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?

[Sadik]

Checking in on new thread - currently reading The Night Circus and enjoying it, though I can see why it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

Picking books - I get some from reviews on here (why I love this thread!), some from blogs I follow by writers I like (Ann Leckie & Gail Carriger in particular).

I used to get most of my non-fiction recommendations from the review section in the saturday Guardian, but I've not been buying it since the re-design as it didn't seem the same at all. Any good recommendations for sources of reviews of new more 'serious' non-fiction - particularly politics / economics / history / biography? I have wondered about whether I should check out the London Review of Books.

[ScribblyGum]

Thanks for the new thread South

1. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
   
2. I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
   
3. See What I Have Done by Sarah Schmidt
   
4. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
   
5. Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward
   
6. Holding by Graham Norton
   
7. Restoration by Rose Tremain
   
8. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
   
9. Dave Gorman vs The Rest of the World by Dave Gorman
   

10. Over the Moon by Imtiaz Dharker
11. Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar
12. Educating Rita by Willy Russell
13. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar
14. The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell
15. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
16. The Prince's Chambermaid by Sharon Kendrick
17. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
18. Under the Skin by Michel Faber
19. Sugar Money by Jane Harris
20. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
21 True Grit by Charles Portis
22. Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
23. When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife by Meena Kandasamy
24. Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
25. A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
26. Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu
27. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
28. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
29. He Said/She Said by Erin Kelly
30. Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig
31. H(A)PPY by Nicola Barker
32. An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales by Theresa Breslin
33. The Encyclopaedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg
34. Electra by Sophocles
35. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
36. And Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
37. The Guns of Navarone by Alistair Maclean
38. The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
39. Sight by Jessie Greengrass
40. The Idiot by Elif Batuman
41. Skin and Other Stories by Roald Dahl
42. Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
43. The Last Days of Troy by Simon Armitage
44. Tangerine by Christine Mangan

Currently reading Circe by Madeline Miller and loving it, and listening to A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben MacIntyre which is also excellent.

[Terpsichore]

@Sadik I get the LRB and to be honest, it doesn’t really inspire me massively. There are some very good reviews at times but there can be whole editions where every article seems to be pretty heavyweight political/sociological analysis. All fine of course but not necessarily my sort of reading matter

Funnily enough dh’s New York Review of Books is more my thing. The articles in there can be fascinating and often (I suspect) more interesting than the actual book they’re reviewing. They go into impressive depth and reference all sorts of other things I then want to follow up.

[Sadik]

That's helpful to know Terpsichore

[ChessieFL]

Marking place, will update with list later!

[BestIsWest]

My list

1 Diary of an Ordinary Schoolgirl - Margaret Forster
2 Sunday Morning Coming Down -Nicci French
3 OVer Sea Under Stone -Susan Cooper
4 Cider with Rosie - Laurie Lee
5 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
6 The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper
7 How Hard Can it Be? - Alison Pearson
8 Skellig -David Almond
9-13 Shopaholic books 5-8 Sophie Kinsella
14. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
15. Eager Dreams -Jon Krakauer
16. Balancing Act - Joanna Trollope
17. City of Friends -Joanna Trollope
18. Excellent Women -Barbara Pym
19. The Threat Level Remains Severe - Rowena Macdonald
20. Conchie, What my Father didn’t do in the war - Gethin Russell
21. Reservoir 13 - Jon McGregor
22. The Year that Changed Everything - Cathy Kelly
23. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne Du Maurier
24. The Descent of Man - Grayson Perry
25. Sourdough -Robin Sloan
26. The Pedant in the Kitchen - Julian Barnes
27. The Dry - Jane Harper
28. Force of Nature - Jane Harper
29. The Trick to Time - Kit De Waal
30. Unless - Carol Shields
31. Mother Country - Jeremy Harding

Currently reading The Heart’s Invisible Furies
So far it reminds me of a Maeve Binchy Book ghostwritten by Kate Atkinson. Not entirely a bad thing.

[exexpat]

My list so far:

1. The Dark Flood Rises - Margaret Drabble
   
2. The Loved One - Evelyn Waugh
   
3. The Middlepause - Marina Benjamin
   
4. The Wall Jumper - Peter Schneider
   
5. The Gustav Sonata - Rose Tremain
   
6. First Love - Gwendoline Riley
   
7. The Furthest Station - Ben Aaronovitch
   
8. Quiet - Susan Cain
   
9. Death and the Penguin - Andrey Kurkov
   

10. The War on Women - Sue Lloyd Roberts
11. Harmless Like You - Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
12. Selfish People - Lucy English
13.How to Stop Time - Matt Haig
14. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
15. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton
16. The Vanishing Box - Elly Griffiths
17. Rosalie Blum - Camille Jourdy
18. Addlands - Tom Bullough
19. Saplings - Noel Streatfeild
20. Butterflies in November - Audur Ava Olafsdottir
21. All Passion Spent - Vita Sackville-West
22. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler
23. The Cherry Blossom Murder - Fran Pickering
24. Venetia - Georgette Heyer
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck - Nora Ephron
26. The Keeper of Lost Things - Ruth Hogan
27. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
28. Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
29. Black and British: A Forgotten History - David Olusoga
30. Shadow Dance - Angela Carter

31. The Descent of Man - Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry's take on masculinity and its problems. I read this for a different angle on all the gender debate at the moment - for anyone who doesn't know, Grayson Perry is a male ceramic artist who is also very publicly a transvestite, but does not claim that this makes him in any way an actual woman. He talks about the toxicity of contemporary masculinity, and argues that men should be more open to their emotions etc as well as being free to wear sparkly dresses and make-up (or whatever else they like) without having to define themselves as anything other than men. He doesn't say anything very unexpected, and I am guessing is preaching mostly to the converted, but a worthwhile short read anyway.

32. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I somehow managed not to read this blockbuster when it came out a decade or so ago, but recently I have been working my way through lots of books set in bookshops and libraries, so this one seemed an obvious gap to plug. It's a good read, atmospheric, page-turner etc but I wouldn't describe it as a literary classic.

[exexpat]

Oh yes, currently reading Flaneuse by Lauren Elkin and Cousins by Salley Vickers. Both good so far but only a few chapters in.

[Sadik]

30 The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Fantasy/romance - the titular circus opens at nightfall, and closes at dawn, & provides the venue for various magical & other goings on. I loved this, though as above I can imagine it really wouldn't appeal to everyone. There's not a vast amount of plot, and what there is doesn't bear too close an examination for sense/logic (even by fantasy standards). The joy for me is in the descriptions of the circus & the worldbuilding - I'll definitely read it again as perfect escapism.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I really enjoyed The Descent of Man. To be honest though, I'd probably be happy reading Grayson Perry's shopping lists!

Book 48
Being Mortal – Atul Gawande – This was good, but horribly depressing. Think it’s probably been reviewed a fair few times before. Gawande is a surgeon in the States, and this book considers how we deal with the dying and we might better support them and their families in terms of seeing what is important to them, not just what medicines/surgery etc we might keep giving them. There was a big section on old age and infirmity, with some bleak descriptions of old people’s homes, for example, but also some wonderful work where animals and children have helped to transform the ethos in some homes. There was also a really powerful section on the death of Gawande’s own father. Recommended –but only if you’re feeling strong and upbeat.

[ChillieJeanie]

Thanks for the new thread, southeastdweller

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
25. Cordelia Fine - Delusions of Gender
26. Natasha Pulley - The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
27. Ben Aaronovitch - The Furthest Station
28. Val McDermid - Insidious Intent
29. Oscar de Muriel - A Mask of Shadows
30. Andrew Taylor - The Ashes of London
31. Andrew Caldecott - Rotherweird
32. Ali Shaw - The Trees
33. David Lagercrantz - The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye
34. Lee Child - The Midnight Line
35. Hannah Kent - The Good People

And my most recent read:
36. Kelley Armstrong - Dime Store Magic
This one is a re-read from one of my favourite urban fantasy series. Paige Winterbourne is a witch. Aged 23, she is guardian to Savannah, a 13-year-old daughter of a dead dark witch after her own mother died, and she's also the leader of the American Coven. When a telekinetic half-demon joins forces with a powerful cabal of sorcerers to try and get custody of Savannah, Paige suddenly finds her world crashing down about her ears.

[GhostsToMonsoon]

Sadik - the Economist often has good (and fairly short) reviews of non-fiction on a variety of topics.

Regarding how to decide what to read - I go for what I've picked up from the library or charity shop, related books that Amazon recommends to me, reviews on here, the book of a TV programme I've seen, or reading around the topic - for example, reading Night Waking by Sarah Moss led me to buy a book on St Kilda that I'm saving for my holiday in Scotland.

[Matilda2013]

My list so far

1. Sisters and Lies - Bernice Barrington
   
2. Her Husband’s Secret - Janice Frost
   
3. Mount! - Jilly Cooper
   
4. They All Fall Down - Tammy Cohen
   
5. The Word Game - Steena Holmes
   
6. The Good Widow - Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke
   
7. Mummy’s Favourite - Sarah Flint
   
8. The Paper Year - Avery Aster
   
9. Gone - TJ Brearton
   

10. My Sister’s Grave - Robert Dugoni
11. Carrie - Stephen King
12. Based on a True Story - Delphine de Vigan
13. Every Last Lie - Mary Kubica
14. The Darkness Within - Lisa Stone
15. Anatomy of a Scandal - Sarah Vaughan
16. The Trap - Melanie Raabe
17. Flawed - Cecelia Ahern
18. Bring Me Back - BA Paris
19. Perfect - Cecelia Ahern
20. The Roanoke Girls - Amy Engel
21. He Said/She Said - Erin Kelly
22. 3,096 Days - Natascha Kampusch
23. Diamonds - K A Linde
24. First One Missing - Tammy Cohen

Currently reading book 25. Ooh! What a Lovely Pair - Ant and Dec and struggling to stay awake so might have to give it a break. Although the references to Ant pretending to be a drunk might not have been included nowadays!

[Terpsichore]

I think the pleasure of 'reading around' can often be the most unexpected and rewarding, Ghosts

[Matilda2013]

Oh and from the previous thread on how I pick books.. I don’t have any specific way just go with what I fancy and sometimes I let my partner pick maybe I need a better system!

[TheTurnOfTheScrew]

On choosing books - that's the main reason I'm on this thread, especially as one of the slower readers. I really value the reviews here.

And although I would identify as a natural Guardian reader, I often pick up The Times on a Saturday, as its Saturday Review is far less po-faced and far more on my wavelength than The Grauniad's.

[Toomuchsplother]

66. Enigma - Robert Harris first of his I have read. Hit the spot. Full of action, bit of suspense, engaging enough to penetrate my tiredness. Will pick up others by this author.

[Sadik]

My parents get the Times on a Saturday Screw, so maybe I'll get them to save the review section for me and try that. The economist is also a good suggestion - and also reminds me that the FT used to have a good culture section on a Saturday, so I might check that out too.

[Piggywaspushed]

Random Number Generator matilda !? Go on, you know you want to...

[MegBusset]

Thanks for the thread, South. I seem to be going a bit more slowly than last year, but perhaps that's because I haven't read many quick / easy reads so far this year.

15. Requiem For A Dream - Hubert Selby Jr

An astonishing, brutal work, set in 70s New York, getting straight to the dark heart of addiction. Not an easy read, this is unremittingly bleak and unflinching, but somehow without being gratuitous, And has compassion at heart for its all-too-human characters.

[ShakeItOff2000]

Thanks for the new thread, South.

Here is my 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.
11. Small Island by Andrea Levy.
12. The Invisible Guardian by Dolores Redondo.
13. The Antidote by Oliver Burkeman.
14. The Places In Between by Rory Stewart.
15. The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch.
16. The War on Women by Sue Lloyd-Roberts.
17. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Audible narration by Simon Callow.
18. World of Trouble (The Last Policeman Book 3) by Ben H.Winters.
19. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann.
20. The Risk of Darkness (Simon Serailler Book 3) by Susan Hill.
21. SPQR by Mary Beard.
22. Tess of the D’Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy.
23. Bloody Bones (Anita Blake Book 5) by Laurel K Hamilton.
24. Autumn by Ali Smith.
25. Malice by Keigo Higashino.
26. The Crow Road by Ian McEwan.

My latest read:
27. In a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware.

Quite a silly crime page-turner, full of obnoxious characters. Currently I’m reading Grayson Perry’s Descent of Man. Much better.. 😊

[noodlezoodle]

Mildly embarrassed to bring my list over because it's a) short and b) full of really quite crappy books. Only two things good enough to bold, which is a bit of a sad indictment. I'm really trying to pick better from hereon out and not be so lazy with my choices.

1. Two Kinds of Truth, by Michael Connolly
   
2. In a Dark, Dark Wood, by Ruth Ware
   

3. Logical Family, by Armistead Maupin

1. Startup, by Doree Shafrir
   
2. My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand
   
3. American Heiress, by Jeffrey Toobin
   
4. The Child, Fiona Barton
   
5. Cold Blood, by Robert Bryndza
   

9. Missing, Presumed, by Susie Steiner

10. Persons Unknown, by Susie Steiner. I did enjoy this, not quite as much as the first in the series when we were just getting to know Manon, but I certainly find them to be a cut above some of the other mystery/crime series I've read.

11. The Lying Game, by Ruth Ware. I really like her writing and she's excellent on conveying a sense of place - I can really see the coastal setting of this book in my mind's eye - but the story itself was pretty slight.

12. Deadly Secrets, by Robert Bryndza. Really quite unpleasant. A series that I normally enjoy but this one felt unpleasantly salacious and exploitative.

I really will finish something that's not a crime novel soon, honest.

[CheerfulMuddler]

18. Mapp and Lucia EF Benson
    Interbellum comedy of manners. Lucia moves to Tilling and tries to oust Miss Mapp as social queen.
    One of those books where I can see that it's obviously doing what it does very well - it's well-written and clever and so forth - but what it does leaves me cold. I just couldn't bring myself to care about a bunch of shallow layabouts, who'd never worked a day in their lives (except the Padre), and for whom life revolves around who get invited to a bridge party. I'm probably taking it more seriously than it deserves, but this just wasn't one of my books.

[BellBookandCandle]

My list so far......very short compared to some.

1. Mythos - Stephen Fry
2. Origin - Dan Brown
3. The Mitford Murders - Jessica Fellowes
4. Paris - Edward Rutherford
5.The Four Quartets TS
6. The Magus of Hay - Phil Rickman
7. Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir
8. The Robber Bride -Margaret Atwood (audio R4)
9. Land Rover: The story of the car that conquered the world - Ben Fogle
10. The Good Terrorist - Doris Lessing (audio R4)
11. Station Eleven - Emily St John Mandel
12. American Gods - Neil Gaiman
13. Monarch of the Glen - Neil Gaiman
14. Reservoir 13 - Jon MacGregor (audio R4)
15. The Management Style of the Supreme Beings - Tom** Holt

Just finished Stone Mattress - Margaret Atwood. Absolutely fantastic! I'm not normally a fan of short stories, but these were something else.

The first three were interlinked and were like a mini novel in themselves- if Ms Atwood ever decides to write fantasy about dragons and mysterious kingdoms, I'll be the first in the queue, she'd make Robin Hobb look like a novice.

Would have loved the Stone Mattress short story to be longer, to find out more about Verna's backstory and what happened when Bob was missed. I felt the style was reminiscent of Lady Oracle.

Torching the dusties is another tale that I would like to see expanded. So much was unsaid, I want to know more about "Our Turn" - felt this story had shades of the Handmaids Tale take and the Madaddam trilogy.

I love Atwood, she really can do no wrong.

Pondering what to read next......

[VanderlyleGeek]

Sadik, most of my recommendations have been mentioned. I'd add the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Globe and Mail (which can be uneven). I also like various podcasts, though they often discuss fiction. I also get ideas from library events and literary friends and other 50 Bookers.

My tastes are...particular/peculiar, so I spend a lot of time browsing. I can also tend to become interested in a general topic and spend quite a bit of time reading fiction and non-fiction related to it without really realizing what I'm doing at first. My current thing seems to be the Gilded Age/hedge funds/the Wiemar Republic/the 2008 financial crisis.

I too loved The Night Circus and its heady atmosphere. Morgenstern's description of the dresses!