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50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Three

999 replies

southeastdweller · 05/02/2018 17:36

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?

OP posts:
mamapants · 01/03/2018 07:10

As a teenager I read a book called Brother of the more famous jack. I loved it and periodically id try and find a copy to buy and never could. Last year suddenly I could and realized there were many more by the same author.
So I ordered Brother and Temple of Delights by Barbara Trapido (23) I enjoyed this it has similarly eccentric characters and literary dialogue and wit. However it didn't speak to me in the same way Brother spoke to me. Enjoyable nonetheless. And I was pleased to discover the Goldman family reappear in a later book so looking forward to that.

mamapants · 01/03/2018 07:26

Enjoy Frankenstein plus3, am a bit jealous. I'm trying not to do any rereads this year.

southeastdweller · 01/03/2018 08:25

Slim pickings in this month's Kindle sale. On there are a few people here have said they've enjoyed - Enigma, Hidden Figures and Nora Webster.

OP posts:
SatsukiKusakabe · 01/03/2018 09:02

I’ve bought The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien in the Kindle Sale. History of Love by Nicole Krauss was a good read a few years ago if I recall correctly - I read it on honeymoon as ran out of reading and only English book I could find but think I enjoyed it! It is a set in WWII and beyond, narrator is an elderly man - not chick lit as the title might suggest.

The Princess Diarist is on Daily Deal.

CramptonHodnet · 01/03/2018 09:15

I remember enjoying The History of Love. It's definitely not chick-lit.

Nora Webster - if you didn't like Brooklyn then you probably won't like this one. I got quite annoyed with Nora and the way she dealt with her grief. She seemed so cold hearted and uncaring about her children.

Might get the Tim Peake book for DS.

KeithLeMonde · 01/03/2018 10:09

I've bought Jess Phillips' book plus Simon Serrailer book 3.

Satsuki, I was listening to the podcast version of A Good Read (Radio 4) last night and they were discussing The Third Policeman. Worth a download if you are interested.

Kikashi · 01/03/2018 10:20

crampton I agree Nora was very annoying.Can't make up my mind if I like Colm Toibin books.

SatsukiKusakabe · 01/03/2018 10:33

Thanks keith I’ll look it up Smile

I quite liked Brooklyn and Testament of Mary but haven’t been tempted by any others.

likeazebra · 01/03/2018 10:44

Finished book 10. Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman
The second book in the noughts and crosses series, a set of dystopian novels set in a 21st century British society. The first book Noughts and crosses which I read last year is a look at racism and prejudice in an alternative society. In this second book truth and justice are no longer black and white issues.

Next I want a funny laugh out loud book if anyone has any recommendations.

ScribblyGum · 01/03/2018 10:48

Toibin's House of Names was very good. Retelling of the Oresteia. I find his writing very graceful and restrained, even when he is writing traumatic violent scenes. I read an interview or an article with/by him last year where he lamented the demise of the linear timeline novel. How fashionable it is these days for authors to jump forwards and back in the time line to tell the story and add drama. Ever since I read it I notice immediately if the author is employing this technique, or isn’t, and how the feel of reading the two different styles affects how you react to characters and the plot.

Currently listening to My Cousin Rachel by du Maurier and reading Sugar Money by Harris, both of which have a linear time line. Enjoying the former very very much and finding the latter a real slog to get into.

Kikashi · 01/03/2018 10:58

Scribbly you are spot on - Toibin's writing is graceful. I just find I feel his work is sometimes a bit unresolved or leaves me a bit empty. His writing reminds me of William Trevor - that well observed dissection of seemingly, ordinary small lives. The timeshift novel is getting very dull and overused as is POV chapters novels.

I read My Cousin Rachel many years ago and quite liked it but recently re read it and really loved it. I detested the bloke this time round and was rooting for Rachel.

CoffeeOrSleep · 01/03/2018 10:59

12. The Heiress of Linn Hagh - Karen Charlton - detective mystery set in the Regency period. A young woman goes missing from her bedchamber, which is sealed from the inside. After a few weeks of no sign of her, a London detective is sent for to try to unravel the mystery. Not particularly challenging but enjoyable.

I'm half way through Burial Rites by Hannah Kent that was recommended by others on here, I'm finding it hard to get in to and therefore slow going. (Realised when I had a whole snowy afternoon in by myself yesterday afternoon, I didn't feel the desire to open it once, which is a bad sign for me!) Think I might do a little Kindle sale shop for something else to read instead...

ScribblyGum · 01/03/2018 11:55

Satsuki I'm wracking my brains but I can’t for the life of me think of another novel where the build up to the introduction of a main character has been so cleverly and suspensfully written as du Marier has done in My Cousin Rachel. If it was set to music you can just feel the waves of the swelling orchestra building and building, all set in C minor probably. My goodness by the time you get to the scene where we finally meet Rachel I was all jangly of nerves. Absolutely love it when an author can do this to me.

Philip is a complete arse by I am sort of rooting for him as Rachel is giving me the shivers.

ScribblyGum · 01/03/2018 11:57

Many apologies Kikashi that was to you.
Getting my Japanese’s named posters in a muddle Blush

ScribblyGum · 01/03/2018 11:58

and my random insertion of apostrophes it would seem also.

I'm blaming the cold,

Toomuchsplother · 01/03/2018 12:23

It's years since I read My Cousin Rachel. Might have to have a reread.
Re Kindle Sale I bought Woman and Power, Nora Webster, The Good Immigrant, A year of magical thinking, Plot 29 and Talking to the Dead. Might have another quick scan later. Although I really really don't need anymore books.
It's been a full on week or so with kids stuff, work stuff, snow days and job interviews. On with Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively at the moment. Might tuck myself away for a couple of hours this afternoon- it is World Book Day after all!

Matilda2013 · 01/03/2018 13:30

The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks is 99p at the moment on Amazon. I’ve seen the mixed reviews here and was intrigued so was on my wish list.

CorvusUmbranox · 01/03/2018 13:34

Thanks for the heads up on The Wasp Factory, Matilda. it's on my TR list too

noodlezoodle · 01/03/2018 16:21

Mamapants, Brother of the more famous Jack is one of my favourite books. I've read all of her novels (I think) but the one that I found closest in tone to Brother is Noah's Ark. I didn't enjoy the follow up Goldmans novel as much as I expected, but it was still very enjoyable.

CorvusUmbranox · 01/03/2018 18:13

Well, I knew I was behind on posting my reads on this thread, but I didn't realise quite how behind I was. Other than brief check-ins the last review I posted was >6 books ago, and that's assuming I haven't missed any out. Blush So without further ado:

13.) Last Days, by Adam Nevill -- reread of a horror novel about a independent documentary maker, hired to make a documentary about the ill-fated cult Temple of the Last Days. Along with The Ritual, I think this is one of his best novels. I am starting to notice a bit of a pattern in his novels: a slow and deeply unnerving build-up in the first two thirds, followed by a more action packed finale. He's well worth a look if you're a fan of horror.

14.) The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland Another reread. A historical novel about the founding of a beguinage am all-woman community, rather like a nunnery but taking no vows in an English village held under the grip of the pagan Owl Masters. I really must read more by Karen Maitland I keep meaning to but never seem to get around to it. I'm not sure the structure of overly short chapters alternating between quite a few viewpoints was the best choice for this, as it took me a while to get into it, but once I'd got used to it, this really grabbed me and I liked how ambiguous it was about whether there was really something supernatural going on or if it was all simply superstition.

15.) Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella -- no shame. This got me through when I woke in the middle of the night to what I think might have been a panic attack. Silly nonsensical fluff that soothed me right the fuck down and helped convince me that I probably wasn't actually having a stroke (it was a tough week). Reread.

16.) Happy, by Derren Brown -- I love Derren Brown. Non-fiction book about the quest for happiness, which leans heavily on Stoic thinking, and makes a strong and highly convincing case for it. Readable and compassionately written, and did I mention I love Derren Brown? Definitely one that I'm going to dip into again with more consideration and detail, because it makes a lot of sense, and I can see that Stoic thinking, combined perhaps with mindfulness and meditation, could make a huge difference to my life.

17.) A Surfeit of Lampreys, by Ngaio Marsh -- My first Ngaio Marsh. Tanaqui made the point earlier about reading the books in order, and I get it. Unfortunately this one (the first in an omnibus) was the earliest my library had in stock. The Lampreys are an old family, charming and feckless and irresponsible, veering from one financial disaster to the next. Then their last chance to prevent them dissolving into penury, the loathed Uncle Gabriel, makes it clear he won't be assisting them and winds up dead. Interesting to compare this with the many Agatha Christie's I've read. The story focuses very closely on the Lampreys, so we get to know several characters very well indeed, but I did think the outer cast of characters weren't quite so distinct. Partly this might have been down to the POV being so often fixed in the head of the NZ outsider Robin Grey, but I think with the Agatha Christie's I've read, while the characters in general may be more shallowly drawn on the whole, I have more of a feel for all of them. Enjoyed it though, and I'll certainly be reading more.

18.) Death Knocks Twice, by Robert Thorogood -- The third in the Death in Paradise book series, featuring DI Richard Poole. Usual locked room murder mystery, this time set on a coffee plantation. Enjoyed it. Engaging, fun, and fairly undemanding.

19.) Cheer up, Love, by Susan Calman -- comedian Susan Calman writes very well and engagingly about her experiences of depression and offers strategies for coping.

Blush Oh bloody hell. Apologies for the gargantuan post. I'll try to stay a bit more up to date in the future. I also finished The North Water today, and loved it, but I'll hold off on posting my review on that because I want to let it sink in a little. I've just started on The Little Stranger (another sodding reread).

BestIsWest · 01/03/2018 18:43

Just checking in.

I am stuck in a Barbara Pym. God, it’s dull. Not quite as dull as Colm Toibin though.

Corvus my DS ended up on stage being hypntotized by Derren Brown last year. It was amazing. (I was terrified).

Kikashi · 01/03/2018 18:44

Glad to hear Happy by Derren Brown is good. I have it on Kindle and have only read the first few chapters where he is is debunking The Secret and an evangelical preache's methods but have put it on hold as it wasn't engaging me - I wanted to know about stoic thinking but I suppose I will have to be patient and carry on and he will get there. I have had a flu/cold/chest virus for over 2 months now and don't seem capable of reading non fiction that requires any level of concentration.

Sadik · 01/03/2018 18:50

14 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
Kindle cheapy, reviewed several times upthread. Sadly this didn't really do it for me - I did like the final couple of chapters, but didn't think they were a patch on Being Mortal by Atul Gawande.

I think the earlier parts where she's working in the crematorium were just so different to my experiences of funerals / burials / cremations that I didn't really relate to them. Certainly IME here I've always seen the coffin lowered into the grave for example, and although it's a few years since I attended a funeral at a crematorium, I'm sure that the coffin has always gone in for cremation from the chapel / gathering area where the funeral is held.

I did like the title though, mostly because it reminds me of my favourite aunt, who left instructions that Smoke Gets In Your Eyes should be played at her funeral / cremation (she was a chain smoker, and died of smoking related heart disease).

Terpsichore · 01/03/2018 19:13

I spotted A Country Road, a Tree by Jo Baker in the Kindle monthly sale, but that’s the only thing that tempted me (I did buy it). It’s a novel, about Samuel Beckett in France in WW2. Had terrific reviews, and I did like Jo Baker's 'Longbourn' a couple of years ago. Though it’ll probably be a while before I get round to this!

Toomuchsplother · 01/03/2018 19:14

39. Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively. Haven't read any of her stuff before but really enjoyed this. Story of the life of feisty woman Claudia who is dying. She decides to write a history of the world but tells her own story. She has led an unconventional and spirited life, the centre of which was a brief but passionate affair with an officer in WW2 in Egypt. The story explore her (very) unconventional relationship with family members. I got a bit stuck 1/3 in but think that was more to do with my own head space than the book. Raced through the rest today.

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