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50 books challenge - 2023 round up

157 replies

Tarahumara · 06/12/2023 09:43

Hello 50 bookers! Here's a separate thread to gather together our top recommendations from the year. Please post your final lists, or just your bolds if you prefer. I'll come back later with mine...

OP posts:
FortunaMajor · 02/01/2024 13:59

From this thread I've got a list of 19 books I'm going to read this year.

ChannelLightVessel · 02/01/2024 21:54

I fell off the thread in April, but I thought my complete list for 2023 might be of at least passing interest. I’ve decided to highlight my best 5 fiction and non-fiction books, excluding children’s books and Shakespeare (I read a particular play when I’ve seen in the theatre). And any woman who wants to publish a novel should clearly change her name to Elizabeth.

  1. Let’s Do It - Jasper Rees
  2. Three Bags Full - Leonie Swann
  3. Space Boy Vol. 12 - Stephen McCranie
  4. Space Boy Vol. 13 - Stephen McCranie
  5. Space Boy Vol. 14 - Stephen McCranie
  6. The Princess of the Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
  7. Murder: The Biography - Kate Morgan
  8. The Beautiful Visit - Elizabeth Jane Howard
  9. Spare - Prince Harry
  10. Charlotte Sometimes - Penelope Farmer
  11. Someone At A Distance - Dorothy Whipple
  12. Grey King - Susan Cooper
  13. The Tempest - William Shakespeare
  14. Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble - Alexis Hall
  15. The Seven Ages of Death - Richard Shepherd
  16. A Rising Man - Abir Mukherjee
  17. The Head Girl of the Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
  18. A Thousand Ships - Natalie Haynes
  19. And Finally - Henry Marsh
  20. The Sorrows of Young Werther - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  21. Silver on the Tree - Susan Cooper
  22. Companion Piece - Ali Smith
  23. Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner
  24. The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen - KJ Charles
  25. Hag-Seed - Margaret Atwood
  26. Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson
  27. The Fortnight in September - R C Sherriff
  28. Free - Lea Ypi
  29. Ezekiel
  30. The Lost Pianos of Siberia - Sophy Roberts
  31. The Case of Eliza Armstrong: ‘A Child of 13 Bought for £5’ - Alison Plowden
  32. Beware of Pity - Stefan Zweig
  33. The Premonitions Bureau - Sam Knight
  34. A Thief in the Night - KJ Charles
  35. Space Boy Vol. 15 - Stephen McCranie
  36. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - Elizabeth Taylor
  37. The Screaming Staircase - Jonathan Stroud
  38. Beswitched - Kate Saunders
  39. The First Kingdom: Britain in the Age of Arthur - Max Adams
  40. The Whispering Skull - Jonathan Stroud
  41. Old Baggage - Lissa Evans
  42. Another Day in the Death of America - Gary Younge
  43. The Feast - Margaret Kennedy
  44. Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare
  45. Daniel Cabot Puts Down Roots - Cat Sebastian
  46. We Could Be So Good - Cat Sebastian
  47. The Rivals of the Chalet School - Elinor M. Brent-Dyer
  48. Terribly Tristan - Lisa Henry & Sarah Honey
  49. William Morris - Fiona MacCarthy
  50. Natural Causes - Barbara Ehrenreich
  51. The Fell - Sarah Moss
  52. A Restless Truth - Freya Marske
  53. How to Make the Numbers Add Up - Tim Hartford
  54. My Name is Lucy Barton - Elizabeth Strout
  55. Standing in Another Man’s Grave - Ian Rankin
  56. Saints of the Shadow Bible - Ian Rankin
  57. The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow/Queen Eleanor and Fair Rosamond - Mrs Oliphant
  58. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy
  59. A Century of Punch
  60. Men Who Stare at Goats - Jon Ronson
  61. The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim
  62. Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms - Stephen J. Gould
  63. Everything is Possible - Elizabeth Strout
  64. The Iron Lady - Barbara Willard
  65. The Flight of Swans - Barbara Willard
  66. An Academic Question - Barbara Pym
  67. Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickman Diaries
  68. A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel - KJ Charles
  69. Pretending to be Normal: Living with Asperger’s Syndrome - Liane Holliday Wilkes
  70. Sanctity and Scandal: The Medieval Religious Houses of Nottinghamshire - ed. David Marcombe & John Hamilton
  71. Oh, William! - Elizabeth Strout
  72. Murder Isn’t Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie - Carla Valentine
  73. Harriet - Elizabeth Jenkins
  74. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan
  75. The Merchant of Venice - William Shakespeare
  76. High Wages - Dorothy Whipple
  77. Lucy By the Sea - Elizabeth Strout
  78. The Story of Classic Crime in a 100 Novels - Martin Edward’s
  79. Gentlemen and Players - Joanne Harris
  80. When the Dust Settles - Lucy Easthorpe
  81. Winters in the World: A Journey through the Anglo-Saxon Year - Eleanor Parker
  82. 10 Things That Never Happened - Alexis Hall
  83. Mystery in White - J Jefferson Farjeon
  84. The Last September - Elizabeth Bowen
  85. A Power Unbound - Freya Marske
  86. A Spy Among Friends - Ben Macintyre
  87. The Making of the British Landscape - Francis Pryor
  88. Dark Heir - CS Pascat
  89. The Gift of a Radio - Justin Webb
  90. Heartstopper Vol. 5 - Alice Oseman
  91. The Fancy - Monica Dickens
  92. Space Boy Vol. 16 - Stephen McCranie
  93. Space Boy Vol. 17 - Stephen McCranie
  94. The Moons of Jupiter - Alice Munro
  95. Walking Backwards to Christmas - Stephen Cottrell
grannycake · 03/01/2024 07:48

I managed 37 books last year. My bolds are

Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver. Such a brilliant book that I am recommended to everyone. My copy is currently with my DS's ex girlfriend

House Of Glass - Hadley Freeman I found this fascinating and although I thought I was pretty clued up on World War 1 and 2 there was a lot I didn;t know such as the pogroms in Poland

If Only They Spoke English - John Sopel.

History of Language - Melvyn Bragg

Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson

Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfield Love everything she has written right back to Prep which I think was her first novel

Welshwabbit · 03/01/2024 22:46

My whole list with bolds and duffers in italics (sorry!)

  1. After Henry – Joan Didion
  2. Year of Wonder – Clemency Burton-Hill
  3. Motherwell – Deborah Orr
4. Just Kids – Patti Smith 5. Best of Friends – Kamila Shamsie 6. Macbeth – William Shakespeare 7. Wyrd Sisters – Terry Pratchett 8. War Gardens – Lalage Snow 9. Soul Music – Terry Pratchett 10. Daisy Jones and the Six – Taylor Jenkins Reid 11. The Eyre Affair – Jasper Fforde 12. How to Train Your Dragon 11: How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero – Cressida Connolly 13. Trespasses – Louise Kennedy 14. The Brexit Tapes – John Bull 15. Real Tigers – Mick Herron 16. The Sins of Our Fathers – Asa Larsson 17. Ordinary People – Diana Evans 18. My Pen is the Wing of a Bird: new fiction by Afghan women – various 19. A Room of One’s Own – Virginia Woolf 20. Malibu Rising – Taylor Jenkins Reid 21. How to Train Your Dragon 12: How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury – Cressida Cowell 22. Becoming – Michelle Obama 23. The It Girl – Ruth Ware 24. Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus 25. The Map of Salt and Stars – Zeyn Joukhadar 26. Here Comes the Sun – Nicole Dennis-Benn 27. Wings of Fire #1: The Dragonet Prophecy – Tui T. Sutherland 28. The Story of a New Name – Elena Ferrante 29. I Have Some Questions for You – Rebecca Makkai 30. Pyramids – Terry Pratchett 31. Witches Abroad – Terry Pratchett 32. Nine Perfect Strangers – Liane Moriarty 33. Midnight at Malabar House - Vaseem Khan 34. Foster – Claire Keegan 35. Carrie Soto is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid 36. To the Lighthouse – Virginia Woolf 37. Love Letters – Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West 38. The Memoirs of Ethel Smyth – abridged and with an introduction by Ronald Crichton 39. The Christie Affair – Nina de Gramont 40. Friendaholic – Elizabeth Day 41. Wings of Fire 2: The Lost Heir – Tui T. Sutherland 42. Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women’s Words – Jenni Nuttall 43. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula Le Guin 44. The Dance Tree – Kiran Millwood Hargrave 45. Little Disasters – Sarah Vaughan 46. The Color of Air – Gail Tsukiyama 47. Treacle Walker – Alan Garner 48. A is for Arsenic: the poisons of Agatha Christie – Kathryn Harkup 49. Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts – Evan Ross Katz 50. Kala – Colin Walsh 51. Judgement Day – Penelope Lively 52. All Souls – Javier Marias 53. The Dying Day – Vaseem Khan 54. The Running Grave – Robert Galbraith 55. Some kids I taught and what they taught me – Kate Clanchy 56. The Lost Man of Bombay – Vaseem Khan 57. Autumn – Ali Smith 58. The Selfless Act of Breathing – JJ Bola 59. Ruth and Pen – Emilie Pine 60. All My Mothers – Joanna Glen 61. On The Red Hill – Mike Parker 62. Wings of Fire 3: The Hidden Kingdom – Tui T. Sutherland 63. Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia 64. Spider Woman – Baroness Hale 65. The Killing Moon - Jo Nesbo 66. Reputation – Sarah Vaughan 67. Mrs S – K Patrick 68. The Burgess Boys – Elizabeth Strout 69. Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller – Nadia Wassaf 70. The Dark Is Rising – Susan Cooper 71. Still Life – Val McDermid 72. Death Called to the Bar – David Dickinson 73. Another Year of Wonder – Clemency Burton-Hill 74. Fair Play – Tove Jansson

I think my top 6 (because I can't choose 5) were To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West's Love Letters, Wyrd Sisters, The Story of a New Name, The Left Hand of Darkness and Autumn

Welshwabbit · 03/01/2024 22:51

And I think that's 74% women, 26% men, and 76% fiction, 24% non-fiction.

noodlezoodle · 04/01/2024 19:38

Screeching in at the last minute (as always), I read 44 books in 2023.

My fiction bolds were:
The Hero of this Story, by Elizabeth McCracken - lightly fictionalised meditation on family and grief, with a healthy dollop of wandering around London.
Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo - part 2 of fully bonkers trilogy set in a magical society at Yale.
Trespasses, by Louise Kennedy. Needs no introduction, but absolutely stunning.
Really Good, Actually, by Monica Heisey - lost woman in her late twenties gets a divorce, and is emotionally lost - but this is really, genuinely funny. A sort of anti-Sally Rooney.
Signal Fires, by Dani Shapiro. Intergenerational family/neighbours tale. Very slow but achingly beautiful, both the writing and the ideas.
Romantic Comedy, by Curtis Sittenfeld. SNL-alike writer and musician have a will they/won't they romance. Funny and comforting.
Left-Handed Booksellers of London, by Garth Nix - urban fantasy centred around the booksellers who police old-world magic. Looking forward to the next one.
The Guest, by Emma Cline. Brilliant story of a grifter drifting through the lives of rich Americans - however I'm still quite annoyed by the very ambiguous ending.
Kala, by Colin Walsh - much read on this thread and absolutely brilliant.
The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese - family saga set in Kerala between 1900 and 1977. V long but I loved every word.
Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett - family spend lockdown on their cherry farm in Michigan. Very, very slow, not much happens, the writing is beautiful.
Rizzio, by Denise Mina - short and propulsive story about Rizzio, Darnley and Mary, Queen of Scots. This one is still haunting me; highly recommended.

And my non-fiction bolds:
Spare, by Prince Harry - sorry, not sorry Grin
Confessions of a bookseller, by Shaun Bythell - more grumpy bookseller diaries, excellent comfort read.
Feral City, by Jermiah Moss. NYC in early lockdown - fascinating and thought-provoking.
The Marmalade Diaries, by Ben Aitken - strange but lovely account of a man moving in with 85-year-old Winnie as her companion.

Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give, by Ada Calhoun - short, fabulous, and endlessly quotable book of essays about marriage.
You Could Make This Place Beautiful, by Maggie Smith - very luvviesque account of a divorce, this is very marmite but I loved it.
Notes to Self, by Emilie Pine - very personal and somewhat traumatic essays, but extremely well done.
Went to London, Took the Dog, by Nina Stibbe - writer has a sabbatical year in London, very gossipy and quietly funny.
Don't Call Me Home, by Alexandra Auder - memoir of growing up with two of Warhol's Factory artists as parents. Utterly mind boggling.

Just the one absolute stinker - Paula, Michael and Bob: Everything You Know Is Wrong, by Gerry Agar. Grubby, exploitative and sad.

RomanMum · 06/01/2024 10:10

2023 50 BOOKERS ROUNDUP
Firstly thanks go to the contributors: AliasGrape, BaruFisher, BestIsWest, bibliomania, BlindurErBóklausMaður, Boiledeggandtoast, BoldFearlessGirl, burnoutbabe, cassandre, ChannelLightVessel, Cherrypi, ChessieFL, CornishLizard, CoteDAzur, DesdamonasHandkerchief, DuPainDuVinDuFromage, EineReiseDurchDieZeit, FortunaMajor, FuzzyCaoraDhubh, GrannieMainland, grannycake, highlandcoo, impressivelycunty, InTheCludgie, JaninaDuszejko, LadybirdDaphne, MamaNewtNewt, MaudOfTheMarches, MegBusset, Mothership4two, noodlezoodle, nowanearlyNicemum, OllyBJolly, Owlbookend, PepeLePew, PermanentTemporary, RazorstormUnicorn, RomanMum, Sadik, satelliteheart, Southeastdweller, splothersdog, StColumbofNavron, Stokey, Tarahumara, Tarragon123, TattiePants, Terpsichore, TheTurn0fTheScrew, TimeforaGandT, Welshwabbit, yoshiblue.
Sorry if I’ve missed anyone out!

This is only based on bolds (and duds), but these in themselves came to 780 lines representing 540 titles. If I’d included full lists I fear I may have broken Excel.

The influence of both the Rather Dated Book Club and the Read Alongs were clear, also the Booker/Women’s Prize longlists. I guess word of mouth among the 50 bookers also contributed, particularly in nonfiction. It was really interesting to see the range of books, not just the popular titles, but the eclectic one-offs. I have definitely not added several to my wish list doing this exercise. No siree…

69% of bolds were fiction, 31% nonfiction. 63% were by women authors, 34% by male authors, and the remainder by a mix (including Robert Galbraith 😊). It seems fiction by female authors was the most popular combo.

Top three Fictions:

  1. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy
  2. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
  3. Kala by Colin Walsh

With honourable mentions:
· A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
· A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe
· Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
· Black butterflies by Priiscilla Morris
· Burntcoat by Sarah Hall
· Children of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
· Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
· Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
· Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks
· For Thy Great Pain Have Mercy On My Little Pain by Victoria MacKenzie
· Foster by Claire Keegan
· In Memoriam by Alice Winn
· Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
· Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
· Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
· Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
· Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
· Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
· Rizzio by Denise Mina
· The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
· The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
· The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
· The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
· Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
· Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith
· Wandering souls by Cecile Pin

Top Two Nonfictions:

  1. House of Glass by Hadley Freeman
  2. A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney

With honourable mentions:
· A Place Apart by Dervla Murphy
· All the beauty in the world by Patrick Bringley
· Another Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill
· Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine
· Dear Reader by Cathy Rentzenbrink
· East West Street by Philippe Sands
· Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
· Feral City by Jeremiah Moss
· Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel
· Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival and Hope in New York City by Andrea Elliott
· Just Kids by Patti Smith
· Me by Elton John
· Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart
· Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe
· The Dark Queens by Shelley Puhak
· The Full English by Stuart Maconie
· The Patriarchs: The Origins of Inequality by Angela Saini
· The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey
· Tunnel 29 by Helen Merriman
· Ultra Processed People by Chris van Tulleken
· When The Dust Settles by Lucy Easthope
· Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill

In terms of the Duds, Disappointments and Downright Stinkers, congratulations to The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller which topped the list.

The divisive reads of 2023 - included in both bolds and DD&DS:
· Children Of Paradise by Camilla Grudova
· Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
· Hags by Victoria Smith
· Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
· Pod by Laline Paull
· Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes
· Yellowface by RF Kuang

That’s all folks!

CluelessMama · 06/01/2024 10:17

@RomanMum Well done and thank you for pulling all of this together!

FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 06/01/2024 10:18

@RomanMum you're a star 🌟
Thank you! I've read a good few of these, but it is brilliant to have this list for more reading ideas for 2024.

Owlbookend · 06/01/2024 10:24

Great summary- thanks @RomanMum

PermanentTemporary · 06/01/2024 10:27

Thank you @RomanMum this is great! I know what this job is like... at least I've read some of the goodies.

TattiePants · 06/01/2024 10:33

Excellent work @RomanMum, thanks for compiling. I’ve read and loved lots on the bold list but will add a few more of the non-fictions to my wish list.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 06/01/2024 10:39

Thanks @RomanMum

I'm now feeling even more guilty for not having read Trespasses yet, having bought it absolutely ages ago. Does anybody else get that weird thing where a book makes you feel tired and sort of over it, even if you've done nothing but read the blurb? Through absolutely no fault of its own, Trespasses is doing that to me.

Stokey · 06/01/2024 10:52

Amazing work @RomanMum that's a great list of titles.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I've definitely got a few like that. Trespasses was a bit divisive in our book club, although we're still obsessing about who will be Michael in the film!

Tarahumara · 06/01/2024 11:19

This is brilliant - thanks @RomanMum!

OP posts:
MaudOfTheMarches · 06/01/2024 11:28

Thanks @RomanMum! I'm creating a Kindle folder of the books which I want to get round to reading in the next month or so.

Boiledeggandtoast · 06/01/2024 11:37

Top work RomanMum, thank you!

Welshwabbit · 06/01/2024 11:39

Thanks @RomanMum really interesting lists!

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 06/01/2024 11:42

Well done @RomanMum

FortunaMajor · 06/01/2024 11:46

Thanks RomanMum, what a great summary.

AliasGrape · 06/01/2024 12:07

Amazing work thanks @RomanMum ! There’s definitely quite a few of those waiting in my tbr pile (or in audible library), and seeing the list is a great push to get some on with some of them!

I do know that feeling @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie - I feel like good reviews/ recommendations from fellow 50 bookers etc can go one of two ways with me, it either makes me determined to read it or makes me wearily think ‘urgh I suppose I should‘ but like you say a bit over it too. There doesn’t seem to be any logic to which way it will go, and I more often than not end up loving the ‘urgh ok then if I have to’ ones. Yet knowing that doesn’t make me any more enthusiastic about the next one!

Palegreenstars · 06/01/2024 12:21

Great list. I didn’t contribute as too much of my year was taken up by Morland Dynasty books (which I loved).

but I’ve read 5 of the top books and have about 15 owned on my TBR collection including the top 3 so must get cracking.

grannycake · 06/01/2024 12:35

Thanks Roman. I also have not yet read Trespasses even though I've had on my TBR list since early summer - again not sure why given I've read some terrible books this year. Must try to get round to it this year - I've swerved Barbara Kinsolver for years yet Demon Copperhead was the best read I've had for some time

BoldFearlessGirl · 06/01/2024 12:42

Thank you @RomanMum, very interesting.

BaruFisher · 06/01/2024 12:48

Thanks @RomanMum
ive added Burntcoat, Rizzio and Excellent Women to my tbr. I’ve read a good few of the fiction highlights.