50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Six

[southeastdweller]

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

How're you getting on so far?

The use of the narrator is brilliant, and the film doesn't/can't do justice to the, 'that was when I was big' thing.

We both liked another book??? And this one is proper fiction, unlike This Thing Of Darkness which was non-fiction + dialogue It's a miracle!

Meanwhile, I'm on holiday without my piano, or any piano, and I'm trying to catch up with the 50-Book challenge. Any recommendations? Something sciency or SF? Murder mystery? Spy book? Nothing to do with families and children or people bickering in their ordinary lives please.

Cote my last read was a great scifi book 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky which was recommended on here but can't remember who (if it was you then sorry )

On a science tip I enjoyed The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee last year.

I can't help you on murder mysteries or spy books - not really my thing

Did you say you'd bought The Devil in the White City, Cote? Plenty of murder in that!

I've just bought Death of a red Heroine after somebody recommended it to me. Currently 99p on Kindle. Not started it yet, so no idea if any good!

Does it need to be fiction Cote? If not you might like The New Spymasters by Stephen Grey or Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev

Clara Read CofT based on Sadik's recommendation, thought it was excellent and particularly loved the ending.
Remus mentioned Death of a Red Heroine upthread, really enjoyed it and the rest of the series, fascinating detail on contemporary Chinese culture. And grew fond of the characters.

62. To be a machine: Adventures among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers and the Futurists solving the modest problem of death by Mark O’Connell – Published in 2017 and winner of the Wellcome Book Prize 2018.

I raced through this. For me O’Connell’s distinctive voice made this an entertaining, thought-provoking and at times incredibly funny read.

I picked it up after reading Sea of Rust which, despite flaws, raised a number of questions about what it means to be human and the potential relationship between human and machine/AI. These questions permeate O’Connell’s work. He’s a journalist with a background in literature, rather than science or technology, so charts his terrain from an outsider’s perspective. Here he journeys through various communities and manifestations of the transhumanism movement. A movement based ‘on the conviction that we can and should use technology to control the future evolution of our species.’ As O’Connell points out it’s a peculiarly nostalgic movement. It sidesteps the reality of environmental disaster in progress and produces visions of the future that seem to hark back to science fiction fantasy worlds of the past (like O’Connell it should be fairly obvious I’m not a transhumanist sympathizer). He moves from the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley working on models of ‘radical life extension’, to the cryogenics movement waiting to freeze their severed heads so that their brains are ready for upload to the AI robots to come, to those predicting the singularity and doom to come. Fascinating, enjoyable and informative, great book.

remus have downloaded Huntingtower, 39 Steps was one of my childhood favourites, I haven’t explored any of his others.

cote did you ever try any Raymond Chandler?

pepe would recommend The Wild Other if you liked the family aspect (albeit with reservations) as it is very honest and affecting on life’s misadventures, and how to continue to live boldly in the face of them. It is less convincing when she talks about living with risk more generally as one can’t help but be aware of the inherent safety net provided by her environment and connections. It didn’t take away from the power of the central story though, and there being no real defense against misfortune.

I live in dread of Cote reading and hating Chandler, because I'd then never be able to speak to her again.

Hope everyone's had some much-needed rain, have been enjoying watching birds flying around in celebration.

63. The Hours Before Dawn by Celia Fremlin – Published in 1958, recently reissued, this classic psychological thriller originally won an Edgar Award for best mystery novel. Set in a middle-class area of London the novel centres on Louise. She’s a full-time mum with two daughters at school and seven-month-old Michael. No matter what she tries Michael doesn’t sleep and now Louise is exhausted beyond imagining. Louise is struggling but still striving to ‘remain bright and good-tempered and attractive – to get the children off to school in time – to answer their questions, plan the meals, never letting tiredness’ get in the way. She can’t rely on her husband, Mark blames her for not ‘shutting’ Michael up, and now the neighbours are complaining too (would make for a classic MN post). As if this weren’t enough, providing for a new baby means money’s tight and so into this domestic chaos comes new lodger Vera Brandon. On paper Vera’s the perfect tenant, a single classics teacher at the local grammar school, with an impeccable background and a surprising rapport with Mark. But is Vera really what she seems? Louise is not so sure but can she trust her instincts or is sleep deprivation clouding her judgment?

I read this once years ago, I remembered enjoying it but not much else. I’m really glad I decided to re-read it. I enjoyed this immensely, it was beautifully observed, witty, entertaining and unnerving in equal parts. I’m surprised it’s not been adapted, it would make an excellent BBC period drama, there were shades of Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendall even Kate Atkinson but more understated. I thought Louise was an incredibly well-drawn, engaging character and I was fascinated by the detailed representation of domestic life in the late 50s. The early sections establish character and setting, while the mystery driving the novel builds slowly. Vera’s behaviour and the situation in the house becomes increasingly unsettling and uncertain, and then Fremlin ramps up the tension

That sounds good Dottie- as does Lingo. Need to go through and add to my wish list!
I’ve lost count and I’m in bed and too lazy to get up and check, but The Blackest Streets by Sarah Wise. This was recommended a few threads ago (I had to wait for a copy), and I think I thought it might be like a non fiction “Family from One End Street”- it isn’t! But it was very interesting about housing in London in the late 19th C. Also quite a step from my usual reads so good for my brain.

Raymond Chandler, you say? It think I last considered one of his books back in 2016

Tanaqui weird synchronicity, when I was reading the Fremlin it made me think of The Family from One End Street some of the women Louise encounters, and the descriptions of washing, I think. I have an old pink Puffin copy as well as the Further Adventures but not the one about the Dew Drop Inn. Absolutely loved those books, remember being really excited to see the painting 'Carnation Lily, Lily Rose', I know it's a bit mawkish but still really fond of it because of Garnett.

Remus will dig out the Buchan OH has a complete novels, as is a big fan of classic ripping yarns. Hitchcock's version of The 39 Steps one of my favourite films, so can't bring myself to read that one, but don't know the one you recommended.

Huntingtower sounds just the thing. I bought a beautiful vintage copy for DH in a charity shop a couple of years ago, but haven't actually read it myself yet. Must rectify that. I've only ever read 39 Steps of his, and that was about a hundred years ago.

Dottie - would your Oh be able to recommend any similar ripping yarns? Need some fun reads for the holidays!

Remus will extract information and report back!

remus have you read Rogue Male? I’ve got that on my Kindle and haven’t got round to it yet, but looks like it might be a yarn, ripping remains to be seen.

cote sorry I brought it up The Long Goodbye and The Big Sleep are my favourites anyway, to whom it may concern

Sadik - I already have Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible in my Kindle. I think I bought it when it was the Kindle Daily Deal. Thanks for the reminder

dottie - extract information - you’ve really gone into espionage mode

Satsuki - sample got. Thanks. I fancy something a bit more light hearted at the moment though!

Clara - I put Children Of Time in my Wish List. It sounds a bit too space opera for me, but I might snap it up at 99p or something, who knows

Dottie - thank you but don't extract it too painfully!

Remus any of these possible?

Above Suspicion Helen MacInnes – first in a series from the 1940s
The Mask of Demetrios and Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler – 1930s/40s
The Riddle of the Sands Erskine Childers - 1903
The Complete Raffles by E.W. Hornung 1900s
Pig and Pepper by David Footman – 1930s
Bulldog Drummond by Sapper (Wordsworth does an omnibus edition) – 1920s
Ashenden W. Somerset Maugham – 1920s
The Man who was Thursday G. K. Chesterton – 1900s
Lost Horizon by James Hilton – 1930s
Rogue Male and Rogue Justice by Geoffrey Household – 1930s
The Pendragon Legend by Antal Szerb – 1930s
The Great Impersonation by E. Phillips Oppenheim – 1920s complete works are 0.49p on Kindle!
Leslie Charteris Saint series, 1930s - apparently nothing like the TV version
Fantomas series by Marcel Allain and Pierre Silvestre 1- 900s onwards
Arsene Lupin by Maurice Leblanc 1900s (Wordsworth does an omnibus edition)
Hornblower series by C.S. Forester 1950s but says recently republished crime novels not v. good.
The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace – 1900s to 1920s

Clearly every one else is tucked up in bed and I'm the only one whose sleeping is out of sync because of the heat! Remus if you're looking for light-hearted books have you read Ilyrian Spring by Ann Bridge, Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm or Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos? Also re-read Wodehouse's Mulliner books last year and they were excellent, almost as good as Jeeves and Wooster.

His bloody project is 99p on Kindle today