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50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Four

998 replies

southeastdweller · 12/03/2018 08:37

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second one here and the third one here.

How're you getting on so far?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
6
SatsukiKusakabe · 21/03/2018 15:39

exexpat I just got hold of the Makioka Sisters - one you recommended I think, looming forward to starting it.

Welcome clara this thread is like the Hotel California, you can check in any time you like. But I think you can leave, though I’ve never tried it Grin

clarabellski · 21/03/2018 17:00

thanks satsuki :)

I'll need to have a think back re what I've read since the new year but springing to mind so far:

  1. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims. Was a birthday present from a friend. Daft but some giggles.
  2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. Interesting sci fi with a sort of spacefaring roman empire vibe and gender neutral pronouns which took a bit of getting used to. Enjoyed it enough to then read...
  3. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. Sequel to above.
4 Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. Book 3 of 3. Was
  1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I was a bit late to the party with this one but enjoyed it. Loved that the main character would just say what we all think like she had a filter missing. Some laugh out loud parts. I did think the actual premise/plot was a bit silly though.

More to add as I remember them!

Matilda2013 · 21/03/2018 17:00
  1. The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel

Beautiful and rich, everyone wants to be a Roanoke girl. That is until they discover the truth. When Lane’s mum dies she is sent to live at Roanoke with her grandparents where she discovers Roanoke girls tend to run or die. What will she do when she discovers the family secrets?

I was completely sucked in by this book and desperate to finish itlife and work kept getting in the way Grin. Finally managed to get the time to finish and would recommend. It is a little dark and disturbing but I felt the characters were well portrayed. First book I’ve read by this author and I would read another.

CorvusUmbranox · 21/03/2018 18:35

Bringing my books over a little late.

1.) Gossip From the Forest, Sara Maitland
2.) *Ritual, Adam Nevill
3.) The Penny Heart, Martine Bailey
4.) Norse Mythology, Neil Gaiman
5.) The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim Library Volume 1: Histories
6.) The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma
7.) The History of the English Puppet Theatre, by George Speaight
8.) The Year of Reading Dangerously, by Andy Miller
9.) Republic of Thieves, by Scott Lynch
10.) Women & Power: A Manifesto, by Mary Beard
11.) Wychwood, by George Mann
12.) Sleeping Beauties, by Stephen King and Owen King
13.) Last Days, by Adam Nevill
14.) The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland
15.) Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella
16.) Happy, by Derren Brown
17.) A Surfeit of Lampreys, by Ngaio Marsh
18.) Death Knocks Twice, by Robert Thorogood
19.) Cheer up, Love, by Susan Calman
20.) The North Water, by Ian McGuire
21.) The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters
22.) A Morbid Taste for Bones, by Ellis Peters

and the most recent finish:

23.) Rogues, edited by George RR Martin -- a collection of short stories focusing on the theme of rogues. A bit of a slog, and although I actually enjoyed a lot of the stories, I struggled to really get into it. Short stories do tend to leave me feeling a bit 'meh', which is probably unfair.

Time to catch up on the thread, and then I'm going to make a start on Stephen King's End of Watch.

Murine · 21/03/2018 18:38
  1. The Seagull by Ann Cleeves the latest Vera novel, I always enjoy these and this was no exception. The case is much closer to home for Vera this time, involving an old friend of her father's, an ex detective who is now in prison revealing information about a decades old crime.
  2. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward this is fantastic: incredibly well written, with painfully beautiful imagery, Toomuchsplother has done a much better job than I could have of reviewing this, prompting me to choose this from my gigantic TBR list...Thankyou!

I had a real book hangover from Sing, Unburied, Sing and really couldn't decide what to go for next, I settled on Three Things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon because I'm trying to work my way through the Women's Prize list, it's a nice light read so far but it's not a patch on some of the others on the list.

Toomuchsplother · 21/03/2018 18:48

Murine pleased you enjoyed Sing, unburied sing. I too am trying to read through the Women's Prize Longlist. Think this is one of my stand outs so far.

MuseumOfHam · 21/03/2018 19:42
  1. The Hard Way by Lee Child Jack Reacher book 10. He was just sitting minding his own business in a pavement cafe, wearing his expensively hand tooled brown leather shoes made in Northampton, when he was suddenly embroiled in the fallout from the kidnapping of a very bad guy's wife. He ends up on a trip to England which was enjoyable. I thought this one was possibly a bit heavy on the gratuitous violence, or maybe I'm just a bit sensitive at the moment. Still love Reacher, and I did enjoy this.
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 21/03/2018 20:25

33: The Last Necromancer – CJ Archer
Recommended on another thread. This was okay, for pretty badly written, fairly mawkish nonsense from somebody who's never heard of complex sentences, but the first half was better than the second. A young girl (who is pretending to be a boy) realises she can control spirits and make the dead do her command (a bit) and everybody seems to want a piece of her as a result, except the man who may or may not be her father who kicks out his ungodly child as soon as he realises what she can do (and hence her pretending to be a boy), It’s not marketed as YA, but it definitely is YA and it all gets increasingly overwrought and daft as it develops. It seems there are loads of them, but I didn’t like it enough to buy another (this one was free).

Toomuchsplother · 21/03/2018 20:48

52. Nelly Dean - Alison Case Subtitled The Return To Wuthering Heights, this is Nelly's story, written in the form of a letter to Mr Lockwood. I usually avoid these classic revisited type tales, particularly when they are linked to a book I love as dearly as Wuthering Heights. This one was ok, passable attempt at the period, but some decidedly strange episodes too - Breast fed lamb anyone? There may be historical truth in this but it's a new one on me!
Also thought the happy ending was a bit twee for my taste.

Sadik · 21/03/2018 21:27

20 Star Rangers by Andre Norton

Another kindle freebie, classic old-school sci-fi. Entertaining light read, though the 'twist' was very obvious from the start.

southeastdweller · 21/03/2018 23:09

Sing, Unburied, Sing looks very interesting - I see it’s out in paperback next month.

I don’t fancy it but heads up to those who do that Three Things about Elsie is currently £1.99 on kindle.

OP posts:
Ladydepp · 21/03/2018 23:15

Cheddar - my French is only children's book level so no way I would be able to decipher the Plague in the original. The English was more than challenging enough!

Am very tempted by Educated despite completely out of control TBR pile...

I'm reading Bad Blood by Lorna Sage at the moment, so far massively disappointing given the rave reviews.

highlandcoo · 22/03/2018 01:57

Satsuki hope you enjoy The Makioka Sisters. In the run-up to a trip to Japan to visit my son a few years ago I read a bunch of Japanese novels and that was by far my favourite (I think we may have chatted about this before). Time for a reread I think; it would be really interesting having now spent some time in the country. Which was fantastic btw Smile

Welcome clara and I think your review of *Eleanor Oliphant is spot on.

I've put Outlander to one side for now and having a quick read of Black Widow, a Chris Brookmyre award-winning crime novel. So far it's pretty straightforward and disappointingly lacking the dark humour of Quite Ugly One Morning which I really enjoyed.

MinaPaws · 22/03/2018 08:04

Please will some of you explain to me how you get through so many books? Toomuch is on no 52 already and it's not yet the end of March. I know I'm a slow reader, but even if I were really speedy, I just couldn't read that many unless I gave up sleeping and eating as well as work, kids, house etc. I dither between envy and respect for you. Share the secret.

ScribblyGum · 22/03/2018 08:38

splother and Murine have either of you got to The Ministry of Utmost Happiness yet?

Feel like I'm climbing a mountain with this book. It’s good but such hard work. I'm only about a third of the way through and there are so many characters and plots already, and a huge amount of Indian politics, I keep having to down the book to google something. Roy keeps on switching writing styles too. Urgh, can’t decide whether to keep plodding onwards or give up.

Manhattan Beach on the otherhand is a dream to listen to. Might have nudged Mrs Hancock off the top spot for enjoyable reads from the long list.

Toomuchsplother · 22/03/2018 09:01

minapaws at the moment I have a slightly strange working pattern so sometimes I have time in the day to read. Also all my children are teenagers so a bit more independent, I watch very little TV, only a couple of programmes in a week. My husband works away in the week too. I have always loathed housework and so do the minimum. I set my alarm purposefully half an hour earlier so I can read in the morning. I also always have my book or Kindle in my bag, there is quite a lot of waiting around for teenagers I find!!

Scribbly Ministry of Upmost Happiness is my next book. I have heard very mixed reviews. Some people think it is wonderful others think it is jumbled, poorly structured and overly complex. I seem to remember abandoning The God of Small Things and for some reason I have avoided this one even though I read the majority of titles on the Man Booker list last year.
When I have finished A Boy in Winter I will report in.

Terpsichore · 22/03/2018 10:02

My 24 is another detective novel, I'm afraid, in a way.

A Talent for Murder - Andrew Wilson

Budding novelist Agatha Christie finds that her husband Archie is having an affair. She is distraught, but as she grapples with her discovery, a sinister doctor coerces her into doing his bidding in a fiendish plot that means she must commit murder.

I read a review of this novel which was so glowing I almost rushed straight out and bought the book (something I almost never do - far too mean! Grin). However, I bided my time and it duly popped up on Kindle, much reduced. I’m glad because, although it's woven very ingeniously around Christie's famous (real-life) disappearance and subsequent re-surfacing at a hotel in Harrogate, I found it all just too far-fetched and (dare I say it) a tad dull. It's clearly going to be the start of a series, though. Not sure whether I’ll bother to read any of Agatha's subsequent crime-solving adventures. I think I’m getting a bit fed up with real-life crime writers being pressed into service as detectives (cf Josephine Tey in Nicola Upson's series).

Murine · 22/03/2018 14:51

Having the kindle app on my phone to read on while I am stuck trying to get the baby to sleep is my reason for getting through so many books! I usually have a paper book on the go at the same time which I read for about an hour in bed most nights too.

Scribbly I read The Ministry of Utmost Happiness last year and was a bit disappointed, I loved the first section with Anjum and thought the characterisation and descriptions were wonderful, such as the light shining when the baby was found. However, the next few sections were confusing and like you, I had to google parts (well, a lot in my case!) and the change in style, and detailed historical descriptions with a lot of new characters to keep track of threw me. It felt like a bit of a slog to get through after such a promising start to be honest!

ScribblyGum · 22/03/2018 15:12

Murine I'm so glad you felt this way too. I was really getting into Anjum's storyline, loved the house she created in the graveyard and then END, now we’re into first person with some politician called Biplap (or is he called Garson Hobart?). Does she go back to Anjum again?
I know when I'm struggling with a book when I have a 15 minute window of opportunity either to go and pick up all the dog poo in the garden or pick up a book and the turds have won out.

AliasGrape · 22/03/2018 17:01
  1. Old Rose and Silver by Myrtle Reed A love story written in 1909 which I found looking at the public domain kindle books. ‘Old’ Rose is 40 - the horror! and lives with her aunt, whilst a young cousin - Isabel, the silver one, visits them. Both Rose and Isabel fall for 30 year old violinist Allison but who will he end up with? A bit outdated and lots of overly flowery language but I couldn’t help being charmed by it in the end.
SatsukiKusakabe · 22/03/2018 17:32

highland it could well have been you who recommended it or in fact both - I know I made a nice fat list from the conversation Smile I’m really looking forward to it.

minapaws I don’t read as many as some as I’ve got small children who don’t sleep very well and one is not yet at school. I read in the evenings if I’m not too tired and read on the Kindle sitting up with them while they go to sleep. I sometimes get a chance to read in the day. This week for example I’ve read nothing as I’ve had an ear infection and have had loads of appointments and admin, another week I might get through 2 or 3. If I’m into a book I’ll read first thing for a bit, while cooking etc. I always have a book or Kindle with me just in case. My husband is a slower reader than me but reads more consistently as he has a commute and a lunch hour.

scribbly Grin at the turds winning! I found the writing style in God of Small Things a bit unctuous for my taste and didn’t enjoy it that much, though some of the descriptions were good it was all too much - haven’t been tempted by the new one.

PandaPacer · 22/03/2018 17:33
  1. The Gathering by Anne Enright
  2. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
  3. What Management Is by Joan Magretta
  4. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
  5. The English Spy by Gabriel Allon
  6. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
  7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
  8. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (neopolitan novels 3) by Elana Ferrante
  9. Emma by Jane Austen
10. Regeneration by Pat Barker 11. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 12. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 13. The Naked Lunch by William Burroughs 14. Imperium by Robert Harris 15. Little Lord Faultneroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett 16. The Acid Test by Elmer Mendoza
  1. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey I read this one to my sons as I had heard from an American friend that it was a children's classic in the US. Initially published in 1942 it is a collection of short stories about a boy, Homer Price, and the wholesome activities he gets up to in his small home town of Centerburg. Think Donuts, balls of string, bumbling thieves. My boys thought it was all quite funny. There are lots of guns in the book, which I don't mind per se, but it really shows how very ingrained guns are in US culture and ways of life.

  2. On Writing by Steven King I saw this in the library and thought it looked interesting. Part memoir, part writing guide, I skimmed the writing bits to be honest and just enjoyed his stories about growing up with his single mother, his initial foray into writing, and also his recovery after being hit by a drunk driver in the late 90s. It's quite dated in some ways (he talks about the joy of sitting down to write with a fresh box of floppy disks!) but Steven King was the first grown up author I read when I was a kid so I had an interest in his life. I found it interesting enough but not a standout.

Murine · 22/03/2018 19:25

Grin at the turds winning! Yes, she does return to Anjum and the stories threads come together by the end, Scribbly.
My favourites so far from the Women's Prize list are Sing, Unburied, Sing and Home Fire, but there are loads I've not read yet!
See What I Have Done is also very good.

I bought Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? today, it's 99p in the kindle daily deal, no idea when I'll get round to reading it but couldn't resist!

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 22/03/2018 19:56

I really enjoyed Do Androids Dream. Didn't think an awful lot of Bad Blood.

I've started that Evelyn Hardcastle thing, because it was cheap. It could be good, or very bad - haven't made my mind up yet!

Toomuchsplother · 22/03/2018 21:44

GrinGrin@ Scribbly and turds!

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