2018 50 Book Challenge

[California Dreamer]

58. Inhuman Resources, by Pierre Lemaitre

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. *

Inhuman Resources is a thriller about Alain Delambre, a middle-aged man who has been unemployed for so long he has become desperate. Once an HR high-flyer, Alain now works in a dead-end job from which he is unjustly sacked and then sued for damages. As he approaches a crisis he sees an ad for an HR executive. The role is very different - to run a simulated hostage situation to determine which of the anonymous company's executives functions best under extreme pressure. In an ironic twist, the job candidate who does best at pressuring the executives will get the job of heading up a major downsizing initiative.

Shades of the Stanford Experiments. Alain's partner certainly thinks so and vehemently opposes him getting involved, but he thinks that she doesn't understand how desperate things are and contrives to get involved while keeping her in the dark. But Alain does a lot more than just get involved, and is determined to ensure that he beats out his competitors for this role.

Lemaitre starts springing plot surprises once the simulation starts and you realise that there is a lot more going on than you thought. The tension builds and Alain gets in deeper and deeper. The plot unwinds at a cracking pace in the latter half, much more worthy of the author of Alex than the early parts of the book are. Towards the climax it did get a bit too unlikely and I found the ending somewhat unsatisfactory. I also would say that I never really warmed to Alain as a character; he seemed neither hero nor anti-hero really, just a bit too ineffectual and out-of-control.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

51 Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Mcachado

I bought this form Better Read Than Dead in Newtown after a discussion with staff there. A) Its the first time in years I’ve read a collection of short stories. B) The first time in years I read anything by a lesbian writer. Odd thing is most of the sex in the book involves heterosexual women. C) I think from now on I’m not going take the advice of bookshop staff.

The stories defy strict convention they move into particular grey areas when it comes to categorisation and genres I guess that is what kept my interest piqued. I noticed it being hyped in a couple of chain bookstores.

To say the least she is definitely an acquired taste.

52 On Writing A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King

The first part of the book which is autobiographical is very amusing.

The second has to be the most concise text on the craft of writing I have read and having taught creative writing I’ve read a few.

Recomended.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

53 The Narrows by Michale Connelly

I’m glad I read this straight after the Stephen King book. Quite simply this novel affirms everything that King articulates on the craft of writing.

Bosch becomes involved in the investigation of the death of friend which has deeper and darker implications involving a psychotic former FBI agent who has turned serial killer. LA noir at its best.


Aside from that one of these day’s I’m going to sit down and read the series in order.

 

[LonerMatt]

Spoiler: List

1. Kangaroo
2. South of the Border, West of the Sun
3. 19Q4
4. An Elegant Young Man
5. Throne of the Crescent Moon
6. When Gravity Fails
7. The Choke
8. Heat and Light
9. Who Owns the Future
10 Waking Gods
11. Wimmera
12. Artemis
13. Fire in the Sun
14. Exile Kiss
15. A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
16 Prisoners of Geography
17. Nevermoor
18 La Bell Sauvage
19. Red Sister
20. Jade City
21. We Are Who We Pretend To Be
22. First Person
23. Too Like Lightning
24. Sea of Rust
25. Don't Skip Out on Me
26. Autonomous
27. Grey Sister
28. The Free
29. Lean on Pete
30. Clade
31. The Shepard's Hut
32. The Soul of an Octopus
33. The Dog Stars
34. At the mouth of River Bees
35. Dragon's Teeth
36. Designing Your Life
37. Deep Work
38. So Good They Can't Ignore You
39. Low Town
40. The Girl with all the Gifts
41. The Dismissal Dossier
42. The Last Garden
43. Storyland
44. Wolfblade
45. Warrior
46. Home Fire
47. Warlord
48. The Lyre Thief
49. Down to the River
50. Retribution
51. Me, Early and the Dying Girl
52. 84k
53. Snap
54. The Haters
55. Codename Villanelle
56. Those Above
57. Those Below
58. Of a Boy
59. Publish your Photography Book

59. Publish your Photography Book

As someone who makes a lot of zines and hand makes books I wanted to read this. It was a decent over-view of the industry, but was also a bit light on details around publishing deals - exactly how much they are worth. Very niche topic so I'll keep this review short.

 

[California Dreamer]

59. The Overstory, by Richard Powers

The Overstory is a powerful novel about scientists and eco-activists trying to save native forests in the USA. It is cleverly structured, with each section named both after a part of a tree (roots, trunk, etc.) and the place it holds in the narrative.

In the first part (Roots), Powers introduces us to his protagonists. From wildly different backgrounds, each of them has had their life profoundly changed by some sort of association with trees. In the second part (Trunk), he draws their stories together and unites some of them in an activist group seeking to save the last remnants of old-growth forest in the USA. This part of the novel contains some extraordinary writing: Powers' description of the activists' sit-in at the top of a thousand-year-old redwood is pastoral writing at its finest, and the actions taken by the authorities against them are chilling.

The third and final sections of the book describe how the aftermath of these and other actions play out over the decades. Power's plot is vast and engaging, like the arboreal giants that are at its heart. He is clearly referencing historical figures such as Rachel Carson, the Weather Underground and Stephen Hawking. Nominated for the Man Booker Prize, this would be a worthy winner.

 

[Journeyman]

It was a decent over-view of the industry, but was also a bit light on details around publishing deals - exactly how much they are worth. Very niche topic so I'll keep this review short.

I think that you can also "self-publish" via Amazon nowadays, can't you? I must admit, though, that I'm not sure if that's only for e-books or also for actual paper books.

 

[archibaldleach]

I think that you can also "self-publish" via Amazon nowadays, can't you? I must admit, though, that I'm not sure if that's only for e-books or also for actual paper books.

I've looked into this a bit. You definitely can publish actual paper books as well as e-books via Amazon. I've considered it (of course I need a book first) because most of what I've read suggests that a first-time unknown writer isn't going to get a lot of marketing and other support from the publisher.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

54 The CLOSERS by Michael Connelly

Harry Bosch is back in the loving arms of the LAPD after a three year sabbatical. And is thrown in at the deep end into a Cold Case that through DNA analysis has identified a suspect. But as usual all is not what it seems and the case goes down the rabbit hole of LAPD secrets. Another frist rate LA Noir from an acomplished author.

First time in a while I’ve read a couple of Bosch books back to back.

 

[LonerMatt]

Spoiler: List

1. Kangaroo
2. South of the Border, West of the Sun
3. 19Q4
4. An Elegant Young Man
5. Throne of the Crescent Moon
6. When Gravity Fails
7. The Choke
8. Heat and Light
9. Who Owns the Future
10 Waking Gods
11. Wimmera
12. Artemis
13. Fire in the Sun
14. Exile Kiss
15. A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
16 Prisoners of Geography
17. Nevermoor
18 La Bell Sauvage
19. Red Sister
20. Jade City
21. We Are Who We Pretend To Be
22. First Person
23. Too Like Lightning
24. Sea of Rust
25. Don't Skip Out on Me
26. Autonomous
27. Grey Sister
28. The Free
29. Lean on Pete
30. Clade
31. The Shepard's Hut
32. The Soul of an Octopus
33. The Dog Stars
34. At the mouth of River Bees
35. Dragon's Teeth
36. Designing Your Life
37. Deep Work
38. So Good They Can't Ignore You
39. Low Town
40. The Girl with all the Gifts
41. The Dismissal Dossier
42. The Last Garden
43. Storyland
44. Wolfblade
45. Warrior
46. Home Fire
47. Warlord
48. The Lyre Thief
49. Down to the River
50. Retribution
51. Me, Early and the Dying Girl
52. 84k
53. Snap
54. The Haters
55. Codename Villanelle
56. Those Above
57. Those Below
58. Of a Boy
59. Publish your Photography Book
60. Spinning Silver

60. Spinning Silver

DAMN DAMN DAMN what a book. Naomi Novik is a total powerhouse. Her earlier book, Uprooted, took a Polish fairy tale and substantially altered it and made it a bit of a feminist/girl's own adventure and it was captivating and excellent, and she used the same idea with her second novel Spinning Silver.

I don't know what the original tale it - it's got elements of Rumplestiltskin but very faintly. It also has a lot of overt Jewishness and anti-semetism within the characters as well, so she plays on the original context of the tale very well.

The story starts with a young girl called Miriyam, winter has her village in grip and her family, Jewish money lenders, are broke, hungry and starving. Her father isn't gruff enough to get their money re-payed and, when her mother begins to sicken and die, Miriyam decides enough is enough and starts recouping old debts. This leads her to begin to amass a small fortune, much to the ire of the suffering townsfolk.

This also draws the attention of the Staryk - a magical and evil being who runs winter. The Staryk sets Miriyam a challenge, and when she has completed it her world begins to shift quite badly.

Alongside this there's also the story of Wanda - a young woman trying to escape her poverty, abusive father and the arranged marriage system and Irina who marries the Tsar but never wants to spend time with him.

The story was ******* great and if any of you have friends or family into fantasy this is a really highly recommended read. It's not overly epic or nerdy and sticks fairly close to the personality of a fairy tale while being much deeper and longer.

 

[California Dreamer]

60. Swan Song, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

Swan Song is a novel about the swans: a bevy of rich glamorous socialites that gathered around author Truman Capote in his New York heyday. Capote flattered them, gossipped with them and became privy to their deepest secrets. When he published the early chapters of his unfinished novel Answered Prayers Capote proceeded to lay bare these secrets and did very little to obscure the inspiration for his characters. The backlash from his swans was instant and terrible.

The novel is, ironically, a roman a clef about an author who thought he was writing an epic roman a clef, which he thought justified his actions. His social milieu saw it very differently and ostracised him almost completely, although some did acknowledge that sharing your secrets with a writer would inevitably lead to him publishing them.

Each of Capote's swans is given a focus in the novel and her story told. Most of these were born to high society but some, including Capote, had a more staid background and had to lift themselves out of poverty. Most had lives that were blighted by sadness and misfortune which Capote played on for his material; little wonder they were angry. There are some nice touches in which an anecdote gets retold several times with differing detail, underlining the Chinese whispers nature of the gossip that lies at the centre of this drama.

As far as I could tell, the novel is pretty close to the truth and the author does make you feel sympathetic towards all of her main characters. There is a sadness to this story and the tragedy of a man of great promise and achievement who brought himself undone.

 

[Journeyman]

60. Spinning Silver

DAMN DAMN DAMN what a book. Naomi Novik is a total powerhouse. Her earlier book, Uprooted, took a Polish fairy tale and substantially altered it and made it a bit of a feminist/girl's own adventure and it was captivating and excellent, and she used the same idea with her second novel Spinning Silver.

Yes, both Uprooted and Spinning Silver are excellent and I really enjoyed them.

Interestingly, they tend to divide female readers - some absolutely love them (great stories, powerful female characters etc) but others dislike them because the male characters are powerful arseholes at first and yet (spoiler alert) the female characters are still attracted to them.

It's worth noting that these aren't her first and second novels - she previously wrote a series of books combining fantasy with the Napoleonic Wars, called the "Temeraire" series. I enjoyed them but the quality of the copies available in Australia is generally poor - they're published by Del Rey and printed in a smaller format on cheap paper.

 

[LonerMatt]

I think the two characters that applies to (Dragon and Staryk) obviously have a change of personality brought on by the strength of the female characters.

CMON GUYS PEOPLE AREN'T ONE DIMENSIONAL

 

[California Dreamer]

61. Camille, by Pierre Lemaitre

In this follow-up to Alex, Lemaitre has his dwarfish detective Camille Verhoeven embroiled in a brutal armed robbery. Camille has a relationship with a witness injured in the attack but he keeps this from his superiors and takes over the investigation, in breach of protocol. Predictably, he goes in boots and all and creates a world of headaches for himself and for the investigation.

This not a bad crime novel, but it is not a patch on Alex in terms of plot. This time around, Lemaitre's plot twists are pretty readily anticipated and he does himself no favours by turning his main character into a bit of an obnoxious jerk. I have not read Irene, which might be better, but Lemaitre has revealed so much of the plot of that book in the two sequels that I really don't think I'll bother.

 

[Geoffrey Firmin]

55 I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

Former scriptwriter turned novelist produces a complex multilayered espionage novel in a post Bond/Jack Reacher style.

Competent writing and a devious plot hatched by a fundamentalist fiend with an equally up to the task operative and associates makes for an entertaining read.

 

[archibaldleach]

59 Rubenstein, Hal - 100 Unforgettable Dresses
60 Hoffman, Paul - The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
61 Dostoevsky, Fyodor - The Idiot
62 Easterbrook, Gregg - It's Better Than It Looks
63 Strauss, Barry S. - The Anatomy of Error

Enjoyed a little light reading on fashion; my local library has a dearth of books on menswear, but I ran into something which had Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly in it, so there we go. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is a biography of mathematician Paul Erdos; interesting guy. There's a bit of math in it, but nothing really crazy that would stop a normal educated person from being able to appreciate the book (assuming he has some interest in mathematics). The Idiot was on the rereading list; I might have enjoyed it less the second time around, though maybe that's because I'm comparing it more immediately to some other works by Tolstoy / Dostoevsky. It's definitely worth reading for fans of Russian literature, but I don't think a general reader is missing a ton by omitting it. Easterbrook's book covered a lot of the themes of Pinker's Enlightenment Now, with a bit less intellectual hubris (the man has his political biases, though, which can be a bit distracting). The Anatomy of Error is about several military debacles in the ancient world, including Greeks, Romans, Persians, and Carthaginians. Fun for fans of ancient history, but also has some lessons that are timeless.