50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 first thread of the year is here and the second one here.

"The whole point of it is that it's describing a journey of thinking things through, getting it confused, trying to decide what to tell and what not to tell, trying to decide if the teller is able to tell it at all etc."

I agree. All in a whiny, man-child, intellectually dishonest manner - going on about just how very much he knows but also makes up lots of stuff and does it matter, does it not, oh and his girlfriend hates him (understandably) et cetera as nauseam.

To each their own and all that, but this most certainly is not a non-fiction book as someone said earlier. It is a really badly written memoir of a self-important, whiny idiot who supposedly knows everything there is to know about this moment in history but fabricates and confabulates the story, apparently just because he can.

I wish I had known that earlier so that I wouldn't bother to read it. So, if you find that sort of thing charming and original, HHhH might be for you. If not, run (you are welcome ).

It's not non-fiction and it's not a memoir. It's a fictionalised account of a real-life event in which the writer is deliberately playing with ideas about how stories (REAL stories) might/can/ultimately can't really be told by people who weren't there (or even if they were there, still only tell their own version of it).

It sounds like you have taken it completely at face value, confusing the narrator with the author, and taking every deliberate ambiguity as literal evidence of the author's lack of knowledge or general idiocy. I agree it would be very difficult to enjoy it coming at it from that angle. It is only a book - no one has to run away from it...just stop reading it Worth a try though, imo, and I'll leave it there

Yes, I did see this book as the author writing about his own experience of putting together the story of H's assassination attempt. Hence the "memoir" that takes up as much (if not more) of the book as the actual story of the assassination attempt.

But re "every deliberate ambiguity as literal evidence of the author's lack of knowledge or general idiocy" - Lack of knowledge, no. General idiocy, quite possibly. Or rather, a completely pointless, piss-poor attempt at being a speshul literary snowflake. And it's not just a bit of ambiguity but deliberate confabulation and bullshit that seriously I have no interest in reading about for even my favourite authors whom I admire. I have zero fucks to give about this punk and his struggle to put a story together.

"Gabcik and his friend Valcik smile at each other - I'm sure of that, I can see them." - The book is full of crap like this.

"Kubis is dead. I wish I didn't have to write that. I would have liked to get to know him better. If only I could have saved him" - Oh FFS, just shut up!

"I am sure they are sure that the game is up" - DD (11) writes better than this.

""He fires, and nothing happens. I can't resist cheap literary effects. Nothing happens." - Pages and pages of this crap!

"I'm drivelling, aren't I?" >> You see, he agrees with me

Cold grey day, baking and films and reading!
Book 17 The Trouble with Goats and Sheep. Loved this book! Devoured it in fact. Found it so evocative of my own childhood in the 70's! Definitely a keeper and one to reread.

Well the H book certainly divides opinion if nothing else! Haven't read it so can't comment - but I guess that's what this thread is all about - horses for courses etc..it would be boring if we all liked the same things

Real life (manflu, work and washing) have all taken my time up in the last week or so - so reading time has been cut a bit. I have been trying to keep up with the thread though - and my choices have been influenced by recommends and discussions here. Apologies as I've mostly forgotten who from - but a big thankyou anyway!

1. The Warden Anthony Trollope

There was a conversation about this way upthread - I've had it on my kindle for ages and thought I'd give it a go. Loved it. Gentle and much more humorous than Dickens - I sat on the train laughing out loud ..... It had a lot of current themes that felt fresh and relevant: choices about right and wrong - what is just and unjust; who controls what - and who cares; a rebel with a cause, love and how it is won; a debate about the ingredients for a happy life; opinion and the effect of peers and friends views on personal decision making; loyalty, family and social pressures; the impact of the press; different people's reactions to the same pressure - and the danger of wishing for something you might just get! The story was told with tongue firmly in cheek, with sympathy, a real understanding of people and cutting observation of social norms. There was no shrinking from calling out bad behaviour but it was done kindly. I laughed - and learned new words I will be looking to drop into conversation as soon as I can....a 'hecatomb of lobsters'.....'coruscations that flew from him'....

1. Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer. Im 20% into this and have spent all afternoon googling the background and context. Amazing story that I remember happening...reading with interest.

Nora Webster - someone mentioned this one - loved it and would recommend. Thoughtful, reflective and well observed - but not action packed!

And someone else mentioned eyesight - and books vs kindle. Ive had to give up on a hard copy of Olive Kerridge - my multifocals just weren't up to the tiny print!!!

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot - VERY good. She writes beautifully. Such an interesting book and I could almost taste sea salt on my lips following her descriptions of the Orkney islands. It is a fascinating account (in non-chronological order) about growing up on a farm in Orkney to a born-again Christian mother and a bi-polar father, her desire to 'get away' and experience life in London - a whirlwind of socialising, partying, flat-sharing and relationships, descent into alcoholism, rehab and subsequent return to Orkney to remain sober. But it's so much more than just a memoir. Highly recommended.

Meant to also add to HappyFlappy hope she enjoys Nora Webster which is outstanding.

FortunaMajor if you're a big Rebus fan can I recommend Adrian McKinty's Duffy series. I am rationing them to myself as they are so good. I may have mentioned them before on here.

Thanks wex. I'm another Rebus fan - just added the first in the series to my wish list.

Off to Poland for a few days with dh this week. Can't decide what to start before I go

Something Polish perhaps? I like to read a book connected to a place when I visit. I managed to visit Edinburgh with a Rebus on the go .

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. I'd never read this before, but someone put it up for my book club. It's the symbolic fable of a shepherd boy who travels to the pyramids in search of treasure. And it was fucking awful. I hated it - I hated the message, I hated the writing (although that could have been the translation), I hated the 'moral'. God it was bad. I'll be very interested to see who liked it when we discuss it at book group though, as I suspect my opinion of them may change!

Oooh thanks Wex, I'll keep an eye out for those.

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
10 The North Water by Ian McGuire
11 Before the Fall by Noah Hawley
12 Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
13 The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

14 I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. I just finished listening to this on audible. I liked it but would probably have enjoyed it more if I had read it instead of listened to it. It is set in Bristol and WaIes, about a hit and run accident. I don't trust myself to describe without spoilers so that's about all - I will leave my brilliant summary as is... It's as readable as other recently published thrillers like Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, The Kind Worth Killing etc. Regarding audible, I'm struggling with finding a style or genre that suits me. I have yet to return a book but it's rare that I really lose myself in the story - I get distracted by the voice, or the inflections sounding off, or they read it too slowly.

Anyway, I will continue the search. I have one credit burning a hole in my audible account.

The Outrun by Amy Liptrot - brilliant
Apple Tree Yard Louise Doughty - better than TV show
Solar - Ian Mcewan

1. The Goldfish Boy - Lisa Thompson. Y.A book about a boy with OCD investigating a local disappearance. Too reminiscent of the superior The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, this was an OK read that needed more editing.

1. Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher. Short memoir from the late actress/writer. I liked the witty and self-deprecating tone and she has some great stories to tell.

Next up is a thriller called The Liar's Chair and next week I'm going to try and finish the massive tome that is Keeping On Keeping On by Alan Bennett.

6. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet The first book I've read based on this thread. Hadn't heard about it before I read reviews on here, thank you, it's a gem. The setting felt very vividly drawn and really brought home how hard it was to make a living in the 1800s Scottish Highlands. The sense of injustice in the family circumstances will stay with me - while various parts of the plot are really grim, the visit to the factor broke my heart. Lots to think about.
Agree with recent reviews on The Outrun, really enjoyed it last year.
Started Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple as an audiobook. I think I bought this when it was on offer in the autumn, and picked it today as a big change of style from other recent reads. I'm only half an hour in so too early to judge but the setting and main character are definitely a big change from His Bloody Project and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas!

I must finish my copy of Keeping On, Keeping On too, Southeast. I'm about half way, but have a bad case of tennis elbow and that book is seriously heavy! Maybe lifting the book caused it ... Anyway, I've decided to skip the plays, and leave them maybe for another time (or not).

Book 7 All for love by Jane Aiken Hodge set after the defeat of Napoleon, woman is working on a plan to rescue him. She doesn't want husband to know asks her cousin to impersonate her.
Book 8 Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith child murder in the Soviet union. Enjoyed this and have had it on my kindle for ages
Book 9 Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, enjoyable as usual although not one of her best

17 The Year of Living Danishly
Much reviewed on here. For me it was OK, but nothing more. As others have said, it was a bit of a funny hybrid. Its a shame really, she could have written two separate books; a comic foreigner-abroad memoir in the Driving over Lemons / Year in Provence style, and then a serious exploration of why Danes are apparantly so happy.

Totally agree with you Onemouseplace, The Alchemist is definitely in my top ten of 'Books I Have Read and Hated'. Pretentious piffle!

Onemouse - I read The Alchemist as a teenager and even then thought it was twaddle. It wouldn't be good for anybody if I read it again now

Book 6
Unravelling Oliver by Liz Nugent. Short psychological thriller, one of my favourite genres. This short book was readable with some good plot twists and turns but I found it a bit underwhelming. Never really felt convinced by the main character. He always felt a bit one-dimensional.
Book 7
The Crab of Hate by Susan Calman the comedian.
She writes very candidly about her lifelong struggle with depression in a funny, loosely structured narrative that meanders through her teenage years, to university, her first career as a lawyer to her current successful career as a comedian. I was vaguely aware of her as a comedian but was drawn to the book as I'm always interested to see how people cope with that ever present burden. I felt pleased at the end of the book that she seemed to feel she had found a few strategies that worked for her when the feelings struck, but she kind of glossed over her decision not to use medication. For certain types of depression, especially the type that allows you to function at half mast for long periods of time without reaching the catatonic stage, medication can be a revelation. I would have liked to have known why she continued to struggle for so long without at least giving it a try. The part of the book I found most interesting was the description of her early years on the comedy circuit. I won't say any more so as not to give away any spoilers. I'll probably try to catch her on TV now as she seems an interesting character.

I don't have much to add as I'm still plodding away with Book 18, Bitch in a Bonnet which is a funny examination of Austen's novels. I'm enjoying it but it is long! Half term now though so hoping to finish that soon and get through a couple more.

I haven't read HHhH (and don't plan to as it doesn't sound like my cup of tea) but I enjoyed the debate upthread!!

1. Criminology: the basics by Sarah Walklate

Feels like I've been reading very slowly so far this year. Being ill hasn't helped, neither has getting bogged down in non-fiction like this. I picked this up as DD is talking about Criminology degrees, and I only had the vaguest idea what Criminology actually is. Turns out, even that vague idea wasn't that accurate! This is a typical "basics" book, does what it says on the tin really.

Started the much reviewed in this parish Cloud Atlas at last, 150 pages in, good so far :)