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?

94 Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold

Novella set in the same universe as The Curse of Chalion / Hallowed Hunt etc which I read earlier in the year. There wasn't a massive amount to this, but it was a pleasant easy read.

The Epigenetics Revolution is £1.19 on the Kindle just for today. Don’t miss it!

I must try to read that again - have a paper copy I got when everyone was reading it last year, but I was too busy to give it the headspace it needed. Definitely a good winter-time book :)

It really is a great read.

May I say I luffs you lot? I’d get the face if i ever recommended an epigenetics book in RL

Hello, Cote.

I have decided to re-read a lot of the sci fi I read as a young adult and see if the Now Me still likes it. I'll start with Asimov. What can possibly go wrong?

115. Out of Sheer Rage, Geoff Dyer
Author writes about his inability to write a life of D H Lawrence. All a bit self-indulgent. Not a big fan.

116. The Devil Kissed her: the life of Mary Lamb, by Kathy Watson
Snappy biography of Mary Lamb (sister of Charles; they co-wrote Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare in the late eighteenth century). She suffered from what was probably manic-depression and stabbed their mother to death. She was in and out of asylums, but mostly lived with her brother. We can sometimes stereotype the past, and this is a useful corrective to Gothic images of madhouses - her mental illness was treated sensitively and compassionately. It's a lively read, and there are fascinating vignettes of some of her female friends, in particular. Left me wanting to know more, which is an excellent quality in books (am slightly repelled by those which tell you everything you ever wanted to know and more).

117. Jacob's Room is full of Books, by Susan Hill.
If you hated Howard's End is on the Landing, you should steer well clear of this. It's quite lazy - reads like diary extracts over the year, with comments on the weather and the birds she sees. I'm surprised she doesn't give us details of calories ingested and frequency of bowel movements. The attraction is the book talk. There is the same name-dropping as the previous book (dear old Sachie Sitwell!) and she needs an editor (in the Just William books, Robert is William's brother, not Ethel's fiancé. Dear God, woman). But I love book talk anyway, and my expectations were low after the last book, so I knew what I was getting and rather liked it anyway. Definitely a book to get from the library rather than buy though.

Welcome, Liney A lot can go wrong! That’s how I ruined my memories of Dune, by re-reading it in my 40s

Have you read some of the more contemporary SF? Neal Stephenson is brilliant and we all loved the Three-Body Problem books on here, too.

79. The After Party, Anton DiSclafani
Period piece about a group of 1950s texas socialites. They drink cocktails, live in huge houses, go to nightclubs with swimming pools and feel lonely and bored. It's particularly the story of the friendship between two of the women. Felt very well researched and was enjoyable if lightweight.

80. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, J.D. Vance
You know this one, right? The boy who grew up in rust belt Ohio with a drug addict Mother but then went to Yale and then wrote a book?

This was very readable, and I found Vance's views to be quite balanced. He's a republican and a believer in pulling yourself up by your bootstraps (which I thought might be obnoxious), but he sees with clear eyes many of the obstacles that prevent some people from deprived backgrounds from achieving their full potential, and while he does point the finger, he's compassionate too. My criticism of this book was that it was long on anecdotes and short on evidence - he says himself that it's more the story of his family than an academic book, but he makes a lot of claims and has only a very few footnotes to studies that back them up with facts and figures. There's also a lot of social commentary but relatively little about the economic or political factors that have shaped people's lives, which detracts from the book IMHO. It's short and well written though so worth a read.

81. Do Not Become Alarmed, Maile Molloy
Two affluent American families are on a luxury cruise to Central America. They leave the ship for a day out, and the children get separated from their parents. The story follows various of the characters through the days that follow - there's no great mystery, as we know most of what happens to both the parents and the kids. There's a fairly heavy-handed contrast between the American expectation that children should be well looked after and safe, and the experience of local families who lose their children to drugs or violent crime. It was certainly gripping though, one of those "One more chapter and I'll turn off the light" books that keeps you awake till 3am.

Thanks to whoever recommended the Dave Gorman above, sounds like one that my DS would enjoy :)

Biblio I am similarly disgusted that anyone could get Robert wrong!

Can I join in (belatedly)? Am in awe at all of your lists - I keep a paper note of what I’ve read so can’t easily transpose my 86 books of 2017 for this thread. But I can see at a glance that I’ve lots in common with some of the lists.

My preference is nothing too highbrow, and I am (usually) all about the destination rather than the journey.

This year I seem to have specialised in books where I am fascinated by the setting* or society and want to stay there, but couldn’t really care less about the main plot line or characters. Falling into this group this year are The Power, Smoke, The City and the City and The man in the high castle.*

I think my best book of the year so far has to be The Hate U Give. Ignore the misspelled title, this is a standout portrait of a teenage girl and her family and friends living through a crisis. They call it the Black Lives Matter book - and I defy anyone not to emerge from it thinking about Starr, rooting for her family, and re-assessing their views on racism.

This thread has also added to my TBR list already - just picked up Red Rising for 99p. So good to encounter others who read voraciously - and on a Kindle too! Looking forward to joining the conversation.

Discovered today that my new employer has a free book exchange. You can take any book you like and leave any you don’t want. There was a whole library book case full. I came away happily with Sue Perkins’ Spectacles.

Welcome, London.

Tanaqui - It definitely exists. I have them all in my Stephen King cupboard, snuggled up to The Gunslinger.

Discovered today that my new employer has a free book exchange

Sounds good! I came across a free mini library in a cupboard in a local train museum last weekend.

Unfortunately I was too busy making sure small DC didn’t lose themselves amongst the trains to investigate properly. Maybe next time....

112. Why Mummy Drinks - Gill Simms
Having read some of her Peter and Jane Blogs on Facebook I was intrigued to read this book. The lightest of light reads. Shades of Bridget Jones and at points Adrian Mole. Ridiculous story line but some very funny asides on family life. Not amazing but passed the time.

Discovered today that my new employer has a free book exchange

My employer didn't, until I started one. I love it, had some really good books from "the shelf"

157. Great British Bus Journeys: Travel Through Unfamous Places by David McKie

Does as it says on the tin - the author travels by bus through some British villages. I liked reading about areas I was unfamiliar with, but I would have liked a bit more about some areas I did know to see if I agreed with him!

158. Murder On The Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Until the last year or so I had never read any Christie. I have now read three and I am struggling to see what all the fuss is about. This was the best of those I’ve read but still wasn’t great. She does come up with some good ideas, and they are easy and quick to read. However, this was full of rascist stereotypes - I know this is a product of its time but still makes for uncomfortable reading. Poirot states as absolute fact something he’s deduced from one tiny clue, instead of just thinking of it as a likely conclusion and looking for more evidence as any decent detective would. The ending was a cop out as well. Sorry but I’ve given her three chances, no more!

Now reading Howards End, never read it or seen the film but I’m going to watch the tv adaptation but wanted to read the book first. About halfway through and quite enjoying it but hoping something happens soon!

61. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
    This was reviewed a lot upthread. I enjoyed it, I thought it was well written. Not too sure about how a couple of the plot lines were resolved but overall it was good one of the better books I have read this year.

62. Wise Children by Angela Carter
    Dora is one of identical twins who were once dance girls in the music hall and theatre. She reminisces about their lives together. The story is a farce and I found it very funny. Dora is so well written she has such a strong 'voice'. There are a number of larger than life characters in it and the main scenes are so well described. The only other Angela Carter that I've read is the Magic Toyshop and while that was quite grim this is joyous.

Ha, Keith, I haven't read a Just William book in a quarter-century or so, so I'm impressed at my own retention of the family details.

Welcome London.

118. How not to die : discover the foods scientifically proven to prevent and reverse disease by Michael Greger
Another attempt at improving my diet. Okay, skimmed a bit but I like the overall message. He doesn't spend much time telling you what not to eat, but enthuses at length at the delights of eating fruit and veg and beans. Not really new, but he is persuasive. I've been trying it out this week, and it's a lot easier to go from trying to suppress my longing for coffee cake to thinking about how I can get more berries and nuts into today's intake.

119. The weekend wives by Christina Hopkinson
Decent chicklit. She specialises in pondering whether this marriage thing is all it's cracked up to be.

Amazon have three months free kindle unlimited at the moment! Means I can clear some more off my wish list without spending more money

Cedar - Wise Children is one of my favourite books. Glorious!

Years since I read Wise Children, but I used to love it. Interestingly my mum hated it - her grandmothers were both involved in that part of the theatre world at different times (one was a Tiller girl, the other a dresser) and she said it was just too far from reality. I don't think the argument that it was meant to be magical realism worked for her

38. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Thank you, wouldn't have picked this up in the library if I hadn't seen so many positive reviews on here. Very thought-provoking, at times just desperate. Interesting to read this around Remembrance Sunday. My mum has also been looking into my Grandpa's experience in the army during WWII, and although this concerns WWI, I couldn't help but think of him while reading this.

There's some good stuff in the kindle Black Friday sale, including The Good People by Hannah Kent.
I picked up Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor, The Outcasts of Time by Ian Mortimer and Lion by Saroo Brierley.

95 Romancing the Werewolf by Gail Carriger

Novella by GC set in the same world as her Parasol Protectorate books. Biffy has now become Alpha of the Woolsey pack and has to assert his authority, Professor Lyall returns from overseas, romance ensues. Charming but slight - definitely one for fans.

50. Greenwitch - Susan Cooper

Third in the Dark Is Rising series, and very enjoyable, weaving local myths and legends into a lyrical children's fantasy tale.