50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Seven

[southeastdweller]

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

What are you reading?

77 The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

YA novel inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. 16 year old Starr is the only witness to the police shooting of her teenage friend. This was a real stand out for me, I'd really recommend it - Starr was completely convincing, as were here friends and family. As a previous poster said, definitely one that I'll keep thinking about.

If you buy The Luminaries, you'll certainly get a lot of words for your pennies.

Went to see It today. Anybody seen it yet? I loved it.

Remus I saw It tonight and really enjoyed it. I liked the 1990 mini-series but slightly prefer the film.

Haven't seen the series. Thought the film struck an excellent balance between scary and tender or funny. Loved the rock fight and the sunbathing scenes!

47. The Sex Lives of English Women by Wendy Jones. Mentioned upthread by someone (sorry, can't remember who). This is a series of interviews / monologues by English women, from different backgrounds and a wide variety of ages, about their sex lives. Some are funny, some are sad. For me, this didn't quite live up to its blurb. Not many of the personalities 'came alive' for me (perhaps because the chapters are quite short), and I didn't feel that I learnt anything new or took away a different perspective on attitudes towards sex. Quite fun to read, but just not very memorable.

Now started the Einstein biography recommended by Cote. I may be some time!

68. The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

In a new fantasy world created by the author of the Dresden Files, humanity has lived inside the Spires since time immemorial. These tower miles above the surface of the world, a surface full of dangerous monsters. Captain Grimm of the airship Predator is a privateer after he was dismissed from the Fleet of Spire Albion in disgrace. When his ship was damaged in combat, he is given the choice to accept a mission for the leaders of Albion in return for replacement crystals to power his ship, or to remain grounded. Alongside him, in a mission to discover the whereabouts and plans of a group of marines from an enemy Spire, he is joined by a male warriorborn and two young female recruits of the Spireguard, and an etherealist and his apprentice. Oh, and a cat.

It's quite a departure from the Dresden Files - third person, multiple character viewpoints, and a whole new world. Pretty good and intended as the first in at least a trilogy, but it is a while since this was released and there is no sign of volume two yet.

47. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub. The second book of hers I have read this year, the first being The vacationers. Enjoyed this - it's about a group of middle-aged friends (who were in a rock group at college and had a one-hit wonder). The book examines their lives as they approach 50, their families, teenage kids, relationships, careers, mid-life crises etc. Very readable and nicely written.

Back to Russia now with Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson.

127. The Break by Marian Keyes

Love Marian Keyes and was lucky to be able to see her talk about her new book on Tuesday night! Really enjoyed this, not quite up there with my favourites of hers, but still really good. In this one, a husband suffering after the death of his father decides he needs a break to go travelling for 6 months. This is toldnfrom the POV of the wife and how she copes while he's off doing who knows what.

86) Source to Sea, Tom Chessyre
Author does the Thames Path. He's a staff travel writer for the Times, so I was surprised at how amateurish this way - it reads just like anyone's walking blog, with some history bits copied out of guidebooks and some slightly inane exchanges with random people he meets. I read on anyway, because I'm doing the path myself bit by bit over a few years and was interested to compare notes, but nobody could accuse it of being great literature.

136. The Silkworm, Robert Galbraith.

If The Cuckoo's Calling was an attack on the rich, this is an attack on the pretensions of literature. I expect JKR was feeling a bit sore about the HP-is-not-real-literature accusations when she wrote it! Set in the publishing world, Cormoran and Robin try to locate a missing author, only to discover his dead body. Very gruesome in places, with a fairly unpleasant method of death. Lots of atmosphere - JKR using a lot more of her talent for describing places to make them seem real, which was rather missing in book 1. I was really caught up in this, much more so than in TCC, and glad that book 3 had arrived the day before I finished it! I didn't guess the murderer, but that's got more to do with my preferences for characters than anything else. Robin was a bit more developed and the dick boyfriend too, although I was getting a bit tired of references to Robin dropping out of uni for some unspecified reason - you just know there's something big lurking, get on with it! I suppose what I'm trying to say is that the foreshadowing was clunky.

137. Career of Evil, Robert Galbraith.

Finally got the big reveal about Robin's past - see above review - I knew something was coming and was glad to finally get to it. One thing that's struck me reading these 3 is that most of the characterisation tends to go on the men (with the exception of Robin, and that's been a slow burn) - don't think TCC or CoE pass the Bechdel test - the lead woman talks to other women only about men. To be fair, Robin spends a lot of her time stuck in the office in the first book and half of the second one, not talking to anyone except Strike or Matthew. That said, this was another solid chunk of story - I'm looking forward to book 4 coming out. Leaving aside the fact that Strike apparently knows 4 people who might send him a severed leg, and a third example of Strike's leg giving way at a crucial moment (come on!)!

I have a question - does anyone ever read the Latin/Greek/random classic quotes at the beginning of chapters? It felt like JKR was just chucking them in with The Silkworm to be literary. I do read them but they never make much impact. The lyrics at the start of CoE chapters were at least relevant to the plot.

138. Captive Prince, CS Pacat.

Forgot about this! Someone reviewed it upthread and I thought it sounded good, but it didn't quite grab me. A world where bastard children are utterly taboo and therefore everyone has turned to gay sex instead just sounds a bit...fanfic. And even if bastardry was the worst thing ever, why wouldn't a hetero man have anal sex with a woman? Why would it have to be m-m, f-f pairings? Also, at one point there's a drug that causes people to be terribly terribly turned on and the tortured anti-hero is nobly resisting...I did snurk at that. Plus, every noble has a sex slave...If it hadn't been so expensive I might have bought the next one to see where the story is going, but having left it for a few days and read a few other things I'm not sure I'll bother.

139. Firestarter, Stephen King.

One of his earliest novels, about a pyrokinetic girl pursued by the government.

meanwhile, in the slow readers' group:
32. All Creatures Great and Small by James Heriot The memoirs of a newly qualified country vet in the 1930s. More fun than it sounds, and twice as messy. Really warm and gentle. The book equivalent of a hot bath.

33. Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny Story of New Yorker Graham's second marriage to Audra, how he reacts when his ex-wife re-enters his life, and his experiences parenting his and Audra's neurologically atypical son Matthew. There's not much to the plot other than how different personalities form relationships differently. It was light, sometimes funny and reasonably well-written, but for a novel about relationships was lacking depth, and none of the characters was likeable (I get the feeling Audra was meant to be).

Ooh Cheddar had to quickly look away from your review re the sequel to the Silkworm. I haven't read any of JKR's Galbraith books but I've just enjoyed the first episode of The Silkworm tonight on iplayer :)

I'm slowly making my way through The Thing Itself. Would whoever recommended it on here come back to tell me WTF I'm reading? [puzzled]

Just catching up. Reading has slowed right down due to me going back to full time teaching after doing supply and part time for the last few years. Also been training and then doing the Great North Run, reading has dropped of the radar. Currently plowing through Elmet.

33. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons: much reviewed here and read for bookclub. Very enjoyable.
34. Cause Celeb, Helen Fielding: satire of an African relief organization that organizes a last-ditch, celebrity-studded telethon to raise funds direly needed for a poverty-stricken, war-torn, disease-ridden (fictional) country. Fielding is a much sharper satirist than she's given credit for being. Really liked this one.
35. Vassa in the Night, Sarah Porter: modern reselling of the Baba Yaga story set in Brooklyn. Unless you're really into folklore, I'd not bother.
36. My Not So Perfect Life, Sophie Kinsella: Katie loses her London job and moves home to help her parents launch a glamping site on their Somerset farm. Among the first guests is her perfect, awful former boss. Hijinks ensue.
37. The Mothers, Brit Bennett: a young, motherless woman becomes pregnant and opts for termination, which has ripple effects for her, her father, best friend, ex boyfriend, his family, and his father's faithful congregation. Excellent first novel.
38. The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, Louise Miller: after accidentally setting an exclusive Boston club ablaze when she drops a Baked Alaska, the titular baker finds a new home in a small Vermont town's quaint inn and sets about making a new life there among the town's quirky inhabitants. Imagine the Gilmore Girls with a snarky Sookie.
39. Dept. of Speculation, Jenny Offill: an unnamed narrator tells the story of her adult life, marriage, and motherhood, interweaving flashbacks, current observations, and rather poetic bits. I don't want to give spoilers, but I'd recommend this one.
40. Still Life, Louise Penny: the first in the Inspector Gamache series, much reviewed here. I enjoyed this cozy set in the beautiful Eastern Townships of Quebec, though I felt it was a bit stilted at times.

I'm honestly finding my list a bit embarrassing; lately, I've lacked the stamina to read more literary or socially-relevant novels.

Finally finishe Sovereign. Will update later.

I need to turn off one-click on my kindle account. This morning, while checking the daily deals on my phone, my fat fingers accidentally bought something called Who Moved My Cheese .

Van, I always think Cause Celeb is under-rated. It's not so cosy as Helen Fielding's other books, given the sections in an African refugee camp, but it's sharp and still funny.

does anyone ever read the Latin/Greek/random classic quotes at the beginning of chapters?
I quite like this if done well, Cheddar, although I don't think JK Rowling uses them in a particularly illuminating way. The first time I encountered it as a young teen was in Watership Down, when I was blown away by the concept (and may have used it, badly, in at least one University essay as a result. I blush).

87. Molly Keane: A Life, by Sally Phipps
Biography of sharp Anglo-Irish writer by her daughter. Have read a couple of MK's books recently and am interesting in that Anglo-Irish gentry milieu. This was okay but dragged a bit - she had lots of friends and we hear about them all, and it gets hard to keep track. "She was always delighted to see Biffy and Polly...." Who the hell are Biffy and Polly? It felt like her daughter wanted to avoid hurting anyone's feelings by leaving them out, but it got a bit tedious. Tell me she like to see friends and sit by the fire for a whiskey and a gossip by all means, but don't name every single one.

It's a nuisance, Turn, but at least their refund policy is quick and painless.

I don't read much chic lit at all, but I think Helen Fielding is a genius. Very sharp, very clever, doing far more than it looks like she is on the surface.

Cote I suggested The Thing Itself after I read it in July.

It did make more sense as I got further through it, although I still don't think I understand Kant's philosophy properly. Review copied and pasted below -

"44. The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts

I got this one out of the library. The blurb on the back references the John Carpenter film "The Thing", so I was expecting a story about murderous shape shifting aliens in Antarctica.

That's not what this is about. This was much more intellectual, and more interesting than a straightforward rewrite of The Thing would have been.

It does start out with two scientists on an Antarctic science base, but in essence, this is more about the nature of reality and the characters attempts to manipulate that. The book is heavily based on the theories of the philosopher Kant. I was struggling to wrap my head around the finer details of this, but the general gist (I think) is that reality is shaped by our perception of it, and that the real world, or the thing itself, exists independently of our concept of it.

There's also several short stories interspersed through the main narrative, which was a bit jarring at first, but does tie together, more or less, by the end of the book."

😂 Turnofthescrew, I'll join you in the slow reading group! My rate of reading really peeters out as we get towards the end of the year.

48. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.

Reviewed several times already on this thread and, if I remember correctly, mostly liked. I appreciated the descriptive Victorian-era settings and slow burning story lines. The consumptive wife, the unrequited love, the mystical serpent - all good but I didn't believe in the love story. I'm not completely sure why that part of the story didn't come alive for me. I don't think I believed in the characters enough and maybe the overall atmosphere was overly dramatic/theatrical for my liking. Overall, though, an enjoyable read and would get 3/5 from me.

49. The Dry by Jane Harper.

Crime thriller set in small town Australia. I raced through this book in two days - a definite page-turner!

Joining Turn in the slow readers corner, I'm too embarrassed to say what number I'm up to, but I've just finished a brace of disturbing books dealing with unpleasant matters.

1. In Plain Sight by Dan Davies, the biography of Jimmy Savile and his prolific sexual abuse. Here is a man who definitely put the vile into Savile and reading about him made me feel somewhat prurient. Particularly as this book didn't really answer any questions or shed any new light on why his offending was so prolific and why so many people were aware of his M.O. but allowed it to continue.
   I've come across so many people saying they always thought he was creepy with the wisdom of hindsight, and indeed he was, but he was dismissed as a great English eccentric by most of those who were lucky enough to only see his media presence. I remember actually feeling sorry for him during the 'When Louis Met Jimmy' documentary as he seemed a lonely, bonkers old man who was beset by vicious rumours because he had never married Shudder, the man was a monster.

2. The Hospital by Barbara O'Hare, a 99p Kindle special, which I bought because it had good reviews. This misery memoir deals with the horrific physical and sexual abuse and medical experimentation that was carried out on vulnerable children at the infamous Aston Hall Hospital.
   This was ghost written but not terribly well in my opinion. The story itself makes for grisly reading and I was rather surprised by O'Hare's somewhat gushing praise for her father in the dedication section when actually he was portrayed as a complete waste of space during her tragic childhood.

I feel I need something a bit more optimistic and uplifting as my next read.

Managed to fall off the list (again) and the first thing I do on catching up, is - yup, the usual - add another book to the pile (The Hate U Give thanks Sadik). Don't usually get drawn to YA books, but with two good 50-booker reviews and that subject matter ...

Since posting last, my progress has been positively snail-like, so I chucked in a few short reads:

37. Lion: A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley. Book on which the film was based. Young Indian boy who hops on a train and gets lost, ending up adopted by a family in Australia. The story of him tracing his mother and family in India. Lovely tale, but not an especially rivetting read.
38. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Good fun, and I did eventually remember "who" dunnit (from the film), although couldn't remember the why. Will read more I think, as it proved to be a most enjoyable palate cleanser.
39. The Sport of Kings by C E Morgan. Big heavyweight novel about horse breeding, race, poverty and rural America. Also odd ramblings about the theory of evolution, geology 'n stuff. Interesting but probably could've done with an edit/deciding what story it was going to tell.
40. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. A sweet little tale about two girls during that hot English summer.
41. The Danger by Dick Francis
42. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. Book club read about a drunk/drug taker who gets severely burnt in a car crash (his own fault) and the woman he meets whilst he's recovering. He can't decide if she's bonkers or if the "rememberings" she tells him are true. Really enjoyed this, most unexpectedly, but I like a bit of the fantastical.
43. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her TED talk in book form. Doesn't say anything new, just tells the story from a Nigerian/African perspective.
44. A Perfect Storm by Jodi Taylor. Usual St Mary's antics. I think Ms Taylor is trying to get serious. It doesn't work.
45. No Turning Back by Lauren Greene. A writer I know virtually. I think this book is heavily based on her past. I simply couldn't connect with the main character and so it was all a bit meh, although not badly written. Rather more chick-litty that I expected.
46. The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. Such a quiet little book. Started slow, finished slow. But oh, what a lovely read. Quirky local characters, unlikely "hero". I think I might be a Proulx fan.