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.

Best, if you're new to Terry Pratchett, I'd start with Guards! Guards!

I hated The Slap too ABC, it made me want to throw it out of a window.

Have you read The year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion HistorianMum? I liked that last year, although I think she got a bit of stick for being misleading with the facts.

12. The Year of Our War - Steph Swainston. The main character in this fantasy book is Comet Jant, an immortal drug addict who is the only person in his world that can fly. There are a group of 50 immortals who help mortals and who are all archetypes - the Archer, the Sailor, the Messenger, the Swordsman. The mortals are fighting a war against insects - giant cockroach types that make spit structure over all the land they occupy, but where are they coming from? I really enjoyed this, interesting world-building and a good story. The blurb compares it with China Mieville, but it's not as steampunk. I've moved straight on to the second as Dh had already downloaded it, but the first is a self-contained story.

ABC, I binned The Slap as well. Horrible book filled with horrible people.

The fact is that no 8-year-old is going to read and understand the morally ambiguous and complex world of pain, necessity, betrayal, and sacrifice that us middle-aged women live in. It is actually not possible for a book written for an 8-year-old to take place in an adult world, with adult concerns and adult struggles.

I agree that obviously a child's world has different concern's to an adult's - you don't get many children's books about mid-life-crises, the problems of retirement or how hard it is being a middle-aged male academic who wants to sleep with his hot students (though I consider the last a point in its favour.)

But children don't live in a separate world to adults. They live in this world. They suffer as much trauma, bereavement, loss and fear as adults do - you only have to hang out on Mumsnet for an afternoon to read about abuse, complex moral battles in which the children are central, bastard fathers who don't want to see their kids any more and mothers posting things like 'I don't like my child'. They're actually more likely to suffer abuse and neglect and live in poverty than adults are. And you don't need to study much child psychology to know that eight-year-olds are capable of highly complicated and contradictory emotions.

An eight-year-old may not understand all the intricacies of Anna Karenina. But as all of you who've been reading the Elena Ferrante novels can vouch for - that doesn't mean their own morally ambiguous and complex world of pain, necessity, betrayal, and sacrifice is any less complicated or interesting.

It can't help but be woefully simplified and black/white.

Ooh, that's fighting talk. And untrue. Take the last book I read on this thread - The Thursday Kidnapping. It's not a perfect book - it goes a bit loopy at the end, it's rather snobbish, there's a car crash that comes out of nowhere and it's very 1960s. But it features child mortality, Hungarian refugees, child kidnapping, class issues, an incredibly well-observed portrayal of a teenager living a life of severe emotional neglect - and possible abuse - with very accurate attachment issues, a car crash which is not only the fault of our heroes, but has at least one serious casualty, possibly fatal, PTSD and stress, questions of responsibility and fault, and moral problems such as what moral responsibility do you have towards someone you feel desperately sorry for, but do not actually like?

And yes, it could also be read by an intelligent eight-year-old - though I think it would sit in the 9-12 section of a bookshop.

No, it's not as intricate as Anna Karenina. But its villain is a hell of a lot more psychologically complicated than any I've ever read in an Agatha Christie.

ABC, sorry but I don't think you can count books you haven't finished in your total!

Definitely not allowed!

Thank you for the "Slap" comments ABC.

I had been withering whether to add it to my massively huge pile of books to be read, but I won't bother.

Wow! Other unfavourable comments The Slap - you've obviously all done me a favour.

Re. childrens/YA lit, I think it also depends on why you read. I very rarely watch tv, so I'm often looking for books that are the equivalent of say a cookery show or a soap, I'm not looking for moral complexity or deep insights about the world, just something to read when I'm flopped on the sofa and need to wind down before bed.

These days the equivalent of the light fantasy that I read in my 20s (Mercedes Lackey, Anne McCaffrey, that sort of thing) is generally marketed as YA - but tbh it's the same stuff repackaged. It's also quite nice to read books that my dd is reading, and I think she likes it when she recommends a book and I enjoy it.

Cote
I didn't need the Maths/Science to be 'simple' and I didn't 'skim read'. I also didn't 'skip' the science in The Martian - I was just rather bored by it. Just because somebody doesn't enjoy something, it doesn't mean that they are stupid, or didn't understand it. It's possible to disagree with somebody, without assuming that it's a fault in their character/intellect, surely?

I didn't mean to offend you Remus. We had this conversation before and I remember that you don't like reading detailed explanations of chemical reactions or mathematical formulae. Not many people do except weirdoes like me

It did seem like you skim-read Measuring The World because you dont seem to have noticed that Gauss has done MUCH more than "sums", even when barely out of childhood.

Again, that is fine. The book clearly didn't interest you, which is my mistake for thinking it would. That is also fine. Nowhere have I intended to insult your intellect or character. Apologies if it felt that way

You are forgiven. In 'my version' of the book, Gauss did some sums (admittedly some when he was very young) and had a lot of sex. I suspect Gauss and I are unlikely to cross paths again, and that's fine by me!

I think you'd probably like The Age of Wonder by the way, although you might find the Romantic poetry a bit wearing (and, frankly, who wouldn't?).

My tally will gladly take the hit if it means more people are spared that book

Enjoying Cold Comfort Farm so far. Nice, quick read, with a bit of wit. Exactly what I needed.

"You are forgiven."

Good. Who else would I so agreeably lock horns with every single book I read?

"I think you'd probably like The Age of Wonder by the way, although you might find the Romantic poetry a bit wearing (and, frankly, who wouldn't?)."

Romantic poetry?! Why do I get the feeling that you are going for revenge? No, thank you

The Romantic poetry is boring but the rest is pretty good. It has astronomy and natural science and hot air balloons and chemistry and all sorts!

I'm scared now

Can't wait to catch up on this thread in full when I get home

Romantic poetry might have feeeeeliiinnnnngs, I fear

Remus have just got to the part where they realise they've found Mallory. Hadn't expected to feel so emotional.

Feeeelinggs in a mountaineering book

Back from my long weekend break to be faced with a very poorly sick child - back to earth with a bump!

Updated list and review then I will catch up on the thread.

1. The Muse - Jessie Burton

1. Gone Without a Trace - Mary Torjussen
2. Flesh Wounds - Christopher Brookmyre
3. Phantom: a Harry Hole Thriller - Jo Nesbo
4. Dead Simple (Roy Grace Series) - Peter James
5. All Good Deeds (A Lucy Kendall Thriller) - Stacy Green
6. The Turtle Boy - Kealan Patrick Burke

8. His Bloody Project - Graeme McRae

1. The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion

10. The Last Day of Christmas: The Fall of Jack Parlabane (short story) - Christopher Brookmyre

11. Tales of Protection - Erik Fosnes Hansen

A book which is essentially 3 novellas extremely loosely linked by the in-coffin mental wanderings of the recently deceased Bolt. An eccentric scientist, he reflects upon the three stories and how the patterns which connect them. Either side of the stories are a prologue and an epilogue which set the scene and give us some context of the old man's early years.

I very much enjoyed story one, of fellow Bolt family black sheep Lea, and how she finds purpose amongst Bee keeping and stories of coincidence as Bolt's Great Niece. It slips, at times, into magical realism which is beautifully written and worth the diversion from the story.

The second story of a 19C lighthouse keeper, his family and the crew on their island at the mouth of a fjord was wonderful. It was compelling and I felt absolutely engaged with the characters and their lives.

The third story was a bit more of a struggle for me as we inexplicably leave Norway and head for Renaissance Rome and explore the lives of artists. Dipping again into magical realism I found myself skimming pages of this and getting frustrated at the endlessness of the prose which became terribly indulgent.

Overall, I enjoyed this and am glad I read it. I think the author should have been more disciplined or should have had a more firm editor. Worth reading for stories one and two and the wider choice context within which they are set.

12. The Girls - Lisa Jewell

A girl is found lying attacked in a communal garden where previously another girl was found dead decades ago. It shifts back to the time leading up to this and throws suspicion on a lot of people living there. I didn't have this figured out and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Hope said child feels better soon, Crisps.

Cote Romantic poetry is full of feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings, few of which I have any interest in. I'd rather eat my own eyeballs than ever have to read any more Wordsworth, for example.

Best - It's lovely, isn't it? I think the searchers were all so in awe of Mallory that you can't help but be moved by their feeeeeeeelings on finding him.

I like Romantic poetry. There are more things in heaven and Earth than STEM, Horatio

Sorry for your poorly child, crisps. We had illness over half term too.

Thanks chaps. She is feeling terribly sorry for herself.

I read Heinrich Harrer's The White Spider many years ago and was absolutely gripped by the stories of determination to climb the north face of the Eiger. As a self-confessed lazy arse I find the mind set of the explorers absolutely fascinating. I was similarly gripped by Touching the Void which I read immediately after. There was quite a lot of feeeeeeelings in that.