50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Eight

Loving the polar photo. I’m off to Cambridge next week and looking forward to the polar museum.

Thanks for the recs, which I will check out. I’m pretty sure I’ve read all the relevant Agatha C.

4.50 From Paddington is the other Christie that sprung to mind but am sure you've read it. Death in The Clouds for a plane journey.

Have you tried Ann Cleeves for crime?

I don't know if you read Wild Dark Shore which was on the Women's Prize list? The plot gets a bit silly, but there is kind of a crime and the descriptions of living on an island near the Antarctic are pretty amazing.

And for a classic, which I didn't love but you might, Snow Country which starts wth a train journey in Japan into the snow.

Ditto

As to your journey. No trains it’s a boat and it’s children’s/ya. I’ve recommended it to you before but I don’t think you’ve picked me up on it The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

There must be an Agatha Christie that ticks those boxes@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie (aside from Orient Express which obviously does).

I was in Hay-on-Wye this week and, thinking of you, took a photo of part the Polar section in Booths.
Bought myself a book on Old Drovers routes in mid-Wales.

Meanwhile, have finished The Summer Everything Changed - Siân O’Gorman, nice romance set in a cliff top hotel in Dublin and have begun the new Matthew Venn from Ann Cleeves.

Proving should be providing

I’ve read it! Quite liked it, but disliked the follow up iirc.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I read the first couple of sentences and was going to suggest Snow by John Banville - read on - scrap that idea 😁

I need a new book (or books) for a train journey.

Novel, rather than non-fiction
Ideally an autumn or winter setting
Something I haven’t read before
Crime good but would consider non-crime proving it’s not too Irish, too religious or too female
If it features a train journey, even better, but not a deal breaker
Something I won’t want to put down!

@Arran2024 💐 wishing your DH a speedy recovery.

Thank you. Have added The Crane Wife to my list.

Any Londoners, there's a book swap running at the Royal Festival Hall from 21-31 October as part of the London Literature Festival, which seems to be being run by Dua Lipa!

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/london-literature-festival-book-swap/

Me too, and I may get around to rereading the rest of the series eventually. Only 4 books in total which I think was the right choice by the author.

I hadn't heard of The Crane Wife - added to wish list.

A Monster Calls really is lovely.

@Arran2024 So glad your dp is okay - that must have been terrifying.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is great, although I think the series offers diminishing returns: I really didn't rate the third.

I really like this series.

@SpunkyKhakiScroller The Knife of Never Letting Go is a great YA dystopia series which my DC loved when they were 11 or 12. Dc2 had to read his latest book as part of the Carnegie awards earlier this year and wasn't particularly impressed by it though, something about a lizard that had France on its knee.

@SpunkyKhakiScroller I really thought highly of his adult book The Crane Wife but A Monster Calls is of course wonderful

Which one would you suggest? I have heard so much about A Monster Calls that I am saving it for when I am feeling strongminded. Glad to hear he's a nice man, he seemed like a very emotionally literate one from the book.

Very pleased to hear that your DH is recovering @Arran2024💐

@Stowickthevast- relieved to hear that I’m not the only one whose views of book characters are influenced by MN advice!

97 . Part of your world by Abby Jimenez - a rich city doctor meets a younger rural carpenter. Romance where good things happen to nice characters and the rest get their comeuppance! Sometimes I just need to read books like that. The only bit I didn’t like was despite being a book concerned with coercive control, it provided instructions on how to do something potentially blackmailable.

98 . Ross Poldark by Winston Graham - a man returns to Cornwall after fighting in the American War of Independence to find his father dead, his estate neglected and his fiancée set to marry his cousin. This was in the deals and was a teenage favourite of mine & was interesting to reread after seeing so many pictures from the TV series. Despite the swooning reputation of the series, the appeal of the book is that it’s about disappointment and restraint focussed on a man out of sympathy with his own class (most of whom behave badly in various ways) and who tries to make the most of a bad situation to benefit himself and his dependants. I do like how vivid both the minor characters are and the depiction of life in Cornwall at the time (one of the most memorable sections is when the servants are talking about how Ross insists that they get rid of lice). Oddly, given that it was seeing part of an episode of the original series that led me to discover the books, other than that I’ve not watched either series. A bold.

99 . Life’s too short by Abby Jimenez - a woman thinks she is dying, fosters a baby and persuades her handsome neighbour to adopt an incontinent dog. As bad as it sounds.

I’m so sorry @Arran2024 , glad to hear your DH is recovering well.

I enjoyed this article - I’m adding the book to my wishlist https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/oct/16/book-film-adaptations-shining-trainspotting-bridget-jones-godfather-clockwork-orange-silence-lambs

I’m sure that must have been frightening @Arran2024glad to hear he’s on the mend.

Glad your DH is on the mend @Arran2024 That must have been really frightening for you both 💐

Swallows sounds interesting. I've added it to my TBR list.

There are better Patrick Ness books @SpunkyKhakiScroller he is lovely, I’ve met him

Very sorry to hear about your DH @Arran2024 I hope he is ok