50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Five

@ÚlldemoShúl I agree entirely re Colm Toibin. If I'd only ever read Brooklyn, I'd tell you I didn't rate him much. Fortunately I was in a MN book swap years ago and received a copy of The Blackwater Lightship which was a cracking read, so I know he's not just Brooklyn (and can never understand why it gets all the attention).

💐@AliasGrape hope you're ok.

Hope you’re ok @AliasGrape

Sending best wishes to you @AliasGrape 🌸

That’s rubbish for you @AliasGrape - hope all will be well.

all good wishes @AliasGrape - hospital's never fun, but even worse in hot weather.

41 Service Model Adrian Tchaikovsky Everything you'd expect from this type of well thought out sci-fi. I really enjoy them. We explore here culpability and free will via humans and robots. A gentle comedy.
42 What a Way to Go. Bella Mackie. Haha perfect! First of hers I've read. Fast moving, farcical and if you are in the mood for this sort of thing it's great.
43 The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Stuart Turton. I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. We find ourselves in a manor house with a cast of disreputables, who all appear to have an agenda. It's quite dark and explores crime, retribution and redemption. Unfortunately I put so much effort into keeping up with the first nine tenths of the book, that I didn't think the ending was enough reward either in terms of outcome or philosophy.

Oh no @AliasGrapeI hope you feel better soon

Read 2 in the last couple of days thanks to 14+ hours in A&E/SDEC and then just being in bed knackered (and hot!) since. I’m more or less ok now I think though more tests and possible admission tomorrow.

Anyway, I started a romance 28 The Suite Secret - Tierney Page whilst waiting for some mindless escapism. Page is a booktoker that I find very funny and who set me off down the reading filth romance path. She’s started writing herself and I remember enjoying her first book but this one was rubbish really.

Then read 29 Emma Watson - Joan Aiken Based on Jane Austen’s incomplete/ abandoned novel ‘The Watsons’ (I think it was only a few chapters wasn’t it?) which Aiken adapted and finished. I loved Jane Fairfax in the same vein, which I think I read because of a recommendation on one of these threads. I did not enjoy this one so much though, it just felt bitty and incomplete, with few if any likeable characters. Did not feel like Austen and also wasn’t a strong enough story to stand on its own. I mean I finished it, it was ok, but not great.

50. First Class Murder by Robin Stevens

This is part of the Murder Most Unladylike series, which is set in the 1930’s and has schoolgirls Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong investigating murders (despite opposition from parents, teachers etc).

In this one, Hazel’s father is taking Daisy and Hazel on holiday in Europe, when their trip is interrupted by a murder on the Orient Express. And yes, Agatha Christie’s book of the same name does get mentioned. Of course, Daisy and Hazel promptly set out to investigate the murder.

The series is aimed at older children, and there is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief required around how competent the girls are at crime solving compared to the adults, but I still found it to be an enjoyable light read with an engaging plot.

@ÚlldemoShúl - it's possible my TBR pile is bigger.....

Yay! I’m a big fan too 🎹 🧡

Omg yes! No one else has ever gotten that. I'm a big fan.

Welcome @Pigtailsandall to this very lovely thread. Are you a quote from “Marianne” 🎵?

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One type of book missing from @Terpsichore’s Tom Gauld cartoon (which I love ❤️) is “the trip hazard bag of forgotten library books”

In unrelated news, currently reading Life After Life from the local library 😀

@TimeforaGandTIf you enjoyed Brooklyn it’s worth a read at some stage. You are much better at RWYO than me!

And a typo (or thinking about the 1980s sparkling drink) made me put Agua Libre for the Clarice Lispector DNF rather than the correct Agua Viva!

@ÚlldemoShúl - I hadn't realised there was a sequel to Brooklyn. As I am on RWYO, I won't be rushing to read it but useful to know.

A few finished reads and a DNF
The DNF is Agua Libre by Clarice Lispector. I quite liked Hour of the Star and I’m currently enjoying her short stories but this is just too philosophical and abstract for my end of term brain right now.

The first book I finished is Streets of Laredo by Larry McMurtry. This is the sequel to Lonesome Dove which was bold for me a couple of years ago. This one is bold too. Some of the surviving characters agree to hunt down killer Garza who is robbing trains and murdering passengers. Again McMurtry moves away from the traditional western- there are no heroes here (though there are some villains) and the characters, including the women, are well rounded and you really care about them. Definite bold. I’ve only read three westerns (these two and The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt) and I’ve loved all three but I think I’ve hit very lucky with the writers.

I also finished Long Island by Colm Toibin. This continues the story of Eilis Lacey from Brooklyn. Many years later she returns to Ireland for her mother’s 80th and to decide how to respond to a crisis in her marriage. Everyone is unlikable and selfish. Toibin’s other books are much better than these pair so I’m not sure why they’re the ones who have the star narrators (Jessie Buckley read this, and I know it’s sacrilege to say it, but I didn’t love her narration) and the movies.

Finally I finished The Cursed Road by Laura McCluskey. This author is nominated for a Crime Writers Dagger award and again I can see why. This follow up to The Wolf Tree which I read a few weeks ago, is tense with a great sense of place and an interesting enough detective pairing. Good solid police procedural which sometimes veers off the reservation but is very much worth the read.

24 Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York by Andrew Lownie
God I need a wash now. A slightly strange audiobook with slightly amateur sound editing. I found the lengthy stretches made from years of tabloid clippings quite whiplashy, as different interviewees with different purposes over many years get mashed into a sequential account. There’s also some parts which have obvious holes; the Epstein quotes about the alleged kinkiness of AMW’s sexual tastes seem very unlikely, much more designed for Epstein’s own agenda. But the sheer size of the case it makes is convincing; like most I have no doubt that the central account of this revolting couple is largely true. Two words kept occurring to me; corrupted and ruined.

@Pigtailsandall welcome! I am relatively new here myself but it has quickly become my favourite corner of the Internets.

58. One Summer, America 1927 by Bill Bryson - This is classic Bryson, reading it felt like I was sitting next to a very knowledgeable and entertaining dinner party guest. Full of stories about everyone from Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, and Henry Ford and that's naming only those whose fame has lasted 100 years. He manages to capture that feeling of a young, optimistic America where the future is bright and boundless. I also appreciated the chapters on eugenics - I hadn't known how deeply embedded racism against all 'aliens' was in America. It explains a lot about the present day. Also, for the first time I noticed what a skilled writer he is technically. He goes down all kinds of rabbit holes and it feels like he's rambling - then 20 pages later you realise - ah, so that's why he told that random story. Overall, a great read.

My next few books will be lightweight holiday reads to help combat the boredom of a couple of very long flights!

Welcome @Pigtailsandall as ChessieFL said it’s not obligatory to read 50 books, I rarely do, but like you I enjoy the fast moving nature of this thread and as I’m also on 25 books I’m hopeful that I might hit the target for this year!

Wow thank you for the warm welcomes. I only talk books with dh (also an avid reader) and one colleague - most others in my life have younger kids than mine (almost 7) so deep in the whirlpool of parenthood with little time.

The cartoon is apt - I most definitely have books which I think I've read but can't remember a word of! My goal this year is to definitely read more of the books I have but I cannot pass an independent bookshop without nipping in. It's addict behaviour.

Welcome to the thread @Pigtailsandall - we’re a friendly bunch here and just love talking about books 😊 (Tom Gauld cartoon should appear soon)

Welcome @Pigtailsandall and please don’t worry about the numbers, it really doesn’t matter how many you read, it’s all about the chat.

Welcome @Pigtailsandall I loved Seven Moons too.

Welcome @Pigtailsandall. I’m pleased you’ve saved the best Austen for last!

Welcome @Pigtailsandallyou’ll find an eclectic mix here