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.

47. The Quantum Universe - Everything That Can Happen Will Happen - Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

Quite hard going (I had to skim over a lot of the maths) but very educational introduction to quantum theory. Probably better appreciated if you have a science or maths background, as there's a lot of theory to follow, but even as a lay person I got a good deal of interesting knowledge from it.

Meg - You might also be interested in Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You by Marcus Chown. I loved it. It's not the 1st book I've read on the subject, but it is the most comprehensive, although written in a simple way for those of us who have only studied a bit of physics as a teenager.

149. The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger

Somehow this book had managed to pass me by until now. I suspect if I had read it as a teenager I might have had a different view but reading it now I am wondering what all the hype is about. It's not a bad book but I'm afraid I can't see what all the fuss is about. I did like the depiction of Holden's relationship with his sister though.

81. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf. I loved this. A delicate, finely crafted piece about loneliness, and the need for love and companionship in old age. Beautiful. It was the last piece written by the author who died shortly after completing it.

82. Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish. Read in the hope that they might have some tips to stop the full scale war that often breaks out between DD and DS. Actually turned out to be quite a useful book.

83. Diary of Provincial Lady by E M Delafield. Brilliantly funny. I enjoyed it immensely. Have got the rest of the novels in the series as a collection on kindle and will read these in between other books when in need of something light and amusing.

Next up We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Mermaid I am currently reading, and so far enjoying We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I hated Hill House but this feels far less stupid so far!
Book 107
The Halloween Party - Agatha Christie
This was pretty good for a Christie, I thought. A child is murdered at a Halloween party, after claiming to have seen a murder herself. It’s one of her later novels and definitely felt quite ‘modern’ in tone – fears about child abductions, teenage delinquency etc. The killer was quite predictable and the ending was a bit daft but it was quite good fun. I particularly enjoyed two hilarious teenage boys.

Mermaid - the Provincial Lady is wonderful, isn't she. My copy (the Virago re-issue from the late 80s) is falling apart. I also have a much treasured copy of Straw Without Bricks (aka The Provincial Lady in Russia), thoroughly out of print back then, 'lost' in the interlibrary loans system, and randomly found by a friend in a 2nd hand bookshop while I was a student. Reminds me how much I also love Abebooks and Ebay :)

Remus - I am reading Christie's Hallowe'en Party at the moment after the success of reading her Christmas one last year. I am enjoying seasonal reading!

I have enjoyed the back and forth about The Luminaries, I think on balance I will give it a miss as I have so many other books in the queue.

42. Just finished my book club book The Light between Oceans, a tearjerker about a couple living alone on an island minding a lighthouse. They discover a baby and then have a moral dilemma when they find out she is not alone in the world. Surprisingly I thought the ending was very reasonable and I really enjoyed the details about lighthouse keeping, but otherwise the book is a bit forgettable.

43. Dark Eden by Chris Beckett - I almost stopped reading this SciFi book about life on another planet. The language takes a bit of getting used to, lots of doubling up of words and weird spellings. The premise is that a man and woman end up stranded on an alien planet, have lots of babies that interbreed and at the time of the story there around 500 people. One of them decides to break free and explore and there are lots of consequences.. I really got into it by the end and its part of a trilogy so I will definitely read more.

Enjoyed reading the discussion about The Luminaries too.

61. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Read as part of my one-HP-a-month before going to see The Cursed Child. I read 1-3 years ago so have re-read them but haven't actually read this one before, just seen the film to check it was suitable for DS a while ago. I enjoyed reading it - there is a noticeable jump from 3 to 4 in terms of target audience, I think, and it will be interesting to see whether there's another jump later on in the series. DS has read 5 (and seen the film) but hasn't read or seen 6 and 7 yet - wonder if we might be better off reading these together. He's 10 (Year 6) - what do people think?

62. Slade House by David Mitchell - had been saving this in my to-read pile (pile is a lie, it's actually a ridiculously big box under the stairs) for October. It's been reviewed a few times recently so I'll just add that I enjoyed it and liked the references to The Bone Clocks. I've not read Cloud Atlas yet (is waiting on my Kindle) but think somebody mentioned there are references to that too. Satsuki - was it you that said you had a theory about the jogger? He did stand out as a bit of a loose end for me....

Will pm you

41. Big Magic - Elizabeth Gilbert
By the author of Eat, Pray, Love. A sort of self-help guide for writers/other creatives. I enjoyed reading this and while I don't agree with her more mystical take, I did find it very encouraging. In fact, since reading it I've devoted 15 minutes a day to just writing without worrying about the outcome- just enjoying the process. There is something important in taking the pressure of yourself and your creativity.

44. Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova; This is essentially about Huntington's, a genetic time bomb for which there is no cure. The first victim is the father, Joe O'Brien. As the disease is genetic, there are a further four potential victims, his children. The book starts strongly, with a compelling portrait in Joe of a developing disease and its ricocheting impact on those around him. Once it moves to a post diagnosis stage, the book becomes more like public lecture aimed at disease awareness. Joe, initially compelling and real, becomes cartoonish, wearing t shirts with slogans designed to explain his disease to observers. There are too many children for the author to handle in any realistic way and their different dilemmas are generally broad strokes only. Apart from Kate, the yoga teacher and her various boring hang ups. I'm being a bit harsh here, its one of those books you think okay at the time and then when you think about it later, you get more dismissive. I certainly learned a lot about Huntington's. I just think the use of it for a novel, was a bit beyond the author's capabilities. It's a Jodi Picoult type novel but not as good.

45. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan; I really enjoyed the first one of these (Crazy Rich Asians), happy escapism, a romp through the Asian world of the ridiculously uber rich and their family cultures. But that book had a definite plot and narrative drive that this one lacks. Kevin doesn't want for ideas, there were several plot hooks he could have developed but he seemed to prefer to spend his time endlessly describing rich people's rooms, clothes and cars. There's some effort to connect it to the prior book, but really none of the characters gets a proper look in. It's all v disjointed and unsatisfactory. Would not recommend. Was disappointed. Thought I'd found an Asian Jilly Cooper .

46. Death's End by Liu Cixin; amazingly this is the best book of the three. You cannot begin to imagine where the story goes. The ambition and thought and sheer scope of the novel, the implications of Dark Forest theory for humans, the universe, I can't really say much without giving fundamental plot points away. It's pacier than the other books, the characters remain a bit weirdly drawn though, there for a purpose rather than to serve as an interest or study point in their own right. But I was used to that from the first two books, it did not annoy me too much. The characters are very much not the point. Also, I'm not sure human civilization would really change as much in the spaces of time described but I'm quibbling. It's the kind of book you immediately want to start again with the whole in your mind, so you catch the stuff you missed the first time, cause you read it too fast. Fantastic. Probably my book of the year.

ladydepp The sequel to Dark Eden, Mother of Eden is £1.19 on kindle today! I have had it on my watch list since I read Dark Eden earlier this year, and am looking forward to going back there, although apparently the sequel takes place several hundred years later.

ladydepp The sequel to Dark Eden, Mother of Eden is £1.19 on kindle today! I have had it on my watch list since I read Dark Eden earlier this year, and am looking forward to going back there, although apparently the sequel takes place several hundred years later.

I couldn't get on with Provincial Lady at all.

LadyDepp - Can't wait to read your thoughts on the two crazy teenage boys. They were like an early version of Fred and George Weasley!

Book 108
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Hmm. In two minds about this one. I liked it a heck of a lot more than I liked the only other one of hers I’ve read The Haunting of Hill House, which I thought was dreadful. This wasn’t dreadful – it was actually quite fun and I really liked the first third or so of it. Unfortunately then, it fails to really do much more. We’ve worked out what actually happened v early in the book and then it becomes quite repetitive. The introduction of new characters just makes it get a bit sillier too, although the ending was quite sweet. Overall, I think it would have worked far better as a short story. Oh and the ‘Lit Crit’ of it, which is added to the Kindle version, was ridiculous imvho.

Ooo thanks for the Mother of Eden tip museum!

Thanks Museum! Just nabbed Mother of Eden. It can stand in as my Sci Fi choice until MorningStar gets cheaper

wilting - I'm reading Death's End now

53 My Antonia by Willa Cather This is a brilliant book. Set in the American Midwest it is the fictional memoirs of a man who grew up in Nebraska in the late 19th century and his friendship with the pioneer girl Antonia. Beautifully written.

54 Why do robins have redbreasts? A book that tied in with Springwatch. Lots of interesting facts about various nature things. An easy book to dip in and out of.

55 The Haunted Season by G M Malliet This is a murder mystery. I picked it up randomly in the library and it promised much but failed to deliver. It is set in rural England but written by an America so I was first annoyed by Americanisms such as 'fall' instead of autumn and 'pantyhose' instead of tights. Good set up for the murder but it took an awful long time for the main suspects to actually appear in the book. Lots of digressions and back stories which came and went - characters who weren't central to the plot came to the fore and then faded out. The same plot device was used three times (character overhears other characters plotting murder but can't see them. Two more times later in the book she overhears same person but their face is obscured) I gave up and fast forwarded to the end to find out who dunnit. It turned out to be the person overheard at the start who is easy to spot because she talks of her family. Also didn't realise there are vicars who are rich enough to have two homes in the same village and employ a useless housekeeper in this day and age. And at the very end there is a nonsense terror plot tacked in for good measure. Thoroughly irritated me.

56 O Pioneers by Willa Cather Again another beautiful book set in Nebraska. This is a love story.

57, 58, 59,60 Death of Yesterday, Death of a Scriptwriter, A Highland Christmas, Death of an Outsider all by M C Beaton A bit of a binge on murder mysteries. All thoroughly enjoyable. I would say, though, that A Highland Christmas is quite a slight book so I was glad that I'd borrowed it rather than bought it.

61 A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam this is set in Bangladesh at the start of the 70s when there was a civil war as East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) fought against West Pakistan (now just Pakistan). A woman has two young adult children who are very much involved in the civil war. It is told from her perspective and how it affects them all. Well written and I enjoyed this one. I also realised I knew very little about that period of history and now know a lot more.

62 Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers Spy sailing mystery set in the Baltic/North sea at the turn of the century. It was written at a time when there was growing tensions between Germany and UK. Lots of sailing descriptions. It was OK, only part that I think let it down was at the end when they (spoiler alert) capture their man. They manage to capture him without having a single weapon but just by turning up and telling him he's been found out. I thought that was rather unlikely.

Can't wait to hear what you think cote!

Meanwhile I polished off another Lisa Genova.

47. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova; This is about a high achieving woman with a husband, 3 children * high end job who is involved in a car accident which leaves her with a brain injury where the Left is missing. So half her world basically. Bit predictable really, of course she re-evaluates her life, her work/children priorities etc etc. Manages to be emotionally cold though, just not enough life in the characters; one of her kids has ADD for example, but of course his behaviour dramatically improves once Sara starts to focus on him. Her mother moves in after what appears to have been a very long estrangement but their reconciliation has no resonance. It ticked boxes but was not moving.

I'll be reading no more of this author even though I believe Still Alice is supposed to be the best one.

Oh I like the sound of the Revenant. For those who are looking something similar, then what about The Son. It follows a number of generations of a family in Texas though the last days of Native Americans right up to the oil rush days. Fascinating. The characters are not particularly likeable but it's a very rewarding and pretty uncompromising read.

I love that people are loving My Antonia, it's such a good book, I've read four of hers :

My Antonia,
O, Pioneers
Song Of The Lark
Death Comes For The Archbishop

and My Antonia is by far my favourite

freebuttonbee I am currently half way through The Son confirm it is v good. It's less a family saga than a struggle for survival in an ever changing environment, the strong always outpacing the weak, from the 1800s to the present day. It is utterly compelling. If you enjoyed it, I think you would like The Revenant. My dh is on it now and racing through it, so hope I get to watch the film this weekend.

I wrote a postgrad essay on My Antonia whilst pregnant and nearly insisted on calling my dd after it. It is a beautiful book IMO, but hormones, eh? I like O Pioneers, too, but MA was really memorable.

Impressed you go through The Riddle of the Sands, cedar. I tried but the detailed information about the mapping of sandbars kept putting me to sleep.

Sorry free meant *agree it is very good, not confirm. Your opinion is valid without me rubber-stamping it

got through, not go through