the wonderful world of reading 2020 reading challenge thread

[Shirl]

1/40 50 Ways to Wear a Scarf - Lauren Friedman. Yes I know, but it's a hard back book and I read it cover to cover.
2/40 The house on the Strand - Daphne Du Maurier
3/40 Afternoon of a Good Woman - Nina Bawden

 

[purenarcotic]

1) Lowborn - Kerry Hudson. Not quite what I was expecting but she writes well.

I notice a few folk talking about short stories and can highly recommend ‘Salt Slow’ by Julia Armfield. Slightly dark, gothic, horror type short stories. They are absolutely brilliant. And I went to school with her and we were mates - I love that she always wanted to be a writer and has done it.

 

[nogojones]

1/25 Andre Gide: La Symphonie Pastorale
2/25 Emile Zola: Therese Raquin

Ar you reading these in French?

 

[killer b]

Non

 

[colacubes]

1/19. Airhead - Emily Maitlis
2/19. ‘Twas the nightshift before Christmas - Adam Kay
3/19. Normal People - Sally Rooney

Started that last Christmas Absolutely stunning writing. Feel totally aggrieved to discover she’s not even 30

 

[Winot]

1/19. Airhead - Emily Maitlis
2/19. ‘Twas the nightshift before Christmas - Adam Kay
3/19. Normal People - Sally Rooney

Started that last Christmas Absolutely stunning writing. Feel totally aggrieved to discover she’s not even 30

Just read Normal People and agree on the writing. Started it yesterday afternoon and got up early and finished it this morning. Felt slightly dizzy at the end. It’s rare for me to be so captivated and drawn into a novel.

 

[Winot]

Anyway so that’s my 1/19.

[eta - oops didn’t read rules - 2/19 not finished yet]

 

[colacubes]

Just read Normal People and agree on the writing. Started it yesterday afternoon and got up early and finished it this morning. Felt slightly dizzy at the end. It’s rare for me to be so captivated and drawn into a novel.

Yeah I restarted it yesterday. I should really have been doing college reading today, but reading papers on advocacy coalition frameworks didn’t quite cut the mustard in the same way

 

[bellaozzydog]

First timer i’ve Gone quite high but I read a load of low input page turners, finished first of the year already

I’m mainly kindle based

I intersperse with clever stuff which always takes longer

1/59 Mortal causes, Ian Rankin a Rebus novel

1/59 Mortal causes, Ian Rankin a Rebus novel
2/59 Let it bleed Ian Rankin a Rebus novel
3/59 I know why the caged bird sings, Maya Angelou

 

[PursuedByBears]

1/50 Hilary Hinds - A Cultural History of Twin Beds

2/50 Alan Garner - Boneland. Disturbing and beautiful.

 

[petee]

last year i clocked up four books. four. this year i will, dammit, exceed that.

1: Finn, One Man's Terrorist: A Politcial History of the IRA

2: Gietinger, The Murder of Rosa Luxemburg

 

[billy_bob]

1/40 Wilkie Collins - The Woman in White
2/40 Nathaniel Hawthorne - The Scarlet Letter

I've just checked my Unread shelf and there's nothing else there with a colour in the title. Shame.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Full books read so far this year.
1.Night Watch - Terry pratchett. - I am getting his books again on kindle and this one was on discount so grabbed it and read it again.
2. Spellslinger - Sebastien de Castell - Fantasy stuff. has a bunch of books in a series. probably going to be my go to series this month.


Stuff not counted.
Bunch of manga and web light novel. I'm not counting it as i'm reading them on a chapter by chapter basis rather than volume by volume.

 

[chilango]

5/100: The Social Photo - Nathan Jorgensen

 

[colacubes]

1/19. Airhead - Emily Maitlis
2/19. ‘Twas the nightshift before Christmas - Adam Kay
3/19. Normal People - Sally Rooney
4/19. Exit West - Mohsin Hamid

Another stunningly written novel. Horrible in places but weirdly uplifting in others. I burst into spontaneous tears of horror at one point which is probably a strength of the writing as that’s not something I would normally do. Would recommend.

 

[kropotkin]

1. Suttree - Cormac Mccarthy
2. The Order of Time - Carlo Rovelli
3. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
4. Exhalation - Ted Chiang

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

3. Zone War - John Conroe - I read his urban fantasy series 'the demon accords' so thought i'd check out his near future sci-fi stuff Zone wars.
it's a bit of a cross between terminator and escape from new york. Manhattan gets hit by a terrorist drone strike leaving the island totally in control of the massive drone army. they are contained and now small groups of people make suicidal raids into the city to gather lost resources and to appear on the hit reality tv show that covers their actions.
As a writer he seems to be improving. I though it was going to be very dumb going by the over the top premise but it's actually played fairly straight. It's a b-movie of a book but i like b movies.

I'm starting on book 2 in the series right away.

 

[billy_bob]

1) Lowborn - Kerry Hudson. Not quite what I was expecting [...]

In what sense? I bought it for my dad after hearing the author talking about it - your answer will help me decide whether to borrow it back off him. I thought it had the potential to be very good, or to be very irritating if done badly.

 

[bellaozzydog]

1/59 Mortal causes, Ian Rankin a Rebus novel
2/59 Let it bleed Ian Rankin a Rebus novel
3/59 I know why the caged bird sings, Maya Angelou
4/59 Adolph Hitler, My part in his downfall. Spike Milligan

I’m going lighter and funnier to let my mind rest on a bit

 

[marty21]

1/75 The Girl Who Lived Twice - David Lagercrantz
2/75 Sweet Sorrow - David Nicholls

 

[purenarcotic]

In what sense? I bought it for my dad after hearing the author talking about it - your answer will help me decide whether to borrow it back off him. I thought it had the potential to be very good, or to be very irritating if done badly.

It’s good - I was expecting it to be more academic and less personal I suppose.

 

[purenarcotic]

1) Lowborn - Kerry Hudson
2) Tangerine - Christine Mangan. The quote on the cover describes it as a cross between The Girl on the Train and The Talented Mr Ripley and it is exactly that. Pretty unoriginal but fairly enjoyable nonetheless

 

[Ptolemy]

1/30. Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty. - Karl Shaw.
2/30. Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Stories - Unknown (translated by Hermann Palsson).
3/30. Born 1900 - Hunter Davies.

An anthology of interviews with people born in the year 1900 conducted in the late 1990s. It also covers institutions founded in that year, including Labour, West Ham and the modern burger. A very interesting read.

 

[marty21]

1/75 The Girl Who Lived Twice - David Lagercrantz
2/75 Sweet Sorrow - David Nicholls
3/75 Mortal Prey - John Sandford

 

[Smokeandsteam]

1/40: Ben Pimblott - Harold Wilson
2/40: Raymond Williams - Border Country
3/40 : Neil Campbell - Lanyards
4/40: Steve Wright - Storming Heaven

 

[chilango]

6/100: The Emancipated Spectator - Jacques Ranciere

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

3. Zone War - John Conroe - I read his urban fantasy series 'the demon accords' so thought i'd check out his near future sci-fi stuff Zone wars.
it's a bit of a cross between terminator and escape from new york. Manhattan gets hit by a terrorist drone strike leaving the island totally in control of the massive drone army. they are contained and now small groups of people make suicidal raids into the city to gather lost resources and to appear on the hit reality tv show that covers their actions.
As a writer he seems to be improving. I though it was going to be very dumb going by the over the top premise but it's actually played fairly straight. It's a b-movie of a book but i like b movies.

I'm starting on book 2 in the series right away.

4. Borough of bones - John Conroe - Book two in the zone war series. Starting book three now.


E2A

Ok finished it.
5. Web of extinction. Book three of the series. Last half shifted focus quite a lot and whent a bit extended epilogue but solid enough.

 

[imposs1904]

1/40: Harold Wilson - Ben Pimblott
2/40: Raymond Williams - Border Country
3/40 : Neil Campbell - Lanyards
4/40: Steve Wright - Storming Heaven

He's come a long way since hosting the Afternoon Show.

 

[Smokeandsteam]

He's come a long way since hosting the Afternoon Show.

I never had him down as a student of Italian autonomist theory tbf

 

[Ptolemy]

1/30. Royal Babylon: The Alarming History of European Royalty. - Karl Shaw.
2/30. Hrafnkel's Saga and Other Stories - Unknown (translated by Hermann Palsson).
3/30. Born 1900 - Hunter Davies.
4/30. The Pearl - John Steinbeck.