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?

Cote I think I remember you mentioning before about reading the notes. Is this going to be a pain on Kindle?

I came on here moaning about how much I was hating JS&MrN and was firmly told I had to read the footnotes. Tried again, with footnotes, still hated it. So disappointed, as it should be my kind of thing. My low-brow reading plod to the 2017 finish line continues:

66. Echo Burning by Lee Child Jack Reacher #5. He is wandering through Texas, when he hitches a lift with a damsel in distress, who is in danger from her abusive husband and his family, but there is a lot more going on than first meets the eye. Enjoyed the contrast of reading about the unfeasibly hot Texas summer and vast landscapes during the cold, dark, but cosy festive season here.

67. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella First time in many years that I've read any chicklit. It was quite fun. Nice, slightly ditsy doesn't-know-how-good-she-is woman has to choose between two posh, rich emotional fuckwits (although I think we're supposed to think one of them isn't). Although the outcome had been dialling itself in from the start, the ending was cringy and disappointing which spoilt what had been a light fun read.

I didn't get v far with JS&MN - boring, boring, boring (so boring I said it thrice).

I was meh about The Night Circus. Adore JS&MN, but it didn't come alive for me until Jonathan Strange appeared. Honeyfoot and Whatshisname are far less appealing.
Sadik I bet he does children's books VERY well. Have never heard of that one, but will see if my library has a copy.

RMC I’ve got a paperwhite and the footnote is a highlighted numbered link, which when you touch it the text appears at the bottom of the screen. Very easy. Same in the kindle app in my iPad and phone.

Satsuki, you are very welcome It’s a lovely book of poetry.

RMC123 I'm glad you mentioned When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit as being in the kindle sale, I loved it as a child and went back on to buy it straight away!
I was thinking of getting Any Human Heart by William Boyd too, has anybody read it?

“reading the notes. Is this going to be a pain on Kindle?”

Not at all. You touch the number, it takes you to the footnote. When you read it, you click back and continue reading the book. Easy peasy.

Cote / Scribbly Great, will let you know how I get on. Heading away for New Year, might save it for then
Murine I have never read Pink Rabbit but a big Mog fan so will give it a go.

121. Antigone Read to put Home Fire in context. Pleased I read it this way around so the story line of Home Fire wasn't spoilt for me. Quick read but much more enjoyable than I expected.

Now reading Thin Air - Michelle Paver. Another that has been on my Kindle for ages.

Satsuki interesting about the Durrells. Looking at how full my Kindle is it might be a while before I get to it but I will let you know what I think.

68 The Night Watch by Sarah Waters She really is a fantastic descriptive writer, and this book evokes 1940s London vividly. However, the plot and jumping between multiple characters just didn't work for me. The book opens in 1947, then jumps back to 1944 then 1941 to explain how the 'present' i.e. 1947 situation came about. I kept expecting it to go back to 1947 but it never does. I wasn't really sure, out of the many characters, whose story I was supposed to care about, and what the main point of it all was. Fingersmith was a triumph of non-traditional chronological structure and narrative viewpoints, but for me, this just wasn't. Also, too much sex description. No need for it (but I am a notorious prude).

108. Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney

Thank God that’s over.

19th century Scottish explorer and meteorologist Flora Mackie meets American geologist Jakob de Beyn in the Arctic. They do some exploring together and they do exploring apart. Flora travels back and forth to London. Jakob travels back and forth to New York. They partake in copious amounts of mutually satisfying and minutely described sex.

There are parts of this book that are well written. I enjoyed Penney's descriptions of the Arctic, the tough lives of the Eskimo people, and how they were so important to the survival of the annual expeditions of the exploring white men despite causal disregard for their culture and lives. I also enjoyed how the presence of a nice middle class white woman in amongst the macho hardy types caused them great consternation. Well if a woman can do what we are doing then what does that say about my achievements?

Oh dear though, there is far too much of the book, the whole thing needs a serious edit, particularly the ‘early years’ chapters, and there is far, far too much literary shagging. I like a nicely written plot driven bonk as much as the next reader but Penney overindulged so badly in earth-shattering energetic lovemaking that it was tedious and faintly ridiculous by the end.
One tent based love scene left me contemplating whether Flora, after much athletic shenanigans with Jakob, should have nipped outside afterwards for a cystitis preventing post-coitus void versus the almost certain peril of developing frostbite to the nether regions? Quite the dilemma.

Ha Scribbly your complaints of too much literary sex are far more eloquent and entertaining than mine! Don't think I'll be rushing to read Under a Pole Star.

Scribbly So glad I didn't let the polar setting lure me into that one.

Ham - I thought Night Watching was terrible, and didn't finish it.

Don't think I'll be rushing to read Under a Pole Star.

Funny how different we all are. Scribbly's review really makes me want to read it. Only to, erm... confirm it's really that badly edited. (Note to self: yup, that's plausible. They'll buy that).

at ghostie

Scribbly & ghostie

55. A Child’s Christmas in Wales - Dylan Thomas - yes it’s basically a poem, and my lovely new illustrated version was a mere 70 pages long, but I need all the help I can get at the moment, so I’m counting it.

I love that composteleana, totally counts.

scribbly The lady doth protest too much, methinks...and er ghostie is not protesting nearly enough

Sounds like too much pole, not enough star.

A gratuitous excess of pole Satsuki

Too much pole! Arf. Carry on, Mumsnet.

Also counting A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

106 A Gentleman's Position by KJ Charles

More regency romance, sequel to my two previous books. Can I start by saying those objecting to too much pole definitely don't want to read this series

I wasn't as keen on this final book in the trilogy to start with - it's more conventional 'will-they-won't-they' romance. It really got going about a third of the way in though, turning into full-on farce by the end - and I totally forgave the lack of politics for the final denoument (in White's, naturally).

A nice touch was a sprinkling of Heyer in-jokes - a very well liked chap called Freddy makes several fleeting appearances (and is definitely not a 'gentleman who likes gentlemen'), a 'rather horse-faced woman' called Eustacia turns out to be an adored wife and mother, etc

89. The Amazing Maurice and the Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett

Maurice is a streetwise tomcat who, having been surprised to discover he and a group of rats in Ankh-Morpork can talk, has found a stupid-looking kid and is working a scam. They cause a plague of rats in towns they come to then the kid plays the rat piper and is rewarded for saving the town. But in Bad Blintz they find a town without rats which thinks it has a plague - food is short and all the money is going to the rat catchers. There's something else in this town, something evil, and now it's no longer a game.

Into Thin Air Jon Krakauer This has been well reviewed on here, I will keep it short and add my voice to the recommendations. It is hard to review a book like this. It is so sparingly well written that I felt as though I was witnessing the events described, and Krakauer is painfully honest in his attempts to account for the disaster on Everest. It is fascinating, compelling, and terribly sad.

Murine I remember loving Any Human Heart although it's a long time since I've read it and I'm very hazy on the details. I may reread it as I'm a sucker for anything written in diary format, whether it's a real diary or a novel.