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?

13. Voyager, Diana Gabaldon.

To hark back to the children’s fiction discussion on the last thread - this is a book I have grown out of. Too many crazy high jinks and implausible coincidences. Florid, overblown dialogue. Terribly racist, as well. I checked and it was published in 1994, which surprised me - I first read it in 2002, and I had no idea how old the series is. On that basis I’ll cut DG a bit of slack regarding attitudes to feminism and consent, which have changed considerably in 24 years, but I still don’t think I’ll be revisiting it.

Sorry Remus

10. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

Moody American classic about a deaf mute who comes to a small town and becomes the lynchpin holding a disparate group of people together. What they have in common is loneliness and an inability to make meaningful connections in the world around them; the character of Singer provides them each with a blank slate on which to write themselves. Sad, dark, with interesting ideas and symbolism, amazing the author was only 23 when she wrote it, but I only enjoyed it sporadically as I don’t favour the Hemingwayesque, short sentences to paint a picture style, though it is well done here.

I must read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I saw the film many years ago and have never forgotten it. It's such a sad story.

Thanks for the new thread South.

10. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Audiobook. Grim and authentic portrayal of trench warfare in World War 1 from the viewpoint of young German soldiers. An excellent and enduring classic.

And this my updated list so far:

1. The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette De Bodard.
2. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout.
3. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.

4. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.

1. In Other Rooms, Other Wonders by Daniyal Mueenuddin.

6. The Outrun by Amy Liptrot.

1. The Story of the Lost Child (Book 4 of the Neapolitan novels) by Elena Ferrante.
2. The Lunatic Cafe (Anita Blake novel 4) by Laurell K.Hamilton.

9. The Three Body Project by Cixin Liu. 10. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

I’m considering A Tale of Two Cities next as my audiobook selection.

Just bought Jean Brodie - read it years ago and enjoyed, but can remember v little about it.

12 As I Lay Dying
Really really loved this. Polished it off in the last two days.
Totally wrapped up in all their lives.

I’ve never seen the film south, would be interested to. So much goes on in the interior lives of the characters in the book it’s hard to imagine the film. It is a good story, and very insightful, but thoroughly depressing and quite a bit in it that’s uncomfortable to read.

It's years since I saw it, but I vividly recall that the film of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is almost unbearably sad at times. Alan Arkin is superb in it.

Thanks Five - it's about fifth on my TBR pile at the moment. Looks good!

Satsuki, I read only Japanese fiction for a couple of months before visiting there a couple of years ago. My favourite was The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanisaki .. a bit like a Japanese version of Pride and Prejudice. A lot more accessible than novels like The Box Man, Kokoro or Snow Country all of which expanded my understanding of aspects of Japanese culture but none of which I found a truly enjoyable read.

30. The bone clocks- David Mitchell Had to finish this one tonight as it was like a mill stone around my neck! This was way out of my normal reading comfort zone. There were time when I thought I was really getting into it, almost on the verge of declaring it fantastic and then I would hit a very dark and incredibly boring patch. This pattern repeated itself constantly until the final 25% where I really could not of cared who lived or died, I just wanted it over!
I know this has had some positive reviews on here but it's a low point for me.
Can't even think what to read next but it has got to be either fantastic or light mindless frothy thing!

22. The Secret Library by Oliver Tearle

A book about books! It tells the ‘history’ of literature, starting with the Ancient Greeks and coming up to date. Not sure why it’s called The Secret Library as most of the books I had heard of, although there are some interesting obscurities in there. It’s not that long so can hardly be described as comprehensive, but is quite interesting and has added a few more books to my TBR pile!

23. Close To Home by Cara Hunter

Police procedural/psychological thriller about a young girl going missing. I really enjoyed this, kept me gripped with lots of twists and turns. When it got to the initial ending I was disappointed but then there’s another sneaky little twist right at the end that I hadn’t guessed.

Thanks highlandcoo I have Sanshiro by Soseki on my tbr, haven’t read Kokoro. I have wishlisted Makioka Sisters and will have a browse at the others. I would love to go one day, maybe when the children are older.

At home with chest infection. Finished Homegoing in waiting room of doctors. It was very good but I would have preferred if each section was about twice as long. Now reading The song of Achilles by Madeleine MIller . Its very light reading and finished half by I got my antibiotics. Reviews on the back are rave but Im finding it all a little silly (Clash of the titans stylee). Will finish

I went through a McCullers/ Bainbridge/ Spark/ Cather phase when I was about 17. Loved Member of The Wedding if I recall.

My mum is American so lots of American authors who are regarded as obscure here filled my bookshelves. (I do know Bainbridge and Spark aren't American!)

Book 11 The Secret of Literacy by David Didau

I said I was going to lay off the education books but I bought this and have read it. I skimmed the bits about skimming, ironically (or fittingly?) and missed out the questioning chapter as that was extensively rehashed material from lots of sources. However, I like Didau's breezy and confident writing style. He can come across a bit arrogant and holier than thou and I am sure non English teachers could find his stuff a bit too English teacher based (even though he tries not to be). I sometimes wonder whether his colleagues really like him as much as he suggests... Oh no, here comes Didau. Duck!

I have read lots of teaching books and he actually taught me five or six things I have never come across before and will share more widely with staff at my school, so I am always in favour of that! It's nice to have a practical book.

I note darkly that he wrote this before the reformed GCSE. I genuinely cannot see how he has time to do all the marking he claims to do, or to spend 1 in 4 lessons doing DIRT (silly ed acronym) and then still get through the spec. I love DIRT but then get told off for not finishing a Victorian novel in five school weeks, and have done two assessments on it to boot. Hey ho.

Worth a read , definitely, if you are a secondary teacher.

Piggy - I'm beginning to think I know you - either that or we work in an incredibly similar place and think incredibly similar things at times! Would be v interested in the 5 or 6 things you learned from Didau (Duck!) if you maybe fancy PM'g me?

Tolstoy, sorry I’m late to the Graham Greene discussion but I just wanted to pop in and recommend The Power and the Glory. It is some years since I read it, but I thought it was incredible. I must re-read it sometime.

4. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt

Wow, this is a long book. I'm sure it's been reviewed on here before, so I won't add too much around the plot.

Beautifully written at times, but I found it quite hard to engage with because I didn't like the characters. Which then makes it hard to care what happens to them, especially for 865 pages. Don't get me wrong, I perfectly capable of reading long books, but I need things to happen in them, rather than just pages of rambling about what's it like to take drugs, which don't really move the plot on.

I read The Secret History years ago, and can't remember a thing about it. Now torn between reading it to see how different it is to this one, or just writing off Donna Tartt as not being my cup of tea.

Next up Faceless Killers - Henning Mankell. Started this on the train last night and already quite a long way thorough - a much easier read!

I'm half way throughThe Goldfinch at the moment.
Loving it so far. Although am sure I read some reviews on here where it was being compared to Harry Potter... So I'm still waiting for the magic...
Reminds me a lot of Great Expectations which I'm sure must be a common comparison.

I've just come across this and would love to join. I used to read loads when I was younger but have really not kept it up, so hopefully 2018 will be my year for reading! I've only read 4 so far though, so 50 might be tricky but I'm going to try. Amazed at how much some of you have read already!

I've just finished A Baby's Cry by Cathy Glass which was something completely random that I'd picked off the shelf in the library but it was actually really enjoyable.

Now I've just started Ink by Alice Broadway which is a YA dystopian book that I borrowed from teenage DD. It's alright so far, wouldn't say it's grabbed me. Seems quite similar to all the other YA dystopian novels out there.

Ha there’s no magic but it does have similarities to the Potter plot (his best friend calls him Potter so I think the echoes are deliberate btw. I didn’t have a problem with this but found it a bit odd) Some people do really love the Goldfinch. I liked parts of it, but overall felt much the same as diamantegal. I thought the beginning was really strong but the rest didn’t live up to it for me.

diamantegal I agree with you on The Goldfinch. I thought it was bloated, and the Vegas-drug-haze years in particular dragged and dragged, with not very likeable people doing not very much at all. A more assertive editor might have been able to turn it into a properly good book, rather than an ok one.

However The Secret History is far better. Again, no-one is hugely sympathetic (Richard is the best of a bad bunch, but is weak and cowardly), but it's tense and pacey throughout.

Welcome to the thread Yaela

I completely missed any Goldfinch/Harry Potter parallels! Though TBF I have only read the first three Harry Potters, and am not a particular fan, so if it's all gone over my head, perhaps that's not particularly surprising.

13. The Observations, Jane Harris

Picked up after recommendations here. Perfect book for a couple of days in bed with a lurgy - a rollicking faux-Victorian gothic tale of a maid with a past, a mysterious crumbling house, a strangely-behaved beautiful mistress, attics, secrets and ghosts. It's told from the point of view of the maid, Bessy, who has a great narrative voice full of slang and wonderful expressions (I see that Harris lists a book of slang in her bibliography so I like to thing that a lot of this is authentic). I don't think the plot would stand up to much scrutiny but that wasn't really the point.

BTW this has a cracking one star review on Goodreads:

"I picked this book up when I saw it as a "suggested read" close to "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters, which I really appreciated.... I think is very unlikely that a girl of around 1800 talked that way (language was not believable and sometimes it was vulgar)......

...the asylum. Aaaarh! If you don't know what you are talking about, don't write it. Well, maybe I am wrong, maybe asylums in Scotland in late 1800 were really very nice, with crazy patients who play and who are dress as nice people, were doctors really care for them and treat them with respect but this sounds so unbelievable to me. I have never been to a mental hospital but I have read a bunch of books and seen some movies about them.........

If you are into Victorian era novels ( which includes REAL characters, REAL lesbians, REAL asylums but no spooky and ridiculous things ) I suggest Sarah Waters' novels."

REAL lesbians.

1. The Return - Hisham Matar - this was a non-fiction book of the month on here not long ago. Hisham describes the frustrating search for his father, an opponent of the Gaddafi regime, who is believed to have been murdered in prison in 1996. He also writes about returning to Libya to visit his extended family (he has 130 first cousins!), and his cousin who was killed in 2011. I didn't realise that he was also a novelist, so will have to add his novels to my ever-growing list of books to read.