50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Two

[southeastdweller]

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?

12. Skeleton Crew, Stephen King.

My count is now correct! I love Stephen King, and the only one of these I’d read before was The Mist. He gives the best homeliness alongside the horror - that everyday quality that grounds all his work, particularly the Castle Rock stuff. He evokes time and place so clearly - brand names, slang, songs, current affairs, wildlife - I don’t know half the brands, cars or people he references, but I’ve read enough of his work that it feels like slipping back into a familiar world. If you’re an American of similar age to him, it must feel like coming home. And oh yes, with the real world delineated that clearly the monsters become terribly plausible.

8. Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

A crime fiction sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Set 6 years after Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage. On the eve of the annual autumn ball, a chaise appears at the door of Pemberley, and Lydia Wickham (Elizabeth’s sister) stumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

I wanted to like this, because I love Pride and Prejudice. But I couldn’t.

It didn’t really hang together well, either as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, or as a crime novel for me.
Lots of build up to the court case, but that’s about it. The characters don’t really have much life in them at all and are mostly dull.
We’re presented with one obvious suspect, and no credible alternative suspects, despite all the “I don’t believe X is the murderer” type statements from various characters.
Conversations that seem shoved in simply to highlight differences between the law in 1803 and present day criminal law - at one point, 3 characters are sitting around discussing the lack of any appeal system for cases where the verdict might seem unsound. Before the magistrate has even taken initial statements. The obvious suspect hasn’t even been arrested at this point, and they’re already chatting about how they wouldn’t be able to appeal a guilty verdict?
And the final denouement was very unconvincing.

Overall, a disappointing read.

8. Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

A crime fiction sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Set 6 years after Elizabeth and Darcy’s marriage. On the eve of the annual autumn ball, a chaise appears at the door of Pemberley, and Lydia Wickham (Elizabeth’s sister) stumbles out, screaming that her husband has been murdered.

I wanted to like this, because I love Pride and Prejudice. But I couldn’t.

It didn’t really hang together well, either as a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, or as a crime novel for me.
Lots of build up to the court case, but that’s about it. The characters don’t really have much life in them at all and are mostly dull.
We’re presented with one obvious suspect, and no credible alternative suspects, despite all the “I don’t believe X is the murderer” type statements from various characters.
Conversations that seem shoved in simply to highlight differences between the law in 1803 and present day criminal law - at one point, 3 characters are sitting around discussing the lack of any appeal system for cases where the verdict might seem unsound. Before the magistrate has even taken initial statements. The obvious suspect hasn’t even been arrested at this point, and they’re already chatting about how they wouldn’t be able to appeal a guilty verdict?
And the final denouement was very unconvincing.

Overall, a disappointing read.

8. Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James

My first attempt at writing this failed when my phone lost my post, and I can’t face writing it all out again.

So, short version - crime fiction sequel to Pride and Prejudice.

Sadly a disappointing read overall with flat cardboard characters and an unconvincing denouement. Not recommended.

Oh.

I have no idea what happened there with the multiple posts

Sorry all

(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
(7) The Hospital by Barbara O'Hare
(8) Fade Out by Rachel Caine
(9) Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
(10) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
(11) Would You Like Some Magic With That by Annie Salisbury
(12) The Ride Delegate by Annie Salisbury
(13) The Magdalen Laundries by Lisa Michelle Odgaard
(14) Just What Kind of Mother Are You by Paula Daly
(15) Amber Earns Her Ears by Amber Michelle Sewell
(16) Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Read this after seeing it mentioned on here. It is a YA book and a quick read but actually really enjoyed it and have already ordered the sequel.
Blurb reads....
Years after the Switch, life inside the Pod has moved on. A poor Auxiliary class cannot afford the oxygen tax which supplies extra air for running, dancing and sports. The rich Premiums, by contrast, are healthy and strong. Anyone who opposes the regime is labelled a terrorist and ejected from the Pod to die.

Sixteen-year-old Alina is part of the secret resistance, but when a mission goes wrong she is forced to escape from the Pod. With only two days of oxygen in her tank, she too faces the terrifying prospect of death by suffocation. Her only hope is to find the mythical Grove, a small enclave of trees protected by a hardcore band of rebels. Does it even exist, and if so, what or who are they protecting the trees from?

A dystopian thriller about courage and freedom, with a love story at its heart.

Hello, could I join please? My Goodreads goal is 40 but I've already read 17 so should surpass it - I would love to hit 100 but I've never actually managed it in the last 15 odd years. I read a mix of genres, with my favourites being YA/NA/Fantasy.

I'm also trying not to buy any more books as I have about 20 to read plus 5 on order at the library and who knows how many books on my kindle oops.

Current read is City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare as I'm doing the Shadowhunters read along.

Kindle Monthly sale - I may get the Nora Ephron memoir.

Other than that I would recommend The Revenant by Michael Punke a great read about survival and revenge in the wilderness.

There is also Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez if you like his stuff.

Otherwise an awful lot of movie novelisations and not much else that I could see. Anyone else?

Welcome monigheandonn

I was disappointed with the Kindle Sale and slightly relieved as I have way too much to read. Only bought Alan Johnson's memoir as it has been recommended by my MIL Thought about Love in the time by have tried and failed in the past and have plenty of stuff I actually want to read.

Welcome monigheandonn. I guess you're an Outlander fan? I've just been given the first two volumes for Christmas so looking forward to getting stuck in.

Stitches, I agree that Death Comes to Pemberley is a shocker. All the people from the literary establishment who wrote glowing reviews should hang their heads in shame. The Independent described it as a "joyous read" .. I've never heard anything further off the mark

Sorry Piggy - but I don't think I have ever read a book about teaching by a still enthusiastic long term teacher - maybe Miss Read?!

I will look for the sequel to Jump, thank you, Toomuch.

Remus, put down JPW and go to the library, charity shops, overdrive, for the originals - and if you possibly can, get them in order!

17. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh Actually, Marsh does try to do a bit of Wimsey/Harriet with Alleyn and Troy - and there is the odd reference to Wimsey (and Holmes and Poirot) in her books, which I quite like. I enjoyed this with it's Marple like observations of English village characters (caricatures?) although I think she was pushing the time envelope a bit - it is really a between the wars story I think (must actually be set around the time of WW2, or just after, but only WW1 comes into the plot).

Good review of Stephen King Tooextra

Read 10. eye in the sky by Philip K Dick . Typical weirdness and I really enjoyed it although some of the assumptions about Islam and Soviet Russia were very much of the time. Staying on the SF theme for now with Terry Pratchett and A Blink of the screen which is a collection of his short stories. So far not enjoying it as much as the discworld novels but may be because I have been mainly reading it on overcrowded trains when very cross.

I do like a bit of Miss Read. I remember her praise for a girl doing a gymnastics routine at the village show wearing "commendably stout knickers".

13. This House is Full of Yogis, by Will Hodgkinson
1980s childhood turned upside down by father's conversion to mystical Eastern faith. Played for laughs, although it felt to me like there was an underlying anger at a child's helplessness in the face of parental life choices. An incidental pleasure was his portrayal of what it's like as the offspring of a Daily Mail writer mother who will cheerfully exploit family life for copy. I enjoyed this.

Completely agree that Death Comes to Pemberley is a shocker. I've erased it from my memory as much as possible. By contrast, I though Eligible by Curtis Sitfield did a reasonable job at riffing on P&P.

Chillie, I might give those Lucinda Riley books a shot. Fiction isn't really calling to me at the moment, but I'm up for discovering a new series.

Yielded to temptation and bought The Dig and What She Ate on Kindle. More expensive than I'd normally fork out for, but having done Dry January, I reckon I can splash out the equivalent of a decent bottle of wine.

Thanks for the welcome - yes an Outlander fan I am. I finished book 1 in December and hoping to finish the rest of the series before season 4 premieres.

Welcome monigheandonn.

Just popping to say how much I am enjoying The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock.

I really enjoyed that Nora Ephron book I Feel Bad About My Neck. Also in the Kindle sale is the second memoir from Anjelica Huston, Watch Me and I also recommend that.

Thanks southeast think I will definitely get it.

Toomuch me too (re The Mermaid & Mrs H)

Seconding southeast's recommendation of the Nora Ephron. I read it a couple of years ago. It was very good.

Couldn't find anything I fancied from the Kindle sale, which is probably just as well as I have plenty to keep me going.

Not sure quite what to make of Three Things About Elsie yet. A bit slow going so far. Will press on though.

Satsuki I should have headed your advice about Roanoke Girls it really didn't get any better.

Cote Glad to see I am not alone in my opinion of Harold Fry. My review was quite as scathing as yours though.

Toomuch Glad to hear that you are enjoying The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock and looking forward to reading your review.

7 The Roanoke Girls - Thankfully this was a quick read so didn't waste much time on it. Badly written with two dimensional characters. It felt very much like a badly written young adult book rather than a book written for grownups.

Really looking forward to my next read Archangel by Robert Harris. I read three of his books last year which I really enjoyed so hoping this lives up to those.

I'm a bit late but of Persephone books that I've read I've enjoyed:

The Village by Marghanita Laski Set at the very end of WW2 it explores the changes society is facing.
Greenbanks by Dorothy Whipple The story of a family through a couple of generations.
Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphon Todd (about a woman who was shipwrecked on a desert island just before the outbreak of WW2 and comes back to a very different England in the middle of the war.
Miss Buncle Married by D E Stevenson This is a sequel to an earlier book which I haven't had a chance to read now. She's an author and is inspired by her friends - and puts them in her novel.

I was also disappointed by Death comes to Pemberley. It was neither one thing nor the other - not a proper sequel or a proper crime novel. I wouldn't have bothered to read it - because I disapprove of sequels written by other authors - but someone lent me a copy so I read it sort of out of politeness.

I’ll be interested to hear what you think about What She Ate, @Biblio**. It didn’t quite grip me as much as I thought it would. I heard Laura Shapiro on 'Open Book' on R4 and her talking about it was somehow much more entertaining than the book itself, iyswim.

Will report back in due course, Terpsichore!