50 Books Challenge 2022 Part Seven

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh and (and probably) final thread of the 50 Books Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2022, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and even though it's late in the year, it’s not too late to join. Please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

How have you got on this year?

@AliasGrape

Was really enjoying Small Pleasures til the end. Was absolutely fuming. Woeful ending

Looking forward to the list @PermanentTemporary . Just to check does the list of names mean you aren't including the bolds of all 50 bookers that have posted their list, just a sample? No worries if so, it just means I'll probably run through at some point to check other bolds from those you haven't included.

It's all bolds and how many times bolds were bold IIRC

And that wasn't the question you asked. D' oh, sorry

Thanks for putting in the work @PermanentTemporary - really looking forward to seeing the results 😊

WHAT WE BOLDED - Top Authors

Phew, sorry, long book club! I'm quite liking Dry January book club as well.

A new look at the data compared to last year. This is a list of authors who got more than one mention - either for the same book or for multiple different works. There is a fairly runaway winner, who didn't surprise me given what I've read on the thread, and a very solid top ten who perhaps don't give many gasps of amazement either. They do I think give an idea of what a lot of us were enjoying this year, and show the influence of the readalongs too.

Patrick Radden Keefe 7
Maggie O'Farrell 6
Claire Keegan 5
Marian Keyes 5
Wilkie Collins 5
Barbara Pym 4
Hilary Mantel 4
Kate Atkinson 4
Sarah Moss 4
Andrey Kurkov 3
Annie Ernaux 3
Anthony Doerr 3
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 3
Nigel Slater 3
Stephen King 3
Alistair McGuiness 2
Amor Towles 2
Ben Macintyre 2
Catherine Bailey 2
Christopher de Hamel 2
Clare Chambers 2
Donna Tartt 2
Elizabeth Strout 2
Elodie Harper 2
Elspeth Barker 2
Frances Favell 2
Hadley Freeman 2
Janice Galloway 2
John Preston 2
Jonathan Freedland 2
Julian Barnes 2
Leo Tolstoy 2
Louise Erdrich 2
Natasha Pulley 2
Nick Cave and Sean O'Hagan 2
Penelope Fitzgerald 2
Phlippe Sands 2
Rumer Godden 2
Ruth Ozeki 2
Susan Orlean 2
Terry Pratchett 2
Una 2
Val McDermid 2
Virginia Woolf 2
Winifred Holtby 2
Winifred Watson 2

WHAT WE BOLDED 2022 - the books

A much shorter list this year, but somehow much more thinly spread - perhaps people are getting pickier with their bolds?? Anyway, my love of this data set is due to the fact that any book could be on it for any reason - I love the randomness of it.

Here are a slightly arbitrary Top 7, which are the books bolded by at least 3 contributors.

The Woman in White Wilkie Collins 5
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe 5
Foster Claire Keegan 4
Again, Rachel Marian Keyes 4
Hamnet Maggie O'Farrell 3
Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr 3
The Marriage Portrait Maggie O'Farrell 3

Thanks for all that work PT.

I certainly bolded 4 of those!

Haven't been paying attention though as haven't heard of yer man Keefe!!

WHAT WE BOLDED 2022 - the books continued

And now on to the books which were bolded by 2 contributors. A good mix of classics, thread favourites for some time, and newer works.

Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe
A Change of Climate Hilary Mantel
Ghost Wall Sarah Moss
Death and the Penguin Andrey Kurkov
The Christmas Chronicles Nigel Slater
A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts Christopher de Hamel
O Caledonia Elspeth Barker
The Dancing Bear Frances Favell
House of Glass Hadley Freeman
Fall John Preston
The Escape Artist Jonathan Freedland
Arthur & George Julian Barnes
War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
The Sentence Louise Erdrich
Faith, Hope and Carnage Nick Cave and Sean O'Hagan
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
East West Street Phlippe Sands
Black Narcissus Rumer Godden
The Book of Form and Empires Ruth Ozeki
The Library Book Susan Orlean
Becoming Unbecoming Una
Mrs Dalloway Virginia Woolf
South Riding Winifred Holtby
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Winifred Watson
Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

WHAT WE BOLDED 2022 - the final books

And the last section; the books bolded by just one person. Several authors made it into the top authors list by having multiple works bolded once each, and not always by the same contributor.

Excellent Women Barbara Pym
Life After Life Kate Atkinson
L’Événement [Happening] Annie Ernaux
Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla Stephen King
A Taste of Australia Alistair McGuiness
Operation Mincemeat Ben Macintyre
The Secret Rooms Catherine Bailey
In a Good Light Clare Chambers
The Secret History Donna Tartt
Anything is Possible Elizabeth Strout
Wolf Den Elodie Harper
This Is Not About Me Janice Galloway
The Lost Future of Pepper Harrow Natasha Pulley
Equal Rites Terry Pratchett
A Place of Execution Val McDermid
Possession A S Byatt
Ramble Book Adam Buxton
Natives : Race And Class In The Ruins Of Empire Akala
House Arrest: Pandemic Diaries Alan Bennett
Lost Japan Alex Kerr
In Black and White Alexandra Wilson
Mary Ann Sale, Imbecile Alice Jolly
The Color Purple Alice Walker
Slow Down and Enjoy The Ride Alistair McGuiness
Breathless Amy McCulloch
Grey Bees Andrey Kurkov
Dominicana Angie Cruz
A Start in Life Anita Brookner
The Magician's Assistant Ann Patchett
Red Famine Anne Applebaum
French Braid Anne Tyler
La Place Annie Ernaux
Une Femme Annie Ernaux
Kitchen Confidential Anthony Bourdain
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess
Pereira Maintains Antonio Tabbuchi
The Colony Audrey Magee
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Some Tame Gazelle Barbara Pym
Less Than Angels Barbara Pym
Quartet in Autumn Barbara Pym
A Dark Adapted Eye Barbara Vine
A Fatal Inversion Barbara Vine
The Way we Eat Now Bee Wilson
A Spy among Friends Ben Macintyre
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk
Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro Memoirs, by Beth Ann Fennelly. Beth Ann Fennelly
Translations Brian Friel
The Betrayals Bridget Collins
How to Build a Girl Caitlin Moran
Open Water Caleb Azumah Nelson
Invisible Women Caroline Criado Perez
Written in Blood Caroline Graham
The Mission House Carys Davies
BlackDiamonds Catherine Bailey
A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens
Three Twins at the Crater School Chaz Brenchley
A Pensioner's Folly Chris Ayres
The Penguin Book of English Short Stories Christopher Doltey (ed)
Hurdy Gurdy Christopher Wilson
Small Things Like These Claire Keegan
Small Pleasures Clare Chambers
Hostage Clare Macintosh Clare Macintosh
A Year of Wonder Clemency Burton-Hill
Apeirogon Colum McCann
After The Party Cressida Connolly
The Terror Dan Simmons
My Cousin Rachel Daphne du Maurier
The Storyteller:Tales of Life and Music Dave Grohl
The BBC: A People's History David Hendy
Cloud Atlas David Mitchell
War Doctor David Nott
Family Secrets: the things we tried to hide Deborah Cohen
Real Estate Deborah Levy
Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line Deepa Anappara
Howl's Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones
The Queen of Dirt Island Donal Ryan
The Goldfinch Donna Tartt
In a Lonely place Dorothy B Hughes
Shuggie Bain Douglas Stuart
The Railway Children E Nesbit
The Moth and The Mountain Ed Caesar
How Iceland Changed the World Egill Bjarnasson
My Briliiant Friend Elena Ferrante
No Halt at Sunset Elizabeth M. Harland
The Blank Wall Elizabeth Sanxay Holding
Olive, Again Elizabeth Strout
The House with the Golden Door Elodie Harper
Me Elton John
Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte
The Skeleton Key Erin Kelly
The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern
Wildlands Evan Osnos
Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca Ferdinand Mount
Crippled : Austerity and the demonization of disabled people Frances Ryan
Peau noire, masques blancs Frantz Fanon
A Man Called Ove Fredrik Backman
Chronicle of a Death Foretold Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Gabrielle Zevin
The Only Plane in the Sky Garrett Graff
Tomb of Sand Geetanjali Shree
My Sister Milly Gemma Dowler
Nineteen Eighty Four George Orwell
The Toll Gate Georgette Heyer
Hungry Grace Dent
Mothering Sunday Graham Swift
Covent Garden Ladies: Pimp General Jack and the Extraordinary Story of Harris's List Hallie Rubenhold
The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English Hana Videen
Burial Rites - Hannah Kent Hannah Kent
The Godmother Hannelore Cayre
The People In The Trees Hanya Yanagihara
A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara
Exposure Helen Dunmore
Charlotte Helen Moffatt
Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel
Eight Months on Ghazzah Street Hilary Mantel
Moonfleet J Meade Falkner
Giovanni’s Room, James Baldwin James Baldwin
The World According to Colour: A Cultural History James Fox
To Calais, in Ordinary Time James Meek
Old Filth Jane Gardam
Sister Stardust Jane Green
Four Mums in a Boat Janette Benaddi, Helen Butters, Niki Doeg & Frances Davies
All Made Up Janice Galloway
Go Went Gone Jenny Erpenbeck
Nomadland Jessica Bruder
Hons and Rebels Jessica Mitford
A Terrible Kindness Jo Browning Wroe
Slouching Towards Bethlehem Joan Didion
The Whalebone Theatre Joanna Quinn
She Said Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey
Consider Her Ways and others John Wyndham
The Complete Yes Minister Jonathan Lynn and Anthony Jay
Star of the Sea Joseph O'Connor
Don't Eat the Puffin: Tales from a Travel Writer's Life Jules Brown
Our Wives Under the Sea Julia Armfeld
A Village in the Third Reich Julia Boyd
Madhouse at the End of the Earth Julian Sancton
On Connection Kae Tempest
Booth Karen Joy Fowler
Case Histories Kate Atkinson
One Good Turn Kate Atkinson
Shrines of Gaiety Kate Atkinson
The Awakening Kate Chopin
Early Morning Riser Katherine Heiny
Friends and Dark Shapes Kavita Bedford
Augustown Kei Miller
The Converts Guide to Roman Catholicism Keith Nester
And In the End: The Last Days of the Beatles Ken McNab
The Museum of Whales You Will Not See Kendra Greene
The Ministry for the Future Kim Stanley Robinson
The Mercies Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Dava Shastri's Last Day Kirthana Ramisetti
The House of Many Lives L K Wilde
Mudlarking Lara Maiklem
Odd Girl Out Laura James
Bomber Len Deighton
This One Sky Day Leone Ross
The North Island to Starboard Liam Thorn
Old Baggage Lissa Evans
Magpie Lane Lucy Atkins
Ducks, Newburyport Lucy Ellman
The Paris Apartment Lucy Foley
The Button Box: Lifting the Lid on Women's Lives Lynn Knight
The Women in Black Madeleine St John
Great Circle Maggie Shipstead
The Autobiography of Malcolm X Malcolm X
QualityLane Marc-Uwe Kling
The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
The Book of Margery Kempe Margery Kempe
The Victorian Chaise Longue Marghanita Laski
Rachel's Holiday Marian Keyes
Tune In - The Beatles Mark Lewisohn
Journey Through India Mark Probert
Frankenstein Mary Shelley
Nine Coaches Weighting Mary Stewart
The Fortunate Isles Mary Stuart Boyd
Hidden Hands Mary Wellesley
Traversée de la Mangrove [Crossing the Mangrove] Maryse Conde
The Cheese and I: An Englishman's Voyage through the Land of Fromage Matt Feroze
The Dark Hours Michael Connolly
Beastie Boys Book Michael Diamond and Adam Horowitz
The Durrells of Corfu Michael Haag
Slow Horses Mick Herron
Pachinko Min Jin Lee
The Year I Stopped to Notice Miranda Keeling
This Much is True Miriam Margolyes
The Light between Oceans ML Stedman
Revival Season Monica West
The Gilded Ones Namina Forna
The Children of Jocasta Natalie Haynes
The Watchmaker of Filigree Street Natasha Pulley
The Kingdoms Natasha Pulley
The Unheard Nicci French
Toast Nigel Slater
Butler to the World Oliver Bullough
Half Baked Idea Olivia Potts
The Silence of the Girls Pat Barker
No One Is Talking About This Patricia Lockwood
Hangover Square Patrick Hamilton
Why Be Catholic Patrick Madrid
Moon Tiger – Penelope Lively Penelope Lively
The Road to Lichfield Penelope Lively
Nothing is True and Everything is Possible Peter Pomerantsev
The Dictionary of Lost Words Pip Williams
A Theatre for Dreamers, Polly Samson Polly Samson
Why Did You Stay? Rebecca Humphries
Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art Rebecca Wragg Sykes
Esther's Notebooks 1. Tales from my ten-year-old life Riad Sattouf
The Madness of Grief Richard Coles
The Man who Died Twice Richard Osman
Lethal White Robert Galbraith
Zippy and Me Ronnie Le Drew
Dreamland Rosa Rankin Gee
September Rosamund Pilcher
Merivel Rose Tremain
The Decade in Tory Russell Jones
The Book of the Most Precious Substance Sarah Gran
Summerwater Sarah Moss
The Fell Sarah Moss
Run Towards the Danger Sarah Polley
Smile: The Story of a Face Sarah Ruhl
Affinity Sarah Waters
Still Life Sarah Winman
Falls the Shadow Sharon Penman
The Reckoning Sharon Penman
Banish clutter forever: How the toothbrush principle will change your life Sheila Chandra
The Dark Queens Shelley Puhak
Kirstin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath Sigrid Unset
Chums Simon Kruper
Set my Heart to Five Simon Stephenson
A woman of no importance Sonia Purnell
A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Telling Sophie Irwin
Taste Stanley Tucci
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower Stephen King
Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption Stephen King
Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind Sue Black
The Dark is Rising Susan Cooper
Piranesi Susannah Clarke
Remain Silent Susie Steiner
What Does Jeremy Think? Suzanne Heywood
The Sleeping Beauties Suzanne O'Sullivan
Nona the Ninth Tamsyn Muir
The Garden of Evening Mists Tan Twan Eng
I am Pilgrim Terry Hayes
Thief of Time Terry Pratchett
The Chrysalids The Chrysalids
Schindler's Ark Thomas Keneally
Childhood, Youth, Dependency Tove Ditlevsen
Nervous Conditions Tsitsi Dangarembga
1979 Val McDermid
Before the Ruins Victoria Gosling
Au Revoir, Tristesse, Viv Groskop Viv Groskop
Into the Silence Wade Davis
Nina Simone's Gum Warren Ellis
Waiting for Sunrise William Boyd
Richard III William Shakespeare
Vanity Fair William Thackeray
Memed, My Hawk Yasar Kemal
Notes on a Scandal Zoe Heller

See you on the new thread, thanks Southeast

Really interesting, @PermanentTemporary , thanks very much!

Well Done Perm

PT, thanks for all that work. See y'all on the next thread!

Thank you for that @PermanentTemporary, it must have taken forever! Fascinating stuff - we're an eclectic lot, aren't we?!

Ooh, interesting! Thanks Permanent. My bolds weren’t included but if they had been Marian Keyes and Wilkie Collins would have been bumped up the author list, and Nigel Slater’s Christmas Chronicles would have made it on to the top books list!

Thanks @PermanentTemporary
There are lots here that I don’t recognise.

Worth saying again, I think, that since so many people liked The Woman in White then maybe 2023 could be the year of more Wilkie.

Many thanks for crunching the numbers @PermanentTemporary A wonderfully eclectic collection! And plenty that have been added to my TBR list!

Thanks for this @PermanentTemporary very interesting reading. I'd completely missed the number one book so will definitely take a look.

Many thanks @PermanentTemporary - great to be able to read through the summary lists.

Brilliant work @PermanentTemporary well done 👏 great to have this as a resource for what to read this year.

Thanks so much @PermanentTemporary - amazing work and really interesting!

Sterling work there @PermanentTemporary
I’ve never heard of Patrick Radden Keefe either! Must pay attention in class.

Glad it wasn't just me!
I must read more of other people's bolds!
Thank you so much @PermanentTemporary 😍

Thanks @PermanentTemporary - so interesting!