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.

I loved The Poisonwood Bible when I read it years ago. I think I need to find it and read it again.

51. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - Had been meaning to read this for years and finally got round to it. Yes, it's self-indulgent and yes, it's overwhelmingly American-mindset in places but I think that's sort of the point of it. I quite enjoyed it anyway (possibly due to the fact that it allowed my teenage fantasies of running away to live on a beach in Bali to resurface...) Reading it over the holidays whilst DS (10) and DD (7) bickered non-stop may have added to the escapist romance of it all somewhat. There are often days where I'd quite like to be able to escape to a yoga retreat on a whim...!

Ah, that was 52. Got my numbering wrong.

Hooray! Finished another book just now! I am on a roll! So......
6) The Letter - Kathryn Hughes. This book caught my attention on Amazon as it had over 4,000 reviews and quite a few of those were 5 stars so I had high expectations. Set in 1939 and 1973, this is the story of how two women's lives and a letter written on the day World War II was announced are linked. The story was emotional in parts but if I'm honest I was expecting more, especially after the high reviews. I felt parts of it felt a bit rushed and unrealistic and I am not sure I believed in the characters 100%. I'm not sure on this one....

I couldn't keep up with thread 5, but have managed a skim through thread 6. I love looking at everyone's lists, and I agree that it is impossible to fit all the books we read into a 1-5 stars sort of judgement. I need more categories too!

I haven't had time to make a full list but my most recent reads are:

34. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari - very interesting book about human evolution. I loved the first few chapters about early humans (Neanderthals and the like), but I didn't enjoy the chapters about religion, politics and economics nearly as much. I confess I do start yawning the instant I read the word "economics" though .

35. Reaching down the Rabbit Hole by Allan Ropper - recommended on this thread. I didn't love this as much as others have and I didn't like it as much as Do No Harm. This book is similar in format, a chapter each about different patients with severe neurological problems, written by a neurologist. I found the dialogue very stilted and unnatural and the author comes across as quite patronising of his patients. Not my favourite.

36. Down Under by Bill Bryson - audiobook that I bought on daily deals. I've never been to Australia and have no plans to go there so perhaps this wasn't the best book for me to add to my collection. I do really like the way Bill Bryson combines the history of a place with his funny travel anecdotes, and I certainly know WAY more about Oz than I did before (not difficult). The narration was good and I would definitely recommend this to anyone with any link to Australia.

37. Joyland by Stephen King - King is a remarkable storyteller and I always find his books easy to read and his characters very believable. This book is part crime novel and part ghost story and he does both things well. It's a bit of a coming of age story of a young man working a summer in an amusement park in the early 70s. There's an old murder mystery for him to solve and relationships for him to make and break, and it's a very enjoyable but not utterly fantastic read.

BTW - The Moonstone is £2.99 on audible today.

Bringing over my list to date (favourites in bold and meh reads in italics) and adding my latest book The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wrecker. This has been one of my best reads of the year so far. This is a fantasy story set in New York at the end of the 19th century. What made this so different from many other fantasy stories were that the main protaganists were a golem from the Judeo/middle European tradition and a djinni from the Islamic/middle eastern tradition. Much of the story was set in a christian Syrian neighbourhood of New York. Hava is a Golem who finds herself in New York after the man she was created for dies on his passage from Poland. Ahmad is a djinni who is released from a lamp owned by a cafe owner in New York. This was a beautifully written story of how their lives intertwined and their interaction to the people around them. It was an enchanting tale and while a little slow at times I couldn't put it down. If any of you like the Night Circus you might just like this as well.

1. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith.
2. The Amber Spyglass – Philip Pulman.
3. The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club – Duncan Whitehead.
4. Bad Pharma: How Medicine Is Broken and How We Can Fix It – Ben Goldacre.
5. Neuromancer – William Gibson.
6. Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling.
7. God is not Great – Christopher Hitchens.
8. The Boy Who Climbed into the Moon – David Almond.
9. Eeny Meeny – M.J. Arlidge.
10. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed – John Ronson.
11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – JK Rowling
12. The Gospel of Loki – Joanne Harris.
13. A Symphony of Echoes (St Mary’s Book 2) - Jodi Taylor.
14. A Short History of Nearly Everything – Bill Bryson.
15. Going Postal - Terry Pratchett.
16. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – JK Rowling.
17. Armageddon’s Children: Book one of the Genesis of Shannara – Terry Brooks.
18. The Darkest Secret – Alex Marwood.
19. The Holy Machine – Chris Beckett.
20. Locked In – Kerry Wilkinson.
21. The Three – Sarah Lotz.
22. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J.K. Rowling.
23. Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage – Haruki Murakami.
24. The Elves of Cintra: Book two of the Genesis of Shannara – Terry Brooks.
25. Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie.
26. The Gypsy Morph: Book three of the Genesis of Shannara – Terry Brooks.
27. Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography – Walter Isaacson.
28. Odd and the Frost Giants – Neil Gaiman.
29. Black Swan Green – David Mitchell.
30. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – JK Rowling.
31. Missionary Position – Christopher Hitchens.
32. The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman.
33. Brooklyn – Colm Toibin.
34. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling.
35. High Rise – J.R. Ballard.
36. Apple Tree Yard – Louise Doughty.
37. The Gunslinger – Dark Tower – Stephen King.
38. London Falling – Paul Cornell.
39. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – J.K.Rowling.
40. Undermajordomo Minor – Patrick DeWitt.
41. The Girl in the Red Coat – Kate Hamer.
42. Ratburger – David Walliams.
43. 11.22.63 – Stephen King.
44. Cuckoo Song - Francis Hardinge.
45. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August – Clare North.
46. The Faceless Ones – Derek Landy.
47. Coraline - Neil Gaiman.
48. Without a Trace - Lesley Pierce.
49. Dark Days – Derek Landy.
50. Trigger Warning: Short Stories and Disturbances – Neil Gaiman.
51. The Stand – Stephen King.
52. Perfect People – Peter James.
53. Americanah – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
54. TheBook of You – Claire Kendall.
55. Silverthorn – Raymond E. Feist.
56. Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman.
57. Company of Liars – Karen Maitland.
58. The Distant Hours - Kate Morton.
59. The Ghosts of Heaven - Marcus Sedgwick.
60. Where’d You Go, Bernadette – Maria Semple.
61. The Golem and the Djinni – Helene Wrecker.

ShakeItOff2000 I had some similar feelings particularly about the female characters this time round as well but overall I remained as won over by The Stand as i was first time I read it. Now there is nothing on earth that would persuade me to read It again. It took me years to get over it as a teenager

Ooops golem's name is Chava not Hava - darn autocorrect!

81. Curfew by Phil Rickman

I had started reading The Lies of Locke Lamora then decided I was actually in the mood for a Phil Rickman so decided on this one as a re-read. Crybbe is a small town on the England/Wales border which has, over the centuries, switched between the two. It's a town where night doesn't fall. Instead the darkness rises up out of the stones, and a dark energy infuses the place which is dispelled by the ringing of the curfew bell 100 times. Into this town comes radio reporter Fay Morrison, to look after her elderly retired Canon father who is developing dementia, and millionaire music tycoon Max Goff for whom the ony thing left to conquer is the power of the spirit. Goff intends to turn Crybbe into a world centre for psychic and spiritual research. But the locals are hostile to all outsiders and very much against this New Age plan. So while Goff comes up against a silent and disapproving opposition, and Morrison tries to find out what is at the heart of Crybbe, no one wants to issue a warning by sharing the town's legacy of dark magic with people from Off.

I think this was one of Rickman's earliest novels - pre-Merrilyn Watkins, certainly. It's brillilantly spooky and you feel just as frustrated with the locals as Fay Morrison does as she finds herself caught up in events she doesn't understand. It also feature an appearance from Gomer Parry who appears in quite a lot of later novels as well.

Back to Locke Lamora then.

82. How To Do Everything And Be Happy by Peter Jones

I am also reading Locke Lamora, promise! This was my latest morning self-help read and I saw it recommended on a thread on here then spotted it when having a browse in one of my local charity bookshops so thought I would give it a go. It's written in a very easy-going style and the author comes across as rather likeable, and the prmise behind it is looking at ways to make every day fulfilling - largely through various lists and setting aside specific days for specific tasks such as Boxing Days, which are days you set aside, do not plan in advance, and then spend doing whatever you feel like doing at any given moment. So if you decide you want to spend the day watching films in bed with a large pizza, or go for a 20 mile trek across Dartmoor then do it. There are also days when you work towards your goals, and various other things. Some of the ideas are appealing - I guess I just need to identify a day when I sit down and compile the lists!

45. Families and how to survive them by Robin Skynner and John Cleese. This is basically a book of the methods that Skynner uses in his family therapy sessions (which Cleese used to attend), presented in the form of a conversation between the two of them. It makes some interesting points, and at first I thought I was going to love this, but later on I found myself disagreeing strongly with some of the theories. It was published in 1987, so I guess it's not surprising that it felt very outdated at times. Overall I wouldn't recommend this.

Have abandoned Bloody Old Britain as it turns out I'm not that interested in aerial photography. Not a bad book, just not for me at the moment.

Started on The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet much recommended on here. I rarely read SF but am really enjoying this. I'm only a couple of chapters in, but it's reminding me of mid-twentieth century boarding school stories (Elinor M. Brent-Dyer, I'm looking at you). New girl arrives with mysterious secret in background arrives in closed community; and is introduced to the people she'll be living and working with and the physical environment she'll be in. It will all doubtless end in an intergalactic hockey match where the new girl scores the winning goal and a jolly good tea with sausages.

54. The Visitor by Lee Child. Reacher does his stuff again- this one has a serial killer slant!

31 The Janus Stone - Elly Griffiths
32 The House at Sea's End - Elly Griffiths

Next two in Dr Ruth Galloway series - enjoyable crime capers - nothing hugely revolutionary but, like the first, a satisfying read if you can suspend disbelief at some of the plot twists.

biblio I just bought myself a copy of Small Angry Planet, but it's been annexed by dd, so will have to wait a bit. In the meantime I'm reading Wolf Border by Sarah Hall which I'm enjoying so far (only a few chapters in).

84 Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, listened to on audio.

NS is always good value, but this isn't one I'd normally have picked up - it was another one on audio from the library site. It's a historical novel, set in the 17th century, and it's a real picaresque overstuffed sort of book, but tremendously enjoyable. The main protagonist is a member of the Royal Society, and Leibnitz, Newton, Hook and lots of others are secondary characters. I did slightly feel like I was always a bit behind the curve - I know a bit about 17thC intellectual history, but I suspect if you knew more it would be even more enjoyable and you'd pick up more of the in-jokes - but it was still an excellent read and another highlight. I'll definitely listen to / read the sequels (it's the first in a cycle of 7 books)

ChessieFL Never mind the Peter James books, I have in my hands a copy of Mount, the new JC book. Don't think it's actually out until tomorrow but saw it in a bookshop window today and couldn't resist.

Hope it's an improvement on the last two.

42. The Collector - John Fowles. In early 60's London, a withdrawn and lonely young man, Frederick Clegg, kidnaps a woman he's obsessed with in the hopes she'll fall in love with him, but events don't turn out as either expected. A very creepy and compelling first half told from Frederick's perspective, but the second half, told from the point of view from his captor, repeats the same events from the first half of the book with very boring reflections on her past. The author is brilliant at capturing two distinct voices and a sinister atmosphere but the second half the book elt distracting and was a huge slog to get through. I thought the film was much better.

I bought the new Ian McEwan book on Monday but after reading On Chesil Beach and The Collector consecutively I think I need to read something very light in tone.

Grifone, I loved The Night Circus and have put The Golem and the Djinni on my to-read list. Thanks!

35. Hausfrau, by Jill Alexander Essbaum. Anna is a good wife, mostly--apart from her multiple affairs, that is. Anna is an American who lives in a suburb of Zurich with her Swiss husband and three children. She feels disconnected from life in general, which she tries to remedy with analysis, language classes, and a new friendship. However, she also has a series of affairs from which she cannot seem to break, though she tries. Things fall apart after a family tragedy, and she's forced, finally, to become engaged with her own life. This book was ok; while the writing was overwrought and the symbolism was heavy handed at times, Anna is a troublesome but fairly interesting character. But, the author's influence, and thus the ending, was clear from a mile away.

36. Among Others, by Jo Walton This coming of age story focuses on 15 year old Morenna, who knows magic, sees fairies, and lives for science fiction. She's been sent to boarding school by her estranged father after her twin sister dies and Mori herself is badly injured in an event brought on by their mother. At first, her new life is grim, but, to misuse Dan Savage, it gets better. I really appreciate that Mori was able to find her people through her geekery (harder in 1979, when the book is set) and that not all of the hard bits of her were resolved. I was a bit disappointed that the fairies were actual fairies; I preferred reading them as psychological projections for some reason.

37. The Dark Days Club, by Alison Goodman Lady Helen Wrexhall, daughter of the late Duke and Duchess of...Something, is making her debut in 1812. During her presentation at court, Queen Charlotte tells Lady Helen not to believe the rumours about her mother, who died in odd and rather disgraceful circumstances. Helen soon after learns of The Dark Days Club, which protects England from demons and of which her mother was a powerful member. Helen learns that she has inherited her mother's ability and must decide how she will live her life: as a demon slayer, or as a more conventional lady (a process which is complicated by two equally desirable men: the demonslaying Lord Cranston and the dashing Duke of Selbourne). This book fluffy and amusing and I enjoyed it muchly. Please don't judge me.

41. Order, Order! The Rise And Fall Of Political Drinking - Ben Wright

A short but very entertaining account of the long-lived relationship between booze and politics, in the UK and overseas. Too flippant to make any really serious points about the impact of alcohol on society, although it does try; but if you want hair-raising accounts of drunken antics in the corridors of power, it's got 'em.

I read the Collector as a teen, stayed with me. Chilling. I remember distinctly him describing her yawning and stretching. John Fowles books are all a bit like that though - extremely well written, but I'm always left at some point scratching my head and wondering what quite happened to the promise.

Sorry really terrible at reviews, but to help me keep going:

18. Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event - Really enjoyable. I had somehow missed her 'adult' writing, but as a young teen I was obsessed with reading her books. I now remember why. Her writing style is so familiar and reassuring. Easy reads without being fluffy a d a good few weeks after reading I can clearly visualize several parts of the story, as if I read it two hours ago. Quite often I remember the feel of the book, rather than the detail.

19. Still Alice. Really late to this one. Its been in my kindle samples list for ages, but I baulked at paying near full price. I'm sure everyone has read it / seen the film. I definitely enjoyed it - reading it in one evening, but...I don't really see it as a film. I also thought that her deterioration seems a little too fast. I'm sure its possible - though through knowing someone whose mil had early onset, it seems speedy by comparison. It just felt the story was hurried along in my eyes.

Hullo, I'll rejoin you if I may I've been reading steadily but very slowly through the year and keeping up with the challenge but I have a way to go if I want to read 50 books by the end of the year. Here's my list:

1. Tipping The Velvet - Sarah Waters
2. Life After Life - Kate Atkinson
3. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters
4. All At Sea - Decca Aitkenhead
5. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (reread)
6. A God In Ruins - Kate Atkinson
7. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets - J.K Rowling (reread)

8 Northern Lights - Philip Pullman (reread)

And I've just completed:

1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Friends had warned it it was going to be hard going, with one saying she had decided to avoid it as it sounded horrific. How bad can it be? I thought cheerily. Well, pretty bad was the answer although I enjoyed this book immensely and at 700 pages it took me over 2 months to read it! I did break to reread Northern Lights which is my favourite book of all time so that was some light relief. But honestly, A Little Life is a very hard slog. I was intensely invested in the characters, especially the central character Jude who has had such a hard life which constantly claws at his ankles even when he tries to shake off the past and create happiness in his present. I couldn't stop reading because I had to find out what happened, but it wasn't a very happy read. At times parts of it made me feel faint and sometimes I cried; I completely let go and sobbed when I finished the book. I feel wrung out and spent and I'm not rushing to reread it ever again but I'm so glad I spent the time ploughing through it, in many ways it was very rewarding and I'll think about it for a very long time.

I am now reading Love's Executioner by Irvin D. Yalom which is the perfect book to follow with. A Little Life was perhaps the best argument for psychotherapy I have ever read. Love's Executioner is written by a very good psychotherapist and is about 10 of his patients (heavily disguised for the book of course) and their struggles and transformations in therapy. I started it yesterday and am already gripped, he's a great writer, funny and self depreciating and he doesn't use any jargon really so it's very accessible. I'm liking it a lot so far.

I've been lurking on these threads although not posting, and have lots of great recommendations some of which have been added to my Saved For Later basket on Amazon...

I liked reading your reviews, nevernic. I've not read any adult Judy Blume, but that is how I remember her

phoenixrising that sounds like the most awful reading experience why do we do it to ourselves. Not for me though, that one!

89. A History of Modern Life in 100 Modern Objects, Francesca Hornak A reprint of her Sunday Times Style section column. I think the woman is a genius - v short fictional stories (3 paragraphs or so) on trendy object (Smeg fridge, GHD hair straighteners) but more importantly on the person using them. Funny and occasionally plangent. Will be interesting to re-read in 20 years to look back on The Way We Were. Very attractive hardback book.

Intrigued by some of the recommendations upthread and am off to have a look on my library's website...

Phoenix welcome back to the thread. The two you've reviewed are ones I read last year. Unlike many, I loved A Little Life which I would certainly class as a tough read, because of the intensity of emotions it stirs up. But, like you, I was fully engaged with Jude and also cried at times. Brilliantly written, she was my pick for last year's Booker.

Still reading through this year's longlist and anything even remotely as good as Hanya's book has yet to be found, sadly ...

Joyless, glad it's not just me I felt I would be betraying Jude if I didn't read to the end and of course I was madly curious, but I do feel I need to join some kind of self help group for people who have waded through all that pain and emotion.

Reminds me of Maggie O'Farrells After You'd Gone which had a similar effect on me.

Oh gosh Phoenix, I read that shortly after the break-up of my LTR. I bawled! It took me a while to read another of her books