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?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I'm so jealous of you having all of the Dark Tower books ahead of you, for the first time.

[MegBusset]

Question for all you King fans. I think DS1 (nearly 12) would love him, but not sure where to start - I read The Talisman for the first time around that age but is there something shorter? He loves horror and has a strong stomach for gore but would be put off by sex or swearing!

Meanwhile I've just finished:

43. The Blessing - Nancy Mitford

First Mitford book I've finished - as a teenager I attempted Love In A Cold Climate but it left me, well, cold. Thirty years later I enjoyed this much more; like Wodehouse it's a deceptively fluffy comedy of errors but really very cleverly written and with never a dull sentence.

[toomuchsplother]

Today was a Barter Books day! Happy half term 

[bibliomania]

Ooh, did you get a good haul,, splother?

[SatsukiKusakabe]

That looks amazing!

[toomuchsplother]

Actually only bought one book yesterday. Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black. Was very restrained. DH is happy being left here !

[Piggywaspushed]

Am currently in Spain on my balcony awaiting DH's triumphant return from 18 holes of golf. Have managed to finish Bookworm this morning. As with everyone else this did resonate with me although our experiences diverge as I have read neither Sweet Valley High nor Antonia Forest - at least I don't think I have. I also never read any of the Toms she spends a while on but was equally scared by Brother In The Land and Z for Zechariah! I think we are all bookworms so this book is for us ! I had a half American background so my childhood reading fitted Blume in earlier and featured Laura Ingalls Wilder heavily. Like Lucy, I can remember the covers. I am not sure I can forgive her for my excitement at a section caked Darkness Rising, only for it not to be about Susan Cooper.
Before Bookworm I polished of The Accidental Further Adventures of the 101 Year Old Man. As expected a jolly make with some wry one liners. The one sentence about Theresa May was brilliant. Didn't love it because it seems less original and less a breath of fresh air now obviously bug it kept me entertained. No elephants though. Which is an oversight.

[Piggywaspushed]

Bloody spellchecker. The book was a jolly jape. Obviously an alien concept to my phone....

[Piggywaspushed]

meg the Stephen King that lots of my year 9 boys seem to like despite its enormous length is The Stand

[exexpat]

toomuchsplother
I have never been to Barter Books, but am starting to think I should plan a trip to the north-east just to fit it in.

[SatsukiKusakabe]

I have to admit I hit google maps after seeing the photo

[StitchesInTime]

We missed Barter Books the last time we went to Alnwick because we took the DC to Alnwick Gardens first and completely lost track of time.

[toomuchsplother]

Everyone should have at least one visit to Barter Books. And then onto the stunning Northumberland Coast.
I give you this morning's dog walk.

[StitchesInTime]

Gorgeous photo toomuchsplother

[exexpat]

toomuchsplother Is Barter Books dog-friendly? I find myself in Hay-on-Wye quite often, and was delighted to find that Booth's Books welcomes dogs (in the shop and the cafe), which makes it my favourite place to browse. Some of the other bookshops are not as welcoming, so we have to take it in turns to go inside if the dog is with us, which tends to cut browsing short...

[toomuchsplother]

Exepat very dog friendly 

[nowanearlyNicemum]

37. Les Fourberies de Scapin – Molière

A three-act comedy, set in Naples, where 2 young men fall in love with the wrong young women and their fathers hit their respective roofs. Mischievous valet Scapin hoodwinks both fathers into doing things against their will. The end is predictable
I read this in order to keep up with DD2 who had to read it for school. The play is clearly a classic but I can't say I particularly enjoyed it.

[clarabellski]

Eeek I need to type up my list at some point but just placemarking with my latest read:

36. "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

This is for a book club that I recently started wtih some friends. Suggested by one of the members who said it was their favourite book of all time. For anyone who doesn't know it (I had never heard of it but it was apparently a classic of sci-fi), it is about a man who has surgery to turn him into a genius. Whilst I guessed pretty early on into the novel exactly what was going to happen, it was still a compelling read. It also made me a bit down, so not sure I could say it was one of my favourite books of all time!

[southeastdweller]

I've not read Beyond Black, but it always makes me think of Vanessa Feltz's hilarious review of it on A Good Read:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06z2pmt

[Wildernesstips]

Barter Books looks amazing, but is sadly literally the opposite end of the country for me.

23: Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

I love the few Ann Patchett that I have read, and although this is no exception, it is weaker (I think it's her first). The story has three narrators and revolves around a home for unmarried mothers. Without giving spoilers, I really enjoyed how unsterotypical the character of Rose is, and even though she is really the lynch pin, you never really feel you get to know her by the end.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I've read Beyond Black. I didn't like it much.

Just finished Tombland - will write the review tomorrow.

[exexpat]

Wilderness - it's the opposite end for me too (I'm in the south-west) but Hay is much closer, and there are some excellent bookshops in Bath. DP's mum was going on about the Book Barn near Bristol the other day too - massive, and everything for £1...

[toomuchsplother]

The Book Barn sounds fab. It's not an area of the country I know but have heard great things about it's bookish credentials!
Remus very keen to hear what you made of Tombland

[ScribblyGum]

Gorgeous photos Splother

Thanks for the zombie pathogen explanation Stitches, quite tempted to read it now.

I’ve ordered Milkman. Really intrigued to see if I will enjoy it. Ongoing discussions/crossness on Twitter about the Booker judges comments suggesting it’s a difficult read (and therefore putting off potential readers).

82 Night Waking by Sarah Moss

Lots of themes crammed in to this relatively short book: isolated living on a remote Scottish Island, sleep deprivation, wife work and the changes in roles in a marriage following children, post natal healthcare and infant mortality in the 1800s, discovery of an infant’s skull and teenage eating disorders to name but a few.

I loved The Tidal Zone and you can see how Moss has developed her writing chops from Night Waking to where she is now. She writes about the mental load of being a parent exceptionally well and I also love how she weaves her obvious interest in the history of medicine into her novels.

Ultimately there was just too much going on in this book for me to really love it but I will definitely be reading the next books in this series.

[ScribblyGum]

Just listened to that a Good Reads episode you posted South
Vanessa really didn’t like Beyond Black much did she