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?

I’m in! Love to read but only managed about 10 books last year. Look forward to seeing everyone’s suggestions.

Started and finished book 3 last night.

It was Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller which I added as I seen it on here. It was a really good read. I felt some guilt reading it as I am one of the people she mentions who love the hoarders show. It was quite heartwrenching at some points but well worth a read.

I'm 50% to Kill a Mockingbird and it's just not capturing me. At the minute I don't see what all the fuss is about!

Hi all. I'm jumping in. Currently getting through It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis. I must say, it's very different to what I normally read but I am enjoying it

1. Mockingjay - good, but predictable end of the trilogy, not happy about one of the character’s death but overall I wasn’t that invested in how it would all pan out. I read the hunger games trilogy to talk about with my DS & glad I did for that reason alone
2. Lincoln in the Bardo adored this. The portrayal of grief is so vivid and empathetic, I loved the assembly of ghosts - thought they added to the sense of history. And it was funny. It read like a play, although that is not a criticism,but might not be to everyone’s taste. Wonderful book.

Plus3, Lincoln in the Bardo my favourite book of possibly the last five years. Always pleased to hear of another convert

Oh another one to look for

I'm enjoying Pillars of the Earth, MuseumofHam, I think I will end up of the view it's worth the time put in too! It's a much more accessible, engaging read than I had thought, I didn't expect to become so invested in who becomes the prior of a 12th century monastery

1. The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza. A crime one that my mum passed on to me. I didnt guess the killer and enjoyed the book, the lead police woman is an interesting character with a tragic backstory obviously Worth a read on a sun lounger somewhere!

I'm doing a terrible job keeping up with this thread as it's so busy! Does it die down a bit or keep going like this through the year? I'll have a proper look through to get some recommendations.

I finished the handmaid's tale. I found it harder going this time around, I don't think I was in the right mood.

I srarted Tressa the 12 year old mum. I remember when that all came out in the papers, and as awful as the subject is it's an easy read that doesn't take to much thinking about. Then my kindle ran out of battery anyway.

3. Game of Thrones by George R R R R R R R R R R R R R Martin

I tried this before and didn’t really get into it, didn’t find it greatly written. However, I then eventually watched the tv series and found myself completely in its thrall, just the same as just about everybody else. So I went back to the books to fill time while I’m waiting for them to film the final season. The tv series mirrors the first book pretty much scene for scene, so I found it a lot easier to slide into this time around. This is not high literature, and I could sit and pick it apart in any number of ways, but the fact is, I enjoyed it. The way he shapes characters through differing viewpoints and dialogue, and the way his plots derive from the actions of those characters, in a way that feels fitting, is the strength of these stories I think. I don’t know if I admire it enough to see me Plowright through many more hundred pages of his writing, but we’ll have to see how desperate I get before 2019 and Season 8.

I’m a few chapters into This Thing is Darkness and enjoying it very much, looking forward to getting stuck into it properly now I’ve finished GOT

I'm in! Hollow City!

I heard a little rumour that George Many R's Martin is not allowed to publish the book of season 8 until the series is out

Stitchosaurus someone last year described the thread in January as being much like the gym in January; a very apt comparison It stays busy with contributions throughout the year, but doesn’t move as quickly as life gets in the way throughout the year.

1. Cider With Rosie - Laurie Lee

Sweet, a bit sentimental, often funny and tender recollection of his childhood in the Slad Valley in Gloucestershire. I’ve had this book for about 20 years but never got around to reading it before.

Oddly enough I’ve been researching my family’s history recently and my great-great-grandfather originated from the next village to Slad, often mentioned in the book and I recognised a few family surnames. He left as a young man, 40 years before Lee was born but I liked to think that his early childhood would have been similar which is probably a bit romantic of me.

Oh really? I had wondered how they would manage it. I could well get caught up with the books by then, but they are so long, and there are so many others to read.. I did get through it fairly quickly though. The second is 900 pages!

@Stitchosaurus oh my god yes I love the Erika Foster book by Robert Bryznda- I read the whole series last year, waiting on tenterhooks for the next one to come out!

If you enjoy it I would highly recommend the Kim stone series by Angela Marsens and the Tom Douglas series by Rachel Abbott!

Toomuchsplotther will be recommending it to everybody. I truly loved it.

Ooooh, I'm in. How does this work exactly? Used to be a mega-reader. Slowly getting back to making more time for reading. Just finished Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore. Not the kind of book I would normally go for but my sister in law passed it on to me and she is my book guru. Beautifully written and I could picture the places in Bristol she was talking about so, all in all, very enjoyable.

Satsuki I thought it might be a bit like the gym in the new year I'll try to do better on this than I will at the rest of my resolutions!

I loved the Game of Thrones books and had read them well before the tv show started. So fed up of the huge waits for new ones though. I really enjoyed the different viewpoints each chapter although there are always some characters I'm less interested in.

@TheIntrovertedMum thank you for the recommendations. I'll hunt those down at the library. Will definitely look for more Erika Foster ones too.

kimlo I have Tressa downloaded onto my Kindle too. I never remember seeing anything about it in the news so will be a new one for me.

Very much enjoying Whatever Happened to Baby Jane so far.

I'd like to sign up. I like history/ non-fiction, and the first on my list is Roy Jenkins' biography of Churchill, inspired by the Churchill movie.

@PhoebeFromFriends

Some non-fiction that I have enjoyed some newer, some older includes far from the tree, the better angels of our nature, the age of wonder, the social animal, how children succeed, in search of memory, the boy who was raised as a dog, do no harm, born for love, monkeyluv

Thanks pitter I will check those out. Signed up to the library today in preparation for this year's reading and then bought a book in the Works sale for £1.50 and started reading it its called Dying A Memoir by Corey Taylor. I'm meant to be reading the book club book but this is pretty short so should be finished in a few days.