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?

I didn't dislike it, but I got bored occasionally and put it down and then picked it up again. I think I am in the minority though going on a FB group I am on and on MN

Oooooh new thread, thank you Southeast. My list so far:

1.	<strong>Our Endless Numbered Days</strong>
2.	The Universe versus Alex Woods 
3.	Skellig 
4.	A Monster Calls 
5.	Skeleton Crew 
6.	<strong>Wolf Hall</strong>
7.	<span class="italic">G</span><span class="italic">allows Pole</span>
8.	<strong>84 Charing Cross Road</strong>
9.	 <span class="italic">T</span><span class="italic">he Duchess Of Bloomsbury Street</span>
10. <strong>Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine</strong>
11.  Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day 
 12.  Burial Rites 

I started off really enjoying Burial Rites and was drawn into Agnes's story. My attention did start to wander somewhat in the last quarter of the book though, which is odd really considering this is when the 'truth' of the murderous events are finally revealed.

I've also had a couple of books that I've started and abandoned -

1. Lincoln In The Bardo on Audible, I'm not sure whether this is a good fit for me, from reviews it doesn't sound very plot driven and the audible version reads out every citation and reference, where I feel the eye would glide over these and onto the meat of the matter. Perhaps it would be better in physical form than listened to, I gave up after about 30 minutes listening.

2. How Hard Can It Be? by Alison Pearson. This was cheap on Kindle, and I remember enjoying I Don't Know How She Does It many moons ago, but after a few pages I returned it for a refund. Despite being very much her target market - the sandwich generation - it all seemed pretty overblown, cliched and depressing and I wasn't sure I wanted to devote quite so much time to obsessing about getting older and all the First World problems that entails! The library has a copy on order so I may read it if I come across it there or if someone can tell me the book improves after the ridiculous 'bumfie' storyline. I work in a Primary School and I can assure Alison Pearson we've had meatier social media predicaments than that with 9 and 10 year olds!

Now onto the The Durrell's Of Corfu on Audible and probably my mothers recommendation, The Martian, as it's a library book that's due back soon. Unfortunately I've seen the film though so it won't hold many surprises.

Thanks five - I'm a bit like that anyway, I tend to have up to three different genres on the go to match whatever mood I'm in that night!

Thanks for the new thread South, just checking in. In a bit of a dry spell - I'm a bit of a way in to An Instance of the Fingerpost but not really feeling it. I might have another go tonight and if I can't get in to it give up & take it back to the library.

On audio I'm a couple of chapters into Dark Money by Jane Meyer which is a fascinating look at the billionaires behind the libertarian right in the US, but definitely a long slow burner.

Thanks for the new thread southeastdweller .
Currently really enjoying book 11 - A woman’s work.

Thanks, South.

Welcome, EatSleepRant.

My list:
Quiet London
2: Walking in Berlin: A Flaneur in the Capital - Franz Hessel
3: Death at the Dolphin by Ngaio Marsh
4: Our Man in Havana – Graham Greene
5: Whatever Happened to Baby Jane – Henry Farrell
6: The Berlin Wall – My Part in its Downfall by Peter Millar
7: The Winter Queen – Boris Akunin
8:: The Thorn Birds – Colleen McCullough
9: The Nix – Nathan Hill
10: N or M – Agatha Christie
11: A Presumption of Death by Jill Paton Walsh
12: The Attenbury Emeralds – Jill Paton Walsh
13: An Almond for a Parrot – Wray Delaney
14: Strong Poison – Dorothy L Sayers
15: The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst - Nicholas Tomalin and Ron Hall
16: Christine – Stephen King
17: From Here to Eternity – Caitlin Doughty
18: Miss Pym Disposes – Josephine Tey
19: Forever – Judy Blume
20: Munich – Robert Harris
21: Corpus – Rory Clements
22 Blood Brothers – Ernst Haffner
23: Have His Carcase – Dorothy L Sayers
24: Artists in Crime – Ngaio Marsh
25/26/27/28: Little Women series – Louisa May Alcott
29: The Masqueraders – Georgette Heyer
30: Enigma – Robert Harris

Thank you South for the new thread! Will catch up on what everyone's been reading. I've just finished :

1. The Beckoning Silence - Joe Simpson

Following the near disaster in the Andes related in Touching The Void, and the death of one of his closest friends, Simpson decided that he had fallen out of love with mountaineering - but was persuaded to do one last big climb, the North Face of the Eiger. This is his account of the period leading up to the climb, with a bit of potted history of the notorious face, culminating in him tackling the face itself.

Simpson's prose has a tendency to get a bit overcooked but it's a fascinating story that gives an insight into why mountaineers are compelled to tackle such dangerous climbs. So recommended for fans of mountain literature.

Thanks for the new thread.

1. Make More Noise! Various
2. Rose in Bloom L M Alcott
3. Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll
4. Alice Through the Looking-Glass Lewis Carroll
5. Eight Cousins L M Alcott
6. How to Be a Victorian Ruth Goodwin
7. A London Child of the 1870s MV Hughes
8. Hostages to Fortune Elizabeth Cambridge
9. A London Girl of the 1880s MV Hughes

10. Star by Star Sheena Wilkinso

Currently reading A Spoonful of Murder, which is an easygoing kid's adventure novel.

Didn't realise I'd fallen so far behind with updating my list! Here goes:

1. Women and Power by Mary Beard. Interesting and important ideas and very topical, however .. £7.99 for a book that is basically not much longer than a pamphlet? I know we shouldn't measure quality by quantity but still ..

10. Franny and Zooey by J D Salinger. For book group, suggested by a friend who has read this book ten times and still doesn't understand what Salinger's getting at towards the end. So she asked us all to read it. I read it back-to-back twice but came to no firm conclusion. An original theme, and reads more like a play then a novel. Wise-cracking conversations, reminiscent of the dialogue in some 1940s-50s movies, but with philosophical depth. Certainly different.

11. The Cleaner of Chartres. Set around the cathedral in this lovely French city and exploring the life of a youngish woman who has ended up as a cleaner there having clearly survived some trauma in her earlier life. Straightforward, easy storytelling and pleasant enough. If you liked Chocolat, you'd like this.

12. Irène by Pierre Le Maitre. A French crime novel; I found the trilogy in the BHF charity shop recently. The second and third are going back unread. In its favour, the main detective is an interesting and original character. However, the book is grisly and disturbing and although I'm not easily daunted - loved The North Water for example - the graphic depiction of revolting crimes against women and children was too sick for me to stomach. He is hugely popular in France apparently

13. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. A time-travel adventure as a 1940s newly-married woman, on holiday in the Highlands, slips back into the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. I'm finding this surprisingly slow going to be honest.. have broken off to read something else for a bit.

14. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. The story of a couple who meet and fall in love at the time that their (un-named, Middle Eastern?) country is being rapidly and frighteningly taken over by a militant regime. This novel deals with themes of war, migration, prejudice .. very thought-provoking and although his style, with elements of magic realism, doesn't appeal to everyone, I really liked it.

15. Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8. How a young man with autism experiences the world, in his own words. Currently reading this and very much enjoying it. Learning a lot.

Outlander - A friend lent it to me, thinking I'd love it. Essentially it's 600 pages of shagging a geezer in a kilt, or thinking about shagging a geezer in a kilt, with a few pages of plot to tie the shags together and pretend it's not just about shagging a geezer in a kilt.

@remus 50 Shades of Tartan.

desdemona I liked Lincoln but imagine it would be hard to listen to and keep track of.

Here's my list so far:

1. White Teeth - Zadie Smith
2. According to Mark - Penelope Lively
3. Conversations With Friends - Sally Rooney
4. Grief is the Thing With Feathers - Max Porter
5. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
6. The Game Theorist's Guide to Parenting - Kevin Zollman and Paul Raeburn
7. Out of Time - Miranda Sawyer
8. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
9. Gut Symmetries - Jeanette Winterson

And I've just finished:

10. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury. Classic dystopian fiction. Guy Montag is a fireman, which means his job is to burn people's collections of books when they are reported as illegally owning them. A chance encounter with a strange girl triggers a crisis of conscience for him. Hard to believe this was written in 1953 - it is scarily prescient, especially the bit about the television 'parlours' which are so similar to social media.

Thanks for the new thread!
I really enjoyed The Pier Falls and Other Stories, FiveGoMad, I'd never really been into short stories before!

My list so far (highlights in bold)
1 Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting

1. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
2. He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
3. River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
4. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
5. The Girls by Lisa Jewell

7.Dead Sky by Tami Hoag

1. Fever by Megan Abbot
2. Court of Lions by Jane Johnson

10. The Son by Jo Nesbo 11. Nothing On Earth by Conor O'Callaghan 12. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh 13. Fukushima Dreams by Zelda Rhiando 14. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee 15. The Wrong 'Un by Catherine Evans 16. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 17. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 18. Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood 19. I See You by Clare Mackintosh

I just borrowed My Cousin Rachel on the strength of recommendations on here, I'll read it once I've finished the latest Vera book, Seagull by Ann Cleeves which I'm really enjoying, I love Ann Cleeves!

Full list so far:

1. Stephanie Garber - Caraval
2. Jo Nesbo - The Thirst
3. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Pawn
4. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Promise
5. Mercedes Lackey - Magic’s Price
6. Neil Gaiman - Norse Mythology
7. Lee Child - No Middle Name
8. Sue Lloyd-Roberts - The War on Women
9. Genevieve Cogman - The Lost Plot

10. Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory 11. Mercedes Lackey - Arrows of the Queen 12. Mercedes Lackey - Arrow’s Flight 13. Mercedes Lackey - Arrow’s Fall 14. Lucinda Riley - The Shadow Sister 15. Susan Hill - The Travelling Bag 16. Charlaine Harris - Midnight Crossroad 17. Trudi Canavan - Thief’s Magic 18. Sarah Bakewell - At the Existentialist Café 19. Ernest Cline - Ready Player One 20. Virginia Woolf - Orlando 21. Jordan B. Peterson - 12 Rules for Life 22. Mary Beard - Women & Power A Manifesto 23. Laini Taylor - Dreams of Gods and Monsters 24. Sergei Lukyanenko - The Sixth Watch

My latest completed read is:
25. Cordelia Fine - Delusions of Gender
It's a look at neuroscience and the mistaken reading of it which increasingly seems to growing in prevalence in the idea of gender differences being hard-wired in the male brain and female brain, when the reality is there's no such distinction. Very interesting read. One chapter in particular showed how we are influenced by pervasive stereotypes such as 'women aren't as good at maths' into changing how we perform. Something as simple as starting a maths test with having to indicate whether you are male or female changed how women performed in it, whereas a test presented neutrally saw men and women performing largely equally. I would definitely recommend that anyone interested in this area read this book.

I've only read one book this month so far, bit bringing my list over anyway.

1. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
2. North and South by Gaskell
3. Just one damned thing after a other
4. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
5. The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory
6. Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman
7. Mrs Zant and the Ghost by Wilkie Collins

The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe

1. Surfacing by Margaret Atwood
2. The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown

10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Fitzgerald 11. Lord of the Flies by Goulding 12. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 13. The Unbroken Line of the Moon by Johanne Hildebrandt 14. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides 15. Fatherland by Robert Harris 16. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt 17. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova 18. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida 19. Ubik by Philip K Dick 20. War of the World's by HG Wells 21. The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton 22. Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett 23. Temples of Delight by Barbara Trapido 24. Room with a view by EM Forster

Can I join? Might aim to read less than 50 as I’m starting a bit late?
Currently reading Sapiens and enjoying it.
Amazed and inspired by the impressive reading lists on here!

Desdemona, I found Lincoln in the Bardo almost incomprehensible as an audio book. I was completely flummoxed for most of it then sort of gave up and went with it, but it definitely didn't have much of an impact on me. I'm tempted to try it in book form sometime but only if I can borrow a copy!

Lincoln in the Bardo is a fantastic audiobook, but only if you have read the book first. I think you need to be familiar with the style to make sense of it.

25. Priestdaddy, by Patrician Lockwood
American woman writing about her eccentric parents. Her dad is a Catholic priest (allowed to retain wife after converting from being a Methodist preacher). On the whole I liked it. The author is also a poet, and at times she hovers on the edge of self-consciously Fine Writing, and occasionally it looks as if it's going to tip into a misery memoir. She manages, just about, to avoid those twin perils, however, and there's a lot of affection and humour in there, so on balance, it works.

26. The Truth and Other Lies, Sascha Arango
Crime fiction translated from the German, picked up at random in the library. No secret about who the murderer is, and you get oddly fond of him as the story progresses. The ending sort of fizzes out. Okay if you're in the mood for it, but I wouldn't seek it out.

Jump right in. garden. No worries about getting to 50 - I don't think anyone cares much about the numbers. It's just an excuse to be in here, talking about books.

Welcome garden and other newbies - ^^what biblio said

Definitely what Bibilo says . Welcome Garden.

I loved Priestdaddy. It was one of those books where you were howling with laughter one minute and then in despair the next.
I keep meaning to check out some of Lockwood's poetry.

I did like her exchanges with the seminarian, splother, and her husband sounds very sweet.

10. Obsessive Love by Liz Hodgkinson Interesting account of the writer’s experience of becoming obsessed with a fellow student. It also considers the experiences of Charlotte Bronte, Kathleen Raine and Elizabeth Smart, explanations for the state occuring and how to recover. It has sent me off to read Villete again and the biographies of Charlotte Bronte and Kathleen Raine - I already own all three books but haven’t read the latter two.