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?

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

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!

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

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

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

Oh! That's not what you want

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.".

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 .

Woo hoo! There's a new Shardlake out?

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

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

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!