War, Art, the terrible facial injuries suffered and the work done in facial reconstruction. Several real life characters overlap, the pioneering surgeon Dr Harold Gillies and Henry Tonks, the Slade professor whose drawings of the victims are incredibly heartbreaking. Both very enjoyable books and I'd recommend them both.

62. Noonday - Pat Barker. Third in the Life Class Trilogy of which Toby's room is the second. This follows the three central characters twenty years later to the London Blitz.

63. The Communist Manifesto - Marx and Engels. We did a top 10 books thing in the family recently and this is one of my Dad's and I'd never read it. Fascinating.

64. All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque. Four young classmates enlist to fight for Germany at the start of the First World War. Just astonishingly good. Absolutely heartbreaking and beautifully written. I think I cried on average every three pages. My book of the year so far.

Now reading Castles of Steel by Robert K Massie about First World War Naval actions (another of Dad's top 10) which is really good so far, an easy and interesting read given the subject.

I seem to be on a WWI jag at the moment as next up after this is The Regeneration trilogy.

Best
All Quiet on the Western Front is stunningly good, isn't it?

43. Pig Iron - Benjamin Myers

I used to know Ben when he was starting out as a music journalist in the 90s so was interested to find out he'd become a novellist. This book is about John-John Wisdom, a traveller who's just got out of prison and is trying to escape a violent past; it's set in the north east and Myers has a great ear for language although there are moments when the narrative voice strays into poetic descriptions it would be hard to imagine the characters actually saying or thinking. Overall I did enjoy it, and would be interested to see how he develops as a writer.

Ohh Best you've made me want to read Toby's Room, I liked the Pat Parker books I've read and have heard mixed reviews for Toby's Room and Noonday but I think I should still give them a go at some point. I really enjoyed the Regeneration trilogy although can't remember loads of it now.

Remus I can't believe I've never read it before. I think it should be compulsory reading in schools. I think you might like Castles of Steel too.

Phoenix , I had mixed feelings too but overall, worth a go.

I've been on a big go-slow recently having relocated and started a new job, so this book took me over two weeks to get through.

43. The History of Us - Jonathan Harvey. Utter twaddle about a group of friends from Liverpool who move to London and their lives interwine in unexpected ways. This was unfunny, had no likeable characters and was pretty much a load of garbage. Won't bother reading anymore of his books.

I'm now on the new Ian McEwan book which so far is terrific.

88 Stet by Diana Athill

Memoir of the author's 50 years working in publishing with André Deutsch. A re-read, and just as enjoyable as the first time I read it. I always find her writing entertaining, and it's also suggested a few books/authors to look out and read, which is what I was hoping for. I've already ordered a copy of Wide Sargasso Sea, which for some reason I've never read. (Also ordered All Quiet on the Western Front, following the comments upthread.)

In the meantime, I've just picked up from the library "The Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways they Shaped the Modern World", by Edith Hall - only read the first chapter so far, but it looks as if it will be an interesting read.

Another abandoned one before starting Stet - The Painted Garden, by Noel Streatfield. I picked it up because it (briefly) shows Posy and Pauline from Ballet Shoes in later life, but was reminded very quickly why it was one of my least-loved Streatfields as a child. Unlike Ballet Shoes, where everyone is likeable and behaves well (even Pauline's teenage stroppy phase only lasts about a week), the characters are just too annoying.

Museum - You must read Measuring The World. It's a brilliant book about Alexander von Humboldt and his contemporary Carl Friedrich Gauss (arguably the most brilliant mathematician the world has ever seen).

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's surprisingly light-hearted considering the subject matter and has subtle (dry) humor that I loved.

Best - I'm glad you liked the Turing biography. You can always count on me for brainhurty recommendations

Signing in, tentatively, hoping the invasive virus ads don't find me here . I haven't updated my list in ages, so here goes:-

70. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot. Mixed feelings about this one. Fine writing and good nature observations but I felt depressed by her accounts of struggles with alcoholism (too close to family issues with my father).

71. The Parent Agency by David Baddiel. Amusing bedtime story for DS. Was ok, but have read better.

72. All Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard. The fifth and final Cazalet novel. A big disappointment really. It had such a weary downbeat feel to it that I wish I hadn't read it. It has rather tainted the other novels. A sad end to a lovely series. When I reread I won't include this one.

73. Nutshell by Ian McEwan. Had been looking forward to this. It started so well but I ended by really not liking it.

74. The Trouble With Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. Brilliantly evocative novel of childhood in 1970s. Set in a neighbourhood with sinister undertones. Loved it.

75. Tennison by Lynda La Plante. Good police procedural novel, well told.

best you've given me a hankering (if that's the right sentiment!) for reading some WW1 stuff now. Going to get All Quiet when I can. I have Goodbye To All That on my shelf that I picked up years ago and never read - has anyone read it? I read the first of the Regeneration trilogy a while ago and quite liked it but never picked up the others. Loathe Birdsong.

Mermaid Baddiel's other one, Persson Controller has been a hit with my nieces and nephews but I've not read it myself.

Best, I am just about to finish Noonday by Pat Barker. I've got mixed feelings about it as I don't like either of the two main male characters but I do think the descriptions of the blitz and bomb damage must be very accurate and taken a huge amount of research - so in that sense it's quite evocative. But the men. Come on. I seem to be losing my patience with male characters in books these days.

I also think All Quiet on the Western Front is an amazingly well written book.

Missed one of my books off this morning's update:-

76. The Fish Ladder by Katherine Norbury. Another read from the Wainwright Prize shortlist for 2016. I liked this very much. It begins with the author's return to Wales from Spain, with her then 9 year old daughter, following a traumatic miscarriage. They embark upon some lengthy treks across Britain tracing the sources of various rivers. Intertwined with this is the author's attempt to trace her birth mother, and deal with family illnesses (including her own battle with breast cancer). It sounds a depressing read but it really wasn't. I preferred this to The Outrun, and would say that if you enjoyed that then you would probably enjoy this too.

I read Goodbye to all That alongside Testament of Youth as a teenager and they were both very good but my memory is hazy. Maybe I'm due a re-read.

Another one who hasn't updated for a while. Difference is, I hardly have anything to add. Have spent the last two months living at my parents' house as we're buying our first home and have been waiting for completion. Despite thinking that would give me loads of time to read, I've managed two books in nine weeks. Rubbish . One was Lords of the Bow, which I reviewed ages ago, and the other is:
38. The Lady in the Van, Alan Bennett. Super short, funny, hard to believe it's a true story.

So that's more like one and a quarter books really, as The Lady in the Van took about an hour to read.

We get the house this weekend. Maybe then things will get back to normal and I'll be able to read properly.

Nearly finished This Thing of Darkness (wonderful), and I was listening to Anna Karenina on audio from the library but it expired without me noticing, so I couldn't renew it in time. Someone else has borrowed it now, so Anna's going to have to wait for a while.