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.

Hey lovely book peeps! Although I don't post as much as I'd like I still read every word and have enjoyed the thread so much this year. I have got so much out it in terms of recommendations and have loved the book reviews/discussions plus the friendly disagreements between Remus and Cote

These are my final books of the year - not quite finished the last but will have done by this evening.

110. Claxton: Field Notes from a Small Planet - Mark Cocker
It's nature writing, and it's good nature writing. A thumbs up from me.

111. 2 a.m at the Cat's Pajamas - Marie-Helene Bertino
Set over 24 hours around Christmas Eve in Philadelphia the novel centres on 9 year old Madeline, who longs to be a jazz singer after the death of her mother. Will she get her chance? A pleasant, light read but nothing special.

112. The Old Ways - Robert Macfarlane
Behold the King of nature writing. The best of the lot - academic but accessible. In this one he literally and metaphorically follows and explores the concept of paths and path making. Total quality but every time I read a book like this I think these men must have a long suffering partner at home to allow them to crack on with their 'nature-ing'...

113. The Country of the Pointed Firs - Sarah Orne Jewett
Coastal Maine in the summer of 1896 is described in much detail by the author during a sojourn there. Nothing much happens but it's an interesting description of an isolated coastal community.

114. The People in the Photo - Helene Gestern
An epistolary novel that starts with a simple photograph and ends with the uncovering of hidden secrets. I enjoyed this actually, although it's not always entirely plausible.

115. The Cellist of Sarajevo - Stephen Galloway
A short novel that explores in raw detail what it was like to live in Sarajevo under siege conditions - where every bridge crossing means facing a potential sniper and possible death. Gripping and sad.

116. Foe - J. M. Coetzee
A retelling of Robinson Crusoe but more a study of what makes a story and storytelling itself. Good, though strange.

Here's to more reading in 2017.

Oh, and of my 116 books, 55 were by women. On the balance, I have preferred female authors this year, but it's close.

vanderly I love Middlemarch, bear with it for the first 100 pages!

Last completed book of 2016:

188. The Haunted Man by Charles Dickens

Another of his Christmas books but again this one had barely anything to do with Christmas. I really struggled - just couldn't get into it and found it hard to understand. Even after finishing it I'm still not really sure what was going on!

I have also realised that I haven't been counting my audiobooks so to add those:

189. Down Under by Bill Bryson
190. The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson
191. My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
192. Is It Just Me? by Miranda Hart
193. The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Currently reading Word Play by Gyles Brandreth and have Case Histories on the go on Audible so those will be my first two for 2017!

I've never thought to check the ratio of male to female authors. Having just worked it out, it's 71% male, 26% female and 3% various or anon, although since the two anonymous ones were Beowulf and Orkneyinga Saga it's a fair bet that they were male writers as well, given the time of writing.

My most-read authors this year were Jim Butcher (16 books; re-read of The Dresden Files series) and George RR Martin (7 books; first read of A Song of Ice and Fire series). I've managed to increase the amount of non-fiction I have read this year as well, mainly with prehistoric/archaeology (a couple of Barry Cunliffe books, one Francis Pryor, and Mike Parker Pearson on his excavations around Stonehenge), ancient history (Tom Holland, Mary Beard, Vanessa Collingridge and Nicki Howarth), and a bit of the Dark Ages (Francis Pryor's Britain AD counts I think, along with Max Adams and Guy Halsall).

I've just done some analysis of my reading this year.

Of 193 books, 60 were written by a man (31%) and 133 by a woman (69%).

156 (81%) were fiction and 37 (19%) were non-fiction. I thought I had read more non-fiction than that.

Interestingly, of the fiction books 121 (78%) were by a woman and 35 (22%) by a man. Of the non-fiction books, 12 (32%) were by a woman and 25 (68%) were by a man.

So it appears that for fiction I prefer female writers and for non-fiction I prefer male!

Re format, 3% were audio, 25% kindle, 26% library (physical) and 46% physical. I didn't realise I had read so much from the library but surprised I read more physical compared to kindle books - I would have guessed the other way around!

Next year I will try to read more non-fiction and more male authors - I have most of Dickens books to my to-read pile so that will help with the latter!

final audiobook of the year - Truly, Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty - I've read a few of her books and generally like the way she gets how people tick but I didn't think this was one of her best at all, not the best storyline and far too dragged out, especially on the audiobook, it was 17 hours long, not quite sure how I managed to finish. I'm surprised this won an award on Goodreads - best fiction of 2017 - I really thought it was very formulaic and may start to give her books a miss.

As I stopped recording earlier in the year no idea of my total but I would think its around the 45-50 mark.

Happy New Year and see you all on the new thread.

Next year as always I will try and clear my backlog and also try and concentrate on the book I'm actually reading rather than trying to rush through and get on to the next one!

Book 8 - A second chance by Jodi Taylor. The third in the St Mary's Chronicles. A fun read. The large cast makes this a bit confusing as I hadn't read the second one recently. There needs to be a St Mary's wiki. This time we start in Troy. Hoping to beat eight books next year. Happy new year fellow bookworms.

92. Alan Bennett - Keeping On Keeping On - loved it 93 - 95 Jenny Colgan - Little Beack Bakery books. Unabashed Chick lit 96 Jenny Colgan - Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris - more if the same
93. Rosamund Pilcher -Winter Solstice
94. Rebecca Tope - Death In The Cotswolds

Didn't quite make 100 this year but there were some very long books in there this year. The end of year Chick-lit splurge somewhat skewed my male-female balance too.

Anyway, thanks to you all for the recommendations and the good humoured company.

See you all in 2017.

Southeast - Remember to start our 2017 thread please! Happy news year everyone

Happy New Year everyone!

The new thread is up now 📚

Cote yes please to a message about the running book!

Late to finishing off my 2016's reads:

75. Crosstalk Connie Willis. In a world where communication is all encompassing, what happens when it becomes too much? Briddey the central character is a tad irritating and her boyfriend being too good to be true is all way too telegraphed. The other characters are better written and the story moves along at a cracking pace. But still a good read, if not one of her best.

76. The Christmas Mystery Jostein Gaarder. A story about an advent calendar which you read - daily - chapter by chapter, during advent. It was a sweet children's tale, until the end when they tried to explain it. Another ending letting me down ...

77. The Hanging Tree Ben Aaronovitch. Latest in the PC Peter Grant series. Better than the last one, certainly better edited. But I felt it was being written with an eye too much to the next book. Some things could've been tied up in this one.

My year tailed off reading-wise, both for seasonal reasons and family sadness (my father died after a long-term illness). But I've loved the company, the chat, the recommendations and the scathing reviews (the latter probably the most). So, I'll be hopping over to the new thread for 2017 and joining you all there very soon.

Happy New Year

Finishing off my 2016:

73. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - a couple of people have already reviewed this, I think. It's set in 1920s Alaska and is about a childless couple, Jack and Mabel, who build a snow girl, which then seems to come to life. It's a reworking of the various fairy tales of the same sort and I really enjoyed it. The writing was beautiful and the perfect winter read.

Now going over to the new thread!

Sorry to hear about your father Joyless, tough time for you and your family

Final 2016 update

56. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman; Excellent read. On balance probably prefer American Gods but they are really both vg books

57. Doctor January by Rhoda Baxter; Chick lit, filled a dozy Christmas gap, enjoyed it.

Top FIVE
The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
The Skeleton Cupboard by Tanya Byron
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Death's End by Cixin Liu

Not much point doing a full update since everyone's pissed off to the new thread

I did a quick calculation and about 40% female and 60% were male writers.

About 25% was non-fiction.

See you all on the other thread!

I still came back to read your updates I will have to give The Summer Book another go wilting since it's made your top 5 as I like your reviews. Hoping to begin the Cixin Liu Trilogy soon.

Sorry for your loss, joyless, I thought you'd been quiet

My top reads were:
The Moonstone
War and Peace
HHhH
The Railway Man
True Grit
The Revenant
All Quiet on the Western Front

Er... all by men. But there were several other good ones too, hope to have as much luck this year

I'm still checking this thread to see any updates

Maybe 2017 will be the year I read War and Peace. I seem to remember saying the same thing about 2016

Yes do! I keep forgetting I've actually read it now.

It's a lovely book satsuki, but a real observational piece. No narrative drive really. I can see why it might not be everyone's cup of tea

I really should give allquiet on the western front a go too.

Thanks Satsuki & wilting

I feel I'm well overdue a re-read of War & Peace as I read (and enjoyed) it when a teenager, but would almost certainly get more from it now. I shall ponder ...

I do really like those kinds of books wilting - though realise they don't feature in my top reads - but think I have to be in the right mood and give them enough time.

all quiet very good but knocked me out a bit emotionally. Overwhelming.

Yes joyless in the same vein, my dh bought me Casablanca for Christmas, an old favourite but I felt much more emotionally engaged with it this time with more knowledge of the period and being slightly older. There are many books to revisit, but also so many damn new ones

All Quiet is superb. One of the best novels I've read in the past twenty years.

Agreed, it took me so long to get round to it but made me not want to go near WW1 again for a good while. Devastating. It's put Goodbye to All That further down the list for this reason unfortunately.

I haven't read Goodbye to all That. Should I?

Sorry I meant further down the list to be read - I've owned a copy since I was 14 and carted it through several moves but have never read it