50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second 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, it's not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The previous thread is here.

How're you getting on so far?

Pink wafers - king of biscuits.

Bestis

That is one of the best books in the WHOLE world!

They also have a website:
nicecupofteaandasitdown.com.

The biscuit reviews are outstanding!

I don't think I'd call A Town Like Alice timeless. I did generally enjoy it, but there was some racist bits in it - "of its time" , but i did find it very jarring and it does make the book feel dated.

It's a million times better than On The Beach though.

Yes Remus, definitely get the free sample of Measuring The World. You can thank me later

HappyFlappy I used to be a regular visitor to that site and once won a year's supply of tea bags - it turned out to be a box of 360 PG Tips.

Swann's Wafer

Also the thing that baffled me about Alice was that the narrator was this elderly solicitor chap, who seemed to know all these intimate details about the woman's life that no one would tell their solicitor, however chummy, so that was a bit confusing. But, I did quite like it all the same

Is there some sort of pink wafer controversy I haven't heard about?

Another true biscuit book is Margaret Forster's Rich Desserts and Captain's Thin: A Family and Their Times 1831–1931 about the biscuit making family Carr's in Carlisle. Sounds dry (pardon the sort of pun!) but I really enjoyed it. Always enjoy Margaret Forster though

Oh no is Little dribbling really that bad? It's one of the books for my book club later in the year. I might just be busy that meeting date and not bother.

I have very much enjoyed the mini-rant on On The Beach. The only thing that would make it better is if there was a whole load of pointless shagging in it (from Cote's description of the characters, I'm putting my money on there being plenty!)

I am slightly tempted to read it now, just for entertainment value.

Was given Little Dribbling for Christmas. Also got 5 Marian Keyes books that a friend (dumped on me) kindly gave me a few years ago that are sitting unread on my bookshelf, along with a heap of other books I haven't read ever/for years. Loving this thread and am more inspired to read than I have been for a long time, but I am losing interest in my TBR pile. Trying to hold my resolve and resist buying the books that are getting recommended on here until I've cleared some at least, but it's tough. I swear His Bloody Project winked at me when I was doing my food shop yesterday!

If I recall correctly, there's no pointless shagging in On The Beach .
It was written in the 1950's, after all.

Re: likeability of characters. I get what you're all saying about characters not needing to be likeable, but my very favourite books always have at least one very likeable character, one that I can root for and be hopeful for. And cry for! I'm thinking Elizabeth Bennet, Jane Eyre, Amir in the Kite Runner, Ree in Winter's Bone, Billy and Taggie and Caitlin in Jilly Cooper, and many many others (this is obviously a rather random selection!).

But then I'm an old softy .

Finished number four!

1. The Phantom: A Harry Hole Thriller it took me about two years to read this for some reason. So basically my plot summary is some bad stuff happens because of a drug called violin. There are corrupt officials and police along with some gangsters from Russia. Then there is a mummy rat who knows a lot about gun residue.

It was probably a good book but two years is a long time for a plot to go stale.

I am binning Little Dribbling from my Kindle. Duuuuuuull and it just looks at me spitefully every time I have to pick a new book.

I really enjoyed Little Dribbling and I've also enjoyed everything else Bryson has done!

Anyway, have just finished 8. The Company of the Dead by David J Kowalski

I was really looking forward to this, as it features the Titanic and time travel, two things I love to read about! It started well - a man who has found a time machine (as you do!) has gone back to the Titanic to try and prevent the sinking. What he does changes the course of history. Fast forward to 2012 and it is now a world where there has been another American Civil War and the southern states have become the Confederacy, and everywhere is basically ruled by either the Germans or the Japanese. So far so good, but from them it was just 500 pages of fighting and politics which I found really dull and confusing. I lost track of who was on whose side so by the time it got to the end where they explained the time machine and went back to the Titanic to try and put everything right I was completely baffled and still don't understand it. Shame, as it was a really interesting premise. However if you like alternative reality/war/politics you might like this more than I did!

Still listening to the second Jackson Brodie on audible and have just started no. 7 in the St Mary's series (time travel I do enjoy!)

Finished no 4. The Winter Crown by Elizabeth Chadwick. Again not a challenging read but an enjoyable and informative one. Although I am aware as with all historical fiction there is definitely room for interpretation on the events, I am finding them quite informative. I am very familiar with the Tudor Period and that of the War of the Roses but this is taking things further back in time for me. It is interesting to see the death of Thomas Becket put in context and to see the relationships between Eleanor's sons Richard and John developing. Have just downloaded the third and final and excited to start.

Cote, I love your reviews and comments. Maybe I'm just bloody minded, but now I feel like I have to read On the beach!

For a different treatment, seek out The Fourth Mode by Paddy Figgis - the premise is similar, but it's set in an English village and the inhabitants have hours not months to prepare. Essentially it asks the question what would people decide to do if all decisions were irrelevant?

The point being I suppose that our decisions are irrelevant on certain scales ("in the long term we're all dead" and all that). I'm not sure there wouldn't be people still doing the same old things in those circumstances, stuck in the same old patterns. In fact doesn't Raymond Briggs suggest something similar in When the Wind Blows? It's been thirty years but I'm sure either the husband or wife has a line like "I wonder if [catastrophic nuclear fallout] will affect next year's cabbages?"

Just finished number 2 The Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. This is not the sort of thing that I usually read but I loved it. Whilst almost unbearably grim in parts it had me hooked all the way through. Looking forward to reading the 2nd and 3rd books in trilogy but I think I need to give something a bit more uplifting a go first I think.

I have now started How to Be Both by Ali Smith and am listening to The Observations by Jane Harris for my book club. I tried reading it but couldn't get in to it so thought I would give the audio book a try.

1. Sidney Chambers and the Forgiveness of Sins by James Runcie This was OK. Sidney Chambers is a vicar in Grantchester who also has time to solve mysteries on the side. I like a good mystery story so this should have been right up my street. First, though, some of the mysteries weren't really mysteries or were so obvious that there was no tension in finding out what happened. Secondly, I thought there were some anachronistic attitudes - things I'm not convinced that many people thought in the early 1960s - particularly around domestic violence. Thirdly, some of the characters weren't that well drawn or were a bit of a cliche - here's the policeman, here's the pushy local reporter, etc, etc. This book was a gift and it turns out it's a long way through a series so maybe the earlier ones are better on the mysteries side of it.

4 The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan Another mystery story. Inspector Chopra retires from the Indian police force and inherits a baby elephant from his uncle. He decides to investigate a possible murder when the police won't do anything about it. Enjoyed this one, it was a good relatively easy read and kept me reading to get to the end.

Talking of dystopian futures The Last Policeman by Ben H Winters is a good imagining of what might happen if you know that the world is ending in 6 months time.

2. When Breath Become Air - Paul Kalanithi

Raced through this book in a day and finished it a weeping snotty mess. It is a beautifully written look at the author's journey dealing with terminal lung cancer. It is not a spoiler to reveal that Paul died before he could complete the book (this is revealed in the foreword), and it is concluded by his wife.

From his life as a resident neurosurgeon to the day his chemotherapy fails, Paul maintains an authenticity that is breathtaking. Similar to what was said upthread.....what decisions would you make if all decisions were irrelevant? How would you live your life.

The prose is magnificent. He talks of "the monolithic uncertainty of his future" and anthropomorphises his cancer as a crab that has its claws in him.

Read it. You will not regret it.
Unless you are in a vulnerable position at the moment. Leave it for another day, in that case.

So many interesting discussions. I was getting On The Beach mixed up with On Chessil Beach - another over-hyped, ridiculous book. I think Nevil Shute has garnered mass popularity by being one of the first Australian writers. I tried a couple of them many years ago but could never get into them.

I don't need characters to be likeable but I do like them to be believable and learn something. The narrator in Swing Time annoyed me becasue she didn't seem to develop or learn from her mistakes. I wanted to shake the narrator of The Goldfinch too but still enjoyed the book. I loved The Secret History at the time but was kind of living that world - university student studying classics, but hopefully was a bit nicer than her characters.

1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie. I think I'm right in saying this was the book that really made her famous. It's a classic Poirot novel of the 1920s, think you'd either love it or hate it.

Cold seems to be improving so am going back to "real" books now.

Poetic this is on my to buy list!

1. Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng. Someone lent me this book and I read it in just over a day. Found it extremely sad. Now that I have kids I find myself reacting to books about family relationships in a much more emotional way.

1. So a friend lent me this and I read it into the small hours as I couldn't put it down. Told in simple, straightforward almost conversational language, it is nonetheless a compelling story. I kept thinking 'it can't be true' but remembered Rotherham and the 'grooming' of disadvantaged, vulnerable white girls by Asian gangs....and thought 'I bet it is 120% true'. I could barely read some chapters detailing the abuse so a warning in advance.

Secret Slave by Anna Rushton.

Wow this thread is moving at some pace.

4. A Calculated Life – Anne Charnock. The setting for this book is Manchester in the 21st century where many individuals have been genetically engineered resulting in society where there are fewer addictions and incidents of crime. Through the main character Jayna, the concept of what it really means to be human and what is normal are explore. I liked this.

5. 1984 – George Orwell. I picked it up on an audible daily deal a few months back and was eager to reread it given recent political upheavals. I found it unsettling this time round and quite depressing. Not much difference between ‘newspeak’ and ‘post-truth’ really.

6. Angel – L.J. Ross. I read the first three books in this series towards the end of 2016 and have realised that I quite like police procedural books so when this popped up in a kindle deal I snapped it up. In this one, bodies of a few murdered women have been found in open graves in graveyards around Newcastle over the Easter weekend. All victims have red hair and are laid out to look like an angel. Nice and pacy with a cliffhanger that has been looking forward to the next in the series.

I am still working my way through Bryson's Made in America which is plodding along but not engaging me as much as I had expected and am about half way through Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay which is wonderful so far but a bit of a slow read.

Poetic - I bought this a few days ago. It's my next read after I've finished Mad Girl by Briony Gordon and Dadland by Keggie Carew. I have fallen off the no book buying thread well and truly. Honestly there's no point in my struggling to curb my addiction :) DH justifies it by saying that he often reads what I buy too, so that halves the cost of the book. I'm happy with that thinking :o

Dadland will appeal to anyone who has an interest in SOE operatives in WW 2. Keggie Carew's father was a member of the Jedburghs, operating firstly in France and subsequently in Burma. It is interesting but I'm finding the in depth accounts of action in Burma very hard to follow (audio book) though. At the time of writing, her father was 87 and suffering from dementia so she has pieced the book together from his own accounts recorded and written many years before, together with what accounts there are held by the Imperial War Museum etc.

Finally finished 5. Four Dreamers and Emily, by Stevie Davies. I mentioned this upthread - it's a quirky little read which sees the four titular characters attending a Bronte conference and Haworth and having life-changing experiences of one kind or another. It takes a mildly satirical look at the industry (tourists, literary pilgrims, academics) surrounding certain writers. I didn't adore it, but I rather liked it.

Dribbling just felt lazy on Bryson's part. I like narratives about travelling around Britain, and I don't need them to be full of puppyish enthusiasm - splendidly dyspeptic is fine by me. But he couldn't even be bothered with that. It felt like he wrote a bit, sighed, checked his word count, then went back and shoved in another couple of lines and sighed again.