Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

What we're reading

Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Two

992 replies

southeastdweller · 13/01/2018 23:25

Welcome to the second 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, it’s not too late to join, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

The first thread of the year is here.

What are you reading?

OP posts:
Ellisisland · 14/01/2018 09:18

scribblygum I read that book about the Lizzie’s borden murders last year and felt the same. Very claustrophobic.

FiveGoMadInDorset · 14/01/2018 09:20

5 The Last Hours by Minette Walters

A change of direction for the crime writer, this is set at the outbreak of the Black Death in the 1300's and focuses on one demesne in Dorset and how the Lady of the Manor manages to keep all the serfs safe. I got this as I went to our local literacy festival where Minette Walters spoke about it, she loves locally to me, I know all of the villages she mentions in the book so it has some connection. Hearing her speak about the book, the amount of research she put in and her knowledge was very interesting. It's a good book, quick to read, keeps you engaged, it debates how most thought the Black Death was punishment by god but others, including Lady Anne, determined that keeping clean, personally and your surroundings helped curb the spread of any disease. There will be a second one to fin out what happened in the end.

cheminotte · 14/01/2018 09:22

Currently reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to ds1. I’m also reading ahead so I know if there are any scary bits coming and if he’s allowed to carry on reading in his reading time. So I’ll have read it twice by the time we’ve finished!
Need to start a new book for me, like PPs I like to vary the genres, having recently read a romance and an autobiography I need something different so will look on my bookshelf.

TheTurnOfTheScrew · 14/01/2018 09:38

Morning all from the slow readers' club. Bringing my list over:

  1. The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale
  2. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

I have some horrible virus at the moment. Nothing serious, but it's sapping my energy so even less reading happening than usual. I am halfway through What A Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe, which is fine, but nowhere near as warm or funny as The Rotters Club, which I love.

nowanearlyNicemum · 14/01/2018 09:42

1. Birdcage Walk - Helen Dunmore
2. Wonder - RJ Palacio

3. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims
Having read several posts from this author's blog I felt like some of the material was very similar which is akin to that feeling of having seen all the best bits of a film from the trailers.
I thank her heartily for a certain passage which had me literally crying with laughter - it's been a while since I've laughed like that when reading. Found several other parts really irritating though.
Overall a quick, light-hearted read.

Currently reading The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. Struggling to get into it as I keep getting very confused by who is who.

likeazebra · 14/01/2018 09:42

Warning I may be reading some rubbish I apologise in advance. Trying not to spend this month so I'm currently going through my kindle and downloading all the books I haven't read, there is some rubbish that I probably got free or 99p when I first got my kindle years ago! I will give them ago though.

HoundOfTheBasketballs · 14/01/2018 09:48

Morning! Here you all are!

2/50 - How to Stop Time by Matt Haig

I really liked this. I realised after I'd bought it that the author had written one of my favourite books I read last year, The Radleys, so I was looked forward to this.
It's the story of Tom, who looks 40 but is actually 450 years old. Each alternate chapter flashes back to earlier in his life across the centuries whilst in the other chapters he struggles with his age and conscience in present day London. Whilst in parts it is witty and amusing, it's also quite thought provoking. It made me think about ageing, the passage of time and how we love and lose people. Very good.

DwangelaForever · 14/01/2018 10:10

Bringing my post here ..

Just finished book number 3 in a day! I've currently read

  1. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
  2. Bring me Back by BA Paris
  3. The Last Laugh by Tracey Bloom (read in one day)

Books 2 and 3 aren't out yet but they are must reads when they do come out! I know BA Paris has got a lot of hype in the past. I read behind closed doors and it disturbed me so I didn't read her second but I really enjoyed Bring Me Back!

Also has anyone ever read the DCI Ryan mysteries or the series by Joy Ellis? I have kindle unlimited and I see they're quite popular with loads of books in series and dying for a new series so I may as well put my kindle unlimited subscription to good use!

Matilda2013 · 14/01/2018 10:11

Bringing my list over and thanks for the new thread!

  1. Sisters and Lies - Bernice Barrington
  2. Her Husband’s Secret - Janice Frost

Currently reading 3. Mount! - Jilly Cooper which seems to be taking me forever as my first Jilly Cooper and not really going anywhere considering we’ve covered over two years in the first third...

beachygirl · 14/01/2018 10:18

First 3 of the year:
Do No Harm - Henry March
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
The Choice - Samantha King

JustTrying15 · 14/01/2018 10:23

Thanks for new thread.

I am pleased I joined this as it has made me read more. I record all the books I read on Facebook but only managed 41 last year. Joining this group has made me see gaps in my day where I could read, sitting in the car, waiting on the kettle boiling etc. I used to scroll aimlessly through FB but now I read.

Anyhow, my list so far....

(1) Witch is When Life Got Complicated by Adele Abbott
(2) Witch is Where It All Began by Adele Abbott
(3) Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller
(4) Die Last by Tony Parsons
(5) Restaurant Babylon by Imogen Edwards Jones
(6) The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 14/01/2018 10:37

Marking place!

Matilda, put Mount! down and go and read Rivals first! (Preferably all of them in order starting with Riders but please don’t start with the last one - it is dire in comparison and will ruin your enjoyment of JC!)

ladymelbourne1926 · 14/01/2018 10:38

Thanks for the new thread. I finished my fifth book of the year last night
The Betrayal by Kate Furnivall,
I have to say I'm usually a big fan of hers but this one I was disappointed with. The plot felt laboured and I foresaw the big 'twist' almost immediately, so the big reveal was a non event. Romy s life was interesting and her life and relationship detailed but the rest was just meh. It felt like she started with great idea but then only did half the research for it.

CramptonHodnet · 14/01/2018 10:38

Bringing over my very short list:-

  1. Father Christmas and Me by Matt Haig
  2. The Durrells of Corfu by Michael Haag
3.The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young
  1. The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes. It did have some good bits and the plot wasn't all bad, but it just didn't work for me. I think writers trying to recreate period detail don't always get it right. Some of It seemed out of time, for example a nursery nurse, a servant, being friends with the eldest daughter of a Lord? Seems improbable to me. Overfamiliarity would have been frowned upon, or even been grounds for dismissal surely.

Anyway, apart from that, I didn't like the use of the real Mitford family in the story. Having read several of Nancy Mitford's novels and a biography of the sisters in the past, I thought it didn't work. And, also, apparently, the murder case was a real unsolved crime, solved in this tale.

JustTrying15 · 14/01/2018 10:51

Just finished book 7, The Hospital by Barbara O'Hare which is a true story of her time spent at Aston Hall. It was an excellent book.

ClashCityRocker · 14/01/2018 10:57

Well, after staying up all night reading, book 5: Good Me, Bad me by Ali Land

Another one that was on offer on the kindle.

I raced through this - it's well paced and interesting, although you do have to suspend disbelief at times.

This is told from the point of view of Milly, a fifteen year old girl who has recently shopped her serial killer mother and relates her struggle to come to terms with who she is, whilst settling in to her Foster home.

It's quite surreal at times, and the court case wasn't handled particularly well, with all the focus seemingly on the last victim when eight bodies had already been found buried in her mother's cellar.

As odd as it sounds, her mothers crimes are very much in the background and not really detailed at length - whilst the author should be applauded for avoiding deliberate shock tactics over what is a shocking situation, it is difficult to figure what motivated her mother, which adds to the unbelievability factor. In some ways, it's quite a clever device as the narrator comes across as quite unreliable.

The twist at the end was a bit predictable.

Overall, a decent albeit unsettling read, and for only a quid on the kindle.

Londoner11 · 14/01/2018 11:05

Still reading my first Book of the year- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill. Am 55% through.

Matilda2013 · 14/01/2018 11:05

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar it was a Christmas wrapped library surprise from my library at work so feel I have to finish before giving it back Blush but at least I’m safe in the knowledge that they aren’t all like this if I fancy more after I complete my TBR pile Grin I was dreaming about selling horses the other night!

ClashCityRocker · 14/01/2018 11:15

Londoner I was surprised how long North and South took me...it does speed up a bit in the second half.

Have had a run of quick reads after. I enjoyed it, although found Margaret frustrating sometimes.

BestIsWest · 14/01/2018 11:19

Thanks for new thread.

4 The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper children’s fantasy etc

ChillieJeanie · 14/01/2018 11:56

This year's list so far, including the just finished number 6:

  1. Stephanie Garber - Caraval
  2. Jo Nesbo - The Thirst
  3. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Pawn
  4. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Promise
  5. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Price
  6. Neil Gaiman - Norse Mythology

Gaiman's telling of Norse myths is a very engaging read, quite simply done as if the tales are being told round the fire in a viking hall Smile. It's not comprehensive and is quite a short book but is a good selection well told.

virginqueen · 14/01/2018 12:55

New here
Hi everyone ! This is my first post on mum snet. I'm rather late to the 50 book challenge but have 2 to add. The Good People by Hannah Kent, which I thought was excellent, every bit as good as Burial Rites. I've also just finished The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman, enjoyable fantasy. I'm very excited by this challenge, and hope to get lots more reading ideas from people on here.

Ontopofthesunset · 14/01/2018 13:02
  1. Ada's Algorithm: James Essinger. I think I bought this last year for 99p when someone on the thread recommended it. It was the only book downloaded on my phone app. It's just not very well written and read like a Y7 history project. There was lots of supposition and very little independent research so, while it was interesting to me because I didn't know a lot about Ada Lovelace, it was very limited.
  2. Over Sea, Under Stone: Susan Cooper: I know this is a children's book but I feel I somehow missed out on The Dark is Rising series and I want to read them. This was a classic children's book of the 1960s - posh London kids on holiday solving mysteries with conveniently absent parents. Loved it.

Now reading The Naked Lunch and listening to Atlas Shrugged on Audible.

Ontopofthesunset · 14/01/2018 13:03

Oh, I've just noticed BestisWest is reading Susan Cooper too. We can compare notes!

SatsukiKusakabe · 14/01/2018 13:08

ontopofthesunset I didn’t finish that Lovelace book, really disappointing.

Virginqueen and any other newbies, welcome to the thread Smile