50 Book Challenge Part Five

[southeastdweller]

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

What are you reading?

Invisible I've reread Persuasion a ton of times, most recently last year and actually loved it more than I ever have. Saw things in it I'd missed and realised Anne was a much stronger character than I'd given her credit for. Maybe have to be in the mood for the quiet autumness of it.

Pride & Prejudice is number one for me with Persuasion second, I reread those most often. Am less fond of S&S and MP least fave but want to reread both soon as haven't for a long time.

Books 31-35

31. 32. And 33. The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road – Guy Gavriel Kay. These are a reread of one of my favourite fantasy sagas from my young adult years. This is the story of a group of young Canadians who find themselves transported back to the kingdom of Fionavar where they are drawn into the battle between good and evil. Through the stories, Kay weaves in many characters from mythology and makes them part of the story. The characters are well drawn and the world building is pretty good. Kay spent some time working with Christophe Tolkein on the Silmarillion and Tolkein’s influence definitely shows. However, these books do have a charm all of their own and still have the power to make me cry. if you like Tolkein then give these a go.

32. Commonwealth – Ann Patchett. A kiss between Bert Cousins and Beverley Keating is the start of a chain of events that span a period of 50 years in the book. It is a story of complex relationships, marriage breakdowns, blended families, tragedy, loyalty and forgiveness. I really loved this.

33. History of Britain in 21 Womenby Jenni Murray*. I picked this one up on an Audible Daily Deal and it presented short concise biographies of some of the women who have influenced science, music, medicine and politics in Britain and beyond over the centuries. I was broadly familiar with many of the featured women but there was a lot new there for me as well. Definitely one that my teenage daughter will enjoy.

27. The lost art of keeping secrets - Eva Rice Sorry, I'm on holiday and a bit pissed and I've forgotten how to bold. This was ok. I quite enjoyed it, though had about half way in I started getting a vague sense of having read it before, then at the 3/4 mark realised I definitely had. It clearly wasn't very memorable the first time and doubt it will be this time round either, but it was enjoyable froth all the same.

31. Mr Kiss and Tell (Veronica Mars Mystery) by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham.

I'm always a bit nostalgic about Veronica Mars, a TV series I very much enjoyed 10 years ago or so. This was okay but superficial and not that interesting. I won't be reading anymore.

32. Animal: The Autobiography of a Female Body by Sara Pascoe.

I borrowed this from the library after hearing Sara speak with Adam Buxton on his podcast. Very funny in places with actual laugh out loud moments. Some good thoughts and discussions (in a similar vein to Caitlin Moran) but I often felt harangued/shouted at (can get quite tiring). I'm not sure she could change that as that is the tone of the book and is probably a subjective reaction.

Tarahumara - Yes, I totally see why you said Papillon was a bit like Shantaram. With both, you sense that there is a true story in there somewhere, but you also feel that everything is too polished and the protagonist is too admirable for the book to be entirely non-fiction.

I enjoyed both, though.

"Cote - I don't think I will ever forgive you for Dune!"

Yeah, well, I'm never forgiving you for On The Beach so we're even Steven imho At least characters in Dune were intelligent and they thought & planned (a lot) and acted for maximum & long term benefit. Unlike the muppets in On The Beach who debated (and decided against! wtf!) whether they should ignore fishing season this year despite certain death in a few months I'll never get back those days I spent reading that exercise in idiocy. So ner

I've lapsed a bit but I'm in the middle of my university finals so I feel I have an excuse

1. Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo

Difficult to do this justice in a review. It's not a book you 'enjoy' but it was a simply incredible book. If you were going to read something in this genre, then I would say that this must be on the 'to-read' list. The format is very different from most memoirs, being a mix of poetry, prose poetry and prose, often fragments of memory are presented without much or any context, but it is the style and voice which makes it stand head and shoulders above the majority of the rest.

I'm now about 100 pages into The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson, giving it a thumbs up so far. Also part way through Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright which is pretty good and easy to read.

24. A State Of Denmark - Derek Raymond

I'd read Raymond's detective fiction before (recommended to those who find James Ellroy a bit too cheery) but this was a different & even bleaker beast. Published in 1970, but set in the 60s, it imagines an England which has become a totalitarian state (Scotland and Wales have seceded - it shows how things have changed since it was written that in this scenario England is financially screwed without Scotland and Wales' mining and manufacturing industries).

The protagonist is a journalist who fled to Italy after criticising the tyrannical leader, but finds his new life and freedom under threat. It's a brilliant, although harrowing, read in the vein of Orwell / Huxley /Kafka, about the individual versus the state, and democracy vs totalitarianism.

Massive update, as time has been short since returning to work after maternity leave. Still been keeping up with the thread, but not had time to do a big update.

11. The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
    This has been much reviewed on here. I enjoyed it, and found myself reading slowly to savour the writing and the atmosphere created within the novel. Highly recommended.

12. The Muse - Jessie Burton
    This started off slow for me, but I was hooked by the end. I half saw the twist coming, but I still thought it was written very well. I think I preferred it to The Miniturist by the same author, although they are both very different.

13. Neurotribes - Steve Silberman
    A non-fiction look at the history of autism. This is something that I find interesting and really helped to put DS1's struggles into perspective for me. I learnt so much about the topic, and was thoroughly engaged. The writing was great and easy to connect with.

14. The Trap - Melanie Raabe
    I won this on Mumsnet. I didn't really enjoy this. I felt that there were a lot of plot holes and inaccuracies within the book. The writing also felt clunky but I don't know how much of this was down to the translation. Would not recommend this one.

15. Silent Witnesses - Nigel McCrery
    Non-fiction looking at the history of crime scene investigation and forensic science. This was a really great book on the subject. I'm qualified in the subject and many of the books use the same case studies, however Silent Witnesses was different and went quite in depth. I was impressed with the knowledge in the book and enjoyed reading it.

16 Pottermore Presents - J K Rowling
This was three short ebooks grouped together. They provide background details on the Harry Potter series. I adore Harry Potter and will read everything Rowling ever writes. I loved these, and the little snippets of information about much loved characters made me happy. I would recommend to any Harry Potter fan.

17. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener - M C Beaton
    I'm trying to get into audio books to make better use of my commuting time. I thought a cosy mystery would work for me in this format and it did. This is the third in a series of cosy mysteries with a middle-aged sleuth. I love this kind of series as a sort of palate cleanser. This one was a great addition to the series.

18. Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley - M C Beaton
    This is the fourth book in the series, and I listened to it on audio. Another excellent cost mystery.

19. Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers - Mary Roach
    Excellent non-fiction look at various uses for dead bodies. I found this fascinating as it was not a subject I knew a lot about. The authors 'voice' was humorous and stopped a potentially morbid book feeling too dark.

20. Bare Bones - Kathy Reichs
    This is the sixth book in the Bones series of books. Great 'beach-read' type books. Hilariously inaccurate but gripping all the same.

21. First of the Tudors - Joanna Hickson
    Historical fiction set in the period of the Wars of the Roses. This looks at the rise of the Tudor family from the perspective of Jasper Tudor. I read a lot based in this time period and it was really interesting to read from Jasper Tudors perspective. I feel like a lot of liberties were taken with the truth but I enjoyed reading from a different viewpoint.

22. A History of Britain in 21 Women - Jenni Murray
    A non-fiction book about some extraordinary women who have had a long term effect on our lives. It was written in a very feminist way, and I loved it! The authors passion was evident and although I knew most of the women discussed I learnt a lot. I listened to the audio which was narrated by the author and I liked her voice.

Sorry for the massive update, I'll try not to leave it so long next time.

46 Red Love: The Story of an East German Family, by Maxim Leo

Similar in theme, but much, much better written than Forty Autumns, which I read earlier in the year. The book follows three generations of Leo's family, from his grandparents - who all ended up in east Germany following the war - through his parents and his upbringing in the DDR.

I liked this overall, but was a little sad that most of the book was about the older generations, with relatively little about Leo himself. I found his story particularly interesting, as he's the same age as me, and was 19 when the Wall came down. I'd have liked to have heard more about his family post-re-unification as well - it felt like stopping in 1989 was only half of the story. But still a very good read.

32. Don't Let Go - Michael Bussi

On the beautiful paradise island of Reunion Liane Bellion and her husband Martial and their six yea old daughter are on holiday. Liane returns to her room and vanishes. There is blood and witnesses put Martial at the scene but there's no body. When he disappears with their daughter on the run the police are in pursuit. Is he capable of murder? And what secrets is he hiding?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the author of After the Crash. Now going to look for his other book black water lilies at the library

Having difficulty tracking this year as I've been reading more paper books so I don't have everything on Kindle.

Of Noble Family Mary Robinette Kowal
Final book in the Glamourist historical fantasy series. I really enjoyed previous books, but found this one a bit of a let down. Possibly because it's set in the West Indies as the protagonist's husband is called over there to sort out his father's estate, and I found the treatment of slavery in the plantations didn't really work for me. Maybe because as with the rest of the series, it focuses on the protagonist and her husband and in this context it felt like focusing on the white couple was uncomfortable, and that huge systemic problems were a bit overly hastily handwaved away and wrapped up at the end.

Within the Sanctuary of Wings Marie Brennan.
Historical fantasy again, and another end of series book. This one is set in an alternate world and the main character is the equivalent of those intrepid Victorian lady explorers.

A Conjuring of Light V.E. Schwab
Fantasy and yet another end of series! ( A Darker Shade of Magic ) The series is based in a set of parallel Londons, with varying degrees of magic. Pirates, magicians, monsters - this was a satisfying ending to the trilogy.

Another long update I'm afraid!

63. The Girl Before by J P Delaney

This was weird! At different times, two women move into a very modernist architect-designed flat with very strict rules about how they can live there. I loved the idea of the flat controlled by computer, but the story took a very weird, controlling-relationship turn. Still not sure how I feel about it a couple of weeks later!

64. The House On The Strand by Daphne du Maurier

du Maurier does time travel! Set in the 60s, a man discovers he can travel back to the 1400s. I loved this!

65. He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly

At an eclipse festival, a woman sees (or thinks she sees) an assault. The aftermath still affects her and her husband 15 years later. I liked the theming round various eclipses, but the story itself was so/so.

66. I Found You by Lisa Jewell

A woman living in a seaside town takes in a man she finds on the beach with no memory, and together they work out what happened to him. I did enjoy this, but the language was very simple, I thought at times I was reading a YA book but I don't think it was meant to be.

67. The Museum Of You by Carys Bray

A touching book about a 12 year old girl, trying to find out more about her mother who died when she was little, by the items left behind in the house. Enjoyed it.

68. Rough Music by Patrick Gale

This tells the story of a family over two time periods about 30 years apart. It was OK but took a long time to get going.

69. Lying In Wait by Liz Nugent

A suspected prostitute is killed by a rich couple, who cover up the murder. Needless to say, it has implications for their family. Nobody in this was particularly likeable, but it still kept my interest.

70. The Memory Illusion: Remembering, Forgetting & The Science Of False Memory by Julia Shaw

Non-fiction about how easy it is to misremember things and create false memory. Really makes you question your own memory!

71. The Trophy Child by Paula Daly

The blurb says this is about a tiger mother not knowing when to stop, but I found that the plot diverted from that quite early on and became a bog-standard whodunit.

72. About Last Night... by Catherine Alliott

Alliott's books are good fun, but I find now that the main character is basically the same in all of them - middle class, scatty, getting into situations as a result of her own stupidity whereupon she is rescued by a handsome yet grumpy man and they inevitably end up together. They are good fun though and I do enjoy reading them as a bit of light relief!

24. Into the Water - Paula Hawkins

Murder mystery set in a small northern town. This started well but the story became increasingly unbelievable and would have been much better if she'd have cut the number of characters down a little, or told it from the point of view of one of them. It bothered me that she set this in the north east but didn't bother to include any of the local dialect and I felt indifferent about the killer reveal and the twist.

Just about to start Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Matilda - I thought that Black Water Lillies whilst being very clever didn't quite deliver for me. I will await your review.

39 My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier - This is the first Du Maurier book I have read and I can now totally get the plaudits. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting of the book but I found the character of Phillip very irritating. I cannot make up my mind if Rachel was innocent though.

40 Wrong Place - Michelle Davies - Maggie is assigned to be the Police Liaision Officer for Eleanor as her husband fails in his bid to killer her and commit suicide. Whilst the husband lies in a coma something doesn't ring true with Eleanor's version of events. Maggie investigates further and discovers a link to the case of a woman who disappeared over a decade earlier. I won this in a Mumsnet competition and didn't know quite what to expect but I really enjoyed this and it kept me gripped throughout. I would recommend to anybody who enjoys crime books.

*41 Maggie O'Farrell - The Distance Between Us - Stella leaves her
life in London and moves to Scotland struggling to come to terms with a traumatic event in her childhood. Jake grew up in Hong Kong but his heritage is English and after suffering in a traumatic event he is drawn to Scotland to find out more about the father he never knew. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the events that had led them to their current situation but I do wonder whether it was all tied up a bit too nicely.

Now reading Swimming Lessons - Claire Fuller. Having really enjoyed her first novel I have been really looking forward to reading this.

27. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - after the discussions on here earlier on I thought I should read this one. Good plot, although a bit waffly in places.

73. I See You by Claire Mackintosh

I loved this! I found it especially creepy as I commute to work on the train every day. I didn't see the twist coming, in fact I was convinced I had worked out who was behind everything, thought at one point I was being proved right, but I was completely wrong! I would definitely recommend this, although it's not quite as good as her debut I Let You Go.

Chessie I have both books by her sitting next to my bed waiting to be read! Very much looking forward to them!

12. The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

Excellent collection of short stories mostly touching on ideas of being alien or different in some way. I enjoyed almost every story, really can't recommend it enough.

13. My Time, Your Time by Mary Torjussen

This had been sitting on my kindle for ages and I've told myself that I can't buy more books until I clear the backlog, so I thought I had better get started.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. It was a quick easy read and would be good for a beach holiday or if you have a couple of hours to kill at an airport. Rachel and Alice are two women in their thirties, who met online and have become very close despite never having met in person. When Alice goes missing on her way to meet her new boyfriend, Rachel travels to the UK from her home in Australia to find her friend. There were a couple of twists that I really enjoyed, though I felt that the main one came out of the blue and wasn't really connected to the first half of the story. I also disliked the excessive focus on clothes and makeup and the really soppy ending, but overall it was a fun read.

14. Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree
15. The Book of Saladin both by Tariq Ali

These are the first two books of the Islam Quintet. The first novel takes place in and around Grenada a few years after it fell to the Christian forces of Isabella and Ferdinand. It depicts beautifully many of the customs of al-Andalus, with lots of romanticising, nd also touches on the struggle within the Church between those who wanted to restrict or eliminate the practice of Islam and its followers and those who were happy to allow more freedom. It was predictably sad, but never really had the feeling of a novel to me. It seems like an extended imaginative history essay rather than a carefully crafted piece of fiction.

The second novel, as the title suggests, follows the story of Salah elDin elAyoubi through the eyes of a Jewish scribe from Cairo. I enjoyed reading it, but it suffered from the same earnestness as the first novel, and retained the history essay feeling.

I am not sure how much artistic licence Ali took with the details, but both novels feature lots of drinking, prostitution, gay sex and bestiality. For a laugh, I recommend checking out the reviews of "The Book of Saladin" on goodreads from very religious Muslims thinking they were reading a biography of a great Muslim leader and upholder of the faith.

I am now reading Hisham Matar's The Return. I'm really struck by his writing, and some passages have moved me to tears. It is wonderful to have a book that has gripping subject matter, real emotional heft and is also incredibly well written and structured.

Sadek - Have ordered the sample of Red Love. Might be my sort of thing, since my obsession with Berlin isn't showing any signs of abating!

I've given up on My Japanese Lover 30% in. I like Allende's non-fiction (Paula is sublime) but her novels are getting worse and worse. This one was definitely from the 'Tell don't show' school of writing. Bloody awful.

I'd be interested to know what you think, Remus. I have to say Berlin doesn't feature very much, though.

DNF Karoo by Steve Tesich. 400+ pages of a rich script doctor from New York behaving like a selfish cowardly twat. Meant to be hilarious, which I suppose it might be if you find the pathetic drunken antics of an American arsehole amusing. Saul Karoo and I parted ways about a third of the way in when he justifies a particulary spineless and unwise shag by imagining he's having sex with a 14 year old

53. The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss.
    Already reviewed on here I think. Loved it. Just the brain cleanser I needed after the utter shiteness of the preceding book. Really well written, clever, poignant and properly funny in parts. Possibly my favourite book of the year so far. Why this wasn't long listed for the Bailey's prize I have no idea.

54. Undying: A Love Story by Michel Faber
    Poetry collection written in memory of Faber's wife Eva who died of myeloma in 2014. The first half of the book contains poems written about her diagnosis leading up to her death, and the second part follows his grief for a year afterwards. These poems are so raw and intimate sometimes I felt like I was intruding on something that should have been kept private. Absolutely extraordinary poetry, punch in the guts poetry. For those who have read Being Mortal I would recommend this book to accompany it. An unflinching look into the reality of dying and grief.

55 House of Names by Colm Toibin
What happens to the family of Agamemnon after he returns from Troy. Follows three characters Clytemnestra his wife (who is narrated by Juliet Stephenson in the audible version and who does such a good job or reading grief, rage and vengeance that at one point all the hairs on the back of my arms stood up), Orestes his son and Electra his daughter.
Retelling of a proper juicy Greek tragedy, which he does very beautifully, although by the end there had been so much murder and secrets and stalking about angrily and stealthily in corridors it all got a bit OH COME ON NOW for me.

Enough books about death for a while now I think.

33. The Cry - Helen Fitzgerald

A baby goes missing on a quiet road in Australia. The parents have just arrived from Glasgow. Where is the baby and why did the parents leave him alone? As they turn against each other the lies get more tangled.

This was a gripping book I read in one day. It broke my heart at times to think of what the characters went through and then at times I thought they were getting what they deserved. A good read where I couldn't decide how I felt for the characters as they were flawed. Just like real people of course.

Maybe a little taken from real life case or maybe it's just me that sees the connection

Oh and by on a real case I mean on one of many theories as obviously it's not fact

Thanks, Sadek. I probably won't bother with it then.