50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth 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, the fourth one here, and the fifth one here.

What are you reading?

Just been on my Goodreads list and found two books I've read this year that aren't on my list, so I'm actually on 36!

1. The Wolf and The Raven - Steven MacKay

2.The Hobbit - JRRR Tolkien (Audible)

1. Greenwitch - Susan Cooper

4.Child 44 - Tom Robb Smith 5.Fellowship of the Ring - JRRR Tolkien (Audible) 6.Into the Heart of Borneo - Redmond O'Hanlan 7.The No1 Ladies Detective agency 8.The Two Towers - JRRR Tolkien (Audible)

1. ^Crosstalk - Connie Willis (Audible)

10. The Forest - Edward Rutherfurd 11.Tom’s Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce 12.1066 - Kaye Jones (Audible) 13.The Reformation - Edward Gosselin (Audible) 14.The Return of the King - JRRR Tolkien (Audible) 15. Lion by Saroo Brierley (for Bookclub) 16. The Muse by Jessie Burton (on Audible) 17. Henry VIII's wives - Julie Wheeler 18. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula de Guin 19. Fall of Giants by Ken Follet 20. Stig of the Dump by Clive King 21. Edward I - A Great and Terrible King by Marc Morris 22. Nomad by Alan partridge (on Audible) 23. Saigon by Anthony Grey. 24: Charlotte's Web by EB White 25: Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris. 26: The Light Years (The Cazalets 1) (Audible) 27: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Attwood 28: Empire of the Sun by CG Ballard. (Audible) 29: A Place Called Winter - by Patrick Gale. 30: The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (#1 of the Arthur Warlord series) on Audible 31: Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (#2 of the Arthur Warlord series) on Audible 32: Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell (#3 of the Arthur Warlord series) on Audible 33: The Gunpowder plot by Sinead Fitzgibbon (Audible) 34: The 39 Steps by Richard Hanney 35: The King's Speech by Mork Logue 36: The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd

Stokey I wondered that (re Tv version of Handmaid's Tale). I'm watching it but am a bit behind, only up to episode 3. However it's departed from the book in a number of ways already so I do think they may do something different with the ending.

My book version of The Handmaid's Tale includes an intro from Margaret Atwood written last year, in which she says that apparently lots of people assume that Offred's real name is June, because at one point Atwood gives a list of handmaids' names and June is the only one in the list that isn't mentioned again so people have assumed it must be the main character. Atwood said that wasn't her intention but she doesn't mind if people want to think that. Therefore the TV people are following others in giving her a real name!!

Thanks, Meg. I haven't read it and it does sound interesting, but how much religion is there in it? My tolerance for religion of whatever denomination is getting increasingly low, I must admit.

Hello! I was on the first thread and I've been reading away since then, but beginning to doubt my ability to reach 50 this year! This is what I have read so far. Highs in bold and lows in italics:

1.The Swarm by Frank Schätzing

1. The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer
2. The Yorkshire Pudding Club by Millie Johnson
3. The Catacombs by Jeremy Bates
4. The Secret Place by Tana French
5. The Dry by Jane Harper
6. The Fever by Megan Abbott

8. The Girl From The Sea by Shalini Boland - just ugh. At least it was short.

1. Nyctophobia by Christopher Fowler

10. The Power by Naomi Alderman LOVED this 11. The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney - pretty weak. Sort of saves itself with plot twists. Narrowly avoided getting the italics! 12. The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel 13. End of Watch by Stephen King 14. Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt So innovative and genuinely creepy. I was not expecting that from the way it starts. 15. Greyhound by Steffan Piper 16. The Swimming Pool by Louise Candlish God this dragged, and I found the protagonist utterly pathetic. 17. Bump by Kate Evans 18. Last Days by Adam Nevill 19. Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel - I know that this has had a LOT of chat on MN at various points. I found it easy enough to read as a light holiday book but I certainly wasn't blown away. 20. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel

I am so behind in my updates that the thread had fallen off my list! Updating with books 38-41 and will come back in a few days when I finish The Plot Against America to update the rest.

38. The Marrying of Chani Kaufman – Eve Harris. Chani is part of the ultra-orthodox Jewish community and lives in London. At the age of 19 she is expected to marry and through a matchmaker finds herself engaged to a young Hasidic man. Rivka, the wife of a rabbi teaches her what is expected of her in marriage and the story weaves Rivka’s story with that of Chani and Baruch. Although I have a little Jewish ancestry I know little or nothing about the Hasidic community and I found this fascinating. The characters were well drawn and developed and I did feel a lot of sympathy, particularly with the main female characters. This is a book about rules, expectations, traditional beliefs and practices and the challenges of conforming.

39. Whispers Underground – Ben Aaronovitch. This is the third PC Grant book and in this adventure Peter Grant has to investigate the murder of a young American student. The trail brings him underground where there are a few surprises in store. The story has a bit of fantasy, police work and magic and history – what’s not to like?

40. The Circle - Dave Eggers. I was interested to see all the reviews of The Circle over the past few days. I have not much to add. Great concept and a decent enough story but overall a not enough depth to make it anything more than an alright read.

41. The Silver Witch – Paula Brackston. This is a story of two silver haired women who live in a secluded part of Wales, hundreds of years apart. Seren is a witch and shaman who is the protector and lover of a prince. Tilda’s husband has died and she moves to Wales to come to terms with her grief where she soon finds herself having strange visions and experiences that link her to the old Celtic magic of Seren. I love a bit of witchery and magic but this was too slow and dull for me.

Remus his Buddhism-inspired outlook on life informs his whole journey, but it's not annoying or preachy - I found it really interesting.

Have got the free sample, Meg. Just not feeling terribly patient recently, so have just bought a Georgette Heyer for emergency light reading.

Stokey and Chessie, I'm fairly certain that The Handmaid's Tale has been renewed for a second season, so the story will begin to diverge more and more from the novel (while keeping to its spirit). I'm unsure about the conclusion, though.

remus I laughed at your description of Susan Hill - if you want a giggle look up her confrontation with an independent book shop in Norwich - they were giving away free copies of 1984 and Handmaid's Tale on behalf of a local book group and she cancelled a book signing with them on short notice then accused them of being anti-Trump and partisan. This led to Michael Gove getting involved on her behalf and calling the shop "illiberal bigots". The shop responded by having merchandise printed up with the epithet. It was all extremely bizarre and made me not in a rush to read anything by her.

17. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I enjoyed this. It is a funny and quite moving exploration of living with loneliness and feeling disconnected from the world, and how one woman begins to get a grip on her present by confronting the horrors of her past. It is about the power of friendship, the big impact of small things, and the art of living. There is a mystery hiding in plain sight - it is pretty obvious as the book develops what has happened to Eleanor in her childhood, and the "twist" is also eminently guessable - however I think this is deliberate. It increases the emotional weight of the ending to have the reader "know" what the protagonist doesn't and the sting comes not from a twist, but from seeing her finally realise and face up to the truth, and complete her journey to self awareness, which is really what the book is about.

It was a nice easy read, and my word am I pleased to have finally finished one after abandoning several; so extra credit for that.

I'm reading Conclave by Robert Harris next I think, as my dh has just passed it to me with a recommendation, but have Lincoln and Handmaid waiting so have been enjoying discussion of those. I have also got Eligible in a 3 for 10 deal. I didn't think I would bother with it as I don't like JA spin offs, but I like her writing and fancy knocking off a few easy ones after my terribly dry spell, so going to take it on face value.

63 Halloween Party, Agatha Christie
A late Hercule Poirot book. Picked it up on a whim at the library. This is not golden era Christie, but she still fooled me with the big reveal.

64. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman

May be swimming against the tide, but I hated this. Didn't find the narrator's voice convincing, was unamused by the various "comedy" episodes, and hated the inevitable plod towards the revelation of childhood trauma. May have been exacerbated by the fact that I have a 9 year-old girl and hated the account of maternal abuse to a child of that age. Quite liked Raymond, but overall ugh. I just want the book out of my house.

Cross-posted, Satsuki!

Ha ha biblio

I agree it was a bit ploddy in the middle and hated all the pop star silliness, but it did win me over in the end. Also I liked the narrative voice - I found it convincing because it was a little bit like my own internal monologue

I've also been in a similar situation where I was never really taught to navigate the world and relied on kind friends when I left home to give me a step by step in certain areas, so that aspect really chimed with me.

It's not that I'm such a model of social graces myself. I think loneliness is a good subject to tackle. It just didn't gel for me.

Yes fair enough.

I also quite liked that the protagonist was an awkward woman - like properly awkward, not adorably ditzy like a Bridget Jones. It had an Adrian Mole quality about it, which I haven't seen much from a female perspective.

Yes, although I note she wasn't fat, which is probably socially worse than scarring.

I think it was the child abuse that ruined it for me - I found it jarring in the context of a social comedy. I wouldn't have liked child beatings to crop up in the Adrian Mole books.

I know I brought up Adrian Mole but I meant only in the lack of self awareness of the narrative. I didn't read it as a social comedy - I felt very sad for her all the way through as it was obvious she struggled in many ways and had and found humour in it as there is humour in life despite unhappiness.

I'm not sure about the overweight thing. I don't think being thin and ostensibly attractive oils the wheels socially necessarily. they are different things. Her scarring isn't what separates her, it's her inability to fit in and show interest in others.

I do see your point and I can see why the book appeals to many as a bittersweet story. My response was a visceral one that I'm trying to intellectualise, but ultimately I'm not totally sure why I had such a negative reaction to it.

Hello all – not sure if I would be remembered but I was on the threads in 2014, 2015 and the early part of 2016. I popped into the first one of 2017 but didn’t post anymore. A roller coaster of a year for me has resulted in my interests being bottom of the pile. I have been following this thread for the past month but didn’t want to contribute until I could collect my thoughts together and try and remember what books I have read
So, from memory and my kindle here goes:
The Loney – Andrew Michael Hurley
The Essex Serpent – Sarah Perry
The Muse – Jessie Burton
How To Measure a Cow – Margaret Forster
The New Mrs Clifton – Elizabeth Buchan
I Capture The Castle – Dodie Smith
Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden
Little Black Lies – Sharon Bolton
The Dark Circle – Linda Grant
The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters – Nadiya Hussain
The Gusta Sonata – Rose Tremain
The Road Home – Rose Tramain
Sacred Country – Rose Tremain
Blue eyed Boy – Joanne Harris
Different Class – Joanne Harris
The Loving Husband – Cristabel Kent
Don’t Turn Around – Caroline Mitchell
The wine of Angels – Phil Rickman (a re-read)
Midwinter of the Spirit – Phil Rickman (a re-read)
A Crown of Lights – Phil Rickman (a re-read)
The Cure of Souls – Phil Rickman (a re-read)
Long Summer Day – Delderfield
Magpie Murders – Anthony Horowitz
The Janus Stone – Elly Griffiths
The Keeper of Lost Things – Ruth Hogan
Darkside – Belinda Bauer
The Good Girl – Fiona Neil
I know some are missing as bits of them are floating on the periphery of my memory but if they’ve made it to the charity shop and don’t live on in my memory then they are not worth a place on the list

No real stand outs so far but I live in hope!

I am currently reading: The Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan and listening to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
If you don’t mind I’d love to join in again – missed the banter and book recommendations….

biblio Totally agree about Eleanor Oliphant, I found it very unfunny too, and didn't believe in ANY of it. Thought it was all very predictable and contrived. Worst novel of the year so far for me.

39. Autism Life Skills by Chantal Sicile-Kira

Subtitled 10 Essential Abilities Your Child With Autism Needs to Learn.

Advice for how to help children develop life skills.

Hi Sonnet, welcome back! Of course I remember you.

Thanks southeast - I'm not alone then...

Oh yes I understand, I'm just pondering similarly why I had a positive reaction I could take it or leave it half way through but it did get me emotionally at the end.

Hello again sonnet, nice to have you back, you've not been forgotten