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?

Gave up listening to The Crimson Petal And The White after a commute to work and back. 41 hours of that narration style. No thanks.

Should I read it instead? Loved the wanking vicar who really didn't do that much wanking actually The Book of Strange New Things. Will I love this too?

Scribbly, Crimson Petal is one of those books that starts well then disappoints so you have probably had the best bit.

“Rather glad I don't have to hear the word Breach! again. The City and the City is probably best not listened to when unwell, lying sweatily in bed and likely to drop off to sleep regularly throughout the proceedings. No idea what the hell happened apart from Breach! Breach!”

I read that book while perfectly well and still have no idea what was supposed up have happened. Nothing , probably.

I’ll be the voice of doom again re the verbose and utterly pointless rubbish that was Crimson Petal and the White. Here’s my review, from back in 2014:

CoteDAzur

59. The Crimson Petal And The White - Michel Faber

This book started out really well, with original and spirited narration and fine detail about Victorian-era London, focusing on a young intellectual prostitute called Sugar. It was so promising in the beginning that I kept on reading it & hoping that something interesting would happen, even after it went downhill and died a long slow death between pages 100 and 500 or so.

I know that this book has its fans on here and I was going to hold back in my criticism for that reason, but I feel that people have a right to know just how terrible it is. The original writing style that makes the first chapter so interesting disappears into thin air shortly thereafter. The so-called intellectual prostitute (well, she can hold a conversation with men and is writing a book about a female serial killer when the reader first meets her) quickly becomes a dull, boring servant. Gives up on the book she is writing, and judging by the evidence, on all efforts to influence her fate one way or another. Becomes a helpless puppy craving her man's affection, whereas she was previously capable of discretely manipulating him for her own purposes.

894 pages of this drivel on domestic boredom, and you don't even get a story with any sort of plot Well, at least the non-existent story sort of prepares you for the shockingly inept "ending" which was so NOT an ending that I was puzzled when I turned the page and didn't find anything there.

Gah. I can go on but you get the message. I'm actually feeling pretty pissed off about having spent two weeks on this and can safely say that I will not be touching another Michel Faber book ever again.

Thanks Best and Cote. The writing style at the beginning is really intriguing and if it wasn't for the idiotic narration on the audiobook I think I would have stuck with it for a good while longer.
That's interesting that you both say it disappoints at the end. For such a long book that's a pretty poor return for all the hours invested reading it. I've just read something very similar on a GoodReads review so will give it a miss for the time being. I've got Under the Skin by him sitting on my TBR shelf which at 296 pages is a considerably shorter reading commitment.

21. Stephen King’s The Stand. I first read this around 35 years ago, when it made a big impression on me being the first literary vision of the ‘end of the world as we know it’ I’d come across. Second time around, following hot on the heels of reading Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, The Stand seems almost quaint in its post apocalyptic vision. There are two cohesive settlements led by supernatural figureheads, one ostensibly good and the other evil and bent on destruction, but both struggling to rebuild a version of society and ‘get the lights back on’. This plague destroyed world is a land of plenty, wildlife is abundant and no one goes hungry or thirsty. Don’t want to wash your clothes? Just pick some more up in one of the well stocked stores. The struggle to rebuild communities is interspersed with supernatural and religious mumbo jumbo. The nearest King comes to the man made horrors of McCarthy is the description of ‘the zoo’, a group heading to the ‘evil’ Las Vegas settlement centred around Randall Flagg; the devil incarnate. But I won’t elaborate any further to avoid spoilers. I decided to re-read The Stand because it featured heavily in a ‘best book ever read’ thread, which made me re-evaluate my view of King as the literary equivalent of the blockbuster movie; fun but ultimately unsubstantial. He was an author I read in my youth and have not returned to since. However The Stand proved to be a rollicking good read. The description of the spread of the weaponised pandemic that all but wipes out mankind remains chilling in its believability, and the large cast of characters we are introduced to struggling in the aftermath were well drawn. The book I read as a teenager was 400 pages shorter than this Kindle edition, King reluctantly edited his manuscript at the behest of the accounting department to a achieve a sub £7 price point on the paperback when it was published in 1980. At times this brick of a book did feel a little bloated and even a little repetitive, particularly where Mother Abigail was concerned, but all in all a definite page turner. I will definitely read some of the King books I’m less familiar with. Maybe It, if I’m feeling brave, before the film comes out on Sky.

Desdemona - If you like The Stand, I'm pretty sure you'll like It too, and the film is great.

Crimson Petal so very, very boring.

Scribbly - not the wanking vicar again! All he does is wank, or think about wanking, or eat or think about eating. Or eat, whilst thinking about wanking. Or wank, whilst thinking about eating. or something...

Chessie - Glad you enjoyed Decline and Fall. I think it's a masterpiece!

It is brilliant, Desdemona. Better than The Stand IMVHO.

Agreed!

It must be nearly a decade since I read The Crimson Petal and The White. I remember liking it a lot on the whole but would agree the beginning of the book was stronger than the end of the book.

68. The Talisman by Jonathan Aycliffe

A mysterious statue is unearthed in the ruins of ancient Babylon during an archeological dig, and brought to London. Once in London, it starts exerting a sinister Satanic influence.
It’s okay but another one where the start of the book is stronger than the ending.

Thanks guys It goes on the ever growing tbr pile!

Remus I think you are being very unfair to the Rev. If I was building a church on a hostile planet, wrestling with religious ethics and the linguistic gymnastics required to communicate with foetus-headed aliens, suffering from chronic constipation and chapped lips and my spouse was living on a failing earth a shed load of light years away then I think I would be entitled to a bit of personal private me time.

Has anyone watched the Amazon pilot episode (called Oasis instead of The Book of Strange New Things)? It was shite. I hope it doesn't get green lighted. No one had a wank (although there was some interpretive modern dance which is almost the same thing) so that's something I suppose.

101. 84 Charing Cross Road – Helene Hanff
     I was a bit meh about this, but it was a quick and pleasant read. Much reviewed on here. I was just launching into the sequel where she visits London when I realised some cheeky person had reserved it so had to rush it back to the public library asap.

102. White Fang – Jack London
     The classic story of the trials of White Fang, part-wolf/part-dog and his life at the hands of Native Americans and Alaskan settlers. A lot of distressing cruelty but a satisfying ending redeems all.

103. Autumn – Ali Smith
     One of my favourite books of the year so far. It’s really about being lost in a post-Brixit world, the main character is as lost as the country. I loved the writing, the way she plays with words, repeats phrases, adds rhymes and generally messes about with language. I think this is probably a marmite book - it's love or hate but I loved it. There’s not much plot either but a lot of frustration and amusement about using the Check and Send service in the post-office (been there).

104. Dracula’s Brood: Neglected Vampire Classics – Richard Dalby
     Dracula’s Brood was very good too – a range of vampirism-related stories from some well-known (Conan Doyle) and much lesser-known authors. At least three stories were about blood-sucking trees and plants! Blood sucking fun all round.

I have My Absolute Darling on my tbr list so I will be interested to hear if it lives up to the (massive) hype.

63. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Moshid Hamid.

Delightful short novel with lots of underlying symbolism (most of which I wasn't perceptive to see until I read some reviews ). I read this yesterday and was impressed how the story flowed easily and kept me gripped until the end.

Summary from GR: "Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love."

I think I've given up on The Romanovs. I am not disciplined to read two books simultaneously (e.g. fiction/non-fiction) and I've lost interest a bit. I've got as far as Alexander I. The problem is there are too many other more interesting books on my TBR pile!

EmGee, I ended up skimming The Romanovs too. I don't know whether it was all too much, or whether the author's style was just a bit flat.

No one had a wank (although there was some interpretive modern dance which is almost the same thing) so that's something I suppose. Quote of the year!

I still haven't finished the Stalin book by Romanovs man, because the writing is excruciating, so I'll give the Romanovs a miss.

Book 108 The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
This is by the author of The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, both of which I disliked, so gawd knows why I thought it was a good idea to read another one of hers. I was sucked in by positive reviews, the fact it was only 99p on Kindle and the fact that it’s supposedly apocalyptic. Well, apocalyptic it may be (ish), but a load of shite it most certainly is.

Basically a group of silly people end up in a house together, now owned by a very odd woman after the mysterious death of her son, and descent into dementia of her husband. Another odd woman has some sort of paranormal experience where her late father tells her it’s going to be the end of the world and only those in the house will be blessed with survival. Meanwhile there’s a few other odd women, a very odd child and a couple of men who are basically in thrall to the first very odd woman. Most of the novel is taken up with all of these odd people bickering and behaving (guess what?) oddly, and then it ends, not terribly oddly and certainly anti-climatically. This is the last Shirley Jackson novel I’ll be reading.

49. Over Sea, Under Stone - Susan Cooper

First in the Dark Is Rising series, and aimed at younger readers than the better-known second book ; three children go on holiday to a mysterious Cornish house and discover an ancient map that promises to lead them to the Grail of Arthurian legend. But they are not the only ones looking for it...

Not as good as the second book, but still a fun introduction to the series.

I'd say the three books featuring Will are much the best of the five MegBusset. The Grey King is possibly my favourite (or maybe The Dark is Rising . . . or maybe Silver on the Tree . . .).

BTW for any fans of the sequence who like fanfic, there's a rather wonderful series featuring a certain character later in life as a charismatic Plaid AM.

64. After You Die - Eva Dolan

Dawn is stabbed to death and her disabled daughter, unable to fend for herself, is left to die. But who had reason to kill Dawn? And did they know they would be leaving Holly to die?

This was a really good read and I didn’t like to put it down but it has been a very busy week. First book I’ve read from this author although I think it’s the third featuring these detectives in a series so may pick up some more eventually.

95. My Absolute Darling Gabriel Tallent a grim, disturbing book, the beautiful California coast where 14 year old Turtle (there's never any explanation for the name) lives with her sadistic father is almost a character in itself. The frequent gratuitous abuse depictions, swearing and unrealistic dialogue from the other teenagers are interspersed with loooong descriptions of the setting, firearms and their cleaning. I can see why it's so hyped as it's certainly compelling but I wasn't keen.

I liked The Stand better than It, just to disagree with you all! Also liked The Green Mile, but I read it in the little chapter books it was originally published as, not sure how it would be as a proper novel.

46. HomeGoing by Yaa Gyasi. I would strongly recommend this- it is a stunning achievement for a first novel. Two sisters, who don't know each other, have different experiences in 1700s Ghana- one is "married" to a white man, the other shipped to america as a slave. The novel then takes chapter by chapter in turn through the direct descendents of each sister. It obviously episodic, but it still feels like a novel, not a collection of short stories, and the enormous scope never feels too much for the author. There are flaws, but naming them might be spoilers, and it was great, do try it!

I've read The Green Mile as both the little series (waiting desperately for the next one) and as a novel. It works well in both formats.

88. Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterley Book on which the film was based. It was ok, a bit dull in truth. It took me ages to finish.

I'm glad you read it like that too Remus, people sometimes look as me as though I'm imagining it!

I liked Hidden Figures Best, but I haven't seen the film- I imagine that the film has more narrative drive than the book so might make the book less gripping?