50 Book Challenge 2018 Part One

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the first thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2018, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

Who's in for this year?

Half way through my first book of the year, one I've read before called Alphabet Weekends by Elizabeth Noble I love a good chick lit kinda book ❤️

Remus I agree about Postman’s Park! I stumbled across it by accident one day when I was wandering around with some time to kill and thought it was lovely. There’s also a book available with some background about all the plaques, which is on my wish list!

1. High Crimes by Joseph Finder

This was a very good legal thriller. A woman's husband is arrested out of the blue and charged with murdering scores of civilians as a member of a covert operations team. She realises that he has a new identity and has been hiding his past from him all this time. But is he the psychopathic murderer they claim he is?

I watched and enjoyed the film by the same name with Ashley Judd (love her!) and Morgan Freeman back in the day, but this book was even better. Recommended.

Meanwhile, I'm going through another tome of a book on Baroque music, slowly but surely, so prepare for another snooze fest long review on dead Baroque musicians some time in the near future

When you put it like that, Cote, I can’t wait.. 😉

1. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette De Bodard.

First of my Christmas books. A fantasy thriller with angels, warring houses and magic. Fairly entertaining.

2. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.

The second of my Christmas books and already reviewed a few times on the 2017 thread. Lucy Barton reflects on her life. I liked this book better than Olive Kettridge; I liked the spare language and the way she told the story. Good.

I've just discovered that The City and The City by China Mieville which was a popular book on this thread last year is being adapted for TV.

1. I Spy a Great Reader by Jackie French - a slightly unusual one that I took out of the library last year (and have since renewed 18 times while it sat on the “Library tbr” pile .) The author, Australian children’s laureate at the time and writer of about a zillion children’s books, gives some ideas about how to teach reading, how to get and keep kids interested in books, and also touches on related subjects like essay and story writing. It’s a bit of a pick and mix, with all ages from pre-schoolers to teenagers covered, so it’s a case of finding what you might need rather than reading straight through (unless interested!)

She does seem to downplay additional needs a bit, although full disclosure, given where we are with DD’s ongoing DX that might be me being oversensitive.

I’ve definitely got a few ideas to try with DD anyway so worth it for that.

Next up, like many here it seems, is North and South.

Shake I'm loving it, although there is quite a bit to go until the book comes to my favourite composers Bach, Handel, and Rameau. I'm on page 371 which Kindle helpfully informs me corresponds to a mere 36% of the book. Expect a long and rambling review on obscure Baroque pieces and optimal fingering () in this era.

"The City and The City by China Mieville which was a popular book on this thread last year"

Erm... not for everybody, it wasn't!

Thanks Toomuchsplother . I'm just popping into Amazon to add some to my wish list.

vista I will have to remember to “unsee” that when it comes on - wasn’t a fan either - though mildly interested in how they will convey the daft plot on screen.

It was on a few people’s lists, but opinion was fairly split I think.

I did manage 50 last year but only just - finished number 50 at 19.20 on Hogmanay.

Already finished book no 1 for 2018 which was The Shetland Gypsy by Kayrin McMillan I enjoyed it - more because I lived in Shetland so know the island.

Now reading Sapiens-A brief history of Humankind" by Harai Yuval Noah and have the audible narration for the car.

I finished my 7th book last night. One Night In Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore. It's about the investigation into the deaths of two teenagers who were the children of high profile members of Stalin's government and the impact on everyone associated with them.

I really enjoyed this one. When I first picked it up and saw the extensive character list it put me off a little, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. It wasn't quite as complex as I thought it might be, but it's a good read, it flows well, and I loved it, though a tear or two may have been shed during some parts.

I've started working on I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong. I think that I'm going to love this one.

I'm not sure what fiction book to read next though. I'm considering The Underground Railroad, but in spite of having dozens of books on my shelves that I've yet to read, I went to the library today, and returned with 10 books, so I'm also considering making a start on English Animals by Laura Kaye.

2. The Word is Murder - Anthony Horowitz - strange one. Murder mystery book with Horowitz as a character! He writes this as he's trailing round after a "consultant" (aka private detective), an ex-policeman who's been brought in to help on an investigation. Lots of references to real people, to Horowitz's real life/back catalogue of work to make this all feel real.

The basic story is : a rich, lonely widow goes into a funeral directors to pre-arrange her own funeral. Later that day, she is killed in her home. Possibly a burglary gone wrong, but the coincidence is too much. Just before her death, she sent a text to her son (who is an actor in Hollywood beginning to become "big"), which appears to be talking about seeing a boy she hit with her car nearly a decade before, and badly injured.

It's actually a good Murder mystery story, suitably complex with lots of clues, however I found the writing style a bit too gimmicky and rather than making it feel more real to be referencing Horowitz's real life, I found it distracting/ made me focus on which bits are real or fake in it.

One night in winter sounds good! I've added it to my list.
Making steady progress through middlemarch and actually really enjoying it.

I just got The Word Is Murder from the library,CoffeeorSleep. I was going to buy it on Kindle, but found it in the library today. I'm glad that I didn't pay for it though I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

I'm becoming increasingly reluctant to spend money on new books, unless I know that I'll keep them. I favour kindle sales, charity shops and library copies. I read so many books that I'd be bankrupt if I bought everything brand new.

Hello & HNY 50-bookers! I managed to fall of the thread in the last quarter of the year what with training and not reading much. Ended up only managing 67 books (which included 10 re-reads - an enormous amount for me). Think I may be having a bit of a reading crisis, so much that I've ducked out of my book club for a bit. Too many people not reading the books, the discussions have become decidedly anodyne with any form of serious debate being greeted by slightly awkward looks. Even if I don't participate much here, I just lurve the animated differences of opinion on here , so this is where I shall get my book discussion fix for now.

First book for me this year is The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat a selection of short stories by a variety of scandinavian authors. So far it's proving the point made in the forward that it's just downright rude to group all scandinavian authors together as one genre. Enjoyable!

Good to 'see you', Joyless.

Chessie - link to the Postman's Park book, please?

I LOVED The City and the City - thought the concept was genius, although the plot got a bit daft towards the end.

Book 3 and my first non-fiction of the year is A History of Britain in 21 Women by Jenni Murray. Written by the host of Radio 4's Women's Hour this is her personal pick of women who have shaped Britain and contributed to the rise of women's rights through the ages. She begins with Boadicea and ends with Nicola Sturgeon. Murray is clear these are her own choices and often explains why she chose to concentrate on some women to the exclusion of others. For example she includes Barbara Castle in preference to Shirley Williams, as it was Castle's influence on the Equality act of 1975 which meant that Murray could now get a mortgage in her own right. Up until this point she had been turned away despite having all necessary financial means, as she didn't have the signature of either father or husband to act as guarantor. She also includes the novelist Fanny Burney, who under went a mastectomy in 1810 without Anesthesia. Her description is included in the book. Murray says that when her own breast cancer was diagnosed this fact gave her hope of survival- Burney lived another 30 years. It also advanced the understanding of the pathology of breast cancer.
Murray writes well, constantly making her points relevant to the cause of women today. Even though the chapters are relatively short I learnt a lot. It was , for example interesting for me to learn that in tribes before the Roman invasion men and women were treated equally. Contemporary accounts of Boadicea's campaign suggest that her army were 50/50 men and women. Roman rule reduced the status of women.
Murray includes women she admires but perhaps her one of most interesting chapters is concerning Margaret Thatcher. Murray acknowledges her importance but her dislike of the woman is not concealed.
Even though this was a relatively light touch on feminist history it felt like an important book. It reminded me I still need to read Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman. This is a book every young and maybe not so young woman should read. It would be pretty good if young and not so young men read it too. Already have a mental list of young people to gift it to.

Was The City and the City on TV over Christmas? I'll have to try and find it as I loved the book. Also un lun dun by the same author, which is YA.

2. Golden Age by James Maxwell
The first in a series of four (I think?) and my first fantasy novel in a long time (and first by this author) Set in a world reminiscent of Ancient Greek/east Med, and fairly typical of the genre but fast paced with good characters, I'll definitely be reading more in the series.

Just discovered I can borrow e-books from my library @TheIntrovertedMum (yey!) but will have to read them on my phone, rather than my Kindle, which isn't ideal as my screen's pretty small.

Is there anyone who could please define what constitutes a YA book? Do they necessarily have particular themes, a style of writing, or...?

Number 1 finished All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda.
Really gripping and well crafted. Finally a thriller that doesn't disappoint at the end.

Sadly GoodReads isn't logging my books on the 2018 Reading Challenge. Not sure why.

Are you saving the date of when you finished Fox?

I've finished better than life. It was an audio book, and the second red dwarf book. They didn't have the 3rd on audible so I have got it from ebay.

I'm now starting the handmaid's tale. This is one of the few books I have read a couple of times, which is odd because I don't really like it that much. I might try one of her other ones this year because thats the only one I have read.

I'm also starting the life she was given on audiobook.