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?

Keith - Yay, a fellow Handel fan!

"Let me weep over my cruel fate and sigh for my freedom"

A rather fitting tribute to marriage as an institution, in retrospect but you may have found another Handel aria Cara Sposa a better song for your mariage ceremony

On the subject of Bronte oddities, I have on my tbr pile Sanctuary, by Robert Edric, a fictional account narrated by Bronwell. I enjoyed a novel by this author last year, so looking forward to giving this a whirl.

May be a while though, as I've started the wonderful Weatherland, by Alexandra Harris. It's an account of how people have attached meaning to weather throughout English history. So far, I'm only on the Anglo-Saxons heroically confronting the winter chill (no accounts of lounging around in the sun) but it's a delight. Reminds me of why I love books.

9. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Just the best; you could quote almost every line aloud, the observations still sound so fresh and devoid of cliche. Private Investigator Philip Marlowe meets a guy in a bar and does him a big favour; from thence he is embroiled in intrigue, murder and all round shenanigans. A lot of the background issues discussed and stripped apart in this, from the evils of advertising and mass production, the ennui of suburban life, the divide between the haves and the have nots, the free press, all continue to be pertinent to modern life, so it still feels contemporary in many ways. Pure enjoyment.

Lovely musical interlude cote. I love the way you are immersing yourself in the subject you are reading about, it is such a nice idea. Short of hiring a small office in downtown L.A, making some police contacts, and developing a liking for strong women and stronger drink, it doesn't really work for detective novels

I'm reading a non fiction child psychology book at the moment, it may be time for a Shardlake.

Ooh, might have to add that to the TBR pile, Satsuki.

I had very little time for reading last year, for various boring reasons, and am loving this challenge. I'm getting all excited about all the books I want to read!

No, it's not as easy to "live & breathe" the detective novel as it is to do with music books

It's the other way around for me, anyway. I get obsessed into a musician, play & listen to his music day and night to the dismay of DH/DC and then have to read about their life & music which is when I start searching for a book about them.

With Bach, Rameau, and Handel already out of the way, I might look towards Vivaldi and Scarlatti at some point although I don't expect to obsess that much with them.

I hope it’s not too late to get involved. After a few years of a reading drought I’m in the middle of a month off work and am abusing the fact that my neighbours are the library and an off-licence.

1. Dictator by Robert Harris – 3rd in a fictionalised life of Cicero. Incredibly well researched with a pinch of artistic licence. He made Cicero quite likeable despite most sources making him out to be an arse. Interesting to see that politics hasn’t much changed. I think you need a keen interest in Roman history to make through all 3.
2. Conclave by Robert Harris – The inner workings of a papal election. I thought the ending was a bit too farfetched and contrived, which ruined an otherwise ok story.
3. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin - medieval murder mystery with a strong female lead. Not as good as I hoped but I will read the next in the series.
4. Murder As a Fine Art by David Morrell – very well written Victorian hunt for a serial killer (not Ripper). I really enjoyed it.
5. Longbourn by Jo Baker – billed as Pride and Prej retold by the servants. I had high hopes for it based on the flyleaf - "If Elizabeth Bennett had the washing of her own petticoats she might take more care not to tramp through the mud". I thought this would be a witty and biting take on the story from the servant’s perspective, but it was a period romance exploiting a famous backdrop. Readable, but not earth shattering.
6. The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly – A perfect life turned upside down by poor friend choices and murder. Kept me guessing until the end. Loved it
7. The Owl Killers – Karen Maitland – medieval feudal setting, the church and a religious order vs local pagan gods.
8. When she was good by Laura Lippman - Suburban Madam has her past come back to haunt her.
9. Company of Liars by Karen Maitland – a band of travellers try to outrun the plague and a killer in their midst. Plays on the Canterbury Tales tradition.
10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – Starts well, gets ludicrous. Wish I hadn’t bothered.
11. The Stranger’s Child by Alan Hollinghurst – family saga set over 80 years with each time phase showing the changing attitude towards homosexuality in society. The first section was good, but each set of characters as time passed got less interesting. Several hours I won’t get back.
12. The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah – set during Nazi occupied France and follows the lives of 2 sisters living through very different war experiences. I didn’t want to put it down and cried buckets at the end. In real life I am rumoured not to have tear ducts, so this is a big thing.
13. Lord of the Flies by William Golding – human nature when people (children) are left to the own devices. A great story, badly written, but really makes you stop and think. Took me back to the playground. I would definitely have been killed.

I’m currently listening to The Book Thief and reading The House at Midnight (a bit meh). I have The Blind Assassin, The Help and Plague lined up next and based on recommendations here I went to the library and got His Bloody Project and Flight Behaviour this morning.

I’ve wanted to read the Shardlakes for a while, but my library does a bang up job of having all books in a series apart from the first.

cote I am actually doing similar - I got the Hamilton OST for my birthday and am now plugging through the biography and anything else related to the time period I can get my hands on. I have stopped short of rapping, however, and will not be sharing any videos of such, to the relief of all.

Welcome, fortuna. I will pass over the fact you called Lord of the Flies badly written and just say I laughed at "I would definitely have been killed". Me too! I would have barely made it off the plane, I was a terrible know-it-all and stickler for rules at school.

Book 1

Promises in Death by J.D. Robb. (Norah Roberts)

Two New York female detectives investigate the death of a female colleague. There are a few twists and turns but I beat them to figuring out who the killer was. The characters were well described. A decent enough read if you're not wanting anything too cerebral.

Satsuki I just found Lord of the Flies a bit lacking. I wanted it to be better. I wish there had been more character development and I thought the ending was a bit weak. It was very thought provoking though and worth the read.

Andrews Would you/have you read more of that series?

I haven't read it for a long time fortuna but I found the characters of Piggy and Simon quite true and rounded whilst the others blurred into each other and were never developed beyond a certain point for a reason. And the ending lines I've never forgotten, perfect and quietly devastating - imho, obviously.

Sorry - 3rd year on the thread and not contributed yet! As always, because I'm on holiday over new year, I get a head start and then during the year I usually end up way behind! Can I start by saying a big thanks to whoever recommended the website www.tripfiction.com which helps you find books set in certain locations. It was someone on the What we're reading board.

1. The Keening Margaret Pinard Read this on holiday on the Isle of Mull. Perfect holiday reading - if you're on a Scottish island in midwinter! It's the story of a family forced to emigrate and the hardships they experience. Good engaging story if not a classic

2. Central Glasgow Through Time by Etta Dunn Do like a nostalgic journey although didn't find this to be that well-researched or informative.

3. To be Continued by James Robertson Enjoyed this one - again still on holiday - set in the Scottish highlands and it is just a light, rollicking read. Good fun.

4- Kabul in Winter: Life without Peace in Afghanistan by Ann Jones Back on the heavy stuff. Interesting insight into the recent history of Afghanistan, particularly from a woman's perspective. Damning analysis of what aid is, and how it is easily corrupted and diverted. It's a good read - shocking and powerful.

5 Blissfully Dead: Life lessons from the other side by Melita Harvey Hmm - have to stop taking recommendations from Facebook friends! Not my kind of book. Tells the story of the soul of a woman who took her own life and talks about how the "other side" influence the living.

6 Funny Polis and This and That by John Robertson Bit of an indulgent read as my dad was a Glasgow polis about the same time as the author. If your dad wasn't in the City of Glasgow Police in the 70s it probably won't appeal to you!

7. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (Audible) Loved this. Had it on my wish list before she died. It's funny and warm and irreverent. I do prefer audio books that are read by the authors.

8. A Fighting Chance by Elizabeth Warren I read this thinking it would be a bit dry, but as a huge admirer wanted to know more about her. It's anything but. Very enjoyable read with some very moving - happy and sad - pieces. It's also a great explanation of how the financial crisis of 2008 and came about - and how the government hasn't learned the lessons. She's a Democrat, but very much a "critical friend".

9. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman Audible Never watched the tv series and had no idea the topic. It came up as a recommendation on Audible. I was riveted. What a great story, well told. The book starts when Piper is young and carefree and just happens to get caught up in a crowd of small time drug traffickers. She sees the error of her ways and turns her life around. 10 years later, her past catches up with her and she is convicted and jailed. The rest of the book is her experience in jail. Really enjoyed it.

And currently reading 10. In Order to Live : A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeemi Park which I'm enjoying so far although it's a bit of a harrowing read. I'll review properly when finished.

14. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson

Continuing my 'project' of listening to all the Jackson Brodie books on audible - this is the third in the series. Better than One Giod Turn, not as good as Case Histories. I love Atkinson's writing style and enjoyed the narration of this audiobook. Number four next!

18. Where'd You Go, Bernadette - Maria Semple

Funny and sad at the same time, often reviewed on here so I won't add more except to say that I had no idea where this was going which is always something I like in a book.

I also have Ron Chernow's Great Lives : Hamilton on the go, but it such a tome. I really need to set aside a weekend for it.

Need to read the thread back BUT :

1. Saturday by Ian McEwan or just "McEwan" as he now is, on my copy.

Massive spoiler straight up on the blurb, overt similarity to the ending of Enduring Love. The main character is a neurosurgeon and this is used as something of a byword for clever yet emotionally unaware. McEwan clearly did his research here but likes to hammer you over the head with it. It's also used as a bit of vehicle for his atheism and opinions on other novels. Lead character very unexamined White Male Privilege, White Male Tears, Middle Class Probs.....

But I did like the meditative lyricalness of the prose and the attention to detail. Set against the background of the 2003 Stop The War March and the arguments around the Second Gulf War, it has dated slightly and will date further in future.

Lord of the Flies badly written????!!!! WHAT???!!!

EmGee I'm so pleased you're enjoying Commonwealth. I was lucky to hear Ann Patchett talk at Hay-on-Wye some years ago and she's a really warm and engaging speaker. Nice article here about her decision to open an independent bookstore in her home town of Nashville when the two huge chains closed leaving the town with no bookshops at all. It made me really want to go there!

www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/12/the-bookstore-strikes-back/309164/

So Olly was your holiday in Scotland, Afghanistan or North Korea ? I have In Order to Live on my kindle, so looking forward to that now. Will wait a bit as I have recently read another N Korea book Nothing to Envy which was also good. I keep looking at The Aquariums of Pyongyang but I think it might be just too harrowing.

1. Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves Book 4 in the Shetland series. I like these well plotted, character driven murder mysteries. This one is set on Fair Isle, and captures that small island feeling really well. I think this was originally intended to be the last book in the series, and, without giving to much away, the closing chapters have an air of finality about them. Will be interested to see how the next book picks this up and continues.

Was 7 not 4.

everysong it is good but it is huge and thorough so I am knocking off a chapter here and there when I fancy it. Especially as things stand at the moment, it is great for insights into the founding of the nation, the writing of the constitution etc

On another note, I admire your tenacity in reading more white middle class fiction when it continues to piss you off hate McEwan

PMd you about my seemingly odd choices Satsu.

14 Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen
A re-read prompted by my recent read of Poor Economics. Quite old now (from 2000) but a real classic of development economics. Where Poor Economics thinks about how we could do economics better, this is a much more fundamental examination of what economics is for (Sen is a political philosopher as well as an economist). It's quite dense though, and in retrospect wasn't the best choice for a long train journey - it's based on a series of lectures given to the World Bank, and I think before I read it one section at a time over several weeks!

Hello Fortuna. I keep meaning to read the Cicero books. I did his letters at school and he did come across as a complete arse which is probably why I haven't got round to the Harris books yet. I also did Lord of The Flies at school, my favourite ever essay was "Ralph wept for the loss of innocence, the darkness of man's heart and the fall through the air of a true, wise friend called Piggy." Discuss. I can't agree what badly written, but was 17 when I read it.

I'm reading a fantasy book but of the George Martin school rather than elves and wizards, The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It's quite slow moving at present but I want to know where it's going. Odd world, not sure what to make of it about a third of the way through.

10. His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnet

Much reviewed already but suffice to say I enjoyed it. Loved the way different testimonies opened up new perspectives and liked the ambiguity.

Put your spears and torches down people. I've got The Conch. I didn't dislike Lord of the Flies. I understand the literary value, the devices and language he used and what he aimed to achieve with them. However, I just came away from it wanting it to be more than it was. It didn't meet with my expectations for it. I never studied it in school, so haven't been beaten over the head with its virtues. I just felt a bit disappointed with it. I shall retract "badly written" and replace it with dissatisfying. So if you could all go back to Castle Rock and leave me in peace in my beach shelter. I've got 37 more books to finish.

Stokey I would really recommend the Cicero series. I liked Imperium best as it covered the period I knew least about. I found Lustrum a bit of slog compared to the other two, but worth persevering with. All of them managed to make each person human and you could understand the choices they made and why.

Fortuna,

I WAS beaten about the head with the bloody book at school. Thirty mumble years ago.

I keep saying I must read it again to see what I'd think now.