50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Three

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third thread of the 50 Book Challenge for this year.
The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2025, though reading fifty isn't mandatory. Any type of book can count, and please try to let us all know your thoughts on what you've read.

If possible, please can you embolden your titles and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track, especially when the threads move quickly at this time of the year.

The first thread of the year is here and the second thread here.

Happy birthday @RazorstormUnicorn ! Would love to hear more about the National Parks books!

In the midst of a Twin Peaks rewatch (following the death of David Lynch), including the accompanying books, hence:

16 The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer - Jennifer Lynch

I was 13 when Twin Peaks first came out and remember this book being handed round the playground, with particular attention being paid to the descriptions of sex and masturbation. As an adult this is a much sadder read, dealing as it does with the sexual abuse of a child. I’m glad it was written by a woman (David’s daughter) as would somehow be even more grim if written by a man. But it does add to the breadth and depth of the TP lore.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

I read this because it’s billed as a modern retelling of Mansfield Park, but the connection is very loose. Funke was born and brought up in Nigeria, but following the death of her white mother Funke is sent to stay with her rich aunt in England, where she’s not treated well. I did like this, especially the parts set in Nigeria which isn’t a country I know much about, but was disappointed there weren’t more or closer links to the original MP.

The Trivia Night by Ali Lowe

Events at a school quiz night spiral out of control. This is a bit of a rip off of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, but nowhere near as good. None of the characters are particularly likeable and I found the ‘reveal’ very underwhelming.

I can't totally remember where I was up to in terms of posting, but I'm guessing I've not mentioned these:

42. Clear by Carys Davies
    A story about the clearances in Scotland in the 19th century - and the creation of a new church. The three main characters are all very different and I found them interesting. For such a short book (150.pages) it has quite a lot of plot and backstory. I liked this, but someone said it was the best book they read in 2024, which surprised me.

43. My Friends by Hisham Matar
    A middle aged man reflecting on his life in London after growing up in Libya. As the title suggests, its all about his friends and the role they've played in his life, and history. I enjoyed this but I do feel like it was a bit overhyped. I learned a lot about Libya and there were some lovely lines at points, but I don't understand why everyone seemed to think it was a big Booker contender last year - I've read 3 of the 6 books shortlisted and they were all more interesting than this one. I wouldn't mind reading more Matar at some point.

I realise I'm comparing my enjoyment of these books with what others have said previously - I think both are great novels, I just didn't love them as much as some other readers. That's the joy of everyone having different tastes!

I'm now starting 44. Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell - absolutely* *influenced to buy this by all the reviews I'm seeing.

@IKnowAPlace you might be interested in Music in the Dark by Sally Magnusson, which also deals with the Highland clearances. She's very good at writing fiction based on a real historical event. I enjoyed it.

And I will look at Clear; thanks for the review.

@highlandcoo thanks for the recommendation! I studied a bit about the clearances at university and haven't really done much more reading on it since.

If you like historical Scottish fiction, you should like Clear!

I have just bought Music in the Dark.

One of my favourite books is The Sealwomen's Gift by Sally Magnusson. It is an imagination of the incident in the 1600s when a group of Algerian pirates took a large group of Icelanders as slaves. I absolutely loved it and have high hopes for this one. I also read her book about her mother's dementia and learned a lot, though i do think there are issues about her family's privacy - my mum had dementia and I couldn't imagine telling the world about her.

13) The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell

This is a truly gothic tale set in Victorian London in a theatre which specialises in tragedies. It is a fabulous romp, revelling in everything gothic. Not my usual thing but I devoured it.

24. Everywhere I look, Helen Garner
Essays by an Australian author of fiction and non-fiction. Some of the pieces were slight (why she likes the ukulele), some meatier (reflections on her mother's life, pieces about the criminal justice system). I liked her voice. She was heading for 70 when writing many of these, although she must be over 80 now, with a lot of life experience to look back on, including three husbands and a daughter. I have her non-fiction book This House of Pain lined up on my kindle.

25. A Killing in November, Simon Mason
This police procedural takes familiar tropes and turns the dial up to eleven. Dead body in Oxford college, unlikely police detective with anger issues and a tragic past, a mismatched partner? Wisecracking, chases, confrontations? Badge taken away by the police hierarchy, failing to understand our renegade's brilliance? Hell yeah, let's have them all and throw in a golden-haired toddler with a piping voice. The author carries it off with verve. I enjoyed it and will definitely go on with the series.

26. Shakespeare, by Judi Dench
The actress fondly recalls the Shakespearean parts she has played over the decades. Interesting to have an actorly take rather than a scholarly take. She describes finding the human feeling in the part, no matter how far-fetched the scenario. A warmly affectionate book.

My list so far...
(1) The Nurse by Valerie Keogh
(2) The Wrong Child by Julia Crouch and M. J. Arlidge
(3) The Perfect Parents By J.A. Baker
(4) Darkest Fear, written by Harlen Coben
(5) Old Filth by Jane Gardam
(6) The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
(7) Last Friends by Jane Gardam
(8) American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins -
(9) The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden (Description taken from Amazon)
Latest book...
(10) The Coworker by Frieda McFadden (Description taken from google books)

Latest Book:

(11) Maid by Stephanie Land (Audio Book)

Summary taken from Google:

'Maid', Stephanie Land recounts her experience working as a maid while raising her daughter in poverty. She sheds light on the struggles of the working poor and the challenges they face in trying to make ends meet in America.

I listened to this book in the car on my way to work - in parts it had me in tears - the struggles the Author experienced and the love for her daughter radiated throughout.
Highly recommended.

Onto the next book: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Happy reading :)

@bibliomania I really enjoyed A Killing in November and have just finished the follow up:

The Broken Afternoon by Simon Mason

DI Ryan Wilkins is still suspended, still quick to lose his temper, still breaking all the rules and all while wearing the same scruffy pair of joggers. Mason cleverly avoids making him a clichéd character. He's sharp and persistent, and his love for his small son shines through. He's very entertaining. Another great read and, after a break, I'm looking forward to the third in the series.

Excellent, @highlandcoo I'll look forward to that one!

@IKnowAPlace I'm reading My Friends by Hisham Matar at the moment and would totally agree with your review so far. I'm about half-way in, enjoying it - particularly some of the writing, but am not blown away by it.

@MegBussethave you read Murder at Teal's Pond? It's an investigation into the real crime that inspired Twin Peaks

37. A Bookshop of One's Own - Jane Cholmeley (NF)

What a lovely book! A definite bold. Many 50Bs have read it already. It's the story of Silver Moon Women's Bookstore, which was on the Charing Cross Road for 17 years, closing in 2001 (a "sub shop" within Foyles lasted another 5 years or so). Written by one of the co-founders, it tells the story of her relationship with Sue Butterworth (RIP), the other founder, getting to grips with staff, fit out costs, landlord negotiations, the first Pride, the advent of Amazon, the break up of their romance whilst remaining business partners... all told with clear eyed but huge affection. Author events included Margaret Atwood, Germaine Greer, Alice Walker... gave a real sense of the community space.

@SheilaFentiman I'm glad you loved this - I have a copy on my TBR pile!

@bibliomania I’m a big Helen Garner fan. Her collected diaries (possibly including some of the material in Everywhere I Look, which I read a couple of years ago) are just being published. In This House of Grief isn’t an easy read but I do rate her non-fiction very highly. She has a bracingly unsentimental approach to the world in all her writing. Have you read any of her novels?

Thanks, @Terpsichore I haven't read anything else by her, but "bracingly unsentimental" is a good description. I'm more interested in the non-fiction side. The subject matter of This House of Grief looks difficult (a father killing his children) so I may need to choose the right moment to read it.

There was a piece about Helen Garner in The Times at the weekend. I'm afraid I don't have a share token as I buy a paper copy, but here is the link in case anyone interested is a subscriber.

https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/how-end-story-collected-diaries-helen-garner-review-mjhc6d5ms

@MargotMoon – I enjoy Denzil Meyrick, Marion Todd and Lynne McEwan. Lin Anderson’s books are based on a pathologist, but obvs there is a detective team that she links into.

@ChessieFL – re Nesting. I was just listening to an interview with Roisin O’Donnell this morning.
Roisín O’Donnell’s portrait of coercive control - Standard Issue Podcast | Podfollow

@RazorstormUnicorn – happy birthday!

I met Sally Magnusson about eighteen months ago and we had a lovely chat about books and book festivals. I liked her very much.

32 Still Life – Louise Penny, first of the Three Pines, Chief Inspector Gamache series. I enjoyed this, maybe not as much as I was anticipating. A woman is found dead in Three Pines, a picturesque town in Quebec. Was it murder or was it a tragic shooting accident. Ch Insp Gamache and his team are dispatched from Montreal to investigate. And yes, of course it was murder, but who would murder her? She was a lovely old woman who painted and took pride in her garden.

I found a few of the female characters to be a bit unpleasant. Maybe it was the female cop that irritated me, I’m not sure. I have bought the next book in the series. I want to see how things progress, so its not a complete no from me.

I’ve broken my no more buying books ban! As well as the next Louise Penny (99p), I bought SAS Brothers in Arms, Damian Lewis (99p), Kohinoor, William Dalrymple and Anita Anand (45p??). I enjoy Empire, their podcast and they have covered the Kohinoor. I also bought Jesus and the Jubilee by John S Bergsma for full price. Normally I would buy a physical copy, but its for Lent and I’m doing a readalong with a podcast, so decided to pay the full £13.99 for it. So Kindle books are sitting at 26, which I still think is a huge success and I’ll have at least 3 finished by the end of March, possibly more.

Thanks @Boiledeggandtoast, that's made me long to read her diaries....

Archive link for the Helen Garner Times article

And another recent interview with her from the Guardian

Thanks everyone.

@MegBusset assuming I have added a pic correctly this is the book on UK National Parks. My friend went to uni with the person who wrote it. I can't wait to get stuck in!

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

This began really well.

Then it got weirder.

And weirder.

Until it became really fucking bonkers.

And even more really, really fucking bonkers.

I’m not sure if I understood a word of the last 300 pages.

But I sort of enjoyed the ride.

Not sure if it was a help or a hindrance that I’ve not been sleeping and have also been ill. It certainly enhanced the feeling that I was on a weird sort of trip to an unknown location.

Just wow.

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie I gave The Ferryman a bold. Yes, it was weird but it was doing something different and original, I thought!

@bibliomania, @Terpsichore, and @Boiledeggandtoast, I am fascinated by Helen Garner and have her collected diaries on hold at the library - it's currently on order, so who knows when it will actually appear.