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?

I had a very happy summer about 15 years ago reading Patrick O'Brien books. I think you might like him, Cote.

73. Realms of Glory, Catherine Fox.
Have previously raved about this author. I'm not sure it's the best in the series, but I gobbled it up anyway. Love the characters she creates.

74. The Durrells of Corfu, Michael Haag
Fleshes the stories out interestingly. Gerald Durrell airbrushed out a lot of thing when he wrote his version (Mother's drinking, Laurie's wife) and this puts them back in. Covers a lot of ground in a short space - Margo undergoing a C-section without anaesthetic in a prisoner-of-war camp during WWII gets a single sentence. Left me wanting to know more.

I enjoyed the first in the Master and Commander series but never got round to the others.

Satsuki - I did enjoy the one J Barnes book I read so might theoretically enjoy that book but I don't really care for Shostakovich. I got the Kindle sample & will have to see. Thanks for the rec.

Remus - Hand on heart, I honestly don't understand how anyone can like (let alone love) The City & The City but I'm prepared to accept that this is a character defect of mine

Book 67
Cogheart by Peter Bunzi
Not v good YA steampunk. Nice enough idea (though not at all original) but let down by really clunky dialogue, cardboard cut-out characters and not v good writing generally.

Also going to look out for The Thing Itself stitches and Equal Music cheerful thanks both (not that I needed any more recommendations...)

I share that character defect where City and City is concerned cote. Maybe we were unseeing the good bits

37. Lost for words Stephanie Butland - about a fairly reclusive young woman who works in a second hand bookshop, her love of books etc, and you slowly learn her past and her story. Of course she goes on to find love, and things are resolved in a somewhat trite and 'chick-lit' tastic type way, but I still enjoyed this book more than I expected to.

Adam Roberts' first book Salt is cheap on Kindle atm.

64 The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman

Second of the Sally Lockhart books, listened to on audio. I liked parts of this a lot. I thought (at least for the first half) that the characters were much better developed than in The Ruby in the Smoke, and the story more plausible. There were too many bits in the second half though where I was muttering 'oh FFS'. I also particularly disliked the fact that it felt in places as though the author was punishing Sally for her choices, rather than the plot developing naturally. And (IMO) he's utterly rubbish at writing romance. In fact the whole book would have been vastly better with the love-interest element removed.

Totally disagree, Sadik. I thought the love story was really nicely realised. I also think he handles the Lyra and Will love story in His Dark Materials really sensitively. (Sticks out tongue)

I've only read the first couple in the O'Brien series but they are very good. I'm told they are historically very accurate too. I liked them enough to read more one day.

"Maybe we were unseeing the good bits "

I love you, Satsuki

104. Strong Poison, Dorothy L Sayers. Just for the sexual tension, Cheerful!

105. White Hot, Ilona Andrews. Not sure whether to count this properly as I read it in May - but the next in the series comes out tomorrow and I wanted to be sure it was fresh in my head. Slightly formulaic urban fantasy.

Am still reading Middlemarch slowly - about two thirds through. Dorothea and Tertius (best name ever!) have still hardly spoken, despite the blurb implying it's all about them. At least Boring Bastard is dead now (trying not to give away spoilers!).

79. Casting off Fourth of the Cazalet Chronicles on Audible. Getting to work and running fodder. Never tire of them

80. In to the woods - Tana French This annoyed the hell out of me. Hard to say why without adding in spoilers but let's just say the ending was seriously frustrating. Had all the elements of a great 'who dunnit', however it felt lumpy and slow.

33. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

This was surprisingly good I got this when it was Kindle Daily Deal a few days ago and frankly didn't expect much, but it was fast-paced, interesting, and quite a novel take on the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics.

It required a slight suspension of disbelief but was the perfect beach read. I would recommend this one.

45. Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor is the new girl with a troubled life and weird clothes. Park tries to avoid her but on a shared bus seat they begin to bond. This is a story of first love.

This was a nice break from all the murder in other books! Obviously not completely happy but an okay ending.

51. The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt

Haidt is a psychologist exploring the nature of happiness and bits of received wisdom, from the ancients to general beliefs now, looking at them under a scientific lens to see whether they really do make us happier and trying to define what the secret to a happy life is. I think I found it interesting as I was reading it, but to be honest I really didn't take anything of it in so I couldn't give you examples. It's a little disconcerting. That's not normally what happens when I read a book.

Book 68
Dirt: The filthy reality of everyday life – Wellcome Collection
Bought and almost finished this months ago, and then got distracted and completely forgot about it. It’s a really beautiful book and I like its focus on syphilis and squalor etc. Unfortunately though, the text was overall far less impressive than the pictures.

65 Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy, by Cathy O'Neill

Excellent , & not just because I'm a sucker for a terrible punning title (and a real contrast to my previous book about the economics of land & housing in that not only does the author have something important to say, but she can also tell a coherent story).

This looks at how big data and the algorithms built to extract information from it are increasingly affecting our everyday lives, not just in the obvious arenas of FB/Google etc & the financial crash, but in targeting payday loans, weeding job applications etc. The author is American and the examples are all from the US, but as they're used to illustrate her broader argument, I didn't find that an issue (though some Amazon reviews obviously did). I also liked that she accepts that big data is here to stay, and also that it can have plenty of positive uses - she's just arguing in favour of greater understanding and transparency, backed up by legislation where necessary.

Oooh - I just gave in and bought that recently Sadik! Good to hear that it was worth it will have to move it up my to-read list - now torn between that and How to Bake Pi which was going to be my next read.

"I like its focus on syphilis and squalor etc."

Read pi first and then review it on here ;-)

The feelings mutual,cote as long as we don't talk about HHhH

[grin]@syphilis and squalor too and you wonder why you get such specifically edgy recs remus

Sorry for lack of apostrophe and why did I tag syphilis in the conversation argh.

I thought of getting the nn Syphilis and coming back here to say "Did someone call me?" but I couldn't be arsed