the grand 2015 reading challenge thread

[Greebo]

1/60 The Cowboy and the Cossack - Clair Huffaker
2/60 Briefe aus dem Gefängnis - Rosa Luxemburg
3/60 Chita: a memory of Last Island - Lafadio Hearn
4/60 Zla miłość - Aleksander Sowa
5/60 Frog Żaba - Colin Hann, Ryszard Bart and Pedro Páramo
6/60 Amexica: War along the borderline - Ed Vulliamy
7/60 Good mother, bad daughter? - Martha Penn
8/60 Czy wiesz, co widzę? - Richárde
9/60 Glaslügen - Nicholas Vega

 

[etnea]

1. Haruki Murakami - What I Talk about when I Talk about Running
2. Alexander McColl Smith - Bertie Plays the Blues

 

[Me76]

1/50 Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
2/50 The Child Thief, Dan Smith
3/50 Wanted, Nick Stephenson
4/50 The Graft, Martina Cole
5/50 Stardust, Neil Gaiman
6/50 Alys, Always, Harriet Lane

7/50 Bad Things Happen, K Leitch - free and passable thriller.

 

[el-ahrairah]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
16. Richard Saunders - If A Pirate I Must Be - The Story Of Bartholomew Roberts, King Of The Caribbean
17. Steve jackson - Citadel Of Chaos
18. Ian Livingstone - Forest Of Doom
19. Alan Grant & John Wagner - Doomlord: The Deathlords Of Nox
20. Andrew Ward - Football's Strangest Matches

 

[ringo]

1/45 Head On - Julian Cope
2/45 Bad Monkeys - Matt Ruff
3/45 The Ladies Of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
4/45 Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
5/45 The Blacker The Berry - Wallace Thurman
6/45 Once You Break A Knuckle - D W Wilson
7/45 The Child Thief - Dan Smith

 

[Dexter Deadwood]

1. Haruki Murakami - What I Talk about when I Talk about Running.

Had a quick Google on this book, looks good; did you enjoy it?

 

[inva]

1/51 - The Flemish House by Georges Simenon
2/15 - In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
3/51 - The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 by Chris Wickham

 

[etnea]

Had a quick Google on this book, looks good; did you enjoy it?

I did, yes.
It's a short book, but I took my time over it, I found myself inclined to long moments of contemplation while reading it.
I very rarely re-read, but will hang on to this as I think it would lend itself to further readings.

 

[BoatieBird]

1/60 - JM Barrie - Peter Pan*
2/60 - Joe Hill - NOS4R2
3/60 - Arthur Ransome - Swallows and Amazons*
4/60 - Belinda Bauer - Rubbernecker
5/60 - Roddy Doyle - The Guts
6/60 - Phillipa Pearce - Tom's Midnight Garden*

7/60 - Mildred D Taylor - Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry*
8/60 - Denise Mina - Exile

 

[el-ahrairah]

1. Kyme & Priestley, ed. - Tales Of Heresy
2. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - Out Of The Pit
3. Mike Lee - Fallen Angels
4. Steve Jackson & Ian Livingstone - The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain
5. Stella Gibbons - Christmas At Cold Comfort Farm
6. Anne Lecki - Ancillary Justice
7. Rick Pristley - Slaves To Darkness
8. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron
9. Luke Haines - Bad Vibes: Britpop And My Part In its Downfall
10. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.2
11. Marc Gascoigne - The Trolltooth Wars
12. Ian Watson - Chaos Child
13. John French - Ahriman Sorcerer
14. Chiang Yee - The Silent Traveller In London
15. Graham McNeill - A Thousand Sons
16. Richard Saunders - If A Pirate I Must Be - The Story Of Bartholomew Roberts, King Of The Caribbean
17. Steve jackson - Citadel Of Chaos
18. Ian Livingstone - Forest Of Doom
19. Alan Grant & John Wagner - Doomlord: The Deathlords Of Nox
20. Andrew Ward - Football's Strangest Matches
21. Shane McCarthy - All Hail Megatron V.3

 

[marty21]

1/60 - 'Til Death - Ed McBain
2/60 - How to Connect with Nature - Tristan Gooley
3/60 - The Dead Women of Juarez - Sam Hawken
4/60 - Jericho: Season 3 Civil War - Dan Shotz,Robert Levine,Jason Burns (Graphic Novel)
5/60 - jericho: Season 4 - Kalinda Vazquez (Graphic Novel)
6/60 - The Black Echo- Michael Connelly
7/60 - The Black Ice - Michael Connelly

 

[imposs1904]

1/52 The In Between Time by Alexander Baron
2/52 King Mob : A Critical Hidden History by David Wise with Stuart Wise & Nick Brandt
3/52 Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West
4/52 The Beiderbecke Affair by Alan Plater (Reread)
5/52 The Hour of the Innocents by Robert Paston
6/52 The Beiderbecke Tapes by Alan Plater (Reread)

7/52 Bellies and Bullseyes: The Outrageous True Story of Darts by Sid Waddell

 

[spartacus mills]

01 Nikola Mihov: Forget Your Past: Communist-Era Monuments in Bulgaria
02 Bohumil Hrabal: Closely Observed Trains
03 Joe R Lansdale: Mucho Mojo
04 Andrew Lanyon: Circular Walks Around Rowley Hall
05 Ismail Kadare: The File on H
06 Slavoj Zizek: Trouble in Paradise – From the End of History to the End of Capitalism
07 Iceberg Slim: Pimp
08 John Grindrod: Concretopia: A Journey Around the Rebuilding of Postwar Britain

 

[Pickman's model]

4. 'modern ritual magic: the rise of western occultism', francis king

5. prince of swindlers

 

[tufty79]

1. The Girl With All The Gifts - M. R. Carey
2. Mark Z. Danielewski's House Of Leaves
3. The Millionaire's Death Club - Mike Hockney
4. The Child Thief - Dan Smith
5. Midwinter Sacrifice - Mons Kallentoft
6. Lean On Pete - Willy Vlautin
7. Motel Life - Willy Vlautin

8. Dolly: A Ghost Story - Susan Hill
9.The Beacon - Susan Hill
10. The Bear - Claire Cameron

 

[Manter]

]1. Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon.
2. The child thief, Dan Smith.
3. Foxglove summer, Ben Aaronovich.
4. The beating of his wings, Paul Hoffman.
5. The cheapside corpse, Susanna Gregory.
6. Il metodo del coccodrillo- Maurizio de Giovanni. Murder mystery/thriller set in Naples. Very atmospheric, you do see some of the twists coming but that doesn't detract from it, more makes you hide behind your hands and go 'please, no, not her'

 

[billy_bob]

10/20: NoViolet Bulawayo - We Need New Names

Not a bad novel at all. Better in the earlier parts set in the protagonist's childhood in a Zimbabwean shanty town - I don't think I've read such experiences related in a first person fictional narrative before and it confidently avoids both grinding misery-lit and 'slums got so much soul' exoticism. The 'fish out of water' latter parts in America are rather more well-worn territory though.

I'm back on the Dickens now so my workrate's going to slow down considerably from here on.

 

[belboid]

1/31 - 23 Shades of Black - Ken Wishnia
2/31 - Richard Ayoade - Ayoade On Ayoade: a cinematic odyssey
3/31 - Iain Banks - The Quarry
4/31 - Raymond Chandler - The High Window

5/31 - Raymond Chandler - The Lady in the Lake

I don't usually like to read books by the same author straight after each other, it's too easy to get used to the style and either see through it, or just stop being impressed by it. Chandler, tho, stands up to such treatment well. There are some great scenes in LitL, and some marvelous trademark dialogue. But it is a little let down by the plot being not so much convoluted - that's fine and what we expect/hope for - but there were a couple of times where I was going 'why would he do that?' Probably the least brilliant of the first four Marlowe's, but still a damned good read.

 

[billy_bob]

1/31 - 23 Shades of Black - Ken Wishnia
2/31 - Richard Ayoade - Ayoade On Ayoade: a cinematic odyssey
3/31 - Iain Banks - The Quarry
4/31 - Raymond Chandler - The High Window

5/31 - Raymond Chandler - The Lady in the Lake

I don't usually like to read books by the same author straight after each other, it's too easy to get used to the style and either see through it, or just stop being impressed by it. Chandler, tho, stands up to such treatment well. There are some great scenes in LitL, and some marvelous trademark dialogue. But it is a little let down by the plot being not so much convoluted - that's fine and what we expect/hope for - but there were a couple of times where I was going 'why would he do that?' Probably the least brilliant of the first four Marlowe's, but still a damned good read.

I love Chandler but you have to read him for the fantastic, taut writing and dialogue rather than the plot, which invariably has as many holes as the henchmen who come up against Marlowe in a darkened apartment stairwell. I believe he more or less admitted that the Big Sleep didn't make much sense (although I can't find a suitable reference now...)

 

[belboid]

I love Chandler but you have to read him for the fantastic, taut writing and dialogue rather than the plot, which invariably has as many holes as the henchmen who come up against Marlowe in a darkened apartment stairwell. I believe he more or less admitted that the Big Sleep didn't make much sense (although I can't find a suitable reference now...)

he, legendarily, was asked, when they were making the film, who killed the chauffeur, and couldn't tell them. Although the book does make one person the very very likely culprit.

 

[Manter]

]1. Leaving Berlin, Joseph Kanon.
2. The child thief, Dan Smith.
3. Foxglove summer, Ben Aaronovich.
4. The beating of his wings, Paul Hoffman.
5. The cheapside corpse, Susanna Gregory.
6. Il metodo del coccodrillo- Maurizio de Giovanni.
7. In the kingdom of men- Kim Barnes. Set in 50s/60s Saudi, amount the (mostly) US expats as the country first starts to open up for oil. Good, with evocative undercurrents to the story. Like the way it's left ambiguous at the end- no 'and this is what happened and they all went home'- you are left wondering what happened to a couple of people and what she will do next

 

[May Kasahara]

1/50 Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations - Jules Evans
2/50 Sponge, X and Y - Harry Barton
3/50 The Watcher in the Shadows - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

4/50 The Disaster Artist - Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell. Fantastic book

 

[rich!]

21. Inside the House of Money, Steven Drobny.
22. Sea of Ghosts, Alan Campbell.
23. Lafayette O'Leary The Time Bender, Keith Laumer
24. Art of Hunting, Alan Campbell
25. Descent, Ken Macleod.
26. Lafayette O'Leary The World Shuffler, Keith Laumer
27. Lafayette O'Leary The Shape Changer, Keith Laumer
28. Kings Blades 1 The Gilded Chain, Dave Duncan

29. Kings Blades 2 Lord of the Fire Lands
30. Kings Blades 3 Sky of Swords
31. Zero to One, Peter Thiel & Blake Masters

It's been a slow week.

 

[toggle]

1. Mike Cronin - The failure of British fascism
2. Raymond E Feist - Rides a Dread legion
3. Robin Hobb - Dragon keeper
4. Terry Pratchet - Unseen Academicals
5. Campagna and Campiglio - What are we fighting for?
6. Dunleavy et al. - Voices of the people
7. Conan Doyle - A study in Scarlet
8. Stuart Bell - The conservative party and british politics
9. Robin Hobb - Dragon haven
10. William Morris - News from Nowehere
11. Philippa Gregory - The white Queen
12. Raymond E Feist - Exile's return
13. Catherine Hall - White, male and middle class
14. D. H. lawrence - lady Chatterley's lover
15. Raymond E Feist - Flight of the nighthawks
16. jack London - call of the wild
17. jack london - white fang
18. H Rider haggard - King Solomon's mines
19. Neil gaimin - American gods
20. Rodney Bolt - the impossible life of Mary Benson
21. Gorden marsden - Victorian values
22. Phillipa Gregory - The other Boleyn girl
23. mark Guy pearse - the pretty ways o providence
24. Raymond E Feist - into a dark realm
25. bernard Cornwell - harlquin
26. Bernard Cornwell - vagabond
27. Phillipa Gregory - the boleyn inheritance
28. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's honour
29. bernard Cornwell - sharpe's fury
30. sue townsend - adrian mole, minor to major
31. sue townsend - weapons of mass destruction
32. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's escape
33. Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's triumph
34. Phillipa Gregory - lady of the rivers
35. Phillipa Gregory - The kingmaker's daughter
36. naomi Novik - temeraire

37. naomi novik -throne of jade
38. naomi novik - black powder
39. naomi novik - empire of ivory
40. naomi novik - victory of eagles
41. naomi novik - tongues of serpents
42. naomi novik - crucible of gold
43. naomi novik - blood of tyrants
44. joe abercrombie - the blade itself
45. joe abercrombie - before they are hanged
46. joe abercrombie - last argument of kings


some easy fantasy that i can read when i'm not sleeping or when i[m too stressed to focus on anyhtng else. only problem is that i will go through it at this rate.

 

[MrSki]

37. naomi novik -throne of jade
38. naomi novik - black powder
39. naomi novik - empire of ivory
40. naomi novik - victory of eagles
41. naomi novik - tongues of serpents
42. naomi novik - crucible of gold
43. naomi novik - blood of tyrants
44. joe abercrombie - the blade itself
45. joe abercrombie - before they are hanged
46. joe abercrombie - last argument of kings


some easy fantasy that i can read when i'm not sleeping or when i[m too stressed to focus on anyhtng else. only problem is that i will go through it at this rate.

I really enjoyed the early Naomi Novik novels. Easy to read with humour in parts.

 

[toggle]

charity shop find. i'm just glad i managed to finish them before they were stolen from me by my lass

 

[Greebo]

1/60 The Cowboy and the Cossack - Clair Huffaker
2/60 Briefe aus dem Gefängnis - Rosa Luxemburg
3/60 Chita: a memory of Last Island - Lafadio Hearn
4/60 Zla miłość - Aleksander Sowa
5/60 Frog Żaba - Colin Hann, Ryszard Bart and Pedro Páramo
6/60 Amexica: War along the borderline - Ed Vulliamy
7/60 Good mother, bad daughter? - Martha Penn
8/60 Czy wiesz, co widzę? - Richárde
9/60 Glaslügen - Nicholas Vega
10/60 Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex and Politics - Starhawk

 

[ringo]

1/45 Head On - Julian Cope
2/45 Bad Monkeys - Matt Ruff
3/45 The Ladies Of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke
4/45 Bring Up The Bodies - Hilary Mantel
5/45 The Blacker The Berry - Wallace Thurman
6/45 Once You Break A Knuckle - D W Wilson
7/45 The Child Thief - Dan Smith
8/45 The Epicure's Lament - Kate Christensen

 

[districtline]

Uwe Timm - Midsummer Night (4/50)
Peter Schneider - The Wall Jumper (5/50)

 

[Kidda]

1/30 Inferno by Dan Brown
2/30 Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
3/30 Tales of the city by Armistead Maupin
4/30 Rapture by Jd Robb
5/30 Saga Vol 2 by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples
6/30 Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory
7/30 Kick-ass by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr
8/30 The Godfather by Mario Puzo