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.

That book about money sounds great @PepeLePew - glad it has inspired you to make memories

Good to see you @PepeLePew and glad things are looking better.

@ClaraTheImpossibleGirl glad to be of assistance :) Have you managed to complete The Square of Sevens yet?

@Arran2024 I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad

@IKnowAPlace I have both a physical copy and an audible copy of Lincoln in the Bardo and I just cant get into it.

I enjoyed The Husband's Secret 😃

36 Heiress, Rebel, Vigilante. Bomber: The Extraordinary Life of Rose Dugdale – Sean Driscoll (Kindle) Not really sure how I felt about this. The beginning was very strong but it meandered a bit in the middle. Too much detail about bomb making and Rose’s partner.

37 Dead Men’s Shoes – Marion Todd. DI Clare Mackay 9 (Kindle). I love this series and this is the latest release. Satisfying plot bringing several strands together, including some personal ones for Claire.

38 Days at the Morisaki Bookshop – Satoshi Yagisawa trans Eric Ozawa (Audible) A bit disjointed, but enjoyable fluff.

39 A Troubled Tide – Lynne McEwan. DI Shona Oliver 5 (Kindle) Lots of tangled plots here. Can Shona and her team solve the murder before anyone else is harmed? Excellent.

40 The Dog of the North – Elizabeth McKenzie (Audible) RWYO. This has been languishing on my Audible list and was one of the first ones that I bought. I have no idea why I haven’t tackled it before now. Penny Rush is newly separate from her husband, she has packed in her job, her mum and step dad went missing in the Australian outlook. Her grandmother is an absolutely awful woman and bullies her relentlessly. I loved this. I could have done with a few loose ends tied up at the end though.

DNF The Battle for Scotland - Andrew Marr. Published in 1992, a couple of lines about 1997 Referendum was not enough to update it. Woefully out of date.

Democracy in America - Alexis de Tocqueville. Bought for a read a long, but I struggled to get into it.

Good to see you @PepeLePew .

I’ve always been a spender and live in the moment person - the consequence of which is I still rent and prob will forever and will likely be an 80 year old
wrapped up in blankets eating toast. I am totally floored by some MNetters obsession with paying off mortgages and giant pensions (not as a judgement, I just cannot imagine forgoing other things that are important me). I do wish I’d been a bit more responsible, but if I think of my childhood I think of my parent’s council flat, not the subsequent big house with garden purchase, having an immigrant parent meant I was lucky enough to go abroad a fair amount and these are some of my most amazing memories. I’m trying to encourage my kids to- no debt (student and mortgage notwithstanding) and saving 50% from the moment of the paper round, Saturday job etc and getting on the property ladder early - and to enjoy doing whatever makes you happy with the rest. Like you, I can identify why I have always spent the way I do.

The Art of Dying by Ambrose Parry
The second in the series and unfortunately worse than the first imo. It seemed very long and the confessions of the murderer interspersed with the action seemed very derivative and rather naff. It all got quite stupid towards the end too. Having said that, I like Raven and Sarah and there’s some decent enough plot and relationships within the bloat. Two moments in particular I thought were very nicely done. I’ve already bought the third so I’ll read it, but these could really use some editing and less shlock.

Nice to see you @PepeLePew and I’m glad to hear things are looking up. I finished a couple of books I’ve been reading in the sunshine today.

44 Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Tells the stories of four women who are are connected in contemporary times. All are of African descent and all spend time living in America. I found this far too focused on men for a feminist book. It was beautifully written but I only really connected with 2 of the 4 stories (the two in the middle) found the others a bit uninteresting. I think the judges made the right choice not to shortlist this one (but most of the rest of the shortlist is a disaster anyway)

45 Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami
I’m keeping this very brief as I think it’s best to go into this book blind. This set of interconnected stories pull together to tell a dystopian tale. It’s completely off the wall and I’d imagine will be a complete marmite book. I loved it. Bold for me. On a different note, I was very impressed that Northern Ireland libraries had a copy of this on Libby along with other international Booker nominees- usually we get loads of crime (which I enjoy) and romance (which I don’t) along with a great range of Irish authors (mixed bag). Good to see them branching out.

Glad to hear you are doing better @PepeLePew

31 Find Me by Anne Frasier

A serial killer offers to take a detective to the site where his victims are buried, as long as his estranged daughter accompanies them. The daughter is an ex FBI profiler, oh and as a child she was used by her father to lure his victims. The detective’s mother went missing when he was a child and he is convinced the serial killer is to blame. Things aren’t as straightforward as they seem, but I guessed the ending by about 10% in. It was mildly entertaining, not taxing, and an easy read, which is what I needed as I’m recovering from a cold. Not great, but not totally terrible, and free with kindle unlimited.

56 The Secret By The Lake - Louise Douglas

Between the 50 bookers, we have read a few by this author. This was a pretty good one, though it definitely has a big supernatural element which might not suit all.

It is 1961 and our heroine is working as a nanny to a French family with one DD (10). Through slightly convoluted means, the father dies and the mother (Julia), DD and nanny end up living in the old family cottage in Devon, which has a creepy empty room where Julia’s older sister lived before she mysteriously died. Also, lots of village feuds and cross currents, specially when the nanny starts dating the son from the big house (whose mother died when he was a baby.

It was a little repetitive with everyone pretending to every one else that there was Nothing Spooky Going On. And the ending was a bit yikes. But a good read.

I've also just finished reading Dream Count, though I think I liked it a little better than you did, @ÚlldemoShúl.

Glad to hear your health scare is clear @PepeLePew and interesting to hear your thoughts about money. I think ever since the pandemic, I've been aware that the DC are growing up super quickly (teens) and we need to prioritize holidays while we can. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to travel so have been taking them to random, far-flung places each year. I know it's a cliche but the memories are amazing.

I've also just finished Dream Count @elkiedee . Interestingly I listened to the audio and Adichie narrates Chia and Omeloko's (sp?) stories. This made me wonder whether they were the ones most based on herself. Omeloko particularly was quite antagonistic, though in an interesting way, in her attacks on liberal Americans, and Chia's unapologetic wealth and travel writing. I think there's a lot to unpick in the book - some interesting ideas and as always with Adichie a challenge to one's world view - but it did feel over-long and my interest definitely waxed and waned.

Sorry, meant to tag Úlldemoshul too re dream Count.

It's great to hear everyone's views on Dream Count. I agree it's very thoughtful and there is a lot to unpack there, clearly a lot of ideas that the author has been thinking about for a long time. I think for me I would have liked a bit more of a narrative and some kind of resolution or at least movement for the characters.

I've now read 11 of the Jane Casey/Maeve Kerrigan books and they occupy my every thought. I don't know what I'll move on to when the newest one is out! I've just finished The Close, which dials down some of the gory murders in favour of being basically a rom com between Josh and Maeve, which I enjoyed every second of.

Also finished The Persians from the Women's Prize shortlist. It follows 4 women from different generations of a wealthy Iranian family, most of whom fled to America after the revolution. We find out about each of their stories and uncover family secrets which they worry have poisoned the present.

There is a good book in here I think but it's buried. I was interested in the Iranian history and the changing role and power of women through the generations. However it was let down by a pretty ludicrous set up where one family member, Shirin, is accused of prostitution at a resort on Aspen and goes on trial (I don't think there's every any explanation for why this happens?) which gives the book its narrative drive, and unfortunately I found Shirin's voice over the top and tiresome, she was my least favourite character.

I think it's a strange shortlist like others - I'm pleased to see Elizabeth Strout as I thought it was a beautiful book, but it's a bit of an odd choice to include the last book in a series. I will definitely read The Safekeep which I only hear good things about. I suspect Miranda July will win and while I didn't like the book particularly, it's clearly original and engaging and talking about a part on women's lives that isn't discussed in fiction very much. The book I've heard most about word of mouth is definitely Nesting so I'm surprised that didn't make it.

I love reading about the range of opinions on a particular book @Stowickthevast @elkiedee and @GrannieMainland I agree there’s a lot to unpack in Dream Count. Omelogo’s section in particular hits on a lot of modern culture and I did find the commentary on that from an African perspective interesting. I didn’t hate the book, but I didn’t love it either and I expected to. I have t read a lot of Adichie just Half of a Yellow Sun when it came out and I can’t remember much. Maybe I should go back and read some more.
@GrannieMainland I agree that All Fours will win and that it tries to represent a topic we don’t see much of in literature but I honestly feel like it’s a step backwards for it to be seen as a book representing menopause. It seems to emphasise the ‘unhinged’ woman which menopausal women have been depicted as forever, especially by men. I’d prefer to see something new. In fact the whole ‘unhinged woman’ subgenre gets on my nerves for this reason. Why emphasise the very thing we’re unjustly criticised for repeatedly and then celebrate it in our fiction? I’ve expressed this very badly but then it is 7am.

Sally Magnusson's book (which I have currently forgotten the name of) is about a menopausal woman who is not unhinged. I found it a refreshing book in its focus at the time.

Adding my good wishes to Pepe along with relief that the long-awaited health news is reassuring.

27. The Laughing Policeman - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, transl. Alan Blair

DH and I enjoy watching the BBC4 TV adaptations of Beck and I’m usually guiltily aware that all the original novels on which they’re based (though written much earlier, in the 60s and 70s) are sitting on a shelf unread. I've finally remedied this oversight and what do you know, enjoyed this book hugely.
The senseless and baffling mass shooting of all eight people travelling on a late-night bus in Stockholm has the police team stumped, and for most of the narrative they flail around with no clues and no suspects. While this might sound extremely boring, the authors (who were husband and wife) have a deadpan, factual style that’s somehow both page-turning and very amusing. It’s a great translation too. And I now have nine more Beck novels waiting to be read….

Hi @PepeLePew and ty for the excellent reviews! I also loved that Medieval Women exhibition though admittedly came home from it with 3-for-2 frivolous paperbacks from the BLWW/Crime reprint series instead of meaty nonfic 😅(Got the companion book though, which is a great complement, different content/organisation to the exhibition.) Helen Castor also wrote a book about the Pastons called Blood and Roses - I haven't read it but really enjoyed her She-Wolves and The Eagle and the Lion (longlisted for this year's WPNF) maybe worth checking out if you want more?

On Dream Count guess I'll be the outlier in bolding it bc even though it was far from perfect and I think the criticisms here are fair, I don't personally look to litfic for relatable characters or satisfying resolutions but for ambition/complexity, acute observation and brilliantly crafted sentences, which it richly delivered - my copy's about twice the thickness now with sticky notes and highlights. I found it a great balance of immersive and expansive and again marvelled at Adichie's ability to create exceptionally intimate windows into unfamiliar characters and cultures without smoothing over differences.

As a longtime fan of her writing, I also found it fascinating how this recalled and related to her entire body of work (NF too). @Stowickthevast that's so interesting about the audiobook - ITA that Chia/Omelogor felt like explorations of different aspects of Adichie herself (or maybe Ifemelu from Americanah if we're being sophisticated), both in the 1st person while the other 2 stories were in the 3rd. The section I found most peripheral was Zikora's, maybe because I'd already read the short story version before, but despite not fully cohering, the commonalities and contrasts between all 4 women gave (is giving) me a lot to ponder; I think the layering of POVs also gave rise to some of her most nuanced and multifaceted characterisations to date, and added further ironies to an already frequently witty book.

Not surprised it didn't make the WP shortlist (it's really not a prize for me lol), though will be interested to see what the Booker judges do, especially with Adebayo on the panel.

I don't recall reading any reviews of Ian McEwan's Lessons on here. It's a pretty absorbing read which is also a social history of the post war period up till now. Plenty seems semi autobiographical, but plenty not. I note that he does recycle themes, settings, illnesses , even plots. There are interesting ideas about memory, the title has many meanings. I'm not overly keen on the set descriptions but it's fascinating on predators. Roland confronts his abuser when he is an adult and the power dynamic has shifted. But I did reflect that that was only possible really when the abuser is female and the abused now a grown man. There are also ideas about creativity and parenting.

The section on the White Rose resistance in Nazi Germany held my attention. I only learnt of them very recently.

It's no Atonement but I preferred it to other McEwans.

The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths is 99p on kobo and kindle at the moment. Know there is a few fans of her on here.

Thank you @Cherrypi, bought it. I’m not generally a fan of time travel but I like Elly Griffiths.

Sophie Kinsella - I owe You One I needed something light after The Story of A Heart and this was almost the thing. A bit daft really.

I've listened to several Inspector Morse audiobooks this year and whilst they are superbly read by Samuel West I'm afraid that they aren't that great. Morse comes across as a misogynistic, pornography reading, alcoholic snob. He's prone to wild leaps of fancy when investigating murders and treats Lewis terribly. The TV adaptations portray him in a much more sympathetic light.

Glad to hear you’ve had reassuring news Pepe.

Thanks again Sheila for putting me on to the cinema version of Six - took the kids and all really enjoyed it. Short yes - can only wish Les Mis had been even shorter!

Bookish by Lucy Mangan - what a lovely slab of deliciousness. The author’s reading life and book addiction from teenage years, where Bookworm left off, to the present. Funny, interesting and relatable. Bit like this thread in book form - lots to agree with, lots to disagree with, and a great deal more just to sit back and admire - with the same impact on my library reservation list. Bliss.

Yes @inaptonym "ability to create exceptionally intimate windows into unfamiliar characters and cultures without smoothing over differences" - I really love this description of Adichie's writing.

Thanks for the heads up @Cherrypi

Thanks @Cherrypi