50 Book Challenge 2016 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the final thread 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, please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read, and to anyone who hasn't posted, feel free to de-lurk and share with us what you've read so far this year.

The first thread of 2016 is here, second thread here, third thread here, fourth thread here, fifth thread here and sixth thread here.

116. No, Thanks! I'm Quite Happy Standing! by Virginia Ironside

Fourth in the series - Bridget Jones for baby-boomers. The narrator is 69, and these are her musings about everyday life, the wonders of her grandchild and various neighbourhood shenanigans. The casual affluence is faintly irritating to someone a generation behind - she can embark on a trip to India, buy an iPhone, have another bottle of champagne without a fleeting thought about whether she can afford it. She lives in a million-pound house in London that she bought years ago on her salary as a music teacher. Anyway, it's a light read, and I like the sense that life remains full of possibility as you grow older. It's a more domesticated Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Currently reading Not in Your Genes, by Oliver James. As the name implies, his thesis is that mental conditions and illnesses are based on childhood maltreatment. It would be a disturbing read for anyone with a child with autism or ADHD, because according to him, It's All Your Fault as a parent. I'm only a couple of chapters in, so it may get more nuanced. It's an accessible read, but I'm a bit troubled by some of his views.

52. Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth. This is an intriguing mix of historical fiction (set in the French court of Louis XIV in the 17th century) and fantasy rather reminiscent of Neil Gaiman (the fairy tale of Rapunzel). I enjoyed this.

Biblio - re "Not in Your Genes, by Oliver James. As the name implies, his thesis is that mental conditions and illnesses are based on childhood maltreatment. It would be a disturbing read for anyone with a child with autism or ADHD, because according to him, It's All Your Fault as a parent."

Well, he sounds very wrong. (And there are many Amazon reviews saying exactly this)

I don't know about ADHD, but I believe it is fairly well established that autism is at least partly influenced by genetic factors.

Vanderlyle - I'm afraid Jeff Buckley version didn't do much for me. The difference between him and the (properly) (classically) trained voice of Andreas Scholl is very significant imho. The latter sounds like honey. Or velvet. Something soft and wonderful in any case. In comparison, Jeff Buckley sounds almost shrill imho.

But then again, I love Andreas Scholl's voice. I was when I saw him in an interview once and realised that he has a normal man's voice in speech!

Yes, I have the impression he is vastly over-simplifying - scientists haven't been able to find the smoking gun (the gene that always leads to x condition), therefore, in his view, the only remaining explanation is nurture. Without being a scientist, I don't think genes are the only possible biological explanation (what about brain structure/chemistry/functioning?)

That's not to deny that early nurture is very important and some of his points related to that are valid, but it doesn't feel like he's making a balanced case.

"scientists haven't been able to find the smoking gun (the gene that always leads to x condition), therefore, in his view, the only remaining explanation is nurture."

That is completely false. It isn't an either/or situation at all.

There is some evidence that suggests that exposure to excessive testosterone in utero might be responsible for at least some cases of autism. There are congenital genetic disorders where sufferers tend to be autistic such as this one where 50% have ASD.

The author sounds misinformed (at best).

If he were spouting this nonsense on MN, he would be called a GF.

I've read a few of OJ's articles (in newspapers, that is, not journals) and found him to be very heavy on views, but rather light on evidence for them.

Meg - yes, yes and thrice yes to the assertion that everybody should read Raymond Chandler. Are you listening to this wise lady, Cote?

DS1 was moderately premature, and some of the stuff I was reading when he was born about possible long term health effects of prematurity, said that studies have been done that show children born prematurely have a higher incidence of developing ADHD than children born at full term.

I don't know why that is, but it would suggest that in at least some cases of ADHD, there's some sort of physical cause, even if that's not been identified yet.

Ha, Remus. I knew you were somehow to blame for me having two Raymond Chandler books in my Amazon Wish List (and no idea how they got there)

There couldn't have been another reason for me to have a book called Farewell, My Lovely in my Wish List, whose blurb starts with the phrase "Eight years ago Moose Malloy and cute little redhead Velma were getting married..."

Try either The Big Sleep or The Long Goodbye, Cote. You will either thank us for it and want to read more, or hate them. But if you hate them, you and I will have to launch Operation Pistols At Dawn.

I'm not sure that 'balanced' and 'Oliver James' live in the same sentence . . . Even where studies talk about environmental factors, they often seem to be referring to the pre-natal environment, rather than parenting (eg the California Twins Study ).

53. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Not to be confused with the similarly-named The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, as they're completely different - for a start, this one is non fiction. In 1951, a young black woman called Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer. Before she died, her doctor removed a sample of her cervix (without her consent, as was typical in those days) and her cells, later known as HeLa, became the first human cells to be cultivated in the lab. The aggressive cancerous nature of the cells made them very hardy, so they did not die off as had happened with previous attempts at growing cells outside the body. They were distributed freely within the medical community, and HeLa cells have been incredibly important in many medical discoveries over the past 65 years and can still be found in vast quantities in labs all over the world. This is the story of the woman behind the cells, and her surviving relatives (who did not benefit financially from the cell bonanza). There is also quite a bit about medical ethics more generally. It's an extraordinary story, and an important one. I found it an interesting read, but I did feel it was a little over long / repetitive in places.

Oh I loved Henrietta Lacks.

I've been a bit quiet on the thread as I tried to read His Bloody Project and got absolutely nowhere with it - couldn't get going at all.

Re-reading The Night Circus and absolutely loving it just as much

Tarahumara - I've had my eye on that for a while as its been a recent book club book at the WI I belong to. Sadly I can't make the book club meets, but I do like to check out their picks for recommendations. Unfortunately there isn't a copy to be had in my county. They've all been borrowed and have people on a waitlist when they come back.

I couldn't get on with Henrietta Lacks at all - I'm not sure why, as it's the sort of book I'd generally like.

Not much happening here - I picked up a copy of The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman, recommended to me somewhere (don't think it was on here). It should tick my light read boxes - Regency setting, young woman with mysterious powers - but it takes itself far too seriously. I like my trashy fantasy leavened with plenty of jokes, & perhaps a bit of romance. I've waded through about 1/3, but I think I'm going to give up on it.

I've ordered a copy of Lexicon, Cote, so hopefully that will come soon & I'll have something to read!

I dare say that you will love Lexicon, Sadik

I enjoyed The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, but then again, I do like that sort of medical non-fic with a genetic vibe.

Try as I might, I can't figure out how that title would possibly be confused with The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, though

Yes, Stitches, OJ does make the point that premature births are associated with ADHD.

Cote, I'm sure you'd spontaneously combust if you read the book, and I think you've put your finger on why - he treats things as either/or when it is much more about complex interactions that we still don't fully understand.

I'm not going to throw the book against the wall as it's interesting to read stuff you disagree with as well.

medical non-fic with a genetic vibe Now there's a library shelf label you don't see.

I've just finally collected His Bloody Project from the library so don't just pop in to rain on my parade, everysongbird

Also got Three Body Problem which I am very excited about especially as it has regular size text instead of the usual sci-fi make them squint print.

I am absolutely loving the lively discussions on the thread - the one on Autism/ADHD in particular and it sounds like OJ would also cause me to froth at the mouth. I shall stay away from that particular read.

Having taken (yet) another vow not to buy things and to read through what I already have on the kindle and on my bookshelves, you wonderful people have had me adding things to my wish list. Yes, Cote, I often find stuff there and wonder how/why they got there too ...

Family stuff has meant that I have been reading little and very light - and all Christmas themed (for a different reason):

Book 69: Christmas at Great Madden by Catherine Bowness - written by the mother of a mumsnetter, is a gentle, sweet and old-fashioned read. I really enjoyed it.
Book 70: A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer - murder mystery where I did guess who dunnit pretty early on. Not bad.
Book 71: Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop: Sequins and Snowflakes by Jane Linfoot - bridezilla organising Chrstmas wedding in Cornwall. Everyone is gorgeous, good-hearted and talented, and despite all the perfect organisation going wrong, lovely people with the right skills are all on-site to step in at the last minute. Oh & it snows. Surprisingly not irritating , mostly because I probably need pap atm.

Ive also started Jostein Gaarden's Christmas Mystery, but have put it aside to read as an advent calendar, as I find the idea really enchanting.

Next book club read is McEwan's Children's Act cue groans from the usual suspects

My full list for the year so far, sadly not nearly enough great reads:

1. The last Letter from your Lover by JoJo Moyes
2. The Man in the High Castle by Phlip K Dick

3. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng 4.What I talk about when I talk about Running by Haruki Murakami

1. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
2. Wolf of the Plains by Conn Iggulden
3. The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
4. It’s Our turn to Eat by Michela Wong
5. Mrs Hemmingway by Naomi Wood

10. Red Love: the story of an East German Family by Leo Maxim 11. Just One Damned Thing after Another by Jodi Taylor 12. Outlining your Novel: Map your way to Success by K M Weiland 13. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 14. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor 15. A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War by David Boyd Haycock 16. Blame my Brain: the Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by Nicola Morgan 17. Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow 18. Roman Holiday & Christmas Present by Jodi Taylor (2 shorts) 19. Voices from Chernobyl: the Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster by Svetlana Alexievich 20. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Copeland 21. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson 22. Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster 23. A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor 24. Longbourn by Jo Baker 25. Man at the Helm by Nina Stibble 26. A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray 27. What Maisie Knew by Henry James 28. The People in the Photo by Helene Gestern 29. Either Side of Midnight by Tori de Clare 30. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman 31. The Very First Damned Thing & When a Child is Born by Jodi Taylor (2 shorts) 32. A Trail through Time by Jodi Taylor 33. Headhunters by Jo Nesbo 34. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami 35. The Rowan Tree by Robert W Fuller 36. The Long Utopia by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter 37-42. Harry Potter Books 1-6 on audible 43.The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin 44.William Shakespeare’s Phantom of Menace by Ian Doescher 45.The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management by Isa-Lee Wolf 46.Hystopia by David Means 47.Sane New World: Taming the Mind by Ruby Wax 48.His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet 49.The Many by Wyl Menmuir 50.Never the Bride by Paul Magrs 51.Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh 52.Work like Any Other by Virginia Reeves 53.Hot Milk by Deborah Levy 54.Do Not Say we Have Nothing by Madeleine Thein 55.No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor 56.What could possible go Wrong by Jodi Taylor 57.Lies, Damned Lies & History by Jodi Taylor 58.My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout 59.The Schooldays of Jesus by J M Coetzee 60.The Four Book by Yan Lianke 61.Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor 62.Hot Money by Dick Francis 63.To the Hilt by Dick Francis 64.Hot Money by Dick Francis 65.Murder in Absentia by Assaph Mehr 66.Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz 67.The Trespasser by Tana French 68.On a Snowy Night by Debbie Macomber 69.Christmas at Great Madden by Catherine Bowness 70.A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer Christmas at the Little Wedding Shop: Sequins and Snowflakes by Jane Linfoot

I've emboldened those I gave 4/5 stars to on Goodreads. There have been no 5/5 star reads for me this year, which probably explains part of my reading ennui. I've been happy to read light, amusing stuff as 'sorbet', fillers in between the big stuff. But the potential big stuff has been a huge let down this year and so all I've been left with is too much lightweight

I've had a similar feeling about this year's reads, Joyless.

I'm on the go-slow with reading at the moment. Too much life-admin!
However, I've been enjoying reading all the interesting discussions on here in the last week or so, Great stuff.

I am hoping to finish The Hare with Amber Eyes in the next couple of days but I know it's going to be sad so I keep holding off.

I'm thinking I might go for some lighter reads now it's more Christmassy so maybe some Georgette Heyer, which I have never read before. Any recs for her books? I might treat myself on Kindle. One of the many books I have promised myself as a christmas present to me, from me!

Sorry Satsuki

I am hoping to give it another chance

Hello

I posted on the very first thread for this year and then didn't post again, but anyway, as the year is nearly over I thought I should compile a list of what i managed to read.I challenged myself to 25 books this year but have read 43. I'm now thinking about what I really want to read next year. My last read of this year will be Hag-seed by Margaret Atwood, as it was my choice for my reading group.

2016 reads

1. Rooftoppers – Katherine Rundell
   Children’s fiction – a baby girl is found floating in a cello case and rescued by a lovely eccentric man. They live together in Paris and have a lovely life, and then the girl begins wondering about her parents. Really enjoyed.

2. My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be Me?) –Caroline Taggart
   I thought I would find this fascinating as I love books about language and grammar, but this was quite dull and irritating.

3. A Strangeness In My Mind – Orhan Pamuk – It took me a long time to get into this but it was worth it in the end.

4. The Girl on the Landing – Paul Torday – A great, sinister page turner with a lame ending. The ‘twist’ or ‘reveal’ is usually disappointing in these sort of stories, I find.

5. The Various Haunts of Men – Susan Hill – The first Simon Serailler mystery. I can’t really remember much about this, other than I listened to it on Audible and I love Stephen Pacey as a reader.

6. The Pure in Heart – Susan Hill. Second Serailler mystery. Again I can’t remember the details, but it was an absorbing listen on Audible.

7. Percy Jackson’ Greek Heroes – Rick Riordan. My 10 year old laughed so much reading this I read it afterwards. Terrific retelling of the ancient myths.

8. Middlemarch – George Eliot. My ‘big classic’ of the year. Can’t say I loved it but glad I read it and I was wowed by what an achievement a work like this was.

9. The Risk of Darkness (Serrailler #3) – Susan Hill – Quite gloomy, not a lot of joy in this series! Still enjoyed listening.

10. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark – Loved this. Fantastically funny and I as I read I heard it all in the voice of my friend from Glasgow who would play the role of Miss Jean Brodie so well.

11. The Humans – Matt Haig. I wanted to like this but I found it silly and not very well written.

12. The Dragonfly Pool – Eva Ibbottson. I read this with my daughter. We both loved it.

13. Journey to the Centre of the Earth – Jules Verne. Felt dated but still a rollicking good adventure.

14. The Tent, The Bucket and Me – Emma Kennedy. Autobiographical stories of camping holidays. Really really funny.

15. The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey. Beautifully written, lovely fairytale-esque story. Could see this being made into a film.

16. A Woman in the Polar Night – Christiane Ritter. Terrific book. Christiane Ritter travelled from her home in Austria in the 1930s to stay with her husband, a trapper/hunter, in a tiny hut on the north coast of Svalbard. She lived there with him and another chap (a Swedish trapper/hunter) for a year, spending much of the Arctic winter alone when the men were off hunting. Riveting stuff.

17. The Scavenger’s Tale – Rachel Anderson. A children/YA dystopian fiction. Reminded me a bit of Never Let Me Go but it really wasn’t ever so good.

18. Americanah – Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie – I didn’t want this book to end.

19. Number 11 – Jonathan Coe. A very very ridiculous book. Made a good book group discussion though.

20. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy - Rachel Joyce. Follow up to the Harold Fry book. Very sweet story.

21. The Vows of Silence (Serailler #4) – Susan Hill – More grim goings on. Bit tedious this one.

22. The Vegetarian – Han Kang. Wow, what a juicy little book. Loved it. Loved reading something about a culture of which I know little.

23. The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories – Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Great writing. Really got inside me and left me feeling most odd.

24. The Shock of the Fall – Nathan Filer. Another one I wanted to like and found quite disappointing.

25. Framed – Frank Cottrell Boyce. This man is a genius. I love his books. He writes so well for children because he does not patronise and there are always loads of lovely nuggets of random information to learn. Very funny, lovely characters, quite touching – typical of his other books.

26. Any Human Heart – William Boyd. Oh man, what a book. What a book. Loved every minute and every word. Thought Logan Gonzago Mountstuart was an oaf, but still loved him.

27. Poppyland – Raffaella Barker. Load of rubbish. I read another by her a few years ago that I really enjoyed but this had me yawning.

28. Death on the Nile – Agatha Christie. Enjoyed this. Ripping good yarn.

29. The End of the Affair – Graham Greene. Listened on Audible. Colin Firth reading. Exquisite.

30. Time and Time Again – Ben Elton. Hated this. It’s a time travel story exploring what would have happened if WW1 hadn’t happened. Nice idea but poorly executed.

31. The Girl With All the Gifts – MR Carey – Zombie apocalypse story. Not bad.

32. Raising Stress-Proof Kids – Shelley Davidstow – Really good parenting book. Useful stuff to be found.

33. Hearts and Minds – Amanda Craig. Loved this a lot. Loved the mixture of different characters (immigrants in London) and seeing their stories from different perspectives and how they wove together. A bit contrived perhaps but it didn’t get in the way of my seeing the world she creates come to life.

34. My Brilliant Friend – Elena Ferrante. Couldn’t stand this. Found it as dull as ditch water.

35. A Far Cry From Kensington – Muriel Spark. Another great little book with intriguing quirky characters.

36. The Husband’s Secret – Liane Moriarty. Really contrived but a complete page-turner that I devoured.

37. The Periodic Table – Primo Levi. An anthology of stories – some autobiographical and a couple fictional each linked to an element in the periodic table. Felt I should have appreciated this more than I should have, but at times I just could not engage at all.

38. Just William’s Greatest Hits – Richmal Crompton. Read by Martin Jarvis on Audible. Hilariously funny.

39. A Child al Confino – Enrico Lamet – a book I’d had on my Kindle for yonks. Interesting and easy read about a young Jewish boy growing up ‘al confino’ in Italy during the war. Not the best written book ever but fascinating.

40. Beloved – Toni Morrison. I tried several times to read this and couldn’t so I had to make a big effort to break the back of it this time and I’m glad I did. Incredible book.

41. Lollipop Shoes – Joanne Harris. Couldn’t even finish this. Mega-disappointing.

42. Different Class – Joanne Harris. Another Audible book read by Stephen Pacey as Latin Master Roy Straitley and Ewan Goddard as Young Harrington. This is a sequel to Gentlemen and Players. Loved both books. Totally absorbing and gripping.

43. 1984 – George Orwell. Re-read. Last read 20+ years ago at school but amazingly it was still vivid in my head. Excellent.