50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Five

[southeastdweller]

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

How're you getting on so far?

Loving all the catch-ups here with everyone. I have four more to add since I was here last.

21. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - just in time to see the TV series which I did persist with, much to my to DH's displeasure as I outlined all the ways it was different to the book after every episode (annoying, right?). Let's not talk about Count Fosco in the adaptation. Why was he so young and so SLIM!?

22. The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - a sweet, sad tale of an old man who dies, and goes to heaven to meet five people who he came across in his life on who's life he impacted, or who impacted on his life. It was time for people to explain each other. It was sweet but I didn't love it to death like some of the reviews I have read. A light book after finishing TWIW.

23. Peter Pan by JM Barrie - I am ashamed to admit I have never previously read this, although I know the story of course. I read it to my kids and we were much scandalised by the negligence of the parents, the nastiness of Tinkerbell, and the sadness of the Lost Boys. We laughed hard at the crocodile with the clock every time. They are 9 and 12 by the way, probably too old for this, but I was happy they loved it nevertheless (and they found out why our Wendy House is called such)

24. Autumn by Ali Smith - Much reviewed and lauded here. The first one by this author I have read. To be honest I had not heard of her until I moved to the UK, but I noticed in the library she has a whole shelf of works. I gave it four out of five stars on Goodreads (I rarely give five). She has such a way with words, but perhaps this fell victim in my head to all the hype. My expectations were high!

TWIW slowed me down, but feeling happy I am on track to get to 25 halfway through the year!

22. Bookworm: a Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan. I absolutely adored this. I do agree with other reviewers that a large part of the joy of reading it comes from the nostalgia element, when she talks about much-loved childhood favourites (a special mention from me for The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, The Family From One End Street, the Melendy and Marlow books and Goodnight, Mister Tom), but that was not a problem for me .

Book 14: Crime and punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

I actually enjoyed it.

I didn't finish sense and sensibility- I will go back to it eventually. I think I will start 12 years a slave which my aunt bought for me.

I want to go through a few classics. Is the great Gastby worth reading? Does anyone have any recommendations for books about mental health?

Great Gatsby definitely worth reading and also quite short!

Mental health : do you mean fictional or factual orange?

36 Balanced on the Blade's Edge by Lindsay Buroker

Enjoyable light fantasy novel. Sorceror / healer Sardelle wakes up in the mage shelter where she has taken refuge as her home was attacked - only to discover that she has been in magical stasis for 300 years, and in the interim all of her people have been wiped out, and anyone suspected of witchcraft is executed. Ridge Zirkander is a military pilot/commander who has been demoted for insubordination and posted to run the prison that Sardelle's mountain home has become - and has to figure out what to do with this strange woman who has appeared amongst his prisoners.

This is one of a trilogy, and was a kindle freebie (as The Dragon Blood Collection) - it's not perfect, and takes a while to get going, but overall I enjoyed it, and will definitely read the next two in the series

56: Eat Me: A Natural and Unnatural History of Cannibalism – Bill Schutt
Glad I got this heavily reduced! It was just about worth £3 but I’d have been v disappointed if I’d paid much more. Bits of it are good – there’s an interesting section on cannibalism and copulation in spiders and snails, and a few interesting bits about human cannibalism – the Donner party and mourning rituals in little known tribes in particular. On the whole though, I thought this failed to deliver what it promised, and (apologies for being low brow!) I’d have liked a few fewer insects etc and a bit more human gore!

Orangecake if you are looking for non fiction I recommend Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon, about her struggles with severe OCD.

noodlezoodle I can highly recommend The Song of Achilles too, the only negative particularly on a kindle is the lack of a beautiful shiny cover.

33. Closing The Vocabulary Gap : Alex Quigley. One of the new talked about books in education. Bit of a yawnfest, to be honest, important as the ideas are. Ended up skimming (ironically a skill all these literacy gurus are fond of!)

I have a great affection for Gatsby after reading it for A level.

I think I must be in the minority with regards to Autumn. Ali Smith and I don't run along well!

70. Sight - Jessie Greengrass. I suspect I didn't really didn't do this justice. I found this just too introspective. There is no doubt that Greengrass can write but there is so much internal agonising and loooong sentences that after a while I was switching off - repeatedly!!
Some of her observations regarding grief and motherhood are insightful and beautiful but then we get this pretentious description of morning sickness...
"I had forgotten to feel sick, but now it returned, the constant queasy ostinato over which rose exhaustion's disharmonious cadence, a progression paused before the point of resolution, acting forwards."
I was rolling my eyes a lot reading this. Every time I was about to abandon it I stumbled across a gem in the prose and pressed onwards.
I can see why it was shortlisted. However I think that the author needs to stop trying so flipping hard. The whole thing feels like a creative writing exercise.
Also I have an overwhelming feeling that the narrator is flipping hard work as a person! Her husband must be a saint! I wonder how much she is based on the author's own experiences!

Re Ali Smith - it's 'rub' along not 'run' !

Thank you for the replies. ;) I wouldn't mind either fiction or non fiction. I've read the bell jar. A unquiet mind and the gift of therapy.

I've read Bryony's first book "the wrong knickers" so will add that to my list. The problem is that I have too many random books on it already.

Has anyone joined scribd? They have both books and audiobooks for a set fee of around £8 a month I think. I liked the trial but I have exams coming up at the moment so didn't sign up.

orange , try The Yellow Wallpaper and Girl, Interrupted?

Orangecake, if you want classics with protagonists with mental health issues, I’d recommend Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton. Not sure if that’s what you are after but saw you mentioned The Bell Jar. Hangover Square is heartbreaking but one of my favourite books. It’s not widely read but should be - it’s set just before WW2 breaks out and tells the story of George Bone, a possible schizophrenic, who’s in love with one of the worst women you’ll meet in literature. Patrick Hamilton is totally under-rated, I think, and Hangover Square is his best book. Not a happy read, but an excellent exploration of love, misery and mental health.

splother that is so hilarious, I had that exact same morning sickness passage from Sight, page top folded over and everything, as an example of why I found all just too much. A progression paused before the point of resolution, acting forward." Good grief, just have a ginger nut.
I agree about her long suffering husband too. Loved the bit when they went on holiday to Italy (at the wrong time so it was cold ) and she got to spend the first night alone in a nice hotel (where she felt sad introspective thoughts) and he went on ahead to get things ready for her.
I've been doing holidays wrong for YEARS.

Mental health books I recommend:

Reasons to Stay Alive - Matt Haig
Overcoming Depression - Paul Gilbert

Talking of which...

24. Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions - Johann Hari. Non-fiction book which attempts to debunk the notion that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and instead by being disconnected from things like nature, other people and meaningful jobs. I broadly agree with what he's saying but I was amazed to see only one short reference about exercise helping depression, despite the many studies that have shown how beneficial it is and I also thought the author could have been more revealing about his own struggles. I'm also a bit annoyed that he's framed his ideas as something new, when they're not. But it's still an interesting read.

orangecake Catcher in the Rye maybe ticks boxes of classic and mental health if you haven’t got to it already.

Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald deals with mental health and is somewhat autobiographical about his marriage with Zelda.

Mad Bad and Sad by Lisa Appignanesi is good non fic about the history of mental health treatment in relation to women from 1800 on and takes in the cases of notable women such as Plath and Woolf.

Speaking of Woolf - To the Lighthouse

44. The Word for Woman is Wilderness - Abi Andrews
So, so disappointed by this. It could have been awesome. Such a great premise; 19 yr old Erin sets off on a journey to Alaska in defiance of men like Chris McCandless and Bear Grylls, to prove that women can also live and travel alone in the wilderness.
There is some great feminist writing in this novel and a lot of astute discussion around the natural world, science and the environment, but it turns from what reads like an ok travelogue to rambling cod philosophising for pages and pages. The last section is dire. This is a book that doesn't know what it wants to be and it shows. I only gave it two stars on Goodreads. So glad to finish it and move on!

68. Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn.

First novel and it shows - some good concepts but it all gets a bit long-winded towards the end. I read this a long time ago and went back to revisit it - I remember reading books 2 and 3 and not being massively gripped by them, and not bothering with the second trilogy. This time I do want to read the second trilogy, but I am struggling with the first! I can't remember very much at all about it, though, so I need to at least skim it.

Hi everyone, been on holiday so haven't RTFT yet. Only managed to finish one book on hols though:

1. Why Mummy Drinks by Gill Sims.
2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
3. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie.

4 Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie.

1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.
2. "Blink" Malcolm Gladwell.
3. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig.
4. "Persepolis RIsing" by James SA Corey.
5. “Guernica” by Dave Boling.

10. “Harvest” by Tess Gerritsen. 11. "Grit" by Angela Duckworth. 12. "The Hive" by Gill Hornby. 13. "The Nix" by Nathan Hill. I liked the descriptions and observations (some made me laugh out loud, some were a bit uncomfortable!) but the plot was a bit silly for me in the end.

I’ve been enjoying all the recommendations and discussions. My reading pile just keeps growing exponentially!

My latest read is:

30. Red Sister (Book of the Ancester, Book 1) by Mark Lawrence.

Thanks to the poster who recommended this at 99p on Kindle. I enjoyed the first instalment of this fantasy/YA series. Kind of like a violent all-girls Hogwarts masquerading as an armed convent, slow paced with no real surprises but that didn’t stop me liking it and I’m interested enough to see where Book 2 will lead.

Currently reading To be a Machine by Mark O’Connell. Interesting but also quite hard going on my tired out neurons.

A quick update on my last two books!

28. The Fear - C L Taylor

Louise was groomed and kidnapped by Mike as a 14 year old. She’s back in her old town to face her past and discovers he’s up to his old tricks. Can she stop him?

I liked this one but preferred the tale of the past to the present time story. Bit of an implausible ending!

29. My (not so) Perfect Life - Sophie Kinsella

Something light and fluffy for my trip away. Cat has remade herself from country girl Katie into a London girl. But when her life falls apart she learns that no one has the perfect life. No matter what Instagram says. This was quite an enjoyable easy read and reminder to take social media with a pinch of salt.

Just finished 27 Art in nature by Tove Jansson . These stories are light and fragile like eggshells or feathers, Really well written.

Off now to read Mermaid and will tell you what I think

44.) Colour Scheme, Ngaio Marsh Another murder mystery, this time set in New Zealand. Really enjoyed this what's not to love about a book where the victim stews to death in a pool of boiling mud? -- and this time I didn't guess the killer.

Oh, and given the recent discussion of books about mental health, here's one which touches on madness:

45.) Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys -- prequel to Jane Eyre, which tells the story of Antoinette Cosway (Mr Rochester's mad wife). I love Jane Eyre, and have a very definite fictional crush on Mr Rochester. This was beautifully written, heady and with echoes of Rebecca, appropriate since Rebecca echoes Jane Eyre. Loved all the lush description of the West Indies, particularly in the first section, and very much enjoyed the final section, where Antoinette is being cared for by Grace Poole.

But I'm not entirely convinced about the portrayal of Mr Rochester and how villainously he's painted here, although perhaps I'm projecting a little through wishful thinking. Regardless, he never struck me as being so cruel while reading JE, and a slower progression through the breakdown of the marriage might have worked better, I think. This is so short, though, that there isn't really room for that.

I'd been planning to read Jane Eyre again, but I think this has bumped it up the list.

~~

Next up, A Clash of Kings.