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?

1. Ashes of London - Andrew Turner

Murder mystery set in Resoration London in the immediate aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666. Bears a similarity to Susanna Gregory's Chaloner novels. Really enjoyed this, very evocative of the time.

7. The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

This has some really good and interesting ideas, but although the start is promising, it is really rather slow going until the final third, and I found myself not really picking it up. With so much at stake (future of humanity) it should have been a compelling read, but it suffered from two dimensional, fairly indistinct characters, and quite stilted language and dialogue, which may be the result of translation. It's frustrating that the individuality, cultural diversity, and capacity for emotion that make humankind worth fighting for is under threat, yet none of those things are on display. I will go on to read the others as I want to see where it goes now and I enjoyed the way it all came together at the end; I hope it picks up on the same inspiring thread on which it ended.

As long as it is, The Three-Body Problem just sets the stage. It's 2 sequels are where the story really develops.

The series do have a different feel to them, though, and I perceived that as a reflection of the cultural differences between Western Europeans and the Chinese. Characters seem to have less personality but that is because the collective is more important/emphasized, in line with Chinese traditions & philosophy imho.

This becomes a bit clearer in later books, which feature Western (American) characters that feel & act very differently.

Still here and still reading The Miniaturist. Enjoying it very much.

Its 2 sequels, obviously. Damn you Auto Correct.

12 Poor Economics: Barefoot Hedge-fund Managers, DIY Doctors and the Surprising Truth about Life on less than $1 a Day by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
A re-read prompted by discussion a little while ago of Misbehaving by Richard Thaler. This is squarely aimed at the same market as the Thaler book, and Freakonomics et al, but I found it a much more interesting read, and it definitely stood up well the second time around.

The authors look at various areas of life - education, health, employment etc, and why very poor people make the decisions they do - which may sometimes from the pov of an outsider appear irrational. They draw a fair amount on the results of randomised control trials - the interesting thing about development economics is that it's one of the few areas of economics where rcts are used to any meaningful extent - and the results are often fascinating (and relevant in richer countries too).

Yes, I see what you're saying, cote, about cultural difference in relation to the portrayal of characters and will bear that in mind. It just didn't leave much to engage with amidst all the nihilism and dehydration in the middle

Stage setting makes sense, too, that's reassuring. I will definitely read the others, thanks

"May We Be Forgiven" by AM Holmes was BRILLIANT!

This is the first book I've read by this writer but definitely won't be the last. It is told in the first person - the narrator is a middle-aged, sad Jewish university professor, who has become so used to being unhappy that he doesn't even notice it any more. His brother's wife gives him a very unsisterly kiss one Thanksgiving, and unwittingly causes him to become obsessed with her. Then an accident triggers a horrific sequence of events that no-one could have foretold and his life changes out of all recognition.

I loved that it showed what a difference it could make to a family when a toxic member is removed from the scene (especially when you think of all of the threads on MN). Definitely recommended!

I was going to re-read Anna Karenina, but from the recommendations on this thread have instead bought a copy of "His Bloody Project" I think this is book 12, but will have to check my list.

Also - as audiobooks seem to count, my book 13 is "Stasiland" about life in East Germany before the wall came down. I hate out politicians, but suddenly became very appreciative of our political system. (Audiobooks get me through the drudge jobs in the house).

murine I have that book, sounds like a bit of a skim read job!

I loved the moonstone when I read it. Funnily I read loads of classics off my own bat in my teens, then stopped at around 30 and am only now getting back into them. Don't know why I stopped!

Finished no. 11, The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid.

Criminal profiler works with the police to catch a serial killer. Story was ok and I didn't guess who the killer was, but there are lots of really graphic descriptions of torture which I found really hard to read.

Back to Jane Eyre where I know I'm safe from torture scenes!

Wee - Is Ashes of London as good as The American Boy? I really like the later, but haven't enjoyed anything else of the writer's work. Ashes sounds like my sort of subject matter though.

I can absolutely testify that not working is great for the book count. I was back at work this week having been absent for two weeks holidays then two weeks signed off. The last week I have been hobbling through the same rubbish. I WILL finish it tonight though.

I've just had 3 days off as I've been poorly but not too poorly to prevent me reading. I've read 3 and a half books. It was almost bliss (apart from the feeling crap).

I did similar last year best and remember thinking I'd be loving this if I wasn't ill!

Satsuki

I wasn't ill weirdly but that meant I felt guilty. I will managed to assuage my guilt enough to read

Remus - haven't read anything else by him but really enjoyed this one. It's a period of history I'm interested in anyway. I've now put The American Boy on my TBR list.
Also now reading the first in the Deathstalker series, by Simon R Green. I've read a lot of other books by him, but this is more sci-fi than the others - in that it features spaceships and sentient AIs.
Unlikely to be a patch on the late lamented Iain M Banks though.

Hi all - can I join you? this thread has made me finally re-log in after about 3 yrs! Have been lurking though & completed the 50 book challenge last year. My favourite books last year were:

1. The Goldfinch don't think I have ever cared about a character as much as Theo. Recommend this book to everyone
2. HHhH unlike anything I'd read before, and probably wouldn't have picked it up if not for this challenge, so thank you
3. This must be the place superb story telling

So far this year I have read:

1. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier.Can't believe I haven't read any of her books before.Completley and utterly brilliant, beautiful writing that made me devour the book.
2. A Whole Life - Robert Seethaler. Short, but affecting. Each life, no matter how small is significant.
3. A monster calls - Patrick Ness. Read as on my DS's reading list, and wasn't sure how he would cope with it - left me an emotional mess, with proper sobbing. I like that in a story.
4. The Loney -Andrew Micheal Hurley. God, I hated this. Just not what I was expecting, none of the ideas came together, too religious. Maybe I missed something.
5. The Princess Diarist - Carrie Fisher. Sad reading

Thanks, Wee.

Plus - nice to see somebody else hated The Loney. Pile of twaddle, imho.

8. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Short, weird, story about a woman who, after a vivid dream, refuses to eat meat, for no reason that she can articulate, and the impact this has on her life and those around her. It is sad and disturbing in tone, with some things to say about what it is to be merely alive versus actually living, but I have to say it didn't have that big an impact on me and I didn't find it very interesting. I wanted to find out what it was all about (do you ever with these kinds of books?) so kept reading but was a bit bored and underwhelmed by it. It won the Man International Booker and is under 200 pages, but felt to me like it could have been more effective as a short story.

It has passed the time nicely whilst up with coughing child, though

10. Joyland by Stephen King

Under the Hard Case Crime banner this story centres around a college student who works for the summer in a fair ground. Quite good fun. Stephen King has the engaging ability to make characters come alive with his writing and even if some of his stories aren't perfect, they're usually enjoyable. Except Mr Mercedes which I hated.

Half way through Jerusalem and into the 1200s now.

Inspired by this thread I gave the Three Body Project to my DH for Christmas. He's now read and really enjoyed all. But he would agree with Satsuki about the characters but an interesting point Cote about the collective rather than the individual being more important in Chinese culture. A point that is made when I read the The River Town.

My first 10 books of this year have either been Christmas presents, sitting in my Kindle for an age or library books. Very pleased with not having bought any, after the excesses of Christmas.

1 The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
2 Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
3 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (audible)
4 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
5 Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave
6 Still Life by Louise Penny (audible)
7 A Country Road, A Tree by Jo Baker
8 The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

9 Nightwoods by Charles Frazier. This is the story of a young woman, Luce, who is living a a very solitary life in rural North Carolina, as the caretaker of an empty lodge in the off-season. Set in the 1960s. The story begins when she is appointed guardian to her murdered sister's twins, and struggles not only to take on the obvious responsibilities involved with parenting the twins, but also with the simple act of communication with the children. It is implied that the children have been in some way abused, or witnessed abuse, at the hands of their step father, Bud. Bud himself is a central character - he is acquitted of the murder of his wife and sets out to find his step children as he believes they know the location of a sum of money hidden by their mother. Overall I enjoyed this book, particularly the descriptions of nature - the woods, lake and night skies. It was a slow read - and took more than 50 pages for me to become particularly interested. I liked the final sequence of the book and I did like the resolution , which risked becoming far fetched and thankfully didn't. The main character Luce is a strong minded, clear headed heroine of few words and no pretences.

Have started The North Water by Ian McGuire. Inspired by previous reviews on this thread. It is absolutely not a slow read, that's for sure, and is exactly what I'm looking for at the moment.

I am trying hard to not buy any books this year - this thread is great for reminding me what I have waiting for me on my shelves, in particular May We Be Forgiven and The American Boy .

1. The Miniaturist Jessie Burton. An enjoyable page turner. I guessed the revelation towards the end of the book but was disappointed that a particular mystery was never resolved. The characters and setting were engaging. Overall I'm glad to have read it as it has been sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years.

Next up is The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain.

Remus and Plus3 so agree with you about The Loney! Was a reading group book and think we pretty much universally hated it. Actually though the descriptions of his family and church were quite well written and quite witty. Reminded me a bit of Oranges are not the Only Fruit. However once they went away and the whole 'witchcraft - devil worship thing' made an appearance it was shockingly bad!

Just finished book 10 The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse . This is the first of hers I have read. My OH has been on at me for ages to read Labyrinth and the accompanying books. This one was OK. Read it in an afternoon, but the story was very predictable. Have Labyrinth on my to read pile but not feeling really inspired to start.

Going to move on to the Essex Serpent

1. The Muse - Jessie Burton

2. Gone Without A Trace - Mary Torjussen

3. Flesh Wounds - Christopher Brookmyre

4. Phantom - Jo Nesbo

5. Dead Simple - Peter James

6. The Turtle Boy - Kealan Patrick Burke

7. All Good Deeds - Stacy Green this was a bit of a trial. CPS worker turned Private Investigator turned Serial Killer, Lucy Kendall assuages the ghosts of her past by killing paedophiles who the legal system has not punished enough in her opinion. Fair to say this is not a subtle or thoughtful book as it wears its politics fairly heavily on its death penalty loving sleeve. Not dissimilar to the idea behind Dexter, it lacks the humour and general interest to make it any good. And frankly if Lucy spent a little more time pondering the crimes and less time considering the attractiveness or otherwise of others (and bought bigger vest tops) her reactions might be less visceral and she would do less dry heaving.