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.

It would be great if y'all read The Revenant soon so we can discuss it together

Meanwhile I'm still not over my Rameau obsession. I have finally bit the bullet and bought Jean-Philippe Rameau: His Life and Work by Cuthbert Girdlestone, originally published in 1957. It is apparently his definitive biography & analysis of his music.

If I tell you it's price, you won't believe me In my defence, I recently bought a hardback Warrior Cats book for DD that cost £14.40 so I said "Fuck it" "My book's worth it, too".

Brace yourselves for long posts from yours truly about Baroque music

89. Persian Fire by Tom Holland

Looks at the attemoted conquest of Greece by Xerxes, King of Kings, ruler of the vast Persian empire which stretched from India to the edges of Europe. Holland starts by looking at the history of the main players leading up to the invasion - the growth of the Persian empire, Athens, and the Spartans whose defence of Thermopylae is legendary for the 300 who fought and died against thousands upon thousands of Persian troops. He's a very good storyteller. The description of the charge of the Athenean hoplites at Marathon, for example, is awesome in the true sense of the word. It's a fascinating time in history that I had only the vaguest awareness of beyond the battle names.

Have read and enjoyed the opening of The Revenant. Also read the first 2% of so of The Luminaries but can't see I'm hooked yet. It feels a bit like Dickens in the sense that there are a load of unnecessary words, and it's annoying me. I am interested in the characters though, so I'll see how I feel after another few percent.

Cote - I'm going to do a search and try to find out how far you and I have been fighting about books. I'm so glad we're both here still doing it and long may it continue! :) :)

Hear hear, Remus

I think The Revenant might be more your thing than The Luminaries, tbh.

Cote - Apologies for taking so long to come back and reply to the Atwood/SF issue. It's been a manic week! I think my issue is that, in my head, I think of science fiction as something which is science-based rather than just about a possible future. So a novel which is based on a possible future where scientific/technological advances or an event like a new virus etc. shapes that future to make it significantly different from the one we expect would be what I consider SF. A lot of Atwood (not all, admittedly) doesn't come under this category for me because her dystopian futures are as a result of political upheaval (Handmaid) or an economic crisis (The Heart Goes Last). I'm fully prepared to admit that my definition may be misguided or plain wrong, when it comes to a proper definition of the genre, but it's why I personally don't think of her in that way.

On a separate note, I have The Revenant waiting to be read and am looking forward to it, based on everyone's comments. I did enjoy the film but, as others have said, found it quite brutal in places. I suppose that's the point.

Loved The Luminaries too. I think it does take a while to get into though, Remus. The very, very, very long first chapter was hard-going, from memory, but I got much more into it after that.

My busy week has meant my reading's slowed down massively. I'm about halfway through Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and 25% of the way through We Need to Talk About Kevin on the Kindle. Enjoying both - just wish I had more time to read at the moment.

Chillie, I like Tom Holland. Don't know if you read his book In the Shadow of the Sword, which I really enjoyed (although it was controversial in some quarters).

Currently reading The long weekend : life in the English country house 1918-1939 by Adrian Tinniswood. It's not what I expected - I thought it would be more about upstairs/downstairs life, but so far it's about patterns of country house ownership and about the physical restoration/decoration of the buildings. It's not quite doing it for me, but I'll persevere for a bit.

Yes I enjoyed The Luminaries more as I got into it, and I enjoyed the way it all fit together. I thought the faux-Victorian writing style might annoy me at first (I loathed Jonathan Strange for this reason, despite several attempts) but it was fine, and well written.

I have not read much this last week or two, been struggling with tiredness and joint pain and having eye problems but just found out I'm anaemic and have now started on iron so I'm hoping to see an end to the exhaustion of the last few months and get some more reading time in the evenings. My dh took advantage of my ill health and half-inched my library book so I have now started Slade House and am also 10% into Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton biography, it's a big one though so might take me a while.

This was my first Tom Holland, bibliomania, but I've got Dynasty on the shelf. I may well check out In the Shadow of the Sword, the blurb sounds interesting.

Satsuki - As a fellow 'failure' re J Strange & Mr N, that's reassuring. I'm finding the over-wordy style a pain, but I'm still interested in what's going on, which is a good sign, especially if it stops being quite so long-winded later. As Looking agrees too, I'm going to give it longer and see how I feel again after a few more commuting sessions. :)

44. Nutshell – Ian McEwan. It’s not lingering heavily in my memory but I did enjoy this book, the story of an illicit relationship and murder plot partly inspired by Hamlet and told from the point of view of the foetus growing inside the woman who’s scheming with her brother-in-law to kill her husband. Not many writers could have taken such an audacious story and make it seem almost credible but McEwan manages it.

45. His Bloody Project – Graeme Macrae Burnet. I probably shouldn’t have picked up this novel because a book which has 19th century crofting as a backdrop isn’t what I’d usually go for but as it’s Man Booker shortlisted I thought it’d be worthwhile – it wasn’t. The other problem I had with it is that the reader knows whodunnit from the beginning so there’s little suspense in the story and I also couldn't have given a flying one about the killer's mental health. Very well done book jacket design, though.

143. The Great St Mary's Day Out by Jodi Taylor

Short story about the St Mary's time travellers - this time going back to The Globe to see Shakespeare. Love this series!

144. Joyland by Stephen King

A young man takes a job at a funfair during his summer break from university. This book has a bit of everything - a coming of age story, some romance, a murder mystery, ghosts and psychic abilities. I really enjoyed it!!

145. Universally Challenged by Anna Bell

This is a twist on Sliding Doors, with two examples of a life. Jessica broke up with her boyfriend after university to take a job, and is now an investment banker in London. She is single. In a parallel universe, Jess didn't go to the job interview, married the boyfriend, and they live in Manhattan where she is a teacher. One day, they wake up in each other's lives. It's chick lit, but if you like the whole 'sliding doors' idea give this one a go. The only thing that irritated me were spelling/grammar errors in the Kindle edition but they may not be the author's fault!!

There's an interesting short summary of a debate between Atwood & Ursula le Guin including the SF / not SF issue here.

Need some help again!

Having read a few epics this year, and been very busy/tired, I now find I'm 6 books behind on the challenge. This happened last year although don't think I was so far behind, and some very kind posters recommended some shorter books for me to catch up.

Any recommendations this time?

Olly Hotel Du Lac Pedant in the Kitchen I read recently are both under 200 pages. I wasn't keen on the former but well written and won the Booker so what do I know! Slade House which I've nearly finished is just over 200 and page-turny and perfect for this time of year. if you've not already read them The End of the Affair by Graham Greene is under 200 as well iirc and a great book IMO & The Great Gatsby.

Also remembered Strange Weather in Tokyo The Uncommon Reader and Brooklyn are quite short particularly the first two. Hth!

Can I join please, trying to make time to read more, have Animal Farm just now. Trying to read classics I haven't read before but can be hard going!

Olly I recently read Bonjour Tristesse which was laughably short but also gripping and amazing, I really enjoyed it. Highly recommended if you are looking to catch up.

This thread had fallen of my 'I'm On' tab so it must be time to update!

64. Lexicon – Max Barry. It took me a while to get into this one but when I did it grabbed me and ran away with me. I found this book a little hard to categorise. It had a definite dystopian feel for me but there was also a little hint of psychological thriller in there as well. We all know that words are powerful and should be used wisely but this book took the concept and wove an intelligent engaging story as well.

65. Sabriel – Garth Nix. Young adult fantasy set in the magical realm of the Old Kingdom. Sabriel’s father is the Abhorsen whose job is to bind and send back to the world of the dead those that won’t stay dead. Her father gets trapped in Death by a dangerous spirit and Sabriel has to release him and battle the force of evil along the way. I love a good fantasy story and this ticked the bill nicely. There are three books in the series so enough to keep me going for a while.

66. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Roald Dahl. This was a reread for me but first time for DS. The Nurses Song had us in tears of laughter.

67. James and the Giant Peach – Roald Dahl. Another reread for me. This was my first ever Roald Dahl and years later I think it still holds top spot for me. Wonderful story.

68. The Silk Road – Peter Frankopan. I listened to this in the car and it was a fantastic book. I thought I was fairly well versed in world history but this book focuses more on the history of the world from the perspective of the east instead of the usual Eurocentric view. I didn’t realise until listening to this how much I don’t know. I really think this is a very important text and will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of current geo politics and an insight into many of the conflicts raging today. The West does not come out of this looking good. I have the hard copy on my Christmas list as there is a lot there that I will want to go back to and revisit in the near future.

Welcome JuddNelson

Welcome juddnelson don't you, forget about...

Olly - You might like Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. Published postumously, it is just under 200 pages long, a quick read, beautifully written, and is in the kindle autumn sale atm.

I've nearly finished it (last few pages to go today). Reminds me a liitle of Anne Tyler's writing. Spare and not a wasted word.

Oh and welcome Judd :)

One further thought on short books - The Sea by John Banville. Around 200 pages iirc. And Alan Bennett has written quite a few shortish stories/novellas, although The Uncommon Reader is the best one I think. Smut was very cheeky and made me laugh and in equal measures.

Thank you! Some of these I've read (probably one recommendations from here last year!) I loved The Sea and Alan Bennet was a joy.

I've downloaded Hotel du Lac, Bonjour Tristesse, Slade House and Our Souls at Night.

I've just started Forever is Over by Calvin Wade and just about to finish Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. Listening to Jack Kerouac's on audible in the car but as DH is also listening, can only tune in when we're both there - which is rarely.

Thanks again for your suggestions.

omg, just popped into say am about half way and Death's End is bloody gripping!

For those of you reading the series, do not delay, read it now