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?

Don't miss The Revenant and The North Water in the Sale!

Blimey. I've only been away 48 hours or so and this thread is huge!

Zoning out of the JSAMN chat now. It's so boring I just can't be bothered to discuss it.

I hated, hated, hated Wild Swans.

Book 63
Oscar Wilde & the Vatican Murders – Giles Brandreth
Have read a couple of these before, and like them a lot. In this one, Oscar Wilde & Conan Doyle set out to solve a mystery at the heart of the Vatican. Enormously good fun. Brandreth’s research is meticulous and he clearly adores Wilde. Liked this so much I immediately bought another one and started reading it straight away.

There's a Shardlake in the sale and also Red Rising.

And the first Genghis Khan book by Con Iggulden, which I thought was excellent - Wolf of the Plains.
Perfume by Patrick Suskind too, if anybody hasn't come across it yet. I loved it.
I've bought Gorky Park and Stephen King at the Movies. Have read all of the latter, but will be a useful thing to have on Kindle for when I'm desperate.

Missed the Stephen King thanks. Think I'm alone in not enjoying Red Rising - thought it would be just my cup of tea.

Amazon seems to think that Middlesex is "Sci-fi & Fantasy" while The Alchemist and Wolf Hall are non-fiction

Equally as baffling is that Days Without End is in the Kindle summer sale for £4.49 when the paperback's on sale for £5.39.

My Kindle sale purchases so far are Amy and Isabelle, Shardlake no. 4 and He Said/She Said. Lots of other good'uns there which I already own (is it weird to be sad that you already have a book when you see it in the kindle sale for 99p?)

45. The Evil Seed, Joanne Harris

A young man in 1940s Cambridge becomes obsessed with a young girl he rescues from drowning. In modern Cambridge, an artist unwillingly offers a spare room to her ex's new girlfriend, who is beautiful and fey and has some very odd friends. I thought this was going to be a psychological thriller type of book but it turned out to be something much more supernatural. Apparently it was Joanne Harris's first book and I was impressed (although I don't normally do spooky-ghosty type books) - gothic and actually genuinely quite scary in places.

46. Out of My Depth, Emily Barr

Reunion of friends in a villa in the S of France, 25 years after some traumatic event abruptly ended their school friendship. Emily Barr does a good line in non-intellectually-demanding page-turners without any cupcake bakeries or shy, gorgeous billionaires (although, yes, this one did take place in a villa in the S of France). Do you ever get that thing when you're reading a key scene in a book and you KNOW you've read this scene before, even though you remember absolutely nothing of the rest of the book? I genuinely don't know whether I've read this before or whether it just has a very similar, vividly described scene to something else. Who knows.....

The kindle sale has some great books. Unfortunately my TBR queue is already a mile long, so I've limited myself to two...for now: Any Human Heart and Quite Ugly One Morning . I was mildly annoyed to see The Good Old Days , non fiction about crime in Victorian London, as I bought this in hard copy for my mum just last week for considerably more than 99p - looks pretty interesting from what I saw before I handed it over. I asked DS if he would like me to get The Parent Agency for him. He said it sounded too sad and upsetting. I said it was supposed to be funny - he just gave me a look.

My kindle annoyingly won't give me a list of teh summer sale, if I go on Amazon website I can find them then just look them up on my Kindle. This is probably why I need a new Kindle...

I can't remember who recommeded this up thread but thank you!
35. The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan - a woman who is 'hiding from life' as the housekeeper/PA to an old author finds after his death that he has left everything to her, with a condition that she tries to find the owners of the vast collection of lost property he has picked up over the years (and carefully labelled regarding where found and date etc). The story also jumps every few chapters to follow another woman's life story from the 70s to present day, and in slowly telling her and her boss/friend's story, leads you to which item in the lost property collection is hers.

This is a very, very gentle book. (I needed something requiring little effort this week!) The main character's lack of umph for life is a bit annoying, that and the yound woman with Downs Syndrome having a special gift for 'seeing' the truth about where things have come from was a wee bit patronising. But on the whole, a sweet, non-taxing read.

Invisible can you not buy them on the website and they willl load to your kindle?

35. The story of the lost child Elena Ferrante - I adored this as I have all the Neapolitan books, however more conflicted about this one. Elena becomes increasingly unlikeable, and the ambiguity that underpins the whole series, but particularly the ending is very realistic and 'true' but also massively frustrating.

I really need to stop buying books full stop and requesting them from the library! This is my TBR physical pile of books never mind the many more sitting on my kindle so glad those aren't piled up in my house!!

29. Lincoln In The Bardo - George Saunders

I thought this was a tremendous book; funny, compassionate, thoughtful and moving without being sentimental. It's not really about Lincoln but uses the death of Lincoln's young son as a hook on which to hang an extremely original, simple yet gut-punching story. Book of the year so far, by a country mile.

meg snap! Just finished 19. Lincoln in the Bardo. Was gathering my thoughts on it but haven't much to add to your review really. Agree - original, compassionate and kind of mind-wrenching. I'll be digesting it for a while I think. It isn't about Lincoln as such, but the main action is intertwined with historical narratives which contextualise the situation and Lincoln's life, and does attempt to give an insight into his thoughts and motivations within the historical moment, but it does so in an unusual and non-linear way. It's a tough, sad, odd read at times, not sure if I would be quite as wholehearted in my praise as meg, but it was interesting and challenging and rewarding in places. I didn't find the large member too intrusive either but perhaps that's because I was prepared for it by remus and had, er, braced myself for it In all seriousness I got what he was doing with all that and thought it strangely justified by the surrounding, strangeness. It made sense in the book is what I'm trying to say I think! Not without flaws, at times heavy going, but clever, different and worth a read.

I'm also reading Tigers in Red Weather which I picked up at the library. Nearly half way, and while readable, I'm beginning to suspect it's all rather silly and superficial. Has anybody read it?

Meg, Satsuki 😊😊😊 Definitely my favourite book of the year, if not the last five years. I loved it and fully intend to read it again during the summer

46. Rather be the Devil by Ian Rankin

John Rebus is reminded of a unsolved murder, the death of glamorous socialite Maria Turquand who was stranged in her hotel room in the 70s. Her killer was never found, but the case seems to have implications for a more modern situation. Darryl Christie has staked his claim to the criminal underworld of Edinburgh yet someone seems to be gunning for him. DI Siobhan Clarke and DI Malcolm Fox are both investigating but while Rebus is off the force, he can't keep away from the case. Another good 'un from Ian Rankin.

58 Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson, listened to on audio

I started this ages ago and gave up not much past the pizza delivery opening - had pretty much concluded that maybe it didn't work on audio or else was just too much of its time.

I decided to give it another go, and this time got totally sucked in. There are pages of info dump, the main character Hiro is wildly somewhat unrealistic verging on the Mary Sue, the book is probably twice as long as the (completely insane) plot realistically justifies, but frankly, it's just so damn cool it carries you right along with it.

I think scribbly wasn't so sure about having it on audio, but past the first few chapters it worked well for me, & I thought the narrator was perfect for the book.

Mind you, I did still feel slightly as though I ought to have just finished reading Generation X and have a nice crisp migraine inducing copy of Wired magazine to leaf through afterwards

Megand Satsuki, I'm also glad that you both found Lincoln as I did. Silly of me, but when I finished the novel I sat with it hugged to chest just absorbing the experience.

Looking forward to the interview now I've finished it vanderley

I'm interested in knowing your thoughts on the interview, Satsuki. I think you'll enjoy it.

Ha! Nice to see the large member is back again. I've missed it.

PS: I still think it was annoying.

That's ok, Remus. There's room for all of us in the bardo.

I mean, granted, it was a bit silly. But I didn't notice it that much.

Satsuki - you're not alone. Red Rising is one of my worst reads of the year. I also thought I would like it, in a trashy way. I even bought the second one in anticipation.

I've not read either In Thin Air or All quiet although the latter is on my Kindle waiting tbr. What about The Grapes of Wrath or 1984? It would be nice to get a more recent book in The 50 Bookers Top 5 Recommendations.

I've started JS and MN. 10% in and loving it!