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?

Murine, can you link to the Black Friday deals? Can't find them easily on Amazon...

Thanks Murine, I've been wanting to read Outcasts of Time, so very satisfying to snap it up for 99p!

54. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Hurari.

Listened to this on Audible. It was an entertaining and thought provoking read, many of the topics of which I seem to be annoying people with dropping into conversations irl. The book covers history from the beginning of Homo Sapiens through hunter gatherer times, the Agricultural and Industrial revolutions to the present day of consumerism, capitalism, the rise of the individual and the new Global Empire. There are provocative arguments about economics, modern culture and the communities we live in today.

It’s not just about history, he discusses religion (briefly) and ethics including the treatment of animals; our indifference to modern farming methods and the extinction of animal species. There is a discussion of happiness; is it important to be happy?

The book ends on a meditation of the future; the impending biological revolution where, perhaps, cyborgs will be the norm. Are we cyborgs already with our ever-present phones and machinery? With the mapping of the genome is it just a matter of time till we find a way to live forever? Or create a new SuperMan/race? Only time will tell..

55. Swing Time by Zadie Smith.

I liked the first half and then found the second half so dull that I struggled to finish it. Disappointing.

here it is MegBusset
I got excited and thought there were 2017 books in the sale at first, it's probably a good job for my bank account that there isn't.

102. Winter - Ali Smith

Set (very loosely) during the three days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Art (Arthur) (interesting choice of protagonist's name Ali) travels to Cornwall to visit his elderly mother Sophia. He has promised to bring with him his girlfriend Charlotte, who he breaks up acrimoniously with at the start of the book, so instead hires Lux, a girl he meets at a bus stop, to act as pretend Charlotte. Sophia's rebellious planet saving, Greenham Common protesting, left wing, anti Daily Mail sister Iris joins them.
As this is an Ali Smith novel the time-line jumps forwards and backwards so you never are quite sure from one paragraph to the next if you are in the now, or the past or the future, and who's now or past or future you are in.
There is so much more though. As in Autumn, Smith focuses on another British female artist, this time Barbara Hepworth (to a lesser extent though). There are also lists, and thoughts about Shakespeare, migrants, (more) Brexit, Trump, bird watching, blogging, twitter, infuriating banking systems...

I have read three Ali Smith novels this year, (How To Be Both and Autumn) and I read The Accidental last year. I'm feeling now that I have a better grasp on how to read an Ali Smith novel: Do not anticipate much of a plot or character development, fix yourself in the mindset that you are reading prose poetry in the format of a series of related radio 4 afternoon plays with additional art/political/historical musings, relinquish all desires for speech marks. Then it's a wonderful wonderful experience.

The craft with which she writes. It's hairs on the back of your arms, tingly skull skin good. The way she can write to convey tenderness, even with just one sentence. Bloody hell it's good.

So ,SO happy that there are cross-over characters between Autumn and Winter, all getting a bit David Mitchell meta, but I only realised this right at the end, so now I want to go back and read Autumn again.

What a bloody brilliantly book.

I bought the Good People by Hannah Kent, author of Burial Rites which I really enjoyed.

Just popping out from my 'lurk-hole' to say how very much I've enjoyed all these threads & and some of the recommendations.

I will try to join in next year - promise!

I loved The Good People. Hannah Kent is such a good writer.

We’ll hold you to that magimedi

Hi magi my first year on this thread and I’ve enjoyed all the recommendations too. I’m not going to make 50 books however, maybe half that number!
22. His Bloody Project. Late to the party on this much reviewed novel, but really enjoyed it. Big concept, skilfully executed. Did start to find my mind wandering a little during The ‘was he or wasn’t he’ insane discussions, and would really have liked to have heard Jetta’s side of the story. I had a very strong feeling about what was going on there but I’ve read other reviewers who disagree with me.

I bought this as a paperback book for my other half for Christmas but really missed my Kindle/Kindle app and ended up downloading it for the convenience of having it on my phone and backlit on my iPad. Think I’m definitely a Kindle convert

39. Everybody Hurts Joanna Nadin Anthony McGowan More YA. Sophia is a posh girl with a brain tumour and a vinyl collection in the thousands. Matthew is a postman's son who nothing exciting ever happens to. Until the day they fall in love at first sight/kiss in a hospital canteen. I didn't love this, but I did like it. It's sort of John Green but about actual, lairy, messed-up Leeds teenagers, and without most of his bullshit. I liked Matt a lot. (Sophia does read a bit like she's auditioning for a John Green novel.) I liked that his working-class parents are just nice and ordinary and a bit awkward, rather than completely dysfunctional, which is far too rare in YA. I also liked that Sophia's brain tumour is inoperable but benign, so rather than dying tragically, she's just getting on with the important stuff in life like friends and boyfriends while also dealing with all the arse of a chronic medical condition - medication and seizures and side-effects, which again, was refreshing. (McGowan writes Matt's chapters and Nadin Sophia's.)

Another vote for Burial Rites and The Good People by Hannah Kent. I always recommend the audio book for Burial Rites as the narrator speaks all the Icelandic names so beautifully. My mother and aunt, both in their 70s, decided to go on an Australian outback road trip a few years ago and listened to Burial Rites for part the drive. They usually bicker incessantly (why they thought days and days spent together stuck in a car would be fun I have no idea) but the story is so captivating they couldn't wait to get back on the road to listen to it. They didn't have an argument for the whole time it was playing.
Audible needs an additional star catagory just for that imo.

46. Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. A review upthread made me order this from the library (I will check when I can do a search in the computer, on phone now!), and I am so glad I did, a ww2 set novel that felt fresh, and although I wasn't sure at first, I grew to really enjoy the writing style.

The Good people is next but one on my to read pile.

Well, actually I have no idea whose review made "Everyone Brave" appeal to me, as Remus's review on thread 7 is fairly lukewarm! I did really enjoy it though - I was expecting Pat Barker, and I got more Mary Wesley; but I had almost stopped reading WW2 fiction as it had all become a bit samey, and to me this felt a bit different - I found the Malta sections particularly interesting.

65. Missing Pieces - Heather Gundenkauf

Sarah and her husband have to return to his home town to visit his aunt after an accident. Jack hasn’t been home in twenty years after bein cared for by his aunt and uncle after his parents died in a car crash. But Sarah discovers that Jack’s past isn’t what it seems and the town holds a lot of secrets.

Another book from the wish list borrowed from the library. It took me a while to really care about anyone but i was gripped by the end and luckily had two hours with nothing to do but finish it.

97. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman this has been reviewed a few times I think, I really enjoyed it. I was worried it might be a bit of a twee, 'heartwarming' read but I loved it and the character Eleanor, and thought it struck the right balance between bittersweet humour and sadness.

47. Eeny Meeny by M J Arlidge. Modern police detective drama set in Southampton, along the lines of Peter James's Roy Grace books. A very easy read.

96 Acadie by Dave Hutchinson

Duke Faraday is the unwilling president of a utopian space colony (which chooses it's ruler on the wellworn principle that those seeking power are the least suitable). The colony is in hiding / on the run from the 'Bureau' - or earth colonisation authorities - and the novella starts with a probe turning up in the system where they are currently based. Neat little story with an interesting twist at the end.

159. Howards End by E.M.Forster

I wanted to read this before watching the TV adaptation. I quite enjoyed it, but I did feel it was left a bit late before anything really interesting happened.

160. Blood Sisters by Jane Corry

Story of two sisters. Ali is an art teacher hiding something in her past. Kitty has a brain injury and can’t remember the accident that caused it. I really enjoyed this and couldn’t put it down, but the end was a little convoluted with twist upon twist.

64. Every last one by Anna Quindlen. First book I've read by this writer and I enjoyed it. There is a twist but it's a well-written account of an average American family who seem to have it all: they are well-off, nice house, healthy, good jobs etc. Quindlen cleverly writes about their mundane lives but there is an unsettling undercurrent which leaves you feeling that something 'bad' is just around the corner...

Reminded me a little of Ann Patchett and Anne Tyler.

120. The Further Station, Ben Aaronovitch
Latest instalment in the Peter Grant series, mingling police procedural with the supernatural. I enjoyed this, but it reads like a novella rather than part of the series proper. There's no Lesley or the Faceless Man and it's very short.

121. The Seagull Ann Cleeves
Latest in the Vera police procedural series. Competent story-telling, although I find that her plots leach from my brain within hours of being read.

47. Zero Day by David Baldacci (John Puller #1)

This was a pretty OK dick-lit holiday read. Thanks to whoever recommended it on here as an alternative to Jack Reacher books.

The hero here is remarkably similar to Jack Reacher (military police, etc) but he has clothes, gadgets, and can put long sentences together. I have to admit that I was getting a bit tired of Reacher and his toothbrush in the pocket (Why? FFS, why? ). I'll continue with this series.

48. Pour Un Histoire des Doigtés Anciens by Dominique Ferran

This is a book that talks about the fingerings Baroque music was played with. These days, we play an octave by passing the thumb under the third finger: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5. Back in the 17th & 18th centuries when there was no piano and keyboard instruments were mostly the organ, harpsichord, and the clavichord where 2-3-2-3-2-3-2-3 was preferred, to give a sort of unequal swaying feeling to notes that followed each other.

I know you are all fascinated but I did find it interesting that the author had found examples of fingerings from the manuscripts of Bach and Couperin's works, as well as Italian pieces.

I've never read Jack Reacher, Cote, but I do hope he has a proper toothbrush cover if he's carrying it around in his pocket. He'll pick up all sorts of germs otherwise. [Frets]