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.

southeast - I spotted H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, and Long Summer by R F Delderfield (the first part in A Horseman Riding By trilogy).

66. Lisa and Co - Jilly Cooper I needed a quick antidote to the WW1 Horton and sadness and this collection of short storied from the seventies is an old favourite. They are plain daft and very much of their time and some of the attitudes are quite shocking now but I do love a Jilly's humour and her descriptive writing.

67. The Sheperd's Life - James Rebanks The Herdwick shepherd's story of life on a sheep farm in the Lake District. If you liked John Stempel-Lewis' book about a field in Herefordshire or Robert McFarlane or H is for Hawk, you will live this. A lovely book about rural continuity. He gets quite angry at times.

Love not live

Best, if you can take one more WWI recommendation, Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden might also interest you. It's set in 1919 and focuses on a First Nations man who was a sniper in the war and has since returned to Northern Ontario. It won the Canadian Governor General's Award for fiction.

Gone to Ground is in the Kindle sale. It's about a Jew who managed to go 'submarine' in Berlin, and thus survive the Holocaust.

39. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Grace Marks, an Irish immigrant to Canada, has been imprisoned for most of her adult life for her supposed role in the murder of her former employer and his mistress. A young psychiatrist comes to interview Grace to, in part, determine her innocence. Things are slippery: time, memory, motivation, guilt, innocence, truth. I cannot possible do this novel justice, but I think that it is one of Atwood's finest novels. I first read this in university, and rereading might have been an even richer experience than the first go round.

40. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. Patchett has said in interviews that her stories are basically all about disparate groups of people being thrown into situations and forming a band/family. That's literally what happens here: the Keating and Cousins families come apart and together in various iterations over 50 years. The drama just that of life, of a shared past, of an understanding of complicated people who are fundamentally decent. This book is wonderful.

In the Heart of the Sea is £1.49. I love this - it's about the true story of a shipwreck that inspired Moby Dick and far more interesting a read than Moby Dick itself!

13) Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
A short little read that I unashamedly sneaked in just to bump up my numbers and then ironically got really into, until I wished it was 10 times longer. It is a very slender little volume which chronicles one summer as a teenage girl used to having her fathers indulgent attention all to herself (and living the high life) has to get used to the notion that her decadent free and easy lifestyle will end. She deals with it in a typically melodramatic scheming teenage fashion and much drama and betrayal ensue. A great read that feels somewhere between a short story and a novel and stays with you for a long time afterwards.

14) Mothers Who Can't Love, A Healing Guide For Daughters by Susan Forward
I posted about this one up-thread but my estimation of it has grown since completing it today, I really enjoyed this book and didn't expect to. I was scared of the emotional journey I would have to go on while reading, but this is more of a guidebook with reassuring stories from others and wasn't loaded full of exercises to do as I feared would be the case. There are one or two but nothing too time consuming. It keeps to the surface and covers a good amount of ground without getting too bogged down in details. I'm in therapy and so I didn't mind this and in fact welcomed it, I might have wanted something a little more in depth if I didn't have the support of a therapist however.
I read this book at the right time and it's been very thought-provoking and has helped me deal with some of the conflicting feelings I have left over from being parented by an at times very unstable, angry and depressed mother. Recommended.

Sounds good Phoenix, I have a friend who could benefit from this.

Thanks for the heads-up about the Kindle sale Southeast . I've bought A Perfect Spy - John Le Carre, We have always lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson, one of these British library crime classics and a book called Wolf Winter. I hadn't heard of this but it seems to be a Scandinavian your historical thriller, sounded interesting.

There's also Halloween Party by Agatha Christie, I think some people were reading her books.

Should be Scandi Noir - predictive text fail!

Vanderlyle thanks for flagging up Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. She's one of my favourite writers but I wasn't aware of this book. Will order it immediately!

The quote from her interview was thought-provoking too. Makes a lot of sense in relation to Bel Canto.

I went to a talk by her in Hay years ago, and had a chat with her afterwards may have mentioned this before and she was as intelligent and engaging as you would expect from reading her novels.

Thank you vanderley. I'll add it to the list.

Haven't updated my list for ages.

86. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

YA dystopia about a future in which everyone is made pretty at 16. Shortly before her operation is due Tally starts to hear about people who choose not to become pretty and run away to a secret camp outside the city. It is everything you would expect from the genre.

87. The Post Office Girl by Stefan Zweig

There's a sort of Cinderella-gone-wrong feeling about this novel. Christine is taken out of her life of drudgery in post WW1 Austria for a holiday with her wealthy aunt and uncle. The book is quite sad but also unexpected and it does really make you see the effect that war has on people.

88. El Infierno by Carlos Martinez Moreno

Fiction heavily based on fact about the Tupamaro Guerillas in Uraguay. It's almost like a collection of short stories as most chapters are self-contained incidents. There are scenes of horrific torture that are difficult to read. It's the kind of book that is important and needed to be written but don't read it if you want a book to enjoy.

89 The Boyfriend List by E Lockhart.

Witty teen fiction about a girl who makes a list of every boyfriend, wished- for boyfriend, almost boyfriend etc to talk about with her psychiatrist after an incident at school leaves her friendless and prone to panic attacks. Fun, clever fluff probably most suited for teen girls just starting to want boyfriends.

90. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.

Follows on from where The Name of the Wind left off with Kvothe telling his life story and a few present day incidents occuring. Not quite as compelling as TNOTW, but still a pretty good read.

You're right it did feel rather empty Mermaid. So disappointing.

51. George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl thought-provoking look at the development of a new drug, following it from conception through to human trials. An entertaining read, but it could have explored further the ethics of testing rudimentary pharmaceuticals on animals and the elderly, though it did emphasise the importance of correct dosage.

52. On Writing by Stephen King This was such a pleasure to read. I laughed out loud at several points, and found it fascinating to read his insights into the writing process. It has a very memoir-ish, conversational feel to it, and, like everything King writes, fact or fiction, is immensely readable. There is certainly a method to his madness, and he makes it seem very accessible, but let's face it, having an enormous talent for storytelling must really oil the wheels. I have a renewed appetite for reading more of his novels after this.

And is there anything more cheering than picking up a stack of books you've been waiting for from the library? I adore my Kindle, but honestly it's making me happy just looking them; what with the Autumnal light and a chill in the air, I'm like a pig in the proverbial.

Satsuki

Enjoyed your George review and your description of yourself!

55. The Werewolf of Bamberg by Oliver Pötzsch Book 5 in the Hangman's Daughter series, and another fast paced, well researched romp through 17th century Bavaria. I have become fond of the regular cast of characters, and the action is always good fun. The series is still suffering from dodgy translation though. Book 6 is out - in German - but think I'll await the translation.

Book 102
The Berlin Conspiracy by Tom Gabbay
Cold War crime crap, set in Berlin. This claimed to be as good as The Spy who Came in from the Cold. It wasn’t.

Satsuki that made me laugh

134. Port Out, Starboard Home by Michael Quinion

This was billed as giving the explanations behind various phrases and words we regularly use. However in most cases it was the author giving all the suggested stories, explaining why these weren't true, then saying that we actually don't know what the correct story is. I found this frustrating after a while so didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I might.

135. Mount! by Jilly Cooper

I enjoyed this far more than some of her more recent ones, although it's still not on a par with her earliest ones. I liked that it focussed on Rupert and Taggie again, and that we get an update on many other characters. However, Jilly is incapable of keeping to the timeline of her books and even within this book and things like that irritate me and should have been picked up by an editor.

136. Far From True by Linwood Barclay

Enjoyable mystery/thriller although it's the second in a trilogy so left a few loose ends.

137. Panic by Jeff Abbott

This is described on the front as 'the year's best book' by Harlan Coben so I had high hopes. However, it was not the year's best book by any stretch of the imagination. I struggled to finish it as I didn't care about any of the characters and the plot was just nonsense. Don't bother!

138. A Twist In Time by Jean Ure

Needed something quick and light to break up Vanity Fair (see below) so reread this YA story. Enjoyable time travel stuff although never really tries to explain anything!

I am now working through Vanity Fair - after reading the above tosh I felt like something meatier. I have been reading it for almost 3 weeks and still only 80% through! The middle sagged a bit but it's getting good again now.

highland, I'm so glad you ordered Commonwealth. I'm also an Ann Patchett fan girl (from way back), and this book is like the distillation of the best features of her writing.

It's funny that you mention chatting with her in Hay; I'm hearing her read and then give an interview as part of a literary series this week. I'm excited!

Satsuki, I love On Writing and dip in and out of it frequently. Which of his novels do you prefer?

Book 59: Schooldays of Jesus J M Coetzee
Book 60: *The Four Books Yan Lianke

Both very strange books, both allegorical. The first is beautifully written if incomprehensible, the second is unbelievably grim and I'd have stopped reading it if it weren't a book club selection.

Looking forward to reading On Writing .... but have 4 more Booker candidates to get through. Must find more time to read!

I agree with the comments about Marvellous Ways. Pointless and annoying.

59. The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood - Read for book group. Dystopian novel based on an economic meltdown premise. Stan and Charmaine are a married couple, living in their car and living off the minimal amount Charmaine earns working odd shifts in a bar. She sees an advert for people to live in Consilience, a model city which promises full employment, housing for all etc. The only catch is that the citizens alternate between one month in the city and one month in prison. When they're in prison, their homes and jobs are occupied by another person, who then takes their place in prison when they come out. An interesting concept. I love Atwood and The Handmaid's Tale is one of my favourite novels ever. This one isn't as good (which would probably be impossible) but still plenty to think about. The characters, particularly Charmaine, seem quite simplistic on the surface and this is reflected somewhat in the narrative style - nowhere near the philosophical thought processes of Offred in Handmaid - but the ideas are still all there below the surface. I think that's what I love most about Atwood - the way a simple story conceals much deeper ideas. From a feminist and political standpoint, there was a lot to think about here and I think it'll stay with me for quite a while.

60. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante - Picked this up as I enjoyed My Brilliant Friend (I know not everyone did...) It focuses on Olga, whose husband announces he's leaving her, and her experience of the months afterwards, living in her apartment with her two children during a hot Italian summer. It's quite bleak in places, as most of Ferrante's writing is, but some of the writing is great - it just gets some of the emotions she's conveying absolutely right.

I am laughing at work reading Satsuki's review

So many good books have been read and reviewed here! I really want to read the new Ann Patchett novel and am monitoring it on Kindle but might have to resort to the library if it doesn't drop in price soon.

Anyway, I've gone all Autumnal and super nostalgic (this really is a good time of year to read for some reason) and have demolished:
81. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
Published in 1960 this is classic fantasy, designed for children, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If you like The Dark is Rising books by Susan Cooper you will probably like this too. I slightly prefer Susan Cooper, the characters have more depth, but my childhood me loved this too - quite Lord of the Rings(ish) in a way, but set in modern day - although the 1960s are a long time ago now. Also set in a real area of Cheshire and based on local legends. Nice and wintery and just right.