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?

Following the Berlin recommendations with interest as have a potential trip there sometime this year.

Fivegomad -READING SPA!!! This exists?!? Of to Google right now!!!

Justtrying15. have you read If this is a Man / The Truce by Primo Levi . Beautiful and heartbreaking survivors account of time in Concentration camps and journey home to Italy. Read it last year.

I've nearly finish alphabet weekends by Elizabeth Noble looking for my next book - only really fancying chick lit ATM which I know isn't everyone's taste but anyone with any recommendations of books similar and easy reads would be really appreciated

justtrying I would second primo levi. For Irish fiction, i would recommend Star of the Sea by Joseph O’Connor if you haven’t read it. It is set in 1847 and covers the impact of the potato famine. I read it some years ago, but remember liking it.

stillloving - "The biography I read (by Carol Easton) was excellent in terms of being a good read and had lots of info on various aspects of Jacqueline's life, but had surprisingly little on family relationships (I mean within Jacqueline's family of origin)."

Yes, yours is the one I want to read - about her music and her struggles. I don't care about family relationships.

Lucked - "About to start 2. Artemis by Andy Weir who wrote The Martian"

Don't. It's fucking awful. And I say that as someone who loved The Martian

Teufelsrad I would recommend Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher if you haven't read it. I also read Aftermath by Rhidian Brook last year which is set in Hamburg postwar. Not the best of books plot wise but it was interesting for the descriptions of 1946 Hamburg.

Thanks for sharing that @CQ A new Kate Atkinson yay!

Yes - new Sarah Perry and Julian Barnes too.

2. Morning Star - Pierce Brown
#3 in the Red Rising Trilogy. I can't say much about the plot itself for fear of spoilers, but suffice to say that nothing is as it seems and the dead do not always remain so in this series. A bit gory(damn) for my taste sometimes, but I also cried at a couple of bits. Lots about the redeeming power of family and friendship. I enjoyed it.

On the subject of reading spas - the place that does them is Mr B's in Bath which is a wonderful little bookshop.

I've never done a spa but I am a regular there so have sometimes eavesdropped on spa sessions in progress, and they seem to be really well-thought-out selections aiming to suit your tastes but take you slightly off the beaten path to books you might never otherwise have come across.

Or if you can't afford a tailored spa, the shelves upstairs full of recommendations and staff picks are always full of interesting things (yes, I spend far too much money there, though some of it is always on presents for other people). Their 'Book Lovers Unite' evenings are really good too - food, wine, and in-depth discussions with an author.

Thats the one I did exexpat and yes it was amazing and worth it, don't forget some of the voucher goes towards buying books

Re the reading Spa, I have already texted a friend to see if she is up for it. The only problem is they don't do weekends and I live at the other end of the country. But it's definitely going on the wish list!

wee - A new Red Rising book is coming out soon

JustTrying - Here are a few recommendations in the genres that you asked for:

Dystopian:
Seveneves (sciency, long, very good)
Red Rising series (light but fast-paced and interesting)
1984 is a must-read, if you haven't already

Disaster:
The Worst Journey In The World
Into Thin Air

Are you interested in 'survival in nature' type of fiction, as well? If so:
The North Water
The Revenant

By the way, I had a bout of insomnia last night and read 1/3 of A Place Of Winter which I can only imagine was recommended on here. WTF am I reading? It's not badly written but just so dishwater-dull. Does something interesting happen at some point.

What is a reading spa?

1. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - Cora a young woman born into slavery on a plantation in Georgia escapes using a literal depiction of the underground railroad, a secret network of routes that abolitionists and sympathisers use to facilitate the journey to freedom. Her flight takes her through different states where the attitudes towards people of colour change radically.

This is incredibly well written and a joy to read, there is some beautiful language. The concept is brilliant and allows for some interesting symbolism. It certainly gets its point across. However, I thought the characters were very underdeveloped, including Cora. I had no emotional response to this at all, it's written in such a detached way. It's a clever and pretty piece of literature but won't stay with me. I wanted more feelings from it. I'd say it's definitely worth a read, but wouldn't go round raving about it.

You can read about the reading spa here StitchesInTime

mrbsemporium.com/gifts/reading-spas/

The reading spas look great. And guaranteed to make a to-read pile bigger!

Hmm, I sort of like the idea of the Reading Spa and I do think it'd make a lovely gift for someone (who crucially is NOT me) but considering it's essentially a personal shopping session designed to get you to buy books £20 (allowing for the book vouchers and the cost of tea and cake) seems a little steep.

But them I'm just a prickly unsociable bugger and the thought of a forced conversation gives me the shudders, and having to pay for the privilege as well? I'd rather just have the full amount in vouchers tbh.

Sounds like a bloody lovely bookshop though

gingerclementine I am in fact still on holiday so will slow down massively next week when at work. The chaise longue will probably remain piled with books till my next holiday. Finished 4.The cats of Moon Cottage which is a good one but you really have to be a moggy fan to appreciate its long descriptions of feline behavior. Now re-reading *Jane Austen Mansfield Park"

Sorry messed up my * " but you know what I mean!

Re: Reading Spa - I'm looking around at piles of books and imagining the unread folder on my Kindle, and wondering if a Bibliotherapist is really what I need in my life right now

Damn, feel a bit cynical and grumpy now. I'm not, honest. It is a lovely idea.

Re: book spa I kind of feel the same ghostie. A shop near me does a gift thing where you have a session chatting about your interests then they send you a book a month they select for you. It’s over a hundred pounds, and I think though it’s a lovely idea for someone more open minded than me, I am fairly particular about choosing books and worry they’d all be duffers if they got me totally wrong, but I’d be obliged to have a stab at reading them anyway. An open-ended book token of the same amount would be a dream though.