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?

65. Ten Days, Gillian Slovo

Set in London during a fictional hot summer of unrest after a black man dies while being arrested. The characters include residents of the local estate, police officers both high up and grass roots, and the Home Secretary. Well written and atmospheric, and with a few good twists to the plot which I didn't see coming.

66. The Gustav Sonata, Rose Tremain

Gustav is a little boy in post-WW2 Switzerland and he meets and befriends another boy, Anton, whose family are rich and Jewish. Gustav's father died when he was tiny, and he knows that his mother describes him as "a hero" but is also desperately angry and bitter. The book tells you what happened to the family during the war years, and also follows the two boys into adulthood. A great masterclass in writing about repression, but like The Remains of the Day (which it reminded me of in this regard), the writing can come across a bit stilted as the characters don't seem to talk like real people. Makes you wonder why you have never asked yourself what it would have been like to live in a neutral country while war and death rampaged at every border.

67. How Not to Be a Boy, Robert Webb

I'm joining the crowd on this one - I laughed! I cried! I fell in love with teenage, sexually ambiguous Robert, and then again with grown-up, feminist Robert. I really enjoyed it - it was genuinely funny and sad, and it made me think and want to me a better mum to my little boys. I know it's everywhere at the moment but if you're not allergic to a bit of feeeeelings then I would highly recommend.

Remus, exactly how I felt about The Dry! Have added Madam, will you talk? to my wishlist. It sounds like fun. 😊

TooExtra - I loved the The Ivy Tree when I was a teenager. I reread it recently and smiled at my younger self, I had quite a different take on it.

I'm with LadyDepp and really liked Narrow Road. We're not alone, Lady! Well maybe on here we are.

I have All quiet on my Kindle and with all the love on this, am very much looking forward to reading it.

shakeitoff no you're not alone, the Booker judges seem to have suffered the same delusion

Found Madam, Will You Talk at DSis's tonight! Also the Arthurian trilogy.

147. Vampire Girl, Karpov Kinrade. From the sublime of AQOTWF to the ridiculous. Arianna makes a deal with a demon prince to save her mother's soul. Trashy but quite sassy. I was slightly hoping for hot demon sex, but I think that'll be later in the series. Trying to resist the urge to start a Kindle Unlimited free trial so I can read the next 3.

Shake, yes, to modern eyes The Ivy Tree is a bit suspect. Still love it despite knowing better, though!

Borrowed the 4 Mary Stewarts, Vampire Girl, The Handmaid's Tale and a YA called Wolf Hollow from DSis. Eclectic tastes.

Fell off the thread. Am currently still reading "How to Bake Pi" which is excellent, but as I bought it as a paperback I am making slow progress because I keep forgetting to bring it with me. I liked Cheng's style enough to buy her latest, Beyond Infinity - which was also shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book prize (started a thread on that: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/what_were_reading/3040227-Royal-Society-Science-Book-Prize-anyone-up-for-reading-the-shortlist )

In the meantime, have also finished:

Peak Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool.
If you've heard of "deliberate practice" or "10,000 hours to achieve mastery" - that was from Anders Ericsson's research on how we acquire skills, and there's a bit more to it than that. I thought I might know a lot of this from previous reading but it seems like most of that was oversimplified bollocks. Very readable, and also quite inspiring in its core message that any of us are capable of achieving extraordinary things.

The Grand Sophy Georgette Heyer that surely must have been reviewed previously? Regency style romance, fun and fast moving, though relatively predictable.

The Stars Are Legion Kameron Hurley. Not sure whether I enjoyed this - science fictional, setting is a bunch of decaying world-size ships travelling between stars. Strangeness value high, extremely biological (most of main characters female, the ability to have a biological child is unusual, many women on the ship instead gestate and give birth to ship parts.)

Redshirts John Scalzi - reread after previous discussions on this thread. Great fun.

Ride The Storm Karen Chance. This is the latest of I dunno how many in the Cassie Palmer series - Sadik have you read these? They sound like they might fit your request - light, fun romps through time, main character is a seer, love triangle between her and vampire and her half demon/half succubus self-appointed bodyguard.

Spinning, I absolutely adored Sweetbitter. I loved the food writing, the way it brings New York to life, and I didn't even mind the messiness of the main character, because I thought it captured really well that heady feeling of being in a massively unsuitable relationship but not caring because it's so intoxicating. Perhaps I enjoyed it vicariously because I'm now boringly settled and in my forties, but I really did love it and it's one of my books of the year so far.

I am not doing too well with my reading at the moment, I"m stuck on City on Fire. Although I'm enjoying it, I'm not finding it a very light read. Perhaps I need a break from it.

Hi noodlezoodle - I'm really enjoying Sweetbitter, it's taken me by surprise. I should finish it today. Dahnler's style is unlike anything I've read lately and yes she captures what it feels like to be 22 and figuring out who you are in a group of people from all different backgrounds and places in their lives.

I tried to get through City on Fire earlier this year. Had to stop about 400 pages in. It started off well and then got more and more like reading treacle if you know what I mean. Parts of it were just really unbelievable and other parts just too pretentious. It's just too big a book to be dragged through for me.

Pouring rain here. No school run to do. Not too much planned today either- it's a book day. Hooray!

I read City on Fire when it was published and while I thought it was worthwhile, I also thought it needed a serious pruning.

In local book news, I saw Salman Rushdie be interviewed last night. The interview was most interesting when it related directly to the book. Fun fact: Rushdie is a DC, not Marvel, loyalist.

89. It - Stephen King.

I must confess to never having read much King (The Stand, 11.22.63 and Misery) and although I enjoyed them, I didn't really get why people love him so much.

Horror has never been my thing so I thought It would be a step too far for me, certainly out of my comfort zone.

Well, blow me, I loved it. What an imagination the man has. Ok, it's a bit macabre in parts but it's full of twists and turns; I had no idea where the plot was going and I loved that. It's also so tender about childhood, parts of it are just lovely if sad. I was in the mood for an epic read and it certainly satisfied my needs.

Am reading some soothing chick lit thing now to recover.

131. Katherine of Aragon:The True Queen by Alison Weir

The first in her Six Tudor Queens series of novels. It's written in a bit of a soapy style, but I still really enjoyed it. If you already know a lot about Katherine's story you won't learn anything new from this, but I was surprised to realise how long it was from Anne Boleyn coming on the scene to Henry actually marrying her - about 7 years which must have been awful for Katherine.

Am now reading Weir's non fiction book about the fall of Anne Boleyn.

Best, I've not read a ton of King either. I'd argue that his work can be uneven, but when he's at his best? He's incredible.

Vanderley Do you have a favourite King book?

Best, one of my favourites is The Shawshank Redemption (a novella as opposed to a novel, I'd say). I also like The Dead Zone and Misery. A friend who's widely read and has excellent taste (imo) says 11/22/63 is one of the best books he's read.

There are several of King's works on my TBR list; It is now at the top.

(The correct title is, of course, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption )

50. (Yay! Tiny fifty book fanfare!) Frost in May by Antonia White Catholic convert Nanda attends a convent school from the age of nine until her early teens. Written in the 30s and set pre WW1, this was a beautifully told tale of a girl growing into herself, developing friendships, working out her own feelings, within a repressive environment where adults think nothing of breaking a child's spirit for their own good. I think someone on this thread recommended this to me about a year ago when I was looking for 1930s ish coming of age novels by female authors. Good call!

I have Shawshank and The Green Mile TBR but I have seen the films. I've remembered that I've read Mr Mercedes too which was ok.

Quite a few S King books are priced at 1.99 on the Kindle atm including The Stand, Carrie, and The Shining.

Really Cote. Better wait until tomorrow in case I make too many wine- induced purchases. Any recommendations?

That should say Really? Cote, thanks

No Firestarter or The Dead Zone unfortunately but some of the well-known earlier titles are there.

The Stephen King books aren't shown as £1.99 on my kindle? Looks like they're normal price

The Stand and The Shining are two of my favourite Stephen King books.

Christine is the only one of his I can see that’s priced at £1.99.

Sorry for the false hope. I didn't check prices but was going by the eReaderIQ alerts I received 2 days ago. It must have been a very short-lived sale.

54. After the Storm - Jane Lythell

Two couples meet in Belize. They decide to charter one couples boat to take the four of them to a far off island in the Cairbbean. Sounds Iike paradise but living in close quarters with strangers on the sea isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I actually didn't expect this book to turn out the way it did at all! Definitely thought it was going to be a different story. Another library book so glad I didn't buy it as it wasn't what I was looking for but it was enjoyable enough. Wouldn't read it again though so glad I can return it