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?

Bolding fail:
29 The Masqueraders – Georgette Heyer

The Odd Women is a good book and an unusual one, especially since it is written by a man.

Having read it I thought how good his characterisation of the women were and his sympathy for difficulties at the time facing intelligent, independent and ambitious women - especially those that were poor.

17 - the future is history
I've slowed right down and half of it is just not being able to find something I love? I liked this and thought how it was almost written like fiction was clever but I didn't love it and it has rave reviews

5. My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand. This was a bit... erm... unexpected. I chose it for the 'book based on a real person' category of my reading challenge, knowing that it was YA and speculative fiction, so it plays with the historical facts rather than being a 'true' historical novel. I had no idea just how much that was the case. Instead of dividing people into Catholics and Protestants, the book has people as Verities or Eðians - the latter being people who can turn into animals. Including, according to the story, many members of the Tudor court, Henry VIII and others in this story. Once I'd stopped being thoroughly taken aback by this, I actually really enjoyed the story - it was funny, clever and romped along at quite a pace. The religious/Eðian parallels were definitely a bit heavy handed, and it's totally bonkers, but all that said, this was great fun.

6. American Heiress, by Jeffrey Toobin. This is the story of the kidnapping, crimes and trial of Patty Hearst. I was vaguely aware of who Patty Hearst is, but I didn't know the full story of what happened, which turned out to be absolutely gobsmacking. This is one of those true stories where if you made it up, you'd be accused of being unrealistic. I learned a lot not just about her but also about America in the 70s, the Bay Area and the revolutionary movement of the time. Given how incredible the material is, this should have been absolutely gripping, but at times it meandered a lot and I kept getting bogged down - it's taken me a couple of weeks to finish it. There's a lot of praise for the audio version on Goodreads and I wonder if that would have been a better option, because for me this was only OK.

24. Room with a View by EM Forster Found this quite hard to get into but once I had it was quite enjoyable. Feel a bit weird criticising a classic but it felt a bit half done, characters could have been better developed. But saying that, I would nonetheless happily read more of his novels.

mamapants - I don’t think it’s Forster’s best book. I really love Passage to India which has stayed with me far longer than most books have done. I am ashamed to never have read Howards End; it’s the only one I haven’t and feels a big omission so it’s on the TBR list this year.

I read Howards End at the end of last year. It was OK but I wasn't blown away. Never read any other Forster - Howards End didn't make me want to rush out and read others but sure I will at some point.

Maurice is my favourite of the three Forster books I've read.

11. 1984 - George Orwell. Mixed feelings on this modern classic. I was amazed how timeless the writing feels, despite him writing the book in the 1940's. It felt like it could have been written yesterday. But (and maybe it's because the themes have been covered so much in the media since the book was published) I felt the themes were a bit laboured, and the section of 'The Book' in the middle were tedious. But I'm glad I've finally read it.

12. Postcards from the Edge - Carrie Fisher. Surprised myself with disliking this book as I enjoyed two of her memoir's, this is a memoir/novel about her time in rehab and reminds me that addicts can be very boring to read about and listen to. The film is very different and much better.

Okay, will keep an eye out for The Odd Women. Can't do any Hardy comparisons and I haven't read him. And I don't even feel bad about it.

Read 24. Forensics, by Val McDermid
Does what it says on the tin - a competent survey of developments in toxicology, forensic anthropology and various other -ologies. Worth a look if you're interested in the topic,

42. The Night Rainbow - Claire King The story of Pea. A young girl growing up in the South of France. Centred on a hot summer, her mother is heavily pregnant and grieving for a lost husband and a previous still birth. A portrayal of grief and depression through a child's eyes. At times tender and charming, it did leave me feeling uncomfortable. I felt it was at times romanticising neglect. The fact that a 5 year was left to her own devices only works because of the setting, an abundance of peaches and daily delivered baguettes. Put this on a council estate in rainy old England and it all seems much darker.
Felt a bit 'meh'!

13. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee Extremely well written, interesting "biography" of cancer from the first historical evidence of it's existence to the hope for the future including targeted treatments. Gave clarity to the disease, recent developments and battle to treat it, and an insight into the human side of doctors and scientists, in addition to the sensitively written case studies.
14. Fukushima Dreams by Zelda Rhiando read on pigeonhole, I enjoyed this. Drama set in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 tsunami, Sachiko wakes to find her husband and baby missing. After frantic searches for them, she moves to Tokyo and begins a new life eventually, whilst it emerges that a delirious Harry hides on a remote mountainside. The supernatural elements were a bit strange but an engaging enough read.
15. The Wrong 'Un by Catherine Evans another pigeonhole read, part family drama part thriller. A page turner with interesting characters and family relationships (though the "wrong un" becomes a bit cartoonishly bad).
16. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys I really liked this, the sense of oppression and disorientation invoked was palpable. Poignant and atmospheric, I need to reread this at a slower pace to fully appreciate it I think (I rushed through for book group!)

Just caught up on the thread.

I seem to be in a minority in that I didn't get on with the Night Circus but then again I do struggle with fantasy novels and suspending belief.

13 A Very British Scandal - Already reviewed on here many times. I really liked the style the book was written in. It was just a little bit different to things I usually read. I became so involved with the story that I even dreamt of Peter Bessell one night. Looking forward to the BBC adaptation.

14 Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day - Also reviewed on her numerous times already. I loved this for the pure escapism and it had a certain naive charm to it.

I have almost finished The Girl of Ink and Stars. It is actually a Children's book but having heard rave reviews of it thought I would give it a try. Looking forward to picking up an adult novel again as whilst I fully understanding the lack of description in a children's book I am finding if rather frustrating.

Very excited, have just booked tickets to see Ben Aaronovitch and Lucy Mangan at the Scarborough Books by the Beach festival next month.

Looking forward to your review of Bookworm, biblio! I read a review in the Times that was really scathing but it seems like the kind of book I’d like.

1. Our Endless Numbered Days - Claire Fuller

Already reviewed multiple times. I've got mixed feelings - I found the ending deeply unsatisfying, as it felt as though the author didn't know how to deal with the fallout of the twist, so just didn't bother. Disappointing, as up until that point, I'd thought it was well thought through.

Finished my 4 chapters of Bleak House for the Goodreads read along. Don't think I can wait till April for the next instalment though, it's been surprisingly enjoyable so far.

20. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (audiobook).

I'm sure this has been reviewed many times before on these threads.

Told in first person perspective by Philip Ashley, a young man of four and twenty years who, after he is orphaned at a young age is raised by his benevolent older cousin and confirmed batchelor Ambrose on a large estate in Cornwall. When Ambrose's rheumatism get the better of him he sets off for Florence where he meets Rachel, a distant relative of the family, marries her, and then less than a year later dies in mysterious circumstances. Rachel travels to Cornwall and stays with Philip in the house he has now inherited. Despite initial hatred and mistrust of his cousin Rachel, Ambrose slowly falls under her spell with all the gothic tragic consequences you would expect from du Maurier.

I'm going to say it. I like this more than Rebecca. I bloody LOVED this book. My word what a master craftsman of the psychological thriller du Maurier is. The underlying current of the whole book, did she or didn’t she? is she or isn’t she? is kept so carefully on a knife edge throughout. A certain piece of information is revealed and you think, ahh, well yes, there we go, now I'm definitely in team Rachel and then NOPE all du Maurier has to do it have her put a teacup down in a certain way you have to hastily revise all your conclusions.
Genius to have the narrator such an unreliable and unlikable arrogant childish prig as well. Philip's childish little outbursts contrasting with Rachel's restrained and elegant control. Boy is she the absolute boss. What an extraordinary character if female sexuality she is.
Within a chapter you can go from sympathy to mistrust to frustrated nose huffs of exasperation and then back to sympathy again, but it’s all written so deftly and elegantly you don’t feel like you’re on a rollercoaster of emotion at all until you get to the end of a chapter and find yourself sitting in the car park at work gripping onto the steering wheel with tension.

Psychological manipulation with a velvet glove. Fantastic stuff.

Restrain yourself with Bleak House Desdemonas, go and put it in the garage

Great review scribbly. Every time I drink herbal tea I think of Rachel.

Anyone offering me a nice after dinner tisane in the future Kikashi think I'll be “Can I just have a normal builders tea thanks?”

I need to read more Daphne du Maurier - I thought Rebecca was excellent so I don't know why I have never sought out her other books.

AliasGrape, the Africa book you recommended has gone onto my TBR :)

19. The Pure In Heart, Susan Hill

Second of the Simon Serrailler series - rattling readable police procedurals with a whole backstory about the dysfunctional yet attractive DCI and his extended family. There's something comfort-reading about them, especially the beautiful houses and the church and the music, but the story of this one was anything but comfort reading.

20. The State of Grace, Rachael Lucas

Interesting to review this in the light of the conversation above about cultural appropriation. This is a YA about an autistic teenage girl, written by someone who is both herself autistic and the mother of an autistic teenager. There seems to be to be a particular value in reading a book written by someone who has lived the experience of the character, whether that is sex, race, class, neuro-diversity or whatever. This one was very gentle, and there isn't a huge amount of plot, but the voice of Grace, the main character, was wonderful.

Half of a Yellow Sun (Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie) is a good read on the question of who gets to tell the stories.

13. Incendiary by Chris Cleave. Narrated by a young, unknown widow whose husband and son are killed in Britain's worst terrorist attack. The narrator addresses Osama Bin Laden throughout the book. Quite an interesting read. Seemed to lose itself a bit in places (Petra/Jasper et al) but thought-provoking.

14. Into the Silence - The Great War, Mallory and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis. Almost finished this but reviewing it now as I'm online and of course I already know the denouement! Absolute corker of a book; all 600 pages of it. For anyone who has enjoyed Into Thin Air, Ghosts of Everest etc, I can highly recommend this tome of a book which meticulously charts the British explorations 'off the map' in Tibet and Northern India at the turn of the 20th century to the 1921-1924 British expeditions to climb Everest within the context of the British Raj and the Great Trigonometric Survey of India, the decline of imperialism and the Great War. The wonderful thing about it, is that unlike the other Everest books I have read (which focus primarily on Mallory and Irvine), this book goes into great detail about every member of each expedition which makes for absolutely fascinating discoveries (e.g. it was Canadian surveyor Oliver Wheeler who actually discovered the opening which would allow the way up the mountain through the Rongbuk Glacier; an oversight on Mallory's part).

These were men (18 out of the 23) who had all seen action on the Western Front and were survivors of trench warfare. This is one of the main themes of the book - how a generation of young men, lost in the carnage of a futile war, are 'avenged' by the survivors whose attempt at being the first to climb the highest mountain in the world, can help to exorcise the ghosts of the dead.

Gripping. I have been glued to this book since starting it!

11. Ready player one by Ernest Cline Much reviewed on here, and as a bit of a geek who grew up in the 80's, I really enjoyed it, although some of it did feel a bit like a walk-through of Zelda.

I'm another one who didn't get on with the Night Circus, I couldn't finish it.

Scribbly, I’m about a third of the way through My Cousin Rachel and also loving it.

Rebecca is one of my all time top 5, re-read many times so I don’t know why I’ve never read this one either.

Another one adding My Cousin Rachel to the TBR pile. It's a big pile though! Off to decide which of my library books to read next - and as they're all recommendations from here, hoping for something good!