50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here, and the third thread here.

What are you reading?

Ha ha, very true! As for Aech - if you only see the other characters as their avatars, as he does in the book, it'll be no different? On the wiki page they didn't declare the casting for that character like the others so assume they are going for it.

at Tell Not Show School of Terribleness

I went through a very short Dean Koontz phase in my teens. I should have really given up at book one, but I was naive and hadn't yet developed a strong taste in books. Even then I knew it was a bit rubbish, but persevered because my male friends walked around the sixth form campus holding Koontz books and looking smug. The day I realised I'm wasting precious life moments on his drivel was a turning moment

A book called Daughters Of The Dragon on the Kindle 99p deal at the moment. Anyone read it? Five stars on Amazon and more significantly it scores an average of 4.42 from 4312 ratings on Goodreads so I've added it to my TBR pile in hope. Blurb says: Anna [is led] to the Seoul apartment of the poor yet elegant Hong Jae-hee. Jae-hee recounts an epic tale that begins with the Japanese occupation of Korea and China during World War II, when more than two hundred thousand Korean women were forced to serve the soldiers as “comfort women.” Jae-hee knows the story well—she was one of them.

I also spent my teens surrounded by Dean Koontz and Danielle Steel. We lived in India and it still saddens me to think that they were the forefront of English lit at the time, maybe diluted with a bit of Jeffrey Archer.

Glad to hear the love for The Power. I haven't read it yet but have chosen it for book club this month.

I'm reading The Twelve by Justin Cronin. He spent the two-hundred pages going back 100 years before the events in the last book. Why??? Does he not realise that I'm reading a sequel to find out what harems next?

Stokey you forgot John Grisham

Stokey - If you're annoyed by The Twelve stay well away from the final book in the trilogy - it's much, much worse.

13. The Day Of The Jackal by Frederick Forsyth

This was brilliant - meticulous, analytical, realistic, and devoid of whiny feeeliiiingggs. It had detailed explanations for exactly how each clue was found, and the exact motivations and thought processes of each character. My sort of book. I think I'll go on to The Odessa File next

It was interesting to see that the plot of the film Jackal (with Bruce Willis) has practically nothing to do with the book, but the details that made that film good were taken from here. I think the plot of the book makes far more sense but am of course grateful that they made place in the film for Richard Gere.

I knew that it was the detail that you'd like Cote. In that respect it reminds me of The Martian in an odd way, because the book is about planning and intricate detail, not sciency but similar in a way. I'm about halfway and enjoying it but not loving it so much as I did before - but it is probably a third or fourth read of it for me.

PS. I thought Edward Fox perfect casting for The Jackal, Bruce, not so much.

I wasn't aware of the Bruce Willis version, first I've heard of it

12. Private, Keep Out - Gwen Grant
Children's book - diary of a girl, the youngest of six, growing up in a pit town after the second world war.
Lucy Mangan described this book as so funny she used to collapse in hysterics reading it as a child. I ... didn't. I did find the structure interesting though. It reads as part series of comic incidents - like a Just William - part memoir, but not at all like a novel. So, for example, one chapter is a description of her having chicken pox. That's it. At another point she says "I don't have any friends". In most novels, that would be a gun over the fireplace that would lead to her making some friends in chapter twelve. But you know in this one that she won't. She's just a fierce, spiky kid who doesn't have friends.
Nice to read a working class story for a change, though. And loads of lovely autobiographical details from Grant who had a similar childhood.

28 Romancing the Inventor by Gail Carriger. E-novelette set in the same world as Soulless reviewed above. Fluffy lesbian romance, enjoyable easy reading.

Very happy to see that some of you are enjoying Day of the Jackal. And I'd never heard of the film with Bruce Willis either...

17. Dark Fire - C. J. Sansom - 2nd of the Shardlake books. Set at the stage where Henry VIII is ready to dump wifey 4 for Catherine Howard, Shardlake is asked by an old client to help his neice accused of murdering his nephew (not her brother, the son of a 3rd sibling). Meanwhile, Cromwell wants Shardlake to investigate a possible discovery of the ledgendary weapon of 'Greek Fire'. Much complexity follows. I enjoy this one, and can't remember who recommended the series, but thank you! Nice to read something that's talking about the normal people of the day.

Bruce Willis & Richard Gere's film is called The Jackal and it's about 20 years old! Here is a pic.

I have briefly watched The Jackal. It was very memorable for the painful, utter awfulness of Richard Gere's accent. I couldn't stick it.

However I would more than happily give the book a go! On a related, purely in my head, note; is The Eagle Has Landed any good?

Ladies, can I join? I read through the whole thread a bitbits & piecesand thought it looks great. I have been trying to read more this year. I generally am a bookworm but somehow don't end up reading as much as I want.... hhhhmmm MN may play a part in this! but also general tiredness in the evenings.

Shall I post what I've read so far since january? 9 books so far.

1. Bee Wilson 'this is not a diet book'
2. Harry Potter & the chamber of secrets (with DC)
3. Jennifer Weiner 'all fall down'
4. Lauren Sandler 'one and only'
5. Rene and Goscinny the Nicholas Book (children's book)
6. Katja Rowell fussy eating book
7. Nicola Yoon 'everything everything' (YA book)
8. JD Robb 'echoes in death'
9. JD Vance 'Hillbilly elegy'

I've got a few books on the go, a lot more substantial than the above, so will get stuck into this thread if that's OK!

Welcome Still

I thought I was pretty familiar with Bruce Willis's output but that's completely passed me by, didn't realise they remade it. I'm going to look out for it now.

invisiblekitten I think just about everybody recommends the Shardlake books!

Welcome to the thread still

Welcome!

River I liked it.

Welcome Still.
31. First of the Tudors - Joanna Hickson Enjoyable, not a challenging read. Is not going to win any literary prizes but scratched my Tudor itch.!
32. Do no harm - Henry Marsh. Tales of a brain surgeon. Very much warts and all account of the life of a consultant neurosurgeon. He comments on the short falls of the NHS and is honest about his own failures. Left me with the feeling he is probably feared and respected in equal measure.

Welcome to the thread, Still

Finally, finally I have finished The Essex Serpent

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 12. The Wall of Sky, The Wall of Eye - Jonathan Letham 13. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

14. The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry

Much reviewed already I won't go over old ground but I absolutely loved this. I took me an eternity to read it for some reason but I enjoyed every single page. I know some felt that nothing particularly happens but I have to disagree. I was absolutely gripped by all the different threads of the plot and I suspect that the characters will stay with me for some time.

Not sure where to go now with my reading. I bought a bulk lot of Damien Boyd on amazon, have a Peter Robinson and North Water as well as a couple of Denise Mina I bought in The Works for a quid.

Might go and have a look at the Easter sale on Amazon as well. Too much choice!

Afternoon all.

I was on the first two threads under a different name, and then totally lost my reading mojo. Am fairly certain it was me and not the books - was under lots of work stress and ended up shelving The Noise of Time (Julian Barnes) and Snuff (Terry Pratchett), both of which I'm sure I'll return to now that I've a little more headspace.

But the book that got me back was:
7. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith. A financially struggling private detective is hired to investigate the death of a young, successful model. Her death was thought to be suicide, but her brother has suspicions that she was killed. Unsurprisingly, no great shakes on the style front, but as ever from Rowling, tightly plotted, and it raced along, which was just what I needed.

Going to stick with crime for book 8, which will be A Question of Identity by Susan Hill. Tonight I'm going to read this thread through properly for ideas for some future reads.

12. Jonathan Unleashed - Meg Rosoff. Rom-com-ish novel set in New York, I thought some of the supporting characters were badly-written, and the story runs out of steam 2/3 of the way through.

13. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson. The classic 19th century novella, I'd have liked this to have been a little longer and have more action. But the story as far as it goes is compelling and he evokes Victorian London brilliantly.

14. Adventures of a Terribly Greedy Girl: A Memoir of Food, Family, Film & Fashion - Kay Plunkett-Hogg. An entertaining memoir/cookbook combo, this suffers a bit from the author occasionally coming across as smug.