50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Three

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 and the second one here.

What are you reading?

Just leaving this here... Guardian 1000 books you should read in your lifetime
www.facebook.com/theguardian/posts/10156553066006323

Without the Facebook divert
www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/23/bestbooks-fiction?CMP=fb_gu

Burial Rites is my go to recommended audiobook. The narrator Morven Christie has the most beautiful voice and her speaking the Icelandic names so perfectly (well perfectly to my uninitiated Icelandic ears) added an extra element of enjoyment for me to the story. My mother and her sister, both in their 70s drove across the South Eastern corner of Australia a few years ago listening to this in the car. They didn’t argue once, which if you met my mother and aunt is a freaking miracle and testament to the power of the story.

I just downloaded The Prince's Chambermaid by Sharon Kendrick, subtitled Modern Heat Harlequin Classic Romance series no 24 from the library audiobook selection. It has a suitably saucy boudoir embrace picture on the front. Hoping this will be the audiobook palate cleanser I need after Into Thin Air. Haven’t read a Mills and Boon since I was 17. Five and a half hours worth of Arrogant Prince Xaviero and the voluptuous curves of meek Cathy while I do the holiday packing.

I look forward to your review of Chambermaid Scribbly I can't do romance on audio, somehow it just makes it all too concrete, whereas reading you can let your imagination blur things as needed.

Working my way rather slowly through Why We Sleep (Not sleeping enough is bad. Did I tell you it's important to sleep enough? Let me tell you again, you really should sleep enough . . .), and resisting dropping it in favour of The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (trashy occult romance)

Strong start Sadik with a pair of eminently cuppable (not culpable as the autocorrect would prefer) buttocks. I'm eager to find out if I can multitask taut muscular chests and cruel fulsome lips with remembering to pack toothpaste and welly boots.

I’ve read 102 from that list Toomuchsplother
lots of there that I didn’t recognise, many films watched but book not read and lots of Dickens & Austen that I haven’t read (Thank god for Hardy!)

I've only read 71 from the list.
Plenty of inspiration.

toomuch sorry, I did wonder after I’d posted! That list is good because it takes in a much more varied field than they usually do. I find I’m very lacking on the comedies front.

*5. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - by Douglas Adams
*
In spite of the fact that I love sci-fi I'd never got round to reading this. It's a lot shorter, and a lot less happens than I'd expected. I can see why it's a cult classic, and I did enjoy it, but not as much as I thought I would.

Thanks for the link Toomuchsplotter. A good source to mine. Just glanced at it so foar but already a few scalps for the future - books/authors I remember liking in the 80's but had forgotten about such as Peter Carey.

I didn’t think I’d read that many but it came to 214. Not too bad considering I’d started quite a few others and not finished, many others I wouldn’t be interested in, and quite a few others are hanging around my house or Kindle waiting to be read Quite a lot to work with still...

129 from that list. Very random! Annoyed by the Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials counting as only 1 each. Also, how can the entire Discworld set count as only 1 book? I’ve only read a couple of Discworld books - that can’t count in the same way as someone who has read every single one.

I thought that too cheddar. But only one Harry Potter title is listed, not the whole series.
I had only read 37. Which reinforces my knowledge that I have read a lot of books but I'm not very "well read."

I just returned Why We Sleep, Sadik: I don't think my current sleep deprived state would benefit from that

189. I think. Although I'm not sure on a couple and I don't, e.g. think I've read ALL the Discworld. Though I've read most of them.

Yes I wasn’t sure whether to count discworld. Bit of an odd list but some good ideas. My numbers came up because I’d read a lot of a few recurring authors - Dickens, Austen, Hardy, Rushdie (I’m always tempted to add “Sessions” whenever I reel off a list, like David Brent!) but not necessarily widely.

127. And I thought I was quite well read! Given me a lot of inspiration though, and I've sent the list to my DF who is recovering from a hip replacement and needs pepping up! Objecting to Discworld only counting as 1 too.

I read 19 so must be reading totally the wrong things! Never mind I'm happy

I don’t believe in reading the wrong thing....just read what you enjoy

I think I have read 132 of them but I am not convinced I finished some of them and there are probably a few I have just forgotten I ever read. I was helped out by Spark, Hardy, Cather and Bainbridge as I've read all of those.

There's about another 20 on my to be read list though!

Interesting list - with plenty of reminders regarding the books I've been meaning to read for ages!! Quite a lot on there that I really don't think would be my bag - particularly in the crime and sci-fi/fantasy sections.

I could count just under 70 so room for improvement :)

I would love to read some Tolstoy as it's something I've never got round to - should I start with Anna Karenina or War & Peace?

31 from that list . I’m very influenced by the marketing of new books.

nowanearly I would start with Anna Karenina. Both wonderful, AK slightly more accessible because it doesn’t have the war strategy passages, but don’t be put off W&P it’s a great read too and you soon get the idea which bits may not warrant full attention shall we say. Anna Karenina one of my favourites of all time, it is not really about Anna and Vronsky - there is so much more to it than the “obsessive love story” advertised, lots about life, the universe and everything.

south that’s it, I’ve only recently started keeping up with more recent fiction.

Ooooh Toomuchsplother that's an interesting list, thank you.

I concur with starting with Anna Karenina, I've only recently finished it and it just wonderful. There is so much depth to it and the characters are so believable.

Read War and Peace too and enjoyed it - did skim read the military strategy bits though. The Pevear translations are very engaging.