50 Book Challenge 2017 Part Eight

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the eighth and final 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 and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read. To anyone who hasn't posted, feel free to de-lurk and share with us what you've read this year.

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third thread here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, the sixth one here, and the seventh one here.

How have you got on so far this year?

43. The Soldier's Return Rebecca West Chris comes back to his country house from the Western Front, unable to remember the last fifteen years. All he can remember is the innkeeper's daughter he loved when he was young. But what's more important, youth and happiness or truth and suffering? I've never read any Rebecca West before, and this book astonished me. It's incredibly clever, incredibly beautifully written, incredibly romantic and horribly unhappy and furious. I didn't like it - the narrator, Jenny, annoyed me, the amnesia storyline (which isn't actually possible - memory doesn't work like that) annoyed me too, and it's not an enjoyable book at all. But by God, it's good. She was only 24 when she wrote it too. Respect. It's also very short, if that appeals.

This thread has really slowed down, hasn't it? Does that usually happen?

Cheerful, my first time on this thread but there were comments early on from the regulars that it was a bit like the gym on here - everyone very keen in January but come April you're the only one in the Spin class! I guess by December it's even worse.

Go me, made it to 25! Yes I know pathetic, but maybe I'll hit the dizzy heights of 30 next year!

My list is:

 1.	<span class="italic">The Year Of Living Danishly</span>
2.	<strong>The Complete David Bowie</strong> by Nicholas Pegg
3.	Submarine
4.	Cold Comfort Farm
5.	The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying
6.	Ready Player One
7.	A Man Called Ove
8.	Hideous Kinky
9.	The Strange Death Of Europe
10. Writing Home
11. Keeping On Keeping On
12. The Siege
13. My Family and Other Animals
14. In Plain Sight
15. <span class="italic">The Hospital</span>
16. Wishful Drinking
17. <strong>The Wolf Of The Plains</strong>
18. Bridget Jones Baby
19. <span class="italic">Mad About The Boy</span>
20. <strong>The Road</strong>
21. <strong>The Stand</strong>
22. <strong>His Bloody Project</strong>
23. The Uncommon Reader (Audible)
24. Daughters of the Dragon

And now,
25. Tout Sweet, another of those moving to Continental Europe (France in this case) and giving up the fast lane for a rural idyll type books. It was okay. (I preferred Driving Over Lemons, when I read it several years ago.) Apparently Tout Sweet is the first in a four book series but I won't be reading any of the others.

Now on to 26 and possibly my last book of the year, I'm tossing up between my 99p bargains - Red Rising or the second Shardlake (although haven't read first one and not sure how important it is to read them in order) also found Our Endless Numbered Days on a Hotel book exchange shelf last weekend and that sounded right up my street from earlier reviews - decisions decisions.

Finally compiled my list and had lost about 10 books along the way.

1. Grayson Perry - Playing to the Gallery
2. The Emperor of All Maladies - Siddhartha Mukherjee
3. The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins
4. Ready Player One -Ernest Cline
5. The Essex Serpent
6. The year of Living Danishly - Helen Russell
7. Misery - Stephen King

8. Night Waking - Sarah Moss 9. Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland - Sarah Moss 10. A Cotswold Killing - Rebecca Tope 11. End of The World Running Club - Adrian J Walker WORST BOOK OF THE YEAR 12. Funny Girl - Nick Hornby 13. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins 14. Slade House - David Mitchell 15. The Mirror Crack'd - Agatha Christie 16. Bridget Jones' Baby 17. Truly, Madly, Deeply - Liane Moriarty 18. Where'd You Go, Bernadette - Maria Semple 19. Lord of The Flies -William Golding 20. Death On The Nile - Agatha Christie 21. The Tidal Zone - Sarah Moss 22. Murder on the Orient Express - Agatha Christie 23. News From Berlin - Otto de Kat. 24. The Little Seaside Kitchen - Jenny Colgan 25. His Bloody Project - Graeme Macrae Burnett 26. Ghosts of Everest 27. To Kill A Mockingbird -Harper Lee 28. A Caribbean Mystery - Agatha Christie 29. Foresics- The Anatomy of Crime -Val McDermid 30. Bitch In A Bonnet - Robert Rodi 31. Peril at End House - Agatha Christie 32. Dark Fire - C.J. Sansom 33. Fragile Lives - Stephen 34. Valley of the Dolls - Jacqueline Susann 35. A Pocket Full Of Rye - Agatha Christie 36. The Monogram Murders - Sophie Hannah 37. Day of The Jackal - Frederick Forsyth 38. Sleeping Tiger - Rosamund Pilcher. 39. Breakfast at Tiffany’s - Truman Capote 40. A Month in The Country - JL Carr 41. 84. Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff 42. 7 Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie 43. The Life Changing Magic of not giving a Fuck 44. Being Mortal - Atul Gawande 45. Cinderella in Sunlight - Hermina Black 46. The Chalk Pit -Ellie Griffiths 47. Resistance - Owen Sheers 48. The Blood Doctor - Ruth Rendell 49. The Vault - Ruth Rendell 50. Once in a lifetime - Cathy Kelly 51. No Man’s Nightingale _ Ruth Rendell 52. The Monster in The Box - Ruth Rendell 53. In The Flesh - Ruth Rendell 53. End In Tears - Ruth Rendell 54. The Babes in The Wood - Ruth Rendell 55. Harm Done - Ruth RendelL 56. Road Rage - Ruth Rendell 57. Simisola - Ruth Rendell 58. Kissing The Gunners Daughter - Ruth Rendell 59. The Veiled One - Ruth Rendell 60. An Unkindness Of Ravens- Ruth Rendell 61. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman 62. What she wants - Cathy Kelly 63. The Speaker of Mandarin - Ruth Rendell 64. Put on by cunning - Ruth Rendell 65. A sleeping Life -Ruth Rendell 66. Shake Hands Forever - Ruth Rendell 67. Some Lie And Some Die - Ruth Rendell 68. Murder Being Once Done - Ruth Rendell 69. No More Dying Then - Ruth Rendell 70. A Guilty Thing Surprised - Ruth Rendell 71. The Best Man To Die - Ruth Rendell 72. Wolf To The Slaughter- Ruth Rendell 73. A New Lease Of Death- Ruth Rendell 74. Wexford Short Stories- Ruth Rendell 75. From Doon With Death- Ruth Rendell 76. Sunday Morning Coming Down - Nicci French 77. Cathy Kelly - The House on Willow Street 78. Jane Eyre 79. East of Eden - John Steinbeck 80. Worth Dying For - Lee Child 81. Cannery Row - Steinbeck 82. Cathy Kelly - The Honey Queen 83. Lessons in Heartbreak - Cathy Kelly 84. The Silence between Breaths - Cathy Staincliff 85. The Moon’s A Ballon - David Niven 86. Sovereign - CJ Sansom 87. It - Stephen King 88. Charles and The Chocolate Factory - Ronald Dahl 89. Hidden Figures 90. Sue Perkins - Spectacles 91. Madam, Will You Talk - Mary Stewart 92. Homecoming - Cathy Kelly 93. Nine Coaches Waiting - Mary Stewart 94. Touch Not The Cat - Mary Stewart 95. Past Secrets - Cathy Kelly 96. Not Thomás -Sara Gethin 97. Secrets of a Happy Marriage - Cathy Kelly 98. The Modigliani Mystery - Ken Follett 99. Map Addict - Mike Price 100. A Woman’s Place - Harriet Harman 101. The Seagull - Ann Cleeves 102. Between Sisters - Cathy Kelly 103. How not to be a boy -Robert Webb

Lord of the flies was the absolute stand out of the year for me. So good that I read it twice in quick succession ( but only counted once).

Glad you enjoyed your KJ Charles in the end Tanaqui. I've not read the regency ones, only the fantasy novels (particularly liked Spectred Isle), but I think I'll give her a break for a while then try them next time I need something light.

I've bought and am re-reading Thinking Fast And Slow on the kindle daily deal, so I may be some time

I haven't been posted on the thread in ages, but I'm still reading things, just very slowly. I have been keeping up with people's reviews and buying accordingly

My list:

1. Ruby by Cynthia Bond
2. Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch
3. Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. The Island at the End of Everything by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
5. Monster Love by Carol Topolski
6. The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey
7. The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer
8. Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo
9. Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection by Derek Landy

10. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan 11. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah 12. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright 13. The Translation of Love by Lynne Kutsukaki

14. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay

An irreverent, funny, heartbreaking and illuminating collection of diary entries from comedian Adam Kay's days as a Junior Doctor. The majority of the stories relate humorous encounters with patients, colleagues and bureaucracy, but the book rightly does not avoid politics altogether and it does provide a timely reminder of the toll the job takes on many Doctors. Don't expect a happy ending, but you'll probably laugh out loud many times on the way there. When you're done with it, mail it to Jeremy Hunt

15. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Already much reviewed on here, so I'll just say that I thought it was very good overall. I did find it more impersonal than I was expecting. It was very difficult to get into the main character's head and consequently I felt she lacked the depth I would have expected. Nevertheless, the concept of the underground railroad and the differing structures of the various states is excellent and really well executed.

16. Three More Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Sequel to her first memoir. Rhodes-Courter spent most of her young life in the American foster care system, in a succession of foster and children's homes, until she was adopted aged 11. Her first memoir relates her life up till age 16 and is excellent. 'Three More Words' takes up as she goes to college, through to the present day. She talks about navigating her relationships with her brother and her birth family, the lasting effects of neglect and disrupted attachments on her, her advocacy for foster children, and follows her and her husbands journey as they become foster carers and eventually adoptive parents themselves. I thought it was a great follow up.

17. Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill

I knew almost nothing about Scientology until I read Jenna's autobiography, only that it was some kind of cult. Consider me thoroughly enlightened. The niece of Scientology's current leader David Miscavige, she was raised to be a member of the Sea Org from her early years (Sea Org is the organisation compromising the most commited Scientologists who sign up to devote their life and future lives to the Church for 1 billion years). She escaped aged 21. A no holds barred account of what it is to be a Scientologist in the Sea Org.

I'm currently reading Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town and Letters from a War Zone

102. The Bat by Jo Nesbo I thought I'd try another Harry Hole novel after reading The Snowman last month. Harry is sent to Australia to investigate the murder of a Norwegian woman in this first book of the series, an engaging thriller in which we find out more about Harry's past. Still no idea why the book is called The Bat though! I think I prefer Vera
103. A Cat, A Hat and a Piece of String by Joanne Harris finally got around to reading this quirky collection that my MIL had lent me. I enjoyed this, I'd forgotten what a good storyteller Joanne Harris is. A mixture of heartwarming, creepy and thought provoking stories.

I've just started Solar Bones by Mike McCormack and am finding the prose difficult to get into, the lack of punctuation and almost stream of consciousness style is taking some effort: has anybody else read this? If so, is it worth persevering with?

I am a massive fan of Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Yes, it’s normal for this thread to slow down towards the end of the year! I’ve slowed down myself, it’s such a busy time of year, but I’m currently reading Alias Grace and enjoying it.

I think it's amazing that we've made it to Thread #8 this year

Personally, I have slowed down considerably this year due to piano practice taking up most of my free time (~ 2 hours per day, every day). I will barely reach 50 books in 2017, whereas I had been reading 64-65 books in previous years. Ah well. It's a trade-off.

Not slowing down, but becoming less and less ambitious in my reading. I'm taking a few of my more demanding selections back to the library unread.

130. A Shilling for Candles, Josephine Tey
One of those mid-20th century Cluedo-type murder mysteries. Very much of its time: suspicion of the "little Jew" with his "commercial exterior"; police detective writhing with discomfort about having to ask questions of a member of the aristocracy; same police detective taking romantic interest in gjrl of 16 or 17, as her father gazes on approvingly. Hmmm.

131. Terms and Conditions, by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
An oral history of girls' boarding schools 1939-1979. An entertaining account, and eye-opening to those of us who derive their knowledge mainly from Malory Towers. Enid Blyton was not a strictly accurate historian, it would seem.

I have massively slowed down! Posted earlier that I’d lost my mojo and have gone from a book a week t least to having the same 3 books on the go for over a month, 6 weeks or more I think.

Anyway, finished 53. Autumn - Ali Smith, which I loved and would like to return to when I’m in a better reading frame of mind as I don’t think it benefited from the stopping and starting that I was doing, and is only short anyway so I should have read it straight through. Beautifully written.

Still determinedly picking my way through A Place of Greater Safety - Hilary Mantel. I am marginally more engaged with it now I’m (just!) past the half way point.

I think I’m going to spend this evening speed reading something quick and trashy to remind me I do this for fun . Determined to get to 60 by 31st Dec.

Terms and Conditions sounds fascinating Biblio

I've been rubbish at posting, sorry, due to illness (of the annoying, seasonal kind, nothing serious!). Last time I popped by, Cote was explaining the weird way that baroque keyboard players used to finger their scales, which I still can't get my head (or fingers) around....

82. The Outrun, Amy Liptrot
I'm sure this has been reviewed lots here. It's autobiographical and tells the story of young woman returned to the Orkneys (where she lived as a child, and where her father still lives on his farm) while she recovers from the damage that alcoholism has done to her life. The depiction of island life, Orkney history and (especially) myths and legends is well done, and she writes beautifully about the natural world and our connection with it. My only criticism is the pacing - the earlier parts of the book, describing her edgy London life, her period in rehab and her initial move back to the Orkneys, are almost too full, while the latter part slows right down and feels repetitive.

I found myself recommending it to a very varied group of friends, all of whom I thought would get something different from it.

83. A Question of Identity, Susan Hill
Simon Serrailler - read this while in bed with a bug. It's only the second one I've read, so I'd missed quite a lot of the back story, but that didn't really matter. A good easy read for a cold evening. Slight twist on the usual police procedural in that you (kind of) knew who the killer was right from the start, so the tension came from waiting for the police to work it out.

84. Invitation to the Waltz, Rosamond Lehmann
Now this was lovely. A coming-of-age sketch of a young girl in the 1920s, attending her first grown-up dance. Olivia is a fantastic character, her inner monologue is subtle and real. She puts her dress on backwards and hates it (and later realises that it's not a great success anyway). She feels bad for not dancing more with a lecherous old man, and worries about the feelings of an angry, drunk young man. She hides in the loos pretending to look in the mirrors, and imagines her sister and her cousin talking behind her back. The book is a lovely period piece but at the same time it reminded me of every night out I had as a teenager :) I'm looking forward to reading the sequel (The Weather in the Streets).

I've had a look at the December kindle deals and am sadly disappointed. Enjoying all of the "Book of the Year" lists in the weekend papers though, and hoping that a few of the named books might be reduced in the 12 days of kindle deals :)

It's a pretty decent read, Sadik, although a bit over-sold by the cover quotes from what I assume are mates in the media biz ("My book of the year!" - India Knight).

Thanks for the recommendation of the JG Ballard autobiography Cote. Just downloaded it onto the kindle, £2.99, bargain.

Biblio I also had a bit of a 12 year old crush on Will Stanton. I have a clear memory of reading The Dark is Rising under the duvet by torchlight in the middle of the night as I just HAD to find out what happened in the end.

Keith I'm reading the Lehmann at the moment! How funny!

52. ^The Long Road From Jarrow* - Stuart Maconie

Needed something easy and enjoyable after the concentration demanded by Riddley Walker, and this fit the bill nicely. In 1936 the Jarrow marchers walked from the north east to London in protest of the loss of their livelihood ; in 2016 Maconie walked in their footsteps, examining and contrasting the state of Britain then and now, with many a detour into interesting sites (and quite a lot of pubs) along the way. Maconie is an erudite and entertaining guide who wears his knowledge lightly and is passionate about the plight of working-class people in the 1930s and present day.

I'm on a go-slow; struggling to find anything I can engage with, and work is very stressful at the moment, which isn't helping.

The Dry is currently 99p on Kindle.

Was just coming to give you all the heads-up on The Dry!

Are you enjoying it, Cheerful?

Just checked out The Dry.

First book by a female author. What can go wrong?

I thought The Dry was okay but nothing special, but others seem to rave about it. I like female authors btw

Hi everyone - lurking throughout the year, and have kept up with all your lists (adding constantly to my huge reading pile...) here is my list. Hoping I will hit the 50 before the end of the year...! Lots of YA fiction as both my DC take on my recommendations so I felt I should reciprocate theirs.

1. Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
2. A whole life - Robert Seethaler
3. A monster calls - Patrick Ness
4. The Loney - Andrew Michael Hurley
5. The Princess Diarist - Carrie Fisher
6. Holes - Louis Sacher
7. The trouble with goats & sheep - Joanna Cannon
8. The girl on the train - Paula Hawkins
9. Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
10. The versions of us - Laura Barnett
11. All quiet on the western front - Erich Maria Remarque
12. The reader on the 6.27. - Jean-Paul Didierlaurant
13. Where’d you go, Bernadette - Maria Semple
14. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
15. The keeper of lost things - Ruth Hogan
16. About Grace - Anthony Doerr
17. The house on the strand - Daphne du Maurer
18. When breath becomes air - Paul Kalanithi
19. Vinegar Girl - Anne Tyler
20. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
21. The pursuit of love - Nancy Mitford
22. The clever guts diet - Michael Mosley
23. One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
24. We are all completely beside ourselves- Karen Joy Fowler
25. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
26. Holding - Graham Norton 27)Everything I never told you - Celeste Ng
27. The hunger games - Suzanne Collins
28. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
29. When God was a Rabbit - Sarah Winman
30. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 32)The Essex Serpent - Sarah Perry
31. The Lord of the flies - William Golding
32. Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
33. Cheer up love.....- Susan Calman
34. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
35. The girl with all the gifts - M.R Carey
36. 5 ingredients- Jamie Oliver
37. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
38. Our endless numbered days - Claire Fuller
39. The Reason I jump - Naoki Higashida
40. Stories of your life & others- Ted Chiang

Special mention to our endless numbered days - I cannot tell you how much I hated this book ... saw the twist coming in every depressing, predictable detail. Miserable book.

I so enjoy this challenge - these threads ought to count towards one of the books ..

these threads ought to count towards one of the books

I've read worse! Eight threads by 1000 messages at, say, an average 100 words per message = 800,000 words. Quite a big book!

Oh no plus3 I've got Endless Numbered Days to read next, I thought it had been reasonably well liked. I hope I'm a bit keener than you on it, and on the plus side I picked it up FOC at a book exchange.

I liked Our Endless Numbered Days and didn't think 'the twist' was even supposed to be a twist. I thought it was supposed to be predictable, and supposed to be depressing.

I wouldn't rave about The Dry and I disliked the contrived ending, but I liked the evocation of place and time.