50 Book Challenge 2017 Part One

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2017, 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.

Who's in for this year?

I liked Behind the Scenes and the first couple of Brodies. Then I read Human Croquet which I thought was ridiculous. Thought the Brodies increasingly relied on fairly incredible coincidences, so stopped reading them. Hated Started Early.

Funnily I was just saying to my dh that the coincidences were increasingly daft. I enjoyed them though.

Popped into Waterstones earlier but 4 year old was not conducive to book purchasing.

I have a Little Life and the Watchmaker of Filgree street in my amazon wish list. I obviously have a real type as I picked them both up today not realising that they are both already in my wish list. Any thoughts on those?

I am also a huge Ian Rankin fan so am waiting for the latest book to get a bit cheaper before I get it.

Can I ask you all please nicely not to discuss the ending of A God In Ruins? I'm reading it at the moment and know quite a few here have it on their TBR pile.

Eeeeek I have to put aside Swing Time because I just booked my first ever audio book directing gig and have to read and unpublished book before Monday as well as do all the prep work on it

Sorry, slightly off topic but it's so exciting!!

Most of the discussion on here tends to avoid obvious spoilers keith as people are often at different stages on the same books. If people want to discuss more in depth they usually start a separate spoiler thread so you should be ok

That is exciting, kiki (good name choice..) The only thing keeping me from my book is going to be kids bath time good luck with it.

Exciting, Kiki! Do keep us updated on it.

Good luck, Kiki.

Yes don't worry Keith, people won't post spoilers here generally and often if folk want to discus a book in depth, they'll start a thread with a spoiler warning.

I have read A Little Life during 2016 and it was one of my favourite books of the year. By fuck it's a gruelling read, but such a very good book as well. Highly recommended.

That's pretty cool kiki

I found the third Brodie hard work for the same reason Satsuki

Nobody has or will post spoilers Keith don't worry

Have finished number one - The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes. Not nearly as deep and meaningful as some of the ones on here but I reasonably enjoyed it. Am usually a big Keyes fan, but didn't feel this was anywhere near her best writing.

I have an audiobook downloaded, one in my kindle and a real one next! Rather enjoying actual books rather than than screen.

Remus I read that Stalin book a few years ago. Much to my surprise I found it gripping and finished it really quickly.

I loved the two Kate Atkinson books Life after life and God in ruins.

2017:

1. This must be the place by Maggie O Farrell - not as good as I expected but still enjoyable
2. Balancing act by Joanna Trollope - picked up in charity shop for a quid (currently reading this)

Favourite reads from 2016 include A Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks and East of Eden by Steinbeck.

East of Eden is an absolute classic EmGee. I love the intelligence and clarity of Steinbeck's writing. It really stands the test of time.

Nice to see some Steinbeck fans. Has anyone read Travels with Charlie? I thought it was excellent.

Emgee - I'm finding it hard to keep up with so many names, especially as the writer doesn't always use the same name/combination of names for the person, so I'm constantly flicking back to work out who the bloody hell he's talking about. Also finding all the infighting and walking on eggshells etc relentlessly depressing. I'm only really interested in the second World War period too, to be honest, and it's barely scratched the surface of that yet, despite me being about a zillion pages in now.

Just bought Golden Hill. Hoping it's all as good as the sample opening was!

1. Little beach street bakery by Jenny Colgan is what I am reading now.

Back to commuting on the train today so managed to finish book number 2 this year, so I have read:

1.A Question of Love by Isabel Wolff
*2. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
*
Number 2 was a book club read, not the kind of book I would usually go for but I really enjoyed it. Think I'm going to go for The Taxidermist's Daughter by Kate Mosse next

I have read over the last couple of days The subtle knife by Philip Pullman, Silent nights one of the British Library Crime Classics, this one was short stories edited by Martin Edwards, Cotillion which is a Georgette Heyer I'd never been that fussed on but after this re read I've realised how good it is and it might now be one of my favorites.

Finally I've read The methods of Sergeant Cluff another British Library Crime classics by Gil North. Its only a thin book but definitely not one of my favorites. The dialogue is incomprehensible in places and Cluff doesn't seem to do any detecting, he just ambles around, falls asleep and then ends up accidently in the right place at the right time.

This may sound like I do nothing but read... I am a speed reader, but I've also badly hurt my shoulder and I've been trying to keep my mind off the pain by concentrating on books. Its sort of helping...

I'm now onto Aspects of the novel by E M Forster which should slow me down. It's not something I'd normally read, but it has a really pretty cover.... and its turning out to be surprisingly readable for someone who doesn't normally enjoy non fiction. Plus I'm feeling decidedly low brow in here in my reading choices, this is slighly more high brow right?

How do you guys choose your reads?
I have a massive collection of Stephen King to get through and a few series I'm continuing this year. Last year I re-read Harry Potter and loads of Stephen King.

I want to spread it out a bit this year and read standalone novels in between series' but i need a list I reckon!

Things I like the sound of on here, things I've picked up in the library or charity shop and liked the look of things I've read about in the paper, things that are cheap on the Kindle. I try and intersperse these with Classics I've not read or rereads.

I have coveted Sebag Montefiore's The Romanovs since it came out, the cover is beautiful but it's still £25 (I want a hard copy to add to my Russia shelf). I also saw him speak about it and he is very charismatic and I like his documentaries - loved the recent Vienna.

Almost finished The Universe vs Alex Woods but just needed to get that off my chest :-)

I made a list of 50 books I already have but mostly haven't read (have bad book shopping habit) and am trying to confine myself to not buying this year and only choosing from the list. I can be a bit flighty and abandon a book if I'm not enjoying it, but so far (Day 4) I haven't done this. Go me.

Cantstand I tend to keep a list from suggestions here, scour kindle daily deals and charity shops and take recommendations for a bookaholic friend who has a similar taste to me.

Halfway through D is for Deadbeat and enjoying it thus far. Today i found a £10 book voucher and £15 amazon one id forgotten about so shall no doubt be buying more books this week (without feeling guilty) this week which made me stupidly excited.

I wasn't so keen on Behind the Scenes and Life After Life, but I loved Case Histories and A God in Ruins is my favourite novel of 2015. I think we're going to be waiting a long time for her next book as she's busy writing for an American TV show.

I get inspiration for books on here, in the Bookseller magazine, in the weekend newspapers, from friends, and from Twitter.

The books on my ever expanding to be read list include books picked up in the library, books that caught my eye in shops, books from kindle daily / monthly deals, books suggested here, books I've been given, books that have been adapted into tv programmes / films I've watched, books I've read about in newspapers / magazines. At least a few re-reads usually find their way in too over the course of a year.

Sorry, I'm a bit late, can I join? I didn't join last year but was on the year before. I fondly remember how much cote enjoyed 'John Dies At The End'

In all seriousness though I discovered loads of great books which I wouldn't have considered normally. Anywhoo

Book 1 - The Girl On The Train. My DM leant me this. How the hell is it so popular? The writing's dire, all the characters are unlikable or totally bland and the twist is utterly predictable. An early candidate for worst book Ive read in 2017. And made me question whether my mother knows me at all

Book 2 - 12 Mad Men. This was interesting. It's set in a mental hospital (well, lunatic asylum is how it's referred to). It's told from the perspective of a newly employed night guard who visits each of the 12 inmates who tell how they ended up in there. Each tale is written by a different author, so is effectively a short story collection linked by the night guards narrative. The stories themselves are good, the narrative bits let it down a little, but it was a cheapo 99p horror job from Amazon so expectations weren't high - but I actually really enjoyed it. A good find, and I will look up some of the authors I think.

Currently reading Trainspotting (again!), The Fireman by Joe Hill (which is turning out to be the most boring end-of-the-world ever) and a factual book about the French Revolution.