50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Five

@Tarragon123 i was pretty meh about Birnam Wood in 2024!

@Tarragon123 I just found my review of Birnam Wood from 2023, also not a fan! Here's part of it:

The first part of the book is very slow moving and goes into in depth character analysis of the motives of Mira, Shelley, Tony and Robert. There's also a lot of lectures on capitalism and socialism particularly from mansplaining trust fund Tony. I guess these are meant to be satirical but I found them rather tiring. The action picks up in the second part where they all converge in Thorndike and then it becomes much more like a thriller with Tony hiding out in the woods in camo gear, drone and mobile phone surveillance and twisted coincidences. It ends very abruptly with the ending told by a peripheral character. This wasn't really for me, too much telling, the billionaire was a textbook psychopath, and I think the pacing was a bit off. I didn't really pay much attention to the Macbeth theme while reading it but I think the point was that any of the characters could be Macbeth as they're all self-serving.

@SpunkyKhakiScroller I really like Mary Lawson too, I think I preferred A Town Called Solace but have liked all her books.

@MaterMoribund also thought A Family Matter was excellent.

@Tarragon123 where did you see about The Art of a Lie having been published in 2018? I’m not sure that’s true - everything I can see says it was first published July 2025. Goldsboro Books are selling first editions with the 2025 publication date and I’m not sure they would do that if it has been published before.

49. The Promised Neverland Vol 11 by Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu

Manga about a group of children who stumble across the horrifying truth that their orphanage is really farming people for demons to eat. Action packed and fairly suspenseful.

This volume contains the end of the Goldy Pond arc, where they’re fighting back against a group of demons. It all goes surprisingly well.

Oh, I didn't notice! That was the same with one of the Sara Sheridan books. Perhaps that kind of fiction has come in to fashion since Bridgerton or something?

Welcome @VanGoSunflowers

Hugs @GrannieMainland that must have been scary for you

@elkiedee – thank you! I’ve definitely heard some of the adaptations on BBC4. I might try there before investigating library/borrowbox etc

I’m feeling so much better and have been able to concentrate a bit more on my reading. However, I have been distracted by the football and the tennis. Never seen so much football at a tournament before I think.

@Piggywaspushed – I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Laura Shepherd-Robinson, including The Square of Sevens. I managed to get The Art of A Lie as a 99p special. I hadn’t appreciated it was published in 2018. I wonder why its being hyped up now?

69 After the Funeral – Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot is brought in by an old friend, a lawyer, who has concerns about the sudden death of a client and his sister who dies suddenly after the funeral. Really clever plotting, despite having read this years ago, I couldn’t remember who the murderer was. This was exactly what I needed.

70 Birnam Wood – Eleanor Catton. I did not enjoy this. Maybe its just the mood that I’m in, not sure. I really struggled to get into it. Nearly DNF, but I kept going, because it’s fairly short. Did anyone really love it?

Plans for this week. Start the new Perveen Mistry. @SpunkyKhakiScroller – Did I tell you that my library ordered the rest of the series based on me raving about book number 1? Finish Ragtime. That’s a weird book. I should also finish Orbital, potentially later on tonight.

25 - The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (translated by Lucia Graves)

Daniel is taken to the 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books' in Barcelona when he is 10. There, he finds a book he loves and which soon attracts attention. It turns out all copies of the author's books have been destroyed - Daniel tried to find out why, while trying to dodge some unwelcome attention the book and his search brings.

I loved this - it's set in the 40s and 50s where the effects of the Civil War are still being felt and there's a real sense of unease. There are some well-drawn characters - you find yourself really rooting for Daniel, while his nemesis is evil, but all too believable. It's not perfect - there are some places where you can tell it's a translation as the language/phrases used slightly jar, and some characters that make you wonder why they're there, but it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the story. This is one of a trilogy so I'll definitely keep an eye out for those.

27 The Name Of The Rose - Umberto Eco

Clever medieval whodunnit, which I read long enough ago (30+ years) that I’d forgotten the denouement. There’s probably a lot of stuff about medieval politics and ways of thinking that went over my head but still a thoroughly enjoyable read.

@SpunkyKhakiScroller I don't think it was me who recommended Crow Lake, but I was happy to see your review as I absolutely loved it! I really liked the ending though - I thought that the gentleness and wisdom of how it resolves was totally in keeping.
I've enjoyed Lawson's other novels too, but I do think Crow Lake is my favourite.

Latest read, I think book 39...
Ripeness by Sarah Moss. Dual-timeline story of Edith - a Jewish farmer's daughter from the north of England. One narrative details her stay in Italy at the age of 17, supporting her pregnant sister. In the other, she is in her seventies, living on the west coast of Ireland and reflecting on past event and questions of home, belonging and narrative. I loved this. Edith's voice is delightful and totally convincing in both timelines and the blend of plot and narrative with Edith's reflections works really well. The places are beautifully evoked too.

Interesting! I’ll let you know how I get on.

43.Pagans by James Henry

Read by quite a few on here. Detectives Aedith and Drustan are trying to solve a series of murders and prevent a terrorist incident but this is a universe where the Norman Conquest did not happen. Britain is a series of disparate nations and tribes living in poverty and warring while the Pan African industrial revolution has positioned them as the foremost world power.

I enjoyed the world but I just don’t get on with police novels and so I found this a bit of a slog to be honest.

44.The Heat of the Moment by Sabrina Cohen-Hatton

Memoir by a female firefighter. Worth a read. This was very interesting about the logistics and challenges of how fires are assessed and managed by the fire service- it is considerably more challenging and complex than I had previously understood. The amount of overt sexism and discrimination she has faced is extraordinary.

43.Winterbourne by Elisabeth Wolf

A novel full of gothic tropes. A young woman is in a car accident and then takes on a job sorting out the library of an aristocrat on an isolated Scottish island. The island’s only inhabitants are its taciturn housekeeper and her brother.

This was full of all sorts of themes and allusions from Jane Eyre to The Turn of the Screw to The Woman in Black. I enjoyed it immensely. It became a bit too magical towards the very end but I could accept that because the claustrophobic gothic setting was portrayed so well.

44.In the Likely Event by Rebecca Yarros

What poorly written rubbish this was. I was barely able to read it. A woman survives a plane crash and discovers her soulmate in the next seat. Fate and poor communication keeps them apart. Until it doesn’t through a series of unbelievable coincidences and plot bollocks brings them together again in war torn Afghanistan.

It was just so badly written. Stream of consciousness for the tiktok generation. God Help Us All.

45.The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I have very much enjoyed the Goalhanger book club podcast. I have been going through their archives and this was a book I hadn’t read. Decadence, intrigue, unreliable narrators, forbidden love. I did enjoy this but much more so for being able to hear the book club’s commentary on it. Dominic and Tabby are good reading companions.

A Family Matter by Claire Lynch
I thought I was pretty well informed about social/ LGB history, particularly when it occurred in my lifetime, but this novel explores an aspect of it that I was unaware of; the treatment of lesbian mothers by the courts and society as recently as the 1980s.
Dawn is 23, married to Henry/Heron and they have a little girl, Maggie. When Dawn meets Hazel at a jumble sale she embarks on an affair that has consequences she could not have foreseen.
It’s a dual timeline and the first part concentrates on Heron and his recent terminal diagnosis. Through his Swedish Death Cleaning efforts paperwork comes to light that changes everything about how Maggie saw her childhood and upbringing. Lynch is incredibly generous to Heron as a character, even when he’s making the most selfish and punitive decisions in his 20s. She’s also excellent at exploring the emotions of her female characters and I felt the book could have been longer. I can, however, see why she pared down the events and feelings to produce an exquisitely poignant piece of fiction based on the very real torments so many women went through. All the hideous questioning of Dawn in court about what sexual appliances she uses with her lover, all the harsh moral judgements in the SS paperwork etc is taken directly from contemporary records of the time.
I can’t say I ‘enjoyed’ it, as it made me cry several times, but I’m very glad I read it.

@BauhausOfEliott I look forward to seeing your review of Ministry of Time. I read it earlier this year and, as my review at the time said, though I loved the beginning, I was not a fan by the end!

Book 40 was very quick because it was Stylepedia, which was a reference book about style subcultures across the world and through the ages, so it was heavy on pictures! I did read every word cover to cover though. It was actually a lot more interesting to read than I was expecting, particularly to see the reasons behind some of the particular elements of different looks, and how they grew out of different things like music, politics and migration. I think it could have been more comprehensive but hey-ho.

Book 41 and 42 are Pagans by James Alistair Henry and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley. I'm enjoying them both at the moment, but am only about 40 to 50 pages into each so far.

I've used this month's audible credit on Forbidden Notebook - wondering if that's the right call as some things I do prefer to actually physically read, but I'm already feeling guilty about how badly RWYO is going after I went a bit mad with 99p deals, whereas using an audible credit feels like an acceptable work around my own rule!

I laughed this morning thinking about the audiobook discussion up thread, I'd claimed they worked ok for me but last night I started None of This is True on audio and I woke up this morning realising I hadn't heard anything beyond the title and 'read by' announcement. I was clearly more tired than usual!

On the RWYO thing I'm almost finished Tamar by Mal Peet which has been on my kindle over 9 years! I just checked and I bought it in Feb 2017. I've no idea why I got it at the time as I avoid WW2 stuff generally (DH is obsessed so I feel like I'm at max capacity with WW2 content without adding to it in my own reading), but I'm enjoying it now I realise it's YA (I was a bit thrown by the tone/ style shift between the two time periods at first but now I realise it's meant to be YA I feel like I know where I am!). Will do a proper review when finished.

@SpunkyKhakiScroller I really enjoyed Crow Lake. I love a coming of age novel. I read one of her later books more recently A Town Called Solace and I wasnt nearly as keen. I also have an irrational dislike of the title. It gives off strong twee vibes.

All this Alba de Céspedes chat has intrigued me - I really fancy Forbidden Notebook now. My library has only one of her books, There's No Turning Back, so I’ve reserved that to start off with.

57. Crow Lake by Mary Lawson - This was recommended by a 50 booker though I can't remember who. Whoever it was, THANK YOU! I had never heard of Mary Lawson before and now I am bemoaning the fact that she has only written 4 novels. I loved this one! Kate Morrison, and accomplished natural scientist is reflecting on her difficult childhood and skirting around her then-close, now estranged relationship with her brilliant brother Matt. The nature writing, the writing about rural Ontario, their daily lives, and their relationships was beautiful and each character felt real. The ending wasn't as perfect as the rest of the book but only because the first 95% was excellent and the resolution was merely good in my opinion. After reading a few books about ideas masquerading as people, it was such a relief to read about good people facing difficult circumstances imperfectly.

Oooh @FruAashild that is serendipity! ❤

34. The Keeper, Tana French 5/5
    The final volume in French’s Cal Hooper trilogy, set in the fictional West Irish village of Ardnakelty. As I mentioned before, I loved this novel. At the start I thought maybe French was recycling too many of the same themes she introduced in the first two volumes of the trilogy (the village has Many Dark Undercurrents of local history! everyone’s speech is laden with Hidden Meanings that an outsider like Cal can’t understand!). However, the story quickly gathered pace and presented some new forms of tension and character development (as for example in Cal’s relationship with his love interest Lena). French’s ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect I would say. The final plot twist isn’t very plausible, but that’s OK; in terms of sheer page-turning joy, this is the best novel I’ve read in some time.

35. Une forme de vie [Life Form], Amélie Nothomb 4/5
    The Belgian writer Nothomb is always weird and interesting, and this short novel is no exception. It consists mostly of (fictional) letters between the writer Nothomb herself and an unlikely fan of her work: a morbidly obese American soldier who is writing from Baghdad during the Iraq war. His obsessive eating becomes both a form of protest against the military violence he is part of, and a form of art. This isn’t the only Nothomb novel to focus on disturbing representations of food and eating (there’s also her semi-autobiographical novel Biographie de la faim / The Life of Hunger, which I preferred to this one). The narrative ends with not one but two unexpected plot twists. A compelling if quite surreal read.

36. Lélia, George Sand 4/5
    This was an effortful read that I’ve been doing slowly for quite some time. I’m glad I read it, but also glad to have reached the end! I love Sand’s novel Indiana, and had heard that Lélia, which she wrote shortly after Indiana was a great feminist novel, so I wanted to read it. In fact there isn’t a lot of plot: it’s mostly a series of long poetic/philosophical discourses, placed in the mouths of different characters. The beautiful, intelligent Lélia (clearly in some ways a double of Sand herself) is disillusioned with life, love and especially men. She is surrounded by three men who love her in different ways: a poet, an ex-convict turned philosopher, and a mentally disturbed priest. Oh yes, and there’s also her identical sister, who is a famous courtesan. Sand revised the novel substantially after its original publication; the edition I was reading had both versions, so I read both, which was a bit confusing, but interesting. Version One was more annoying in terms of all the characters moaning self-absorbedly in true Romantic style, but it had a shockingly violent ending. Version Two toned things down somewhat, but transformed some of Lélia’s speeches in order to articulate her feminist and anti-religious agenda much more clearly. Various themes which you might not expect to find in a 19th century novel included: hints of lesbian desire (directed by Lélia to her sister when they were young!), Lélia’s inability to orgasm from sex with men, and Lélia’s frustration with the fact that men expect women to ‘save’ them, but also consider women to be the inferior sex: this paradox sends her into an understandable rage.

I plan to stay away from crazy autofictional French novels by women for at least a little while now, ha. Despite my love for the genre, I need a break.

My first post on this 'new' thread but thankfully a timely one. @cassandre has clearly been successfully influencing us all 😀

Her Side of the Story by Alba de Céspedes. Translated by Jill Foulston

This had an afterword by Elena Ferrante and reminded me a lot of her writing with the not very likeable narrator who is in her own head a lot. Alessandra describes her childhood and early marriage to an anti-fascist in Rome during WW2. The book is split into three sections and the first one describing the relationship with her mother was the best, although I had a soft spot for her relationship with her nonna in part two. I really enjoyed this and will be adding her other translated novels to my TBR list.

@Stowickthevast 😂at There is an amazing Irish Wolfhound in it though. DH is unconvinced this is an appropriate pet for a London home.

I'll look out for the wolfhound when I read Land.

Ooh @FuzzyCaoraDhubh great review of Forbidden Notebook! I'm so glad you liked it. It was the first Alba de Cespedes novel I read, and remains my favourite. I'm envious of you being able to read it in Italian. I would love to read her whole corpus, but quite a few of her novels haven't been translated into English at all (despite me managing to get hold of some out-of-print English translations). I'm excited to see all the interest in her on this thread!

There's No Turning Back is also brilliant - very different to Forbidden Notebook because it focuses on a whole group of young women characters, rather than foregrounding just one. She was very inventive in terms of style and every book I've read by her so far is quite different to all the others.

@TimeforaGandT thanks for the review of Scaffolding; I've added it to my wish list. Paris, psychoanalysis and sex, what's not to love? 😂When I googled the book, I also found a very positive review of it by Sarah Moss, and I'm a big Moss fan, so that makes me even more keen to read it.

@DesdamonasHandkerchief interesting review of the St Aubyn novels. I've read a couple of them in the past, and while I recall them as being quite dark, they were well-written. I'd like to read the whole series in order like you did.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh thanks for a super review, I have added Forbidden Notebook to be TBR.

I highly recommend it @AliasGrape .
I hope you'll like it. I think she's an excellent writer.

There’s a lady I follow on TikTok who was recommending this - she did a post about reading more books in translation and this is the one I noted down from her list. Now I’ve read your review I’ll definitely go ahead and invest I think!