50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Four

[southeastdweller]

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?

Glad I'm not the only slow reader!

I agree Mina, I don't like to miss anything and rarely skim read. In saying that I'm terrible at remembering what I've read, despite the length of time it takes me. But I enjoy it while I'm in the moment, so to speak.

Looking for my next book, so going to have a look at the thread and see if I like the sound of anything.

25. Cousins by Salley Vickers this was very good, if a little hard to keep track of the characters at times (I only noticed the family tree on the back inside cover 2/3 way through!). Absorbing read with three fantastic, strong female narrators from the Tye family; the story begins in 1994 with Will Tye's terrible accident falling from King's Chapel roof at Cambridge University and the aftermath affecting his devastated family. I loved the eccentric characters and exploration of family dynamics, and was reminded of Commonwealth by Ann Patchett which I enjoyed last year.

Scribbly yes that's where I am and yes it's becoming hard work!! It almost feels like several different books stuck together in a strange and unconvincing type of way. Will post a review but I really am disappointed.

Mina I don't generally skim read, unless something is dire, so I guess I must belong to the 'have no life' brigade.

Murine I had forgotten about cousins but I enjoyed it when I read it a couple of years ago. I thought she painted the family relationships and individual portraits really well.

30. Andrew Taylor - The Ashes of London

The Great Fire has devastated parts of London. In the ashes of St Paul's a body is found, but this one is a victim of murder. His thumbs are tied behind his back and he was stabbed in the neck. James Marwood, son of a man who supported the execution of Charles I, is forced to hunt the killer. He encounters a young woman looking for her father, also a traitor to Charles I and a fugitive. Cat is also trying to secure her own freedom from a prospective marriage that has been arranged for her. When another body washes up in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is put under pressure by his masters at Whitehall under threat of action against his own father.

Liked this. I don't know much about the restoration period so some of the detail was interesting for that. I did keep getting distracted by realising just how big the palace at Whitehall was though! The site covered about 23 acres and it had more than 1,500 rooms.

Mina I think some people also include audiobooks, which I personally don't otherwise I would have various Harry Potters listed multiple times a year.

If I put mumsnet down and picked up my books I would read a lot more; I think time for reading = an excellent life!

32. Killers of the Flower Moon, Oil, Murder and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann. Reviewed a couple of times upthread this is a very interesting account of the appalling experiences of the Osage Indians (term used in the book) in the early part of the twentieth century- and also a fascinating mix of cars and telephones with the old Wild West. Would definitely recommend.

51. Animal Farm by George Orwell

Listened to this on Audible, read by the fabulous Simon Callow. I had read this as a teenager and enjoyed coming back to it as an adult with more understanding of the allegory!

52. Odd Child Out by Gilly Macmillan

Not very memorable thriller that wasn’t very thrilling. I liked that it was set in Bristol though, where I work, and I recognised a few places.

53. Relight My Fire by Joanna Bolouri

Chicklit about a couple trying to regain their lovelife. Ok for a long coach journey.

54. Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman Of Pleasure by John Cleland

I knew this was a bit racy but I wasn’t prepared for how racy! This is basically 18th century porn. It makes quite uncomfortable reading now as lots of scenes are rape-y and the main character is only 15 when the book starts. I have learnt lots of new words for penis though. I think giant maypole and stately machinery were my favourites.

55. Before You Die by Samantha Hayes

Another bog standard thriller. A small village seems to be having a spate of teenage suicides, but is there more to it? This was actually ok until the final twist, which was just ridiculous and ruined the book for me.

Welcome newcomers I’m a quick reader in terms of speed but inconsistent due to time and distractions so fall somewhere in the middle and have a hiatus here and there. It also depends on your tastes - I don’t read a lot of for eg crime so don’t have series to go through. I don’t think that fast reading always equals skim reading though - it is possible to read both quickly and thoroughly. I only skim if I’m bored and then wouldn’t usually count it on my list. I skimmed half of both The Dry and and City and the City so didn’t add them to the list as didn’t read them properly.

chessie stately machinery

I think believing that someone who reads a lot of books has no life is really short-sighted, as well as it being downright rude for expressing that opinion on an online forum.

Southeast well I certainly don't feel like I am missing out

24. The Very First Damned Thing; When A Child Is Born; Roman Holiday; Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings; The Great St Mary’s Day Out; My Name Is Markham by Jodi Taylor

Some Chronicles of St Mary’s short stories. About time travelling historians who:

Set up St Mary’s;
Deliver a baby instead of seeing William the Conquerors coronation;
Visit Julius Caesar and Cleopatra in Rome;
Lose a modern gun in ancient Egypt;
See the first performance of Hamlet;
Find out if King Alfred really did burn the cakes.

I think these depend on readers being already familiar with the St Mary’s series of books. And they’re all much as you’d expect if you are already familiar with the series.

I’ve clumped them all together as one book here as I think they’re each really too short for me to get away with calling them 6 books, despite having to borrow them individually from the library.

Well, I don’t think that reading lots = no life is a viewpoint that will find much support on this thread!

Chillie thank you for the Ashes of London review, glad you liked this - I succumbed when it was cheap on Kindle recently and was thinking of starting it next. I see he's already written a sequel.

Re. speed of reading....I go in fits and starts but I am fundamentally 'a reader'; it's printed in my DNA, as it were. I'd taught myself to read before I started school and since childhood I've never been without a book. I might not read in every spare second but I'll always read at some point in the day. Which is why I have to sit on my hands at our book group when they say they don't want to meet any more frequently than every two months because otherwise there's not enough time to read a (slim) volume - they've imposed a number-of-pages limit too.....I could go on....

PS Fanny Hill - I'd forgotten about the 'stately machinery' 😂😂

@stitches No life? Ha! I’ve had some rip roaring conversations at the mobile library I can tell you

My children are the reason I have no life. I’d love to see Ready Player One - I think it might be better than the book, but not likely to get out to see it. Saw Peter Rabbit yesterday though and came away with a crush on Domhnall Gleeson so cant complain.

I'm going to shoehorn stately machinery into the dining table chat today during a terribly formal family luncheon. No life indeed. This is living on the edge inserting a casual penis euphemism into polite conversation with an aged uncle while passing the mint sauce.

'stately machinery'😂 That's put me right off .... !!

Satsuki

I have the same problem with my children

I spent most of yesterday afternoon stopping my toddler from throwing himself face first into rock pools on the beach. Definitely not my favourite life enhancing beach activity!

stately machinery!!

Housework and teenagers stop me having a life! Books definitely enhance them!

“Stately machinery” has to be easier to shoehorn into conversation than “giant maypole”

I often skim read. Don’t see the problem.

Hang on. I never said people who read loads have no life. I said I can't see how you fit it in alongside having a life not that the life someone is having is better than reading. I meant the day to day - how do you fit in reading 50+ books in three months while looking after kids, pets, home, work, social life, fitness etc. I just can't work out how you manage it. Please don't take offense. None was meant. I'm envious of you all. I'd love to have the sort of brain that can read that fast, but I don't.

I made a mistake of reading Swing Time by Zadie Smith.
My target was 50 this year but that monstrosity has slowed my progress down some what. It was a challenge to finish.

Nothing wrong with skimming, but just that we all have different definitions of it and what we would count, all those things affect numbers. I skim non fic more to get to the interesting bits, whereas if I find myself skimming fiction it’s because I’m not enjoying the writing or absorbed enough in it, and if I skim too large a proportion of it I don’t feel I can count it, but that’s just me. I’ve stopped counting children’s books as well, my point is everyone keeps their list for themselves really, not for comparison with others but I’ve said it in a long winded and not very clear way and wouldn’t be surprised if you skimmed it

elchan I gave up Swing Time half way didn’t enjoy it.

mina I see what you mean, don’t worry about it. I do no exercise and my house is a mess if it makes you feel better, and I still don’t read as much as some!

scribbly I think you may have gone off the edge do report back.

stitches I tried reading yesterday while they were playing and got interrupted every other word with “Mum watch this! Mum! You’re not watching!” as they threw themselves repeatedly off a sofa. I had watched the first several hundred times but...

Remus - it's good to hear that you liked the film Ready Player One. I'm going to see it tonight