50 Book Challenge 2018 Part Eight

[southeastdweller]

Welcome to the eighth (and probably final) 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 and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.The lurkers among you are also very welcome to come out of the woodwork and share with us what you've read!

The first thread of the year is here, the second one here, the third one here, the fourth one here, the fifth one here, the sixth one here and the seventh one here.

How have you got on this year?

[toomuchsplother]

Ok that completely has not worked!! Just ignore the whole sodding list! About sums up my day! Off to grump...

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Cote - I really like Bag of Bones. It's an upsetting and unsettling read. Personally, I think it's one of his best. In fact, I think I'll buy it to have on Kindle, ready for a re-read at some point soon.

Best - don't be too jealous. I have a v limited social life generally!

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Highlights in bold -

1: 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
31: Venetia – Georgette Heyer
32: Gaudy Night – Dorothy LS
33: The Last Necromancer – CJ Archer
34: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton
35: Larkinland by Jonathan Tulloch
36: The Silent Companions – Laura Purcell
37: Last Ditch – Ngaio Marsh
38, 39, 40 Jeeves Omnibus Volume 2
41: The Reluctant Widow – Georgette Heyer
42: Died in the Wool – Ngaio Marsh
43: The Guns of Navarone – Alistair Maclean
44: Berlin’s Third Sex - Magnus Hirschfeld
45: A Clutch of Constables – Ngaio Marsh
46: Swing, Brother, Swing – Ngaio Marsh
47: Off with his Head – Ngaio Marsh
48: Being Mortal – Atul Gawande
49: Grave Mistake – Ngaio Marsh
50: A Very English Scandal – John Preston
51: The Hollow – Agatha Christie
52 Gillespie and I – Jane Harris
53: Greeks Bearing Gifts – Philip Kerr
54: The Foundling – Georgette Heyer
55: The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock Imogen Hermes Gowar
56: Eat Me: A Natural and Unnatural History of Cannibalism – Bill Schutt
57: Giovanni’s Room – James Baldwin
58: Bath Tangle – Georgette Heyer
59: Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig
60: The Forest Lake Mystery - Palle Rosenkrantz
61: Travels in the Third Reich – Julia Boyd
62: The ABC Murders – Agatha Christie
63: March Violets – Philip Kerr
64: The Pale Criminal – Philip Kerr
65: A German Requiem – Philip Kerr
66: The Outsider – Stephen King
67: The Terror – Dan Simmons
68: Life after God – Douglas Coupland
69: In Pursuit: The Men and Women Who Hunted the Nazis - Andrew Nagorski
70: The Colour of Bee Larkham’s Murder – Sarah Harris
71: Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda – Becky Abertalli
72: The Devil in the White City – Eric Larson
73: The Alienist – Caleb Carr
74: Huntingtower – John Buchan
75: La Belle Sauvage – Philip Pullman

76: After the Funeral – Agatha Christie

77: The Toll Booth – Georgette Heyer

78: Death of a Red Heroine - Qiu Xiaolong

79: Force of Nature – Jane Harper

80: Dead Lagoon – Michael Dibdin

81: Heartburn – Nora Ephron

82: Mrs Harris Goes to Paris

83: Mrs Harris Goes to New York – Paul Gallico

84: Tom Brown’s Body – Gladys Mitchell

85: Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurty

86: Streets of Loredo – Larry McMurty

87: Iron Gold – Pierce Brown

88: Because of the Lockwoods – Dorothy Whipple

89: Sprig Muslin – Georgette Heyer

90: The Illumination of Ursula Flight’ - Anna-Marie Crowhurst
91: All Things Wise and Wonderful – James Herriot

92: Every Living Thing – James Herriot

[noodlezoodle]

Splother I think it did work, I can see bold and italics on your list.

Thank you south for the new thread. This is my favourite corner of mumsnet! My list so far, favourites in bold, stinkers in italics:

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
11. The Lying Game, by Ruth Ware
12. Deadly Secrets, by Robert Bryndza
13. Theft by Finding; Diaries 1977-2002, by David Sedaris
14. The Past, by Tessa Hadley
15. Neon in Daylight, by Hermione Hoby
16. New People, by Danzy Senna
17. An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones
18. Cringeworthy, Melissa Dahl
19. The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer
20. Who Thought This was a Good Idea, by Alyssa Mastromonaco
21. Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, by Dan Harris
22. Sweet Caress, by William Boyd
23. The Culture Code, by Daniel Cole
24. The Female Persuasion, by Meg Wolitzer
25. Mount, by Jilly Cooper
26. Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett (Re-read)
27. Conversations With Friends, by Sally Rooney
28. Soho Dead, by Greg Keen
29. Soho Ghosts, by Greg Keen
30. Our House, by Louise Candlish
31. Black Widow, by Christopher Brookmyre
32. Celine, by Peter Heller (Re-read)
33. The Hacienda: How not to run a club, by Peter Hook
34. Feel Free, by Zadie Smith

[toomuchsplother]

Noodle but it seems to have done it all randomly!! Some of those are in. Bold and italics !! And most definitely not standouts!

[noodlezoodle]

Oh! That's not what you want

[Terpsichore]

Many thanks for the new thread, southeast

My list:

1. Van Gogh's Ear - Bernadette Murphy
   
2. Sleeping in the Ground - Peter Robinson
   
3. No Fond Return of Love - Barbara Pym
   
4. What She Ate - Laura Shapiro
   
5. The Home-Maker - Dorothy Canfield Fisher
   
6. The Blackest Streets - Sarah Wise
   
7. Searching for Caleb - Anne Tyler
   
8. Two Kinds of Truth - Michael Connolly
   
9. The Party - Elizabeth Day
   

10. Sunday Morning Coming Down - Nicci French
11. A Very English Scandal - John Preston
12. The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain - Ian Mortimer
13. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - Winifred Watson
14. What Dark Clouds Hide - Anne Holt
15. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
16: A Life of my Own - Claire Tomalin
17: The Strange Last Voyage of Donald Crowhurst - Nicholas Tomalin & Ron Hall
18: A Life in the Day - Hunter Davies
19: Adult Onset - Ann-Marie MacDonald
20: Doctor's Children - Josephine Elder
21: A Life in Questions - Jeremy Paxman
22: An Academic Question - Barbara Pym
23: Still Waters - Viveca Sten
24: A Talent for Murder - Andrew Wilson
25: The Pedant in the Kitchen - Julian Barnes
26: Mother Country - Jeremy Harding
27: The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau - Graeme Macrae Burnet
28: The Fact of a Body - Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
29: Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard - Sara Wheeler
30: Closed Circles - Viveca Sten
31: A Glass of Blessings - Barbara Pym
32: The Small Back Room - Nigel Balchin
33: All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers - Larry McMurtry
34: Force of Nature - Jane Harper
35. Scissors, Paper, Stone - Elizabeth Day
36. The Story of Alice - Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
37. Jane and Prudence - Barbara Pym
38. Darkness Falls from the Air - Nigel Balchin
39: Serious Sweet - A. L. Kennedy
40: Less Than Angels - Barbara Pym
41: Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
42: The Expendable Man - Dorothy B. Hughes
43: Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret - Craig Brown
44: The Fields Beneath - Gillian Tindall
45: The Green Road - Anne Enright
46: Cheerful Weather for the Wedding - Julia Strachey
47: I'm Travelling Alone - Samuel Björk
48: Canal Dreams - Iain Banks
49: Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiney
50: The Italian Boy - Sarah Wise
51: Love Like Blood - Mark Billingham
52: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
53: Daddy's Gone A-Hunting - Penelope Mortimer
54: The Gastronomical Me - M. F. K. Fisher
55: The Pumpkin Eater - Penelope Mortimer
56: The Western Wind - Samantha Harvey
57: Conversations with Friends - Sally Rooney
58: Victorians Undone - Kathryn Hughes
59: The Slaves of Solitude - Patrick Hamilton
60: Doreen - Barbara Noble
61: My Friend Says It's Bullet-Proof - Penelope Mortimer
62: Whiteout - Ragnar Jónasson
63: Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
64: Day of the Dead - Nicki French
65: Time of Death - Mark Billingham
66: West of Eden - Jean Stein
67: The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
68: How I Escaped My Certain Fate: The Life and Deaths of a Stand-Up Comedian - Stewart Lee
69: Insidious Intent - Val McDermid
70: The Waters of Eternal Youth - Donna Leon

Ones I particularly liked (incl all the B Pyms) in bold. I've spared the blushes of the really dull ones.

[HoundOfTheBasketballs]

Hello all. Thanks for the new thread southeast.
I doubt I'll make it to 50 this year, 40 maybe. Here is my list, favourites in bold.

1. King and Maxwell - David Baldacci
2. How to stop time - Matt Haig

3. My Name is Leon - Kit de Waal

1. The man who mistook his wife for a hat- Oliver Sacks
2. The Map - TS Learner
3. Saving Agnes - Rachel Cusk
4. The Day Before Forever - Anna Cantalbiano
5. I Feel bad about my neck - Norah Ephron
6. Second Life - SJ Watson

10. The Four Pillar Plan - Dr Rangan Chaterjee
11. Loitering with intent - Muriel Spark
12. Into Thin Air - John Krakaeur
13. The Tyrant's Shadow - Antonia Senior
14. Running up that hill - Vassos Alexander
15. Carnival of Shadows - RJ Ellory
16. 401 - Ben Smith
17. The Girl from Venice - Martin Cruz Smith
18. A Berlin Love Song - Sarah Matthias
19. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? - Horace McCoy
20. Fat Gay Vegan - Sean O'Callaghan
21. From Here to Eternity - Caitlin Doughty
22. Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny
23. The Reapers are the Angels - Aiden Bell
24. Never Coming Back - Tim Weaver
25. The Tudor Crown - Joanna Hickson
26. The Big Ones - Dr Lucy Jones
27. The Alchemist's Secret - Scott Mariani
28. Atlas of Irish History - Sean Duffy
29. The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins
30. Ask an Astronaut - Tim Peake

And I've just finished

31. California - Edna Lepucki
This was recommended to me by someone on this thread when I asked about intelligently written dystopian fiction. This was good. It felt horrifyingly possible. Unfortunately all of the characters were thoroughly unlikeable. Even the ones we were supposed to like. I guess the intention was for everyone to be flawed, but it meant I didn't have anyone to root for.

[Murine]

Thanks, southeast! I love seeing everybody’s lists and getting more ideas to add to my endless tbr list. Mine so far:

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
20. Monsters by Raphaela Weissman
21. Reader, I Married Him edited by Tracy Chevalier
22. The Seagull by Ann Cleeves
23. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessmyn Ward
24. Three Things About Elsie by Joanna Cannon
25. Cousins by Salley Vickers
26. When I Hit You by Meera Kandasamy
27. The Pumilio Child by Judy McInerney
28. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
29. Love Bites by Elena Kaufman
30. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
31. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
32. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
33. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
34. A Boy In Winter by Rachel Seiffert
35. The Moor by Sam Haysom
36. The Hunger by Alma Katsu
37. White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock
38. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
39. The Breakthrough by Daphne du Maurier
40. The Burning Hill by A.D.Flint
41.Miss Burma by Charmaine Craig
42.The Poison Bed by Elizabeth Fremantle
43.It’s All In Your Head by Suzanne O’Sullivan
44. Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves
45. Force of Nature by Jane Harper
46. The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
47. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
48. The Cartography of Others by Catherine McNamara
49. The Woman in the Window by A.J.Finn
50. The Trick to Time by Kit de Waal
51. Watching You by Lisa Jewell
52. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
53. Blue Dog by Louis de Bernieres
54. The Scent of Almonds by Camilla Lackberg
55. The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde by Eve Chase
56. The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurdottir
57. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
58. The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
59. Dead Water by Anne Cleeves
60. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
61. Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World by Caitlin Davies
62. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
63. Snap by Belinda Bauer
64. Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
65. The Corset by Laura Purcell
66. Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
67. The Lives of Stella Bain by Anita Shreve
68. Naive.Super by Erlend Loe
69. Milkman by Anna Burns
70. The Water Cure by Sophie Macintosh

[ScribblyGum]

Many thanks South for the new list.

Welcome to the thread Medianoche

Thanks also Best for the photo of your rooks on the previous thread. What a sight (and noise) they must be.

My list so far, favourites in bold.

Books 2018

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 Norell 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
45. A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
46. A Very English Scandal by John Preston
47. A Darker Shade of Magic by V E Schwab
48. The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
49. Circe by Madeline Miller
50. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
51. Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton
52. The Unseen World by Liz Moore
53. The Secret Barrister by The Secret Barrister
54. The Reinderr People by Megan Lindholm
55. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively
56. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
57. Dracula by Bram Stoker
58. The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien
59. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
60. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
61. Lamentation by C J Sansom
62. The Dry by Jane Harper
63. Less by Andrew Sean Greer
64. Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover
65. The Gallows Pole by Benjamin Myers
66. The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor
67. The Three Body Problem by Lui Cixin
68. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
69. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
70. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
71. Nausicaä of The Valley of the Wind:The Complete Series by Hayao Miyazaki
72. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
73. The Night Manager by John Le Carré
74. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien
75. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
76. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
77. The Warmth of Other Suns:The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson 78. Crow Country by Mark Cocker

79. Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke
Crime novel set in present day Texas. Black Texas Ranger Darren Matthews escaping marital and professional problems at home finds himself in the tiny town of Lark investigating the murder of a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white girl. While attempting to link the two murders he uncovers the racial and historical divisions within the town and the long held family divisions and vendettas that have finally after years of simmering resentment boiled over.
This is the second of Locke's books I have read and, although the story is fairly formulaic and predictable I enjoy her writing. She brings to life the claustrophobic small town setting and her characters are well drawn and believable.

80. How to Break Up with Your Phone: The 30-day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price
Thanks for the heads up on this one Satsuki. Read in two easy sittings. Would have preferred more evidence and research about the addictive nature of apps and social media, but realise this is meant to be a quick accessible read. Have already implemented some of the changes and am planning on starting the 30 days proper next week.

Currently listening to Meg by Steve Alten, mostly from my sick bed because sometimes when you are poorly you need to listen to a book about a murderous sixty foot prehistoric albino shark.

[ShakeItOff2000]

Thanks for the new thread, South, I’ve loved the chat and recommendations this year.

My latest read is:

47. Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym.

I enjoyed this memoir of Min Kym, violinist and child prodigy. It was short and punchy. I also liked the music accompaniment; having recently discovered classical music I love recommendations and have fallen in love with her rendition of Introduction and Rondo cappricioso, Op.28 by Camille Saint-Saëns. The life of a child prodigy is difficult and it is interesting that her teachers/mentors and violin are mentioned with much reverence and word count compared to that accorded to her genetic family (mother, father and sister). A bargain at 99p in one of the Kindle sales.

And 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 Banks.
27. In a dark, dark wood by Ruth Ware.
28. The Descent of Man by Grayson Perry.
29. The Endless Summer by Madame Nielsen.
30. Red Sister (Book of the Ancester, Book 1) by Mark Lawrence.
31. To Be a Machine by Mark O’Connell.
32. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. (Excellent narration by Michael Sheen.)
33. Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien.
34. Bluets by Maggie Nelson.
35. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.
36. Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey.
37. Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive Book 2) by Brandon Sanderson.
38. When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy.
39. The Lonely City by Olivia Laing.
40. Middlemarch by George Eliot.
41. War for the Oaks by Emma Bull.
42. Circe by Madeleine Miller.
43. The Dark Forest (Book 2 of The Three Body Project) by Cixin Liu.
44. The Colour Purple by Alice Walker.
45. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer.
46. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.
47. Gone: A Girl, a Violin, a Life Unstrung by Min Kym.

[Cedar03]

Thank you for the new thread. Am currently making my way through Pompeii by Mary Beard. It is very interesting but quite dense so I have to read it slowly so that I can take in all the facts!

Such an interesting range and variety of books read by people on these threads.

[EmGee]

Hello everyone, I've lost track of my list but here's the latest:

64. The Power by Naomi Alderman
65. The Muse by Jessie Burton
66. What she left behind by Marie Ellen Wiseman
67. The Green Road by Anne Enright
68. The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

[TimeforaGandT]

Thank you for the new thread. Bringing across my list and adding recent reads - highlights in bold on list:

1. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles
2. Alone in Berlin - Hans Fallada
3. Belgravia - Julian Fellowes
4. Bel Canto - Ann Patchett
5. Curtain Call - Anthony Quinn
6. Life after Life - Kate Atkinson
7. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
8. Ghost Moth - Michele Forbes
9. I See You - Clare Mackintosh

10. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
11. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith
12. The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith
13. Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
14. The Wonder - Emma Donoghue
15. The Homecoming : Morland Dynasty 24 - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
16. The Question : Morland Dynasty 25 - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
17. The Dream Kingdom: Morland Dynasty 26 - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
18. Ordeal by Innocence - Agatha Christie
19. Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race - Reni Eddo-Lodge
20. Outline - Rachel Cusk
21. Seven stones to stand or fall - Diana Gabaldon
22. Never Mind - Edward St Aubyn
23. Bad News - Edward St Aubyn
24. Some Hope - Edward St Aubyn
25. Mother's Milk - Edward St Aubyn
26. At Last - Edward St Aubyn
27. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson
28. Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett
29. Reservoir 13 - Jon McGregor
30. Painter to the King - Amy Sackville
31. World Without End - Ken Follett
32. The Child - Fiona Barton
33. Let me Lie – Clare Mackintosh
34. Marina – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
35. A Question of Upbringing – Anthony Powell

Since I last updated I have read the following:

36. Wild Swans – Jung Chang - I must be one of the few people who had not read this. What a book! For some reason I thought it was going to be much more of family saga but was blown away by the insights into China during the Cultural Revolution. Highly recommended.

37. Dunbar – Edward St Aubyn - having read all the autobiographical Patrick Melrose novels earlier in the year, I had high hopes for this ...and they were not met! There is nothing wrong with this as a book but it was not what I was expecting and cannot compare to the Patrick Melrose novels. It's a modern take on King Lear and didn't really do it for me.

38. Katie Fforde - A Secret Garden - this followed the usual formula but I like her books and found it a quick and enjoyable read.

39. Sprig Muslin – Georgette Heyer - a Kindle daily deal bargain and it was fabulous. Hugely entertaining and couldn't put it down.

Slightly concerned I may not make it to 50 this year so may be choosing some short books to read in the next few weeks!

[Tarahumara]

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

10. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
11. Born A Crime - Trevor Noah
12. The Silence Between Breaths - Cath Staincliffe
13. A Girl is a Half-formed Thing - Eimear McBride
14. Shadowlands: The True Story of C.S.Lewis and Joy Davidman - Brian Sibley
15. The Pedant in the Kitchen - Julian Barnes
16. City of Friends - Joanna Trollope
17. The Position - Meg Wolitzer
18. A History of Britain in 21 Women - Jenni Murray
19. With the End in Mind - Kathryn Mannix
20. I Am, I Am, I Am - Maggie O'Farrell
21. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
22. Bookworm: a Memoir of Childhood Reading - Lucy Mangan
23. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
24. Burial Rites - Hannah Kent
25. The End We Start From - Megan Hunter
26. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
27. The Book of Memory - Petina Gappah
28. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - Imogen Hermes Gowar
29. The Story of a Marriage - Geir Gulliksen
30. Mr Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan
31. Educated - Tara Westover
32. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
33. Another Day in the Death of America - Gary Younge
34. Standard Deviation - Katherine Heiny
35. The Heart Goes Last - Margaret Atwood
36. The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes - Janet Malcolm
37. Artemis - Andy Weir
38. The Cows - Dawn O'Porter
39. Mount! - Jilly Cooper
40. Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
41. Lullaby - Leila Slimani
42. Run - Ann Patchett
43. Ammonites and Leaping Fish: A Life in Time - Penelope Lively
44. The Mill on the Floss - George Eliot
45. The Heart's Invisible Furies - John Boyne
46. A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal - Ben Macintyre

And here's my latest:

47. Moondust: In Search of the Men who Fell to Earth - Andrew Smith. Between 1969 and 1972, as part of the Apollo missions, 18 men went to the moon and 12 of them walked on it (one man per mission stayed behind in the Lunar module). Of the 12, three have since died and nine are still alive. Smith made it his mission to talk to as many of them as possible about the experience of seeing the earth from deep space and how it changed their lives after returning to earth. This took me ages to read (it's quite long and I have been busy recently) but I did enjoy it. It is more contemplative and meandering than I had expected. My favourite quote (paraphrased, as I don't have the book with me): "If JFK had said "What can we beat the Russians at?" and someone had said "Backgammon!" then the Apollo missions might never have happened.".

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

New Shardlake out today, folks! I've splashed out and bought it on Kindle. Whoop!

[BestIsWest]

70. A Question Of Identity -Susan Hill In which Simon Serrailer actually does some detecting for once instead of coincidentally stumbling into the murderer. And all the better for it.

[SatsukiKusakabe]

Yay Shardlake! I’m going to buy it in hardback so I can pass it round the Shardlake Circle in my family, I need to crack on with Lamentation now before it comes back to me

[toomuchsplother]

Will be treating myself to Shardlake to wallow in for half term. Early birthday present to me!

[Indigosalt]

Thanks for the new thread South.

59. The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver

I love Barbara Kingsolver’s writing and her earlier novel The Poisonwood Bible is one my top ten reads of all time. I’ve also read and enjoyed all her other novels, but the subject matter of The Lacuna (Mexican and USA politics pre and post the second world war) didn’t appeal. Now that I’ve finally got round to reading it, I’m pleased to report this was a really satisfying read. I found it quite demanding at times, but worth it.

The plot focuses on the life of fictious character Harrison Shepherd, from his early life as a young boy living with his Mother in Mexico in the early 1930’s, his early adult life working as a cook and a secretary in the household of Frida Kahlo, Diego Riviera and latterly Lev Trotsky, and his later life living in the USA as a writer at the time of the McCarthy trials in the late 1940’s.

The book is epic in scope with a sumptuous, big budget period drama feel to it. The descriptions of the natural world in Mexico were breathtakingly beautiful. The inclusion of real life characters within the story made me want to read more about Frida Kahlo and the McCarthy era, subjects I know very little about but found fascinating.

This a bit of a door stopper at 670 pages; however using a mixture of diary entries, newspaper style “cuttings” and correspondence from Harrison to key characters kept the story ticking along smoothly. I particularly liked the way the different narrative strands came together at the end, like a complicated jigsaw when you slot in the final pieces, or a very beautiful tapestry as the true picture emerges. Requires an investment of concentration, but worth the effort.

[Indigosalt]

And here's my list so far, with highlights in bold and ones I didn't enjoy in italics. It's fascinating reading everyone else's lists and getting inspiration for new reads.

1. All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
   
2. Closely Watched Trains - Bohumil Hrabal
   
3. Women and Power: A Manifesto – Mary Beard
   
4. The Road Home – Rose Tremain
   
5. No is Not Enough: Defeating the New Shock Politics – Naomi Klein
   
6. Home Fire – Kamila Shamsie
   
7. The Blackwater Lightship – Colm Toibin
   
8. Talking to My Daughter About the Economy: A Brief History of Capitalism – Yanis Varoufakis
   
9. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman
   
10. Thin Air – Michelle Paver
    
11. The Beet Queen – Louise Erdrich
    
12. Fugitive Pieces – Anne Michaels
    
13. Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds – Cordelia Fine
    14. Gillespie and I – Jane Harris
    
14. Run – Ann Patchett
    
15. Men Explain Things To Me: and Other Essays – Rebecca Solnit
    
16. Sugar Money – Jane Harris
    18. Elmet – Fiona Mozley
    19. Stay With Me – Ayobami Adebayo
    
17. Digging to America – Anne Tyler
    21. Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – Reni Eddo-Lodge
    
18. The Lost Daughter – Elena Ferrante
    
19. Exit West – Mohsin Hamid
    
20. Conversations With Friends – Sally Rooney
    
21. Homegoing – Yaa Gyasi
    
22. In the Days of Rain – Rebecca Stott
    27. Midwinter Break – Bernard McClaverty
    
23. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant – Anne Tyler
    
24. Last Night at the Lobster – Stewart O’Nan
    
25. Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg
    
26. The Trick to Time – Kit De Waal
    
27. Educated – Tara Westover
    33. The Magician’s Assistant – Anne Patchett
    
28. Mind of a Survivor – Megan Hine
    35. Sing, Unburied, Sing – Jesmyn Ward
    
29. The Burning Girl – Claire Messud
    37. The North Water – Ian McGuire
    
30. When I Hit You – Mena Kandasamy
    
31. Troubling Love – Elena Ferrante
    
32. Future Home of the Living God – Louise Erdrich
    41. What I Loved – Siri Hustvedt
    
33. Sight – Jessie Greengrass
    43. The Round House – Louise Erdrich
    44. Cosmopolis – Don Delillo
    
34. Heatwave – Penelope Lively
    46. Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout
    
35. There There – Tommy Orange
    
36. Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
    49. Lonesome Dove – Larry McMurty
    
37. My Year of Rest and Relaxation – Ottessa Moshfegh
    
38. Washington Black – Esi Edugyan
    52. In the Distance – Hernan Diaz
    
39. Lullaby – Leila Slimani
    
40. On Canaan’s Side – Sebastian Barry
    
41. Hunger – Roxane Gay
    
42. Normal People – Sally Rooney
    
43. Warlight – Michael Ondaatje
    
44. Outline – Rachel Cusk
    59. The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver
    
    And book 60 will be A Life of My Own by Claire Tomalin which I have chosen as a result of positive reviews on the thread and 38 pages in is proving very readable. Thanks to all those who have recommended .

[CoteDAzur]

Woo hoo! There's a new Shardlake out?

[CoteDAzur]

Bringing my list over:

1. Would They Lie To You? by Robert Hutton
   
2. High Crimes by Joseph Finder
   
3. A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale
   
4. Killer Instinct by Joseph Finder
   
5. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
   
6. Bach à Son Temps by Gilles Cantagrel
   
7. Deep State by Walter Jon Williams
   
8. Music In The Baroque Era - From Monteverdi To Bach by Manfred f. Bukofzer
   
9. The Harpsichord and the Clavichord by Raymond Russell
   

10. Extraordinary Powers by Joseph Finder
11. The Midnight Line by Lee Child
12. An Evil Eye (Yashim the Eunuch #4) by Jason Goodwin
13. The Forgotten by David Baldacci (John Puller #2)
14. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
15. Light by M John Harrison (Kefahuchi Tract Trilogy #1)
16. The Escape (John Puller #3) by David Baldacci
17. Johann Sebastian Bach, His Life, Art, And Work by Johann Nikolaus Forkel
18. Daughter of Eden (Dark Eden #3) by Chris Beckett
19. No Man's Land (John Puller #4) by David Baldacci
20. Evening In The Palace Of Reason by James Gaines
21. The Devotion Of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
22. House Of Cards by Michael Dobbs
23. Jack and Jill James Patterson
24. The Crysalids by John Wyndham
25. One Few Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
26. The Innocent (Will Robie #1) by David Baldacci
27. The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John le Carré
28. Pale Rider - The Spanish Flu Of 1918 and How It Changed The World by Laura Spinney

[CoteDAzur]

Oops. My list is actually slightly longer:

29. Influx by Daniel Suarez
30. Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall
31. The Hit (Will Robie #2) by David Baldacci
32. Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
33. Ark (Flood #2) by Stephen Baxter
34. The Camel Club by David Baldacci
35. The Target (Will Robie #3) by David Baldacci

[EmGee]

Indigo I've got The Lacuna on my bookcase waiting to be read. I need to psyche myself up to get started on it. I've read two BK novels - can't remember the name of the first but it's set in Colorado and is about a biologist who is tracking coyotes, and The Poisonwood Bible which is a tome and a half but absolutely fascinating. It would be one of my book choices if stranded on a desert island!