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.

I got it from the library, Cote. I'd have been furious if I'd paid a tenner for it.

I've read the Passage and The 12 as well, a friend told me City Of Mirrors was awful so I haven't yet bothered.

I missed the deal on the Three Body Problem

Song - Your friend is very wise. I honestly don't think he knew what he was doing or why.

Wow, I don't remember that in Call the Midwife, Best. I'm surprised I didn't notice it (both sets of grandparents very involved in left wing internationalist politics!)

I didn't either the first time Sadik.

Just noticed Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore on Kindle for £1.99 - a couple of people have read this haven't they? what was the consensus?

Lamentation (Shardlake #6) is 1.29 on the Kindle, just for today.

Catching up again. This year the thread has inspired me to read more books,next year I hope to join in with the discussion a bit more.

32. The Outrun-Amy Liptrot An honest real-life account of the author's alcoholism and how retreating from a hectic life in London back to Orkney helped her get into the right frame of mind to tackle rehab and to get herself well. The descriptions of life in Orkney were really beautiful.

33. Orphans of the Carnival-Carol Birch An unusual book inspired by the life of Julie Pastrana who appeared in stage shows across America and Europe in the 19th Century as 'incredible ape woman'. I found the book intriguing as it described an era I knew little about but reading with modern day sensitivities parts of it were quite upsetting. I liked Birch's style and will look out for her other novels.

34. Queen Lucia-E.F.Benson i loved the BBC adaptation last year and have been meaning to read the novels ever since. This is the first book, I loved the characterisation of Lucia and the intricacies of her social plotting. It is a fun gentle read.

35. At the Edge of the Orchard - Tracy Chevalier. Another book which could be tough to read in parts. It described life for settlers in America's Black Swamp focusing on a particularly dysfunctional family. Lots of detail about apple cultivation!

36. Miss Mapp-E.F.Benson The second novel in the series introducing Miss Mapp and the town of Tilling. Again an entertaining gentle read.

116. Not in your genes, Oliver James
Much derided on here, but okay if you read it as polemic rather than science. I kind of see why he wants to make a political point about mental ill-health being acquired through early nurture rather than a genetic inheritance - the former position gives you more leverage to seek investment in support for parenting. I'm still uneasy about political motivations distorting the science though.

117, The Liar's Chair, by Rebecca Whitney
Psychological thriller, aimed at The Girl on the Train/Before I Go to Sleep market. I strongly disliked this - she portrays a controlling marriage, but the whole thing rings emotionally false. (And she should look up time-tables for buses in small town Ireland before she has a character routinely travelling around that way). Not good.

118. Field Service, by Robert Edric
Much better than 117. Set in 1920 during the recovery of bodies after WWI and the creation of the war cemeteries. How to go on after all that has happened? Its mood reminded me of A Month in the Country, although here any prospect of healing remains a distant prospect, and the much more cynical A Ghastly Business, which has a considerably more jaundiced take on frontline nurses. A quiet book, with atmosphere mattering more than plot.

I did post on the first thread but fell away and only checked back for what other people were reading. Here is my updated list and following the example of others the ones I really enjoyed are in bold and ones I didn't like are in italics.

1. Retribution – Jillaine Hoffman
2. Strictly Between Us – Jane Fallon
3. Blue Monday – Nicci French
4. Room – Emma Donoghue
Enjoyed the film of this too.
5. The Silent Sister – Diane Chamberlain
6. Disclaimer – Renee Knight
7. Tressa: The 12 year old Mum – Tressa Middleton
8. The Widow – Fiona Barton
9. Unsticky – Sara Manning
10. The Teacher – Katerina Diamond
11. Viral – Helen Fitzgerald
12. Nineteen Minutes – Jodi Picoult
This was a re-read as this is a favourite book of mine.
13. Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins
14. The Love Shack – Jane Costello
15. The Killing Lessons – Saul Black
16. Saint Anything – Sarah Dessen
17. Behind Closed Doors – Elizabeth Haynes
18. The Missing - C L Taylor
19. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes
Didn't particularly enjoy but it is better than the film.
20. The Girl with No Name – Diney Costeloe
21. See How They Run – Tom Bale
22. Me Me Me – Charlotte Crosby
23. Snatched – Stephen Edgar
24. Close My Eyes – Sophie MacKenzie
25. Harry Potter and the Philosopher Stone – J K Rowling
Re-read and brilliant as always along with the rest of the Harry Potter books below.
26. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – J K Rowling
27. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J K Rowling
28. The Ex – Alafair Burke
29. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
30. The Sister – Louise Jensen
31. Deal Breaker – Harlan Coben
32. Paper Princess – Erin Watt
33. Broken Prince – Erin Watt
34. Try Not to Breathe – Holly Seddon
35. Three Wishes – Liane Moriarty
36. The Boy Most Likely To – Huntley Fitzpatrick
37. Pretending to Dance – Diane Chamberlain
38. Freedom: My Book of Firsts – Jaycee Dugard
39. The Stepmother – Claire Seeber
40. The Woman who Stole my Life – Marion Keyes
41. The Singles Game – Lauren Weisberger
42. Behind Closed Doors – B A Paris
43. The Turning Point – Freya North
44. When I Was Invisible – Dorothy Koomson
45. What Goes Around – Julie Corbin
46. Luckiest Girl Alive – Jessica Knoll
47. The Parent Pact – Laurie Kellogg
48. The Other Child – Lucy Atkins
49. The Wrong Girl – Laura Wilson
50. Twisted Palace – Erin Watt
51. The Secret – Katerina Diamond
52. In Bitter Chill – Sarah Ward
53. We Were on a Break – Lindsey Kelk
I normally like Lindsey Kelk but this one dragged for what was supposed to be "light reading"
54. The Couple Next Door – Shari Lapena
Currently reading and so far I am enjoying this one!

Satsuki
Stay well away from Stalin. I'm still trying to finish the damn thing and am still absolutely hating it. I'll finish it if it kills me - but I urge everybody else to stay well away from it.

51. Hotel du Lac – Anita Brookner. 1984 Booker-winning novel about a spinster who takes a break in a Swiss hotel to reflect on her life. Started well but I became increasingly bored. I did like the end, though.

52. Daddy Long-Legs – Jean Webster. Much reviewed on here, this book is set in the early part of 20th century America and consists of letters from a teenage orphan girl to her mysterious benefactor. I found this wearingly twee and corny by the middle section and struggled to finish it.

53. Inside Vogue: A Diary of my 100th Year – Alexandra Shulman. Nicely written diary, written over a year, from the U.K Vogue editor, not as gossipy as I’d have liked but still a compulsive read I was always keen to get back to. Recommended only if you’ve a huge interest in fashion.

Currently reading The Last Act of Love by Cathy Retzenbrink, and Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym.

Remus - On the subject of killer books, does The Fifth Heart pick up at some point? Does it get any better? I'm totally puzzled that this book even got published.

Oh no remus - you're still reading it! Enough said, I've returned it.

68. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet - The first I've read from the Booker shortlist this year. I know a few people have read this on here. The novel is made up of various documents detailing a triple murder case in a remote Scottish hamlet in 1869. We know who did it from the beginning so it's more a case of why and the way truth is hidden by perception. I quite enjoyed this.

Have now started Eileen. Hoping to try and make 75 books this year but that might be a bit ambitious, since December's looking pretty busy both at work and home.

I was tempted by Stalin too. Which is a weird sentence in itself. I will certainly keep away!

98. The Hare with Amber Eyes - Edmund de Waal
This was excellent. A very detailed and thoughtful examination of the history of his largely Jewish family and their relation to a collection of Japanese netsuke, now owned by the author, that had been passed down amongst the generatios. The Jewish persecution parts in Austria made hard reading, but this was a very well executed book indeed and I would recommend it.

99. The Woman Upstairs - Claire Messud
An American novel about an unassuming, sensible, un-married woman - part of a group of quiet and polite middle-aged women who might be your neighbour, or 'the woman upstairs'. Essentially it's about a woman on her way to invisibility who suddenly becomes 'awakened' by her contact with an intellectual and artistic family from overseas, whose son she teaches at elementary school. This was quite a good read, not brilliant, but thoughtful, perhaps a bit overstated and unsubtle, but I did not see the ending coming at all. Not bad.

So no Stalin for me, but perhaps I need some good winter reads. It's cold today and I fancy something wintery to get me in the mood for christmas.

Haven't tried Stalin but failed utterly with Montefiore's Jerusalem. UTTERLY. So treat Stalin with caution. A very sensible sentence there!

Is cote about? Wondering if Reamde by Neal Stephenson is worth £1.59???? am sure she will say yes, should just buy it

Is that Reamde price a 1 day only kindle special, wilting?

I thought Reamde was a big disappointment, and I sat that as a huge Neal Stephenson fan. It was basically a 24-style thriller. Stuff happens, some chase scene, then another city, some shooting etc.

Thankfully the author came back to excellent form with Seveneves. I don't think my heart would take it if he lost it à la William Gibson

I think so stitches, it's in my daily offer email.... hmm, does not sound promising tho does it? Reviews online v mixed too. I don't mind a thriller a la Day of the Jackel type, but good ones v hard to come by imo.

It's not a bad book but not unique & outstanding like most other NS books.

Ah feck it. A solid thriller from Steaphenson is probably worth reading. Even if it is not up to Seveneves. Would be hard to beat that book.

You'll probably enjoy it now that you don't expect much from it. You are welcome

A not bad Neal Stephenson thriller sounds like a better spend of £1.59 than most of the kindle daily deals.

Will see if DH can figure out how to get it without having my kindle to hand. Don't think i can do it from my phone.

The kindle is stuck in hospital with me following the arrival of baby Stitches, who gave us all a jolly good scare during his delivery, but who is now safely sunbathing in the post natal ward under some phototherapy lamps.