50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Four

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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, the second thread here and the third thread here.

The official list

Good Girl by Aria Aber
All Fours by Miranda July 
The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout 
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis

Shocked that Nesting didn't make it - there's no way that The Persians is a better novel. Given what was chosen, they seem quite keen on the more lighter hearted novels. Think it's going to be a divisive list.
Annoyed that I've read 9 but not Fundamentally or Good Girl!

Shocked at the shortlist- Neither Fundamentally nor The Persians should be there imo. All Fours very divisive choice and Tell Me Everything part of a series. Very surprised that Nesting and Dream Hotel not on it. I don’t have much faith in this set of judges tbh- longlist not great, shortlist worse.

I think I'm done with the Women's Prize and will stick with my snobby Booker Prize from now on. Nothing on that shortlist interests me at all - I like Elizabeth Strout but got tired of reading her stuff after Oh William! I know that Nesting isn't the finest writing the world has ever seen, but I'm shocked that such a powerful story didn't make it to the shortlist when I look at what they've selected.

Meanwhile, I'm on a long train journey so I'm tackling Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I DNFed this in 2018 but I'm trying it again as a Booker winner buddy read.

21 Our Wives under the Sea - Julia Armfield Gosh. This was quite a book, and one I would never have chosen to read if it hadn’t been recommended by 50-Bookers. Weird, creepy, moving, and the relationships felt so real and natural (which is a strange contrast with the completely unreal nature of the plot). I really want to know more about what happened and why! Though I know that the unanswered questions are a fundamental aspect of the story. Looking forward to reading more by Armfield.

I find I'm less interested in what the WP judges think every year and more reliant on the judgement in here. I expect to be disappointed. Nothing on the shortlist screams winner.

I’ve been a bit unimpressed with Liane Moriarty books but really like the sound of this it’s going on the TBR pile

@IKnowAPlace I bloody LOVED Lincoln In The Bardo but I seem to remember that it wasn’t universally popular on here though

@DesdamonasHandkerchief I wouldn’t touch another Liane Moriarty after Apples Never Fall absolutely shite!

Nooooooooooooo. Please don’t get me thinking about the enormous member again.

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage Unfortunately, I found Armfield’s next novel dreadful and DNF. My daughter felt the same, and we’d both loved Wives.

Oh that’s disappointing @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie ! But thanks for the warning. I had put it on my Amazon wishlist, if it ever gets down to 99p I’ll consider it, but won’t rush to get it otherwise!

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie Am I right in saying “too much cock” is a general dealbreaker for you?

Ha yes, the TV adaptation of that was enough for me. It was The Husbands Secret I couldn’t stand.

😂😂😂I have no objection to cock, but don’t like it shoved down my throat in every other sentence, as it were.

👀

You may want to give this a miss Remus…

@RomanMum I’m very confused? Is it about sex with chickens? Plenty of cock cock action? Do cockerels even have cocks? I suppose they must but this is something I’ve never thought about before and now I feel there’s an emptiness in my life.

It’s a chicken keeping memoir, sharing “the life-enhancing joys of the humble hen”. I just figured there’d literally be plenty of cocks… 😁

😂

When rearing chickens and cocks
try to keep a close eye on the cocks
if they stick it in when
they’re beside a young hen
the poor clucker might get quite a shock

😁

I've had too much wine to take in all the cock chat!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I've read the first part of Lincoln in the Bardo (second part next week) - really not the hell I anticipated based in my first attempt.

I liked Private Rites @DuPainDuVinDuFromage it's not perfect but the gradual deterioration caused by climate change has stuck with me.

Also like a bit of cock-related chat and enjoyed Lincoln in the Bardo.

35. The Lesser Bohemians - Eimear Macbride. I'd never read this author but she's got a new book out that is a sequel to this and people rave about her writing. I can see why. It's quite hard to get into initially and is an odd stream of consciousness switching verbs to nouns and vice versa, and creating new words, but once I got into it, I was transfixed. It's set in Camden in the 90s and the main character is an 18 year old Irish girl Eily, who has just started drama school, who starts a relationship with a 38 year old actor Stephen. They're both messed up in various ways, all sorts of abuse and trigger warnings, and the book follows their relationship as we gradually find out more about each of them. It won't be for everyone as is quite experimental but a bold for me.

Stowick I love Eimear McBride and would really recommend A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing. It covers some difficult topics, but is really well done. She tends to narrate the audiobooks herself and is brilliant to listen to.

I wasn't that keen on Strange Hotel though.