50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Five

I have never done a read-along before but would be up for Suitable Boy.

I'm up for A Suitable Boy readalong, again after Les Mis if possible

Bit like a Book Club everyone reads a set number of chapters and then discuss each month

I loved A Suitable Boy and might reread as part of a readalong if it's after Les Mis as plan to join the Oliver Twist readalong too and there's only so many books I can keep track of!

I dont really know what a readalong is? But potentially keen - A Suitable Boy has long been on my list of books I'd like to read!

I loved A Suitable Boy and would be tempted by a chance to reread but I have yet to meet a readalong that I haven’t fallen off so I think I’m going to accept that they are just not for me.

I want to read it but I’ve got a terrible track record with Readalongs including my current Odyssey one

I’d be up for a read along.

It’s one of my favourite books and I would definitely join a readalong. I’d prefer after Les Mis though.

I’ve read A Suitable Boy many years ago, still have it on my bookshelf somewhere, and would love a reread so would definitely be up for a read along.

We'll keep it in mind then?

I don't usually reread books but might make an exception.

I haven't read it and would definitely be up for a readalong, preferably after Les Mis.

That's a good idea Piggy - I would be up for an A Suitable Boy readalong.

I adored A Suitable Boy. The characterisation is so strong that , unlike many far shorter books, I didn't lose track of the characters and events.

It would potentially be a good book for a MN readalong.

51 of the new list for me, including Stoner which was one of the first books I passed on to my (then future) father in law who returned it saying it was wonderful. I remember being relieved as I wanted to make a good impression! I have A Suitable Boy on my TBR list but a little daunted by its length. I don’t get nearly as much time to read as I’d like so I might not make 50 this year if I start on it…

Also added another four to my pile after a trip to our local charity shops yesterday but at 50p a book, I couldn’t resist!

34 for me from the guardian list, including BNW below.
34 The Holiday T. M. Logan It was a great read. Not challenging or realistic in any way but a good escapist holiday read if you don't mind a bit of mild peril and a death. I would be happy to read another by this author.
35 Rivers of London. Ben Aaronovitch First book in this well loved series about the Met and magical events. Do they get better? I didn't really enjoy it and it became like reading background noise. I don't think I'll bother with the rest.
36 Brave New World Aldous Huxley How have I not read this before? I absolutely loved the first half, but really struggled with the second half after Linda and John had been introduced. I lost the thread and couldn't work out what any of them actually wanted. I ended up quite confused. I'm not sure the depiction of the savage has stood the test of time. It's an exploration of happiness vs freedom. Some people seemed happy, but no one was free. I would certainly recommend it though if you are one of the few who hasn't already read it.

I think I’ve read 29 on that Guardian list. With LOTR, I only ever got as far as Gandalf’s run in with the Balrog.

@Terpsichore , I said pretty much the same thing to the friend who's loaned me 'Coffee'

Of the Guardian Readers Favourites list I've read 50 but have an additional 27 DNF. At least I tried, I guess.

However, my NCT Book Group started in 2004. After 22 years we've picked loads of those titles which explained my disproportionate high score.

I’ll look up the podcast elspeth. It really is such a bizarre story and the book plays to it well with all sorts of weird and wonderful facts.

Your cold coffee review made me laugh Terpsichore.

I’ve read 36 with a few DNFs, but I have quite a few on my TBR pile as well.

One Day in the Death of America has also stayed with me. Thinking about female authors I think The Handmaid’s Tale was the only book by a female author I studied at A Level.

Not shocked by the lack of women although I would have expected an extract from La Princesse de Clèves. Does Dumas count as BAME?

@ÚlldemoShúl that sounds fascinating and explains some of the variation in Moss's books. I do think she's under looked by the prize people.

@Piggywaspushed that's very depressing about Eng Lit A level. I was very excited a few years ago when my then babysitter was doing Home Fire as one of her texts though. It was an option and she did say only about 3 people in her form had chosen it with the rest doing something old white male I think.

This evening I went to an event where Sarah Moss was interviewed by Wendy Erskine. It was a really good conversation and both writers came across as very likeable. Moss was very funny at times. I found it interesting that she deliberately gives herself a technical challenge in every book in terms of how it’s written (in her most recent Ripeness, (which I loved) it was writing the same character at 17 and 73, she has to be the same essential person but shaped by her life. On Tuesday DH and I go to see Patrick Radden Keefe which I’m also really looking forward to.

I’ve also finished two books
Tess of the D’Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy
It’s many years since I’ve read any hardy and this was my first time with Tess. it’s beautifully written- the descriptive writing in particular, and very bleak- though most of the story is sadly very realistic. It made me very angry. Especially at the supposed romantic lead. I like that Hardy wanted to expose the double standards of the Victorian age and thought that was done well. Although the constant descriptions of Tess’s mouth gave me the ick, it’s a bold for me.

The Wolf Tree by Laura McCluskey
This is a police procedural set in a remote Scottish island where two detectives are sent to investigate the apparent suicide if one of the island’s inhabitants. The sense of place is excellent with some gorgeous nature writing and the tension was built up really well. I found this because it’s been nominated for a Crime Writers Association dagger and it deserves it. She has a new book out which I also intend to read.

The People Next Door. Carla Kovach
As a teenager, Gemma used to spend her summers with her Aunt on Clover Lane. Then one year something happened and she vowed never to return. Until 20-odd years later when she inherits the house, her husband has made some bad financial decisions so they move there with their 2 daughters, 14 year old Morgan and toddler Cora. But the past refuses to lie silently. Someone knows what happened and someone is sending everyone malicious notes.
I really enjoyed this, a quick read for me with plenty of mystery and twists which meant I had no idea who was doing what.

6 Rocabarra Terrace. CC Gilmartin
This was a tense supernatural thriller. When 18 year old Mairi finds herself pregnant and unmarried she does the only thing she can and abandons the baby, leaving him to be raised by her father and grandmother. I found that slightly unrealistic as it was 2006 and unmarried mothers were really common. But then again, I don't live on a tiny Scottish Island. And she had her reasons which are revealed later on. 18 years later and Mairi gets the phone call that her son has died in a tragic accident. She heads home for the funeral and then to Glasgow to clear out his flat. Then things get really weird. I don't want to say too much because it would spoil it if anyone wants to read it. But there were some great supernatural elements, and I still feel a little uneasy having finished it a hour ago.

@CornishLizard I didn’t know there was a book about this! I heard a podcast (I think it was this American life) about it and listened to it a few times. I have tried to describe it to people but haven’t been able to do the bizarreness of the whole thing justice. I will have to look this book out.