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50 Book Challenge 2019 Part Two

995 replies

southeastdweller · 15/01/2019 21:31

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2019, 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.

What are you reading?

OP posts:
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8
BrizzleMint · 09/02/2019 22:09

Back with a new username and account.
As I've got a new account, here's my books so far:

  1. From source to sea - walk along the length of the Thames.
  2. So disdained - Nevil Shute
  3. Cruise Ship SOS - tales of a cruise ship doctor
  4. Rosa Parks - hourly history biography
  5. Stephen Hawking - as above
  6. 101 bets you will always win - waste of time!
  7. This is going to hurt - finally joined the party!
  8. The old man of the sea - classic I've finally read and enjoyed
  9. The best friend good psychological thriller
10. Triple Crown - by Felix Francis instead of Dick but a good read. 11. Beneath the surface - good read 12. Crossing the bridge of autism - very negative about her son 13. 365 surprising and inspirational rock star quotes - neither surprising nor inspiring. Returned for refund. 14. I'd rather be reading - good. 15. The wheel of justice awful short story. 16. The librarian good, protagonist irritated me at times though 17. TIckling the English - excellent 18. Reading allowed - a good diversion. 19. Cottage by the sea - lightweight diversion 20. Unbelievable: the bizarre world of coincidences a good read

currently reading: Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms and Wonderland: A Year of Britain's Wildlife, Day by Day

toomuchsplother · 09/02/2019 22:38

Pencil I think if I had read The Binding in my teenage years I would have loved it. I have just looked up YouTube reviews, I could only find 2 - one bored me to death so gave up before the end and the second seemed to have completely mixed up the plot !
Have just started The Glass Woman which I was slightly worried might be another 'fabulous cover, dodgy story' moment. However it is proving vastly superior so far.

CoteDAzur · 09/02/2019 23:31

  1. The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu

This was excellent! Shock With this book of SF short stories, the acclaimed author of the Three-Body Problem trilogy leaves no doubt that he is indeed one of the top SF authors of our day. This is not high literature although the writing is perfectly fluid although translated from Chinese, but the ideas are stunningly original.

I would recommend this book to everyone here but especially to those of us who believe that Never Let Me Go is a good book. There is a similar story in this book and the way it is developed and told is miles ahead of the book by Kazuo Ishiguro.

WaterBird · 10/02/2019 05:24

I'm learning that it seems fairly standard for plays to be better performed rather than read, and because I have had much more experience reading/writing narratives, it has taken some getting used to.
I just finished the very short play "The Bald Soprano" and though the text reads as a bit odd and confusing, it would probably be hilarious live.

ChessieFL · 10/02/2019 06:45
  1. Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of 80s and 90s Teen Fiction by Gabrielle Moss

I was really excited to read this when I saw it in Waterstones as I am exactly the right age for this. However, it’s American so I think a lot of the books mentioned didn’t make it over here (I don’t remember them anyway). However it does cover Sweet Valley High and The Baby-sitters Club, both of which I loved, and Lois Duncan who was another teen favourite of mine. I did enjoy reading about all the other books as well though. The best thing is all the pictures of various book covers - the fashions and hair are a sight to behold! I think if I was American and had therefore read more of the books mentioned I would have loved this, but as it is I simply liked it.

SkirmishOfWit · 10/02/2019 08:29

7. The Brittle Star by Davina Langdale

This is a first novel by a young British woman and that is interesting because she’s written a decent classic Western. It is not a groundbreaking literary work, but it is an enjoyable story which follows the tradition, and yet employs a twist that turns tradition on its head and invests the whole thing with a more modern sensibility. It is well-researched and she writes confidently and with knowledge about the landscape and life on horseback. John Evert Burn is 15 when his home is raided and burned to the ground, and his mother taken away. He sets out to trace and recover her, in so doing he becomes involved with a bounty hunter with a questionable past, and runs into trouble with the law. He needs to clear his name and win his land back, and maybe find romance and redemption along the way, but the civil war is beginning, and threatens to overwhelm his plans. A fun ride through the West, where the violence doesn’t take centre stage, and the Native Americans are not demonised for the plot.

SkirmishOfWit · 10/02/2019 08:30

I’ve name changed btw, changed the old Studio Ghibli to Shakespeare!

SkirmishOfWit · 10/02/2019 09:11

best I remember that Book-as-a-memo-pad story from before, still gives me a shudder! I’m not prissy about lending books, but would draw the line there!

Piggywaspushed · 10/02/2019 09:37

I couldn't name change. I actually really think I am called piggy...

DecumusScotti · 10/02/2019 09:41

CantstandmLMs

Current read is The Familiars by Stacey Halls which I am absolutely loving!

I’ll be looking for your review with interest. The Familiars was one of the books that caught my eye when I was browsing in Waterstones the other day.

(The other was Elizabeth Haynes’ The Murder of Harriet Monkton, which I then found straight away in a charity shop for £2. Grin.)

SkirmishOfWit · 10/02/2019 09:41

I know I was really attached to mine (even though I used to get called Satsuma quite a lot) but it was time.

Original poster
southeastdweller · 10/02/2019 10:40

Why have so many people name changed?

OP posts:
SkirmishOfWit · 10/02/2019 10:47

There was a data breach - it’s pinned at the top of the board, some people were able to log into other people’s accounts so some people decided to delete and start fresh (or had to). I use a specific non personal account for here so not worried about personal info, but I’d had my name for years and thought time to shift it.

Indigosalt · 10/02/2019 10:50

Skirmish thanks for posting a review of The Brittle Star. I've had this on my wishlist for ages...am now seriously tempted...

HugAndRoll · 10/02/2019 11:40

I've just finished:

  1. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North - The premise of this book is fantastic, and once you've got past the first 150 pages (which are a little slow) the book itself is excellent.

A clever twist on the idea of time travel, and one I'd recommend to sci-fi fans as well as general literature readers. "No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, every time Harry dies, he always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life lived a dozen times before."

The chapters are really short so the book is easy to dip in and out of, however once I reached page 250-ish I really didn't want to put it down. 4.5/5

Original poster
southeastdweller · 10/02/2019 12:10

Thanks Skirmish, I did get an email about it but hadn't thought to NC. I might do it later anyway as a bit of a spring clean.

OP posts:
FiveGoMadInDorset · 10/02/2019 13:04

Managed to get in book 8 before the end of the thread

8 The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve

I love Anita Shreve and this didn't disappoint, starting in the present and going backwards this centres on the three times that the characters met, in three different situations. Beautifully written as always, can't really write much more because if the massive twist at the end

TimeforaGandT · 10/02/2019 15:09

Just squeezing my latest read on the end of this thread:

9. A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles - much reviewed on here and a re-read for me as I enjoyed it very much when I read it originally. Just as good if not better the second time as able to focus on the minor details and references. Planning to read his other book Rules of Civility sometime soon - has anyone else read it?

Dithering between A Little Life and Testament of Youth as my next read.

toomuchsplother · 10/02/2019 15:17

Haven't read A little life but you won't regret Testament of Youth

TimeforaGandT · 10/02/2019 15:18

I will read both ultimately as both are on my Kindle but thank you for the recommendation - Testament of Youth it is!

WelshErica · 10/02/2019 15:48

HugandRoll like the sound of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and have added it to my wish list.
Have just finished

  1. The Hobbit
Years since I first read this and very much enjoyed reading it again. Did wonder if JK Rowling took some of her inspiration from this? Reading LOTR next. I may be sometime!
toomuchsplother · 10/02/2019 15:54

19. the Glass Woman - Caroline Lea. Set in Iceland in 1686. A young woman, Rosa makes a marriage of necessity after the death of her father. Her new husband has already buried one wife in strange circumstances and suspicions of witchcraft hang in the air.
This book has a feel of Hannah Kent's Burial Rites. It isn't its equal but the writing is solid and atmospheric. The claustrophobia of a Nordic winter is keenly felt, as is the paranoia and judgmental nature of an isolated community. The book also has something to say about the role of woman; the requirement for them to be strong, resilient but ultimately obedient to the men in their lives.
The enjoyed this, didn't want to put it down and had enough power to distract me from the gaggle of preteen girls who were camped out in my lounge last night on DD's sleepover. Worth a read.

Terpsichore · 10/02/2019 16:06

Relieved I didn't have to lose my name, though I did try to change my account password, found myself locked out and then had to request a pw change from MN. All seems to be OK, fortunately, and when I checked my email address it hadn't been breached, so phew.

Just to add to the courtly/carnal discussion....I've always been a courtly book-owner. As a child I took almost fanatical care of my beloved books and would be in despair if the spines got even slightly creased. For that reason, I still hate lending books I've bought new.....but luckily I don't buy many of those thanks to my charity-shop habit.

Upshot is that I've tried to wean myself off the worst of my 'courtliness' so don't much care if my already-second-hand books get a bit scruffy. But if they're pristine to start with, they have to stay that way!

ritzbiscuits · 10/02/2019 17:34

Just finished The Cut Out Girl - Bart Van Es

What an incredible true story about a young Jewish girl leaving her parents during WWII in the hope of saving her life. Winner of this years Costa Prize.

The overall book was fascinating, and I learnt a lot about Holland's conduct during the war as well as Lien's personal story. As a mother with a young child, at times the story was heartbreaking beyond belief and a number of very uncomfortable moments. I felt so humbled that this was only one girls story, and can't fully contemplate the extent to which millions of people were killed in the war.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book if you are interested in this story/subject. A definite 5/5 for me.

BakewellTarts · 10/02/2019 17:59

So my next book is #14 Six Wakes. This is another unread 2018 Hugo nominee (I'm a bit behind). A locked room murder mystery set in deep space. Not really sure whats going on yet but I like the style and understand why it ended up on the novel shortlist.