2018 50 Book Challenge

[California Dreamer]

Thought this might be of interest to readers of Scandinavian crime.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/20...1&per_page=50&orderby=newest#comment-26038184

 

[LonerMatt]

1. The Undivided pt 1
2. The Undivided pt 2
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Difference Engine
5. Wake in Fright
6. The River of Doubt
7. The Pearl
8. Crytonomicon
9. Shot in the Dark
10. Malcolm X - Biography
11. Final Empire
12. The Quiet American.
13. Habibi
14. The Invisible Man
15. Tender is the Night
16. Guardians of the West
17. King of the Murgos
18. Demon lord of Khandar
19. Sorcress of Darshiva
20. Seeress of Kell
21. Once We Were Warriors
22. Winter of our Discontent
23. Othello
24. A Scanner Darkly
25. The Well of Ascension
26. Hero of Ages
27. Alloy of Law
28. Marrow
29. The Prince
30. Leviathan Wakes
31. The Meaning of Sarkozy
32. The Death of Ivan Illych
33. The Devil
34. Lucifer's Hammer
35. The Yiddish Policeman's Union
36. Rainbows End
37. Palimpsest
38. Red Shirts
39. Caliban's War
40. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
41. The Communist Hypothesis
42. While Mortals Sleep
43. Spin
44. Werewolves in their Youth
45. Heart of Darkness
46. A Model World
47. Throne of the Crescent Moon
48. Darkness at Noon
49. Abaddon's Gate



49. Abaddon's Gate

The final book in The Expanse series - this story finishes off what was begun in Leviathan Wakes. James Holden and his crew remain core characters with a revolving door of minor characters all essentially grappling with their own ideas about how humanity should act now that they have encountered alien life. While the plot is far from original, I still find the strength of the series has rested almost entirely on the prose and the exceptionally thorough understanding of low gravity and its effects on humans. The weaknesses of the story, as usual, lie in the formulaeic approach to the novel (reading the introduction to the new minor characters was a little tiring this time)

The final book takes a few turns towards the metaphysical, but remains blisteringly quick, entertaining and enjoyable. Not as strong as Leviathan Wakes, but easily as good as Caliban's War.

 

[California Dreamer]

41. All That I Am by Anna Funder (2011)

All That I Am is a tender account of the Jewish refugees that fled Hitler's Germany in the lead-up to the War, and their attempts to alert the Western World to the situation there. It's a story of loss, betrayal and fear, seen from the vantage point of the survivors in their old age.

The book reads like a spy story and is quite pacy. It is based on real events and characters, which lends it an authentic edge. I found it reasonably engrossing, but I did think that the author telegraphs most of her plot twists well in advance, which marred the book somewhat,

Another minor quibble I had is that this is quite clearly a European story, yet it received the Miles Franklin Award, for a novel about Australian experience. While the award can be justified on the basis that one of the survivors did indeed settle in Australia, there is pretty much nothing in this story peculiar to Australia.

 

[clockwise]



Thought this might be of interest to readers of Scandinavian crime.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/20...1&per_page=50&orderby=newest#comment-26038184

Thanks for the interesting link CD. But didn't S&W borrow heavily from Ed McBain? And were there only Agatha Christie-type mysteries around in 1966? The lady forgets about Hammett, Chandler and all crime noir that followed. But I guess S&W were pioneers as socialist / communist crime novelists. Still remains good reads, even for the upper class.

 

[LonerMatt]

1. The Undivided pt 1
2. The Undivided pt 2
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Difference Engine
5. Wake in Fright
6. The River of Doubt
7. The Pearl
8. Crytonomicon
9. Shot in the Dark
10. Malcolm X - Biography
11. Final Empire
12. The Quiet American.
13. Habibi
14. The Invisible Man
15. Tender is the Night
16. Guardians of the West
17. King of the Murgos
18. Demon lord of Khandar
19. Sorcress of Darshiva
20. Seeress of Kell
21. Once We Were Warriors
22. Winter of our Discontent
23. Othello
24. A Scanner Darkly
25. The Well of Ascension
26. Hero of Ages
27. Alloy of Law
28. Marrow
29. The Prince
30. Leviathan Wakes
31. The Meaning of Sarkozy
32. The Death of Ivan Illych
33. The Devil
34. Lucifer's Hammer
35. The Yiddish Policeman's Union
36. Rainbows End
37. Palimpsest
38. Red Shirts
39. Caliban's War
40. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
41. The Communist Hypothesis
42. While Mortals Sleep
43. Spin
44. Werewolves in their Youth
45. Heart of Darkness
46. A Model World
47. Throne of the Crescent Moon
48. Darkness at Noon
49. Abaddon's Gate
50. Into the WIld

50. Into the Wild

A relatively well known story documenting the journies of a yong man who leaves his upper-class background to wander diferent parts of the USA, eventually dying on his on in Alaska.

The story was fine - neither amazingly engrossing, or completely boring. Parts of the story resonated deeply with me (the desire to leave it all behind completely), but the inconsitencies in the thinking, writing and ideals of the traveller (McCandless) made this read quite disnechanting. Instead of a someone driven by ideas they couldn't live up to, I tend to view this as a tale of someone who was confused, and ran away to try to find a way out of their own turmoil, eventually losing his life in the process.

I'm not sure if objecting to the main 'character' counts as a valid critique, but a lot of Krakauer's writing depends on his analysis and connection with the enigmatic McCandless, and at times I found this a hard line to swallow. Worth a read, but not something for me.

 

[Steve B.]



50. Into the Wild

A relatively well known story documenting the journies of a yong man who leaves his upper-class background to wander diferent parts of the USA, eventually dying on his on in Alaska.

The story was fine - neither amazingly engrossing, or completely boring. Parts of the story resonated deeply with me (the desire to leave it all behind completely), but the inconsitencies in the thinking, writing and ideals of the traveller (McCandless) made this read quite disnechanting. Instead of a someone driven by ideas they couldn't live up to, I tend to view this as a tale of someone who was confused, and ran away to try to find a way out of their own turmoil, eventually losing his life in the process.

I'm not sure if objecting to the main 'character' counts as a valid critique, but a lot of Krakauer's writing depends on his analysis and connection with the enigmatic McCandless, and at times I found this a hard line to swallow. Worth a read, but not something for me.

Congratulations on No. 50!

 

[California Dreamer]



50. Into the Wild

Bastard! You got there ahead of me. Well done.

 

[California Dreamer]



Thanks for the interesting link CD. But didn't S&W borrow heavily from Ed McBain? And were there only Agatha Christie-type mysteries around in 1966? The lady forgets about Hammett, Chandler and all crime noir that followed. But I guess S&W were pioneers as socialist / communist crime novelists. Still remains good reads, even for the upper class.

I think I agree with you about the McBain link, in that S&W used a similar device of a group of cops common to each book. Where they differed from the great noir novelists is the ongoing police procedural format; Chandler at al mostly wrote about PIs. I agree that McBain got there first, but I think they do deserve credit for taking it into their social-awareness territory.

 

[California Dreamer]



50. Into the Wild

I'm not sure if objecting to the main 'character' counts as a valid critique, but a lot of Krakauer's writing depends on his analysis and connection with the enigmatic McCandless, and at times I found this a hard line to swallow. Worth a read, but not something for me.

Have you read Three Cups of Deceit? That was a real eye-opener.

 

[LonerMatt]

I haven't - give us a cheeky run down?

 

[clockwise]



50. Into the Wild.

Congratulations! Let's combine our reading scores and try to beat Steve B.

 

[clockwise]

Clockwise counting 72/50: Lawrence Block - The Sins of the Fathers (1976)

This is the first in a long series of Block novels featuring PI Matt Scudder, an ex cop with a drinking problem. A coat hangers is murdered, a minister's son is caught red handed and commits suicide in jail. Scudder is called in to investigate and finds that there is more to the story than the police have bothered to look for. Light seedy entertainment but not bad.

 

[clockwise]

Clockwise counting 73/50: Lawrence Block - In the Midst of Death (1976)

Bad cop turns whistle blower against NYPD and gets framed for killing a prostitute. Hard drinking and depressive PI Matthew Scudder takes on the task of proving the bad cop's innocence. A tiny notch better than the first in the series but no Nobel prize material. Scudder's reflections on his drinking problem and connected relationship issues are the most interesting parts.

 

[California Dreamer]



I haven't - give us a cheeky run down?

You need to have read Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. Mortenson set up a charity to build girls schools in the Himalayas, and the book is a best-selling account of how he did it.

In Three Cups of Deceit, Krakouer does an absolute number on Mortenson, laying bare what a crock his book is and what a sham his whole charity is. It made e totally re-assess the original book, that's for sure.

You can find it on Byliner.

 

[LonerMatt]

Sounds great - I'll get to it later in the year - currently exploring the library next door.

I want to see if I can crack 70 books by year's end.