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?

Damn you lot. Have now bought the Harman and the Algorithms books. When will I get time to read all these?

Hello everyone, I’ve not checked in in ages, so posting my updated list:

Updated list:

1. The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
2. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie
3. Our Endless Numbered Days - Claire Fuller
4. Love Letters of Henry V111 to Anne Boleyn (totally counting this even though it's only about 70 pages, I'll read an extra long one at some point to balance it out!)

5. How to be Both - Ali Smith

1. Toast - Nigel Slater
2. A Man Called Ove - Fredrick Backman
3. Chess - Stefan Zweig
4. Beauvallet- Georgette Heyer

10. The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak 11. The Story of a New Name - Elena Ferrante 12. The Glorious Heresies- Lisa McInerney 13. The Girls at the Kingfisher Club -Genevieve Valentine 14. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 15. Soulless - Gail Carriger 16. She-Wolves: the Women Who Ruled England before Elizabeth - Helen Castor 17. Exposure - Helen Dunmore 18. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert JK Rowling Galbraith 19. The Grand Babylon Hotel - Arnold Bennet 20. The Humans - Matt Haig 21. The Princess Bride - William Goldman 22. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North 23. Bitch in a Bonnet: Reclaiming Jane Austen from the Stiffs, the Snobs, the Simps and the Saps (Volume 1) - Robert Rodi 24. Good Kings Bad Kings - Susan Nussbaum 25. Right ho, Jeeves - P.G. Wodehouse 26. Uprooted - Naomi Novik 27. The lost art of keeping secrets - Eva Rice 28. The Misremembered Man - Christine McKenna 29. A God In Ruins - Kate Atkinson 30. Rivers of London - Ben Aaranovitch 31. A House-Boat on the Styx - John Kendrick Bangs 32. Those who leave and those who stay - Elena Ferrante 33. Working the ruins: Feminist Poststructural Theory and Methods in Education 34. Elizabeth is Missing - Emma Healey 35. The Story of the Lost Child - Elena Ferrante 36. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne DuMaurier 37. Lost for Words - Stephanie Butland 38. The Husbands Secret - Liane Moriarty 39. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons 40. The Year of the Runaways - Sunjeev Sahota 41. Changeless - Gail Carriger 42. Blameless - Gail Carriger 43. Heartless - Gail Carriger 44. The Japanese Lover - Isabel Allende 45. The Dog in the Marriage - Amy Hemel 46. Tigers in Red Weather - Liza Klaussmann 47. The Paying Guests - Sarah Waters

Just finished -
48. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Another one I’d not have chosen to read but for the goodreads challenge I’m doing, one prompt called for a book based on mythology or something like that. Took an age to read as I kept using the kindle feature of taking you to Wikipedia to look up the different gods and legends, leading me down some very interesting wiki rabbit holes. That said I’d rather have read a book about the various religious, mythological and legendary characters than actually read this book. Feels like one of those books that thinks it’s a lot cleverer than it actually is.

Also listening to Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on audiobook, enjoying it so far.

Composteleana, you must be really close to finishing the goodreads challenge! I am floundering a bit and I don't think I'm going to finish all of it, may leave the advanced challenge alone for now and try to get through the main list at least. I've got a bit stuck on City on Fire, so I'm taking a break for a while to read other things.

I bought a few things from this month's kindle deals - The Stranger in the Woods (I've heard a lot about this one and like the premise), The Lost City of the Monkey God (I'm a sucker for an explorer story), and Son of York (I don't know this author but I love Wars of the Roses historical fiction and this looks great). When I'm actually going to get to read them I don't know, but hey...

Sharing my updated list:

1. The Wolf and The Raven - Steven MacKay

2.The Hobbit - JRRR Tolkien (Audible)

1. Greenwitch - Susan Cooper

4.Child 44 - Tom Robb Smith

1. Fellowship of the Ring - JRRR Tolkien (Audible)

6.Into the Heart of Borneo - Redmond O'Hanlan 7.The No1 Ladies Detective agency

1. The Two Towers - JRRR Tolkien (Audible)
2. 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 37: Macbeth: A novel by AJ Hartley (Audible) 38: 1984 by George Orwell (Audible) 39: My Antonia by Willa Cather 40: Her Father's Daughter by Alice Pung 41: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (Audible) 42: The Girl in the Glass Tower by Elizabeth Freemantle 43: Nobody's Child by Cathy Glass 44: Henry VIII by Simon Court 45: Revelation - Shardlake#4 by CJ Sansom 46: Northern Lights (His Dark Materials #1) by Phillip Pullman (audible) 47: The Subtle Knife (his Dark Materials #2) by Phillip Pullman (audible) 48:The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials #3) by Phillip Pullman (Audible) 49: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 50: The Medieval Anarchy by Kaye Jones

51: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
I read the Kite Runner years ago and loved it but had never read this one before. It's the story of Laila and Mariam, the story follows both their very different, early lives in Afganistan, and they are brought together when they are both married to the same violent older man. It covers the years of Soviet occupation, the Mujahideen and the Taliban. Very harrowing in places, but a thoroughly good read.

52: A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
The first of the Cadfael books which I bought when they were on 99p for Kindle. Interesting story, easy read, will save the rest for when I need a nice easy read. (eg after A Thousand Splendid Suns)

53: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Loved this, even more prophetic than 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale. Set in 21st Century USA, where books are illegal and the penalty for being found in possession of a book is to have your house burned down by "Firemen". The belief is that books give people dangerous and subversive ideas. People entertain themselves with fast cars, loud music and TV dramas, light entertainment and reality shows that are deliberately made to be bland and insipid so they cannot offend or upset anyone. It was written in 1953! 2017 and we're almost there!
Brilliant read!

54: Richard III and The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir
I subject I am fascinated with, a good accessible read.

The Disappearance of Adele Bedeau - the first book by Graeme Macrae Burnett is on the daily deal, for fans of His Bloody Project

151. Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk. YA coming-of-age novel about secrets and truth - particularly when to tell the truth, and to whom. This was really good - I was assuming it was werewolf related because of the name, but it isn't supernatural at all, and it was really powerful. Honestly one of the best books I've read in a long time. Amazon reviews are comparing it to To Kill A Mocking Bird and it does remind me of that a bit. I think it's the strong message about doing the right thing coming through.

152. The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart. The young Merlin - goes up to the conception of Arthur at Tintagel.

153. The Hollow Hills, Mary Stewart. Runs from essentially Arthur's birth to the Sword in the Stone/his accession to the throne.

Both told from the point of view of Merlin - so it is very much about his prophecies and visions. I am getting a bit bogged down in the descriptions of endless battles and different petty kings, and the place names are utterly confusing. It's reasonably enjoyable but a bit slow. There are also very few female characters and those that exist (Ygraine, Morgause, Morgan) are either portrayed very negatively or just don't get much time. Merlin is also very contemptuous of 'women's magic' and women in general, which is annoying me. Lyrically written but without that much to say, I think! I suppose Arthurian legend is so well-known that any retelling is going to suffer a bit from that.

154. The Furthest Station, Ben Aaronavitch. Novella. Bit meh, this one. Had the sense that the story has been developed a bit in his graphic novels, which I haven't read, so I was a bit lost at times. I guess a novella isn't going to further the story at all, but come on, get on with Lesley's story! I don't really care about Beverley - Peter is clearly much more invested in Lesley and it's a much better plot. Anyway, this particular one featured a lot of sardonic musing that missed being funny. Instantly forgettable.

50. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

The story is centred around Cora, born a slave on a ranch in Southern Carolina who escapes north where the black population is rumoured to be free. It depicts the horror of slavery and the continued enslavement despite 'freedom'. How can they find peace and acceptance? Is violence the only answer? Each time I read books describing slavery there is the renewed dismay of how badly human beings can treat each other.

I liked Cora's characterisation but I felt the story suffered by the lack of development of other characters. A good read but not great.

51. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell.

Used an Audible credit and well worth it. Set in Dejima, Japan, a trading port with the Dutch at the waning of their colonial powers. Very much enjoyed this epic tale of clashing cultures, colonialism, a dash of the supernatural, love, honour, mortality and probably more I didn't pick up on! David Mitchell has to be one of my favourite authors.

52. Guilty Pleasures (An Anita Blake Novel) by Laurell K.Hamilton.

Enjoyable enough urban fantasy with a strong female lead.

Have also bought Algorithms to Live by..

@noodlezoodle - not that close! I think I have about 12 prompts left. I read lots of non prompt books for a while and then took ages over The Paying Guests (not for a prompt) and American Gods. Not sure whether I’ll finish all of them, 1 a week sounds doable but my reading has slowed right down lately!

I’ve started ‘We should all be feminists’ which is super short - an essay really- so should get me one closer (by someone you admire I’ll use it for, though I guess I admire the sentiment more than the author herself, as I don’t know much about her. Very much enjoying Americanah by same author though so that will have to do).

ShakeitOff I have The Thousand Autumns on my shelf - might be my next read.

Ok so just finished it

49. We should all be feminists .Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Took all of 10 mins to read so it really feels like a huge cheat to count it but hey, a book is a book (it’s actually an essay from a Ted talk but still ... )

My kindle sale haul this month:
The Hate U Give - Angie Thomas
Sealskin - Su Bristow
The Stranger In The Woods - Michael Finkel

I'm looking forward to tackling these when I'm done binge reading Ann Cleeves books!

I need to hit the Kindle sale, you have all come up with some great suggestions!

another 2 finished so I've completed my 50!
49. Northern Lights - Philip Pullman - first of "his dark materials" books. Never read these, even though they do seem to be one that everyone has read. I'm perhaps too old to love them, but can see why they are one of those "must read" for YA readers.

50. The Replacement - Patrick Redmond - a book club book, I probably wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't, as it's a bit poorly written. A rich family with adult twins, have everything and everyone's jealous of them. Then a chance meeting for the twins cousin with a man who is idential to one of the twins blows their family apart. This feels like a typical 'chick lit' book, but with men rather than woman having all the angst and feelings. Not one for Cote !!

81. Nine Coaches Waiting - Mary Stewart. This was enjoyable enough vintage thriller about a governess in France - but as Remus rightly said, not a s good as Madam, Will You Talk.

82. Touch Not The Cat - Mary Stewart. Mystery surrounding a mediaeval manor and a family with telepathic abilities. All a bit silly really.

Don't think I'll bother with Touch Not the Cat - damned silly title too.

Reading and thoroughly enjoying In the Land of the Long White Cloud (from the Kindle sale).

72. All of a Winter's Night by Phil Rickman

In the latest Merrily Watkins novel, Hereford's diocesan exorcist feels her position is under threat from the new bishop who seems determined to restrict her role. Added to this, the secretive ritual Merrily and her daughter Jane stumble upon in the churchyard after bleak and brief funeral of Aidan Lloyd, son of a rich local farmer, seems to have ignited an old feud and revealed a potentially sinister side to a rural tradition. Meanwhile, DI Frannie Bliss is investigating a shooting which suggests that organised crime may have spread to the rural county while pondering his own future as bent ex-copper Charlie Howe seems to be charming his way towards election as Police & Crime Commissioner.

Pretty good one overall, I thought, although the 'mystical' side to the mystery was a little woolly and less fleshed out than normal.

30. Another night, another day by Sarah Rayner

Bath reading. Pretty unremarkable but not badly written. Focusing on small number of people suffering various forms of mental health who meet at a clinic and generally discover mutual insight and shared experience in their Brighton neighbourhood. I liked the range of mh - and links to bereavement, bankruptcy and infidelity were nicely done, but it was a read and return to charity shop book.

Am very slowly getting through the horseman by Tim Pears, whose work I love, but finding it an effort

Was almost through my library haul with three books to go.. returned some books and came back with one I’d reserved and another two Stephen King (Carrie and Pet Sematary).

Big thank you to whoever recommended 'Wolf Of The Plains' up thread, my reading rate is pretty slow compared to you lot, but I feel I've kissed a fair few frogs on the novel front this year. Snapped Wolf Of The Plains up for 99p when it was on Kindle Sale and so far I'm loving it.
Hopefully I'll get a bit more reading done now the nights are drawing in and it's getting too cold to be in the garden.

Wolf of the Plains was me, via my dad!

Still really enjoying In the Land of the Long White Cloud - if anybody likes historical fiction and is a bit obsessed by the 19th century, I recommend! There are three of them, all currently 99p, so I've bought them all.

Am I imagining it or was Into the Air well reviewed on here? Everest tale by Jon Krauer (sp? or sthg like that). Just bought it on Kindle Deals.

Not imagining it - it's really good!

102. The Last Tudor - Phillipa Gregory. Not going to set the world in fire but was readable and just what I needed at the moment. Tells (very simplistically) the tale of the Three Grey sisters. Lady Jane Grey, who was beheaded by Mary I when her father used her to claim the throne after the death of Edward VI. Her two sisters were direct Tudor heirs, being great Nieces of Henry VIII. As such the insecure Elizabeth I saw them as a threat and punished them both when they made marriages without her permission. History made simple in true Gregory style but did manage to convey some of the insecurities and malice of Elizabeth in her reign.

33. Fatherland Robert Harris DH loves Harris, and this has been on my vague radar for ages. It's the 1960s, Adolf Hitler is about to turn seventy five, and a police detective in Berlin is investigating a murder which might uncover the truth about what really happened to all the Jews in Europe ... I don't really read thrillers at all, but I thought this was exceptionally well done - really meticulously thought out and pacy. Not quite meish or where my head is ATM, but very glad I read it.

Thank you Remus and Remus's dad!

I'm popping in to say that a good Einstein biography is 99p on the Kindle just for today.

I've lost my reading mojo, sadly, passing a long time on reading a few pages of Neuromancer per day, trying to remember WTH I loved about this book in my 20s.