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.

This has just reminded be of the truly fucking dreadful Howard’s End is on the Landing. Has anybody else endured that?

How odd. Bookworm has been on my TBR forever and a day and I pulled it up because of all the talk about Bookish and immediately with the prose felt “this isn’t for me” and on paper it should be right up my street. Maybe I’ll give it another try, maybe I won’t !

I quite liked that...

I thought it was less about books and more about how great Susan Hill is, with loads of name dropping about famous people she knows. I detested it and detested her! And if she’s on here, I’m not sorry.

It's been a while since I read it... my copy is In My Study. If I ever get to the end of the TBR, I might leaf through it again...

The Guardian liked it. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/oct/31/howards-landing-susan-hill-review

The reviewer said it could have been smug and indulgent- I thought it absolutely was!

I did read that Howard's End book and liked it well enough at the time but my feelings about it changed markedly for the worse as I got more and more annoyed with Susan Hill over her beloved bloody Simon Serailler and his saintly sister.

Anyway, moving on……32. What I Ate in One Year (and related thoughts) - Stanley Tucci

Great fun, although I’m a bit worried for Stanley as he must be at least 95% pasta by now. Surely even the Italians can’t possibly pack away quite so much of the stuff? But this was a cheery read, often dryly funny and with enough showbiz name-dropping to make it agreeably gossipy - he has a lot of famous friends and they all come round to eat epic amounts of pasta chez Stanley and Felicity and their two adorable moppets. He also loves clothes and has expensive tastes, so none of this is particularly relatable to the average Joe (the suckling pig he casually mentions ordering in a London restaurant costs £320 for a whole one, as I found when I googled) and he eats out pretty constantly, all over the world. So, it’s a bit like the book version of his Italian TV show, ie aspirational and not for the likes of mere mortals, but hey, we can all dream of travelling business class and being sent huge free boxes of Italian goodies (jealous, moi?)

58 . Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens

This is a historical novel narrated by Blanca, the ghost of a 14-year-old girl who died in 1473 and now haunts a monastery in Mallorca. Her afterlife takes a turn when George Sand, Frédéric Chopin, and their family arrive in 1838. Blanca becomes infatuated with George, drawn to her boldness and independence. As Blanca observes and inhabits their lives, she reflects on her own past, desire, and longing. The novel blends history, sensuality, and wit in a story about unrequited love, identity, and the creative spirit.

Delightfully weird and different this book has had me hooked and I ploughed through it. There was however that bit of magic sauce missing to make it a bold and that’s a shame, as it has that spark of originality lacking in so many books these days so it has really stood out for me in its way so I would definitely recommend it

Well I loved both Bookworm and Bookish, and also enjoyed Howard’s End Is On The Landing and its sequel!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit Briefly, A Delicious Life sounds right up my street. Last year on holiday we visited the friary where Chopin and Sands had that epically miserable winter, and it was super-atmospheric. I can definitely see that inspiring a ghost story, and you've reminded me that I also need to read A Winter in Mallorca as well.

@StrangewaysHereWeCome oh Wow! Yes it’s a must for you then !

20 The Guest by Emma Cline
Alex is a grifter, floating between rich male patrons. Some undefined ‘trouble’ has seen her following the latest man to his summer beach house, where she swims, pilfers and pops stolen pills. Then her mask slips momentarily at a party and Simon throws her out. She circles the beach area using all her chameleon wiles, counting down the days until Simon’s Labor Day party, when surely he will relent and take her back…..won’t he?
I liked this. I liked Alex’s languid resilience and ability to camouflage amongst the rich, gullible and manipulative.
Not sure of the ending, bit abrupt for me. But overall, very good.

Susan Hill is the only person that I know about to have blocked me on Twitter. I'm not sure whether this was prompted by a specific post or by my profile at the time (I haven't changed it much, apart from fitting in the word "unrepentant"!)

I didn't hate Howards End is on the Landing but it wasn't as interesting a read as I thought and I don't really like her much, though I am intrigued that since its publication she left her husband for a much younger woman (a Scottish comedian).

I did really enjoy Bookworm but though she's a little younger than me, Lucy Mangan read so many of the Puffin Books that I did. I'm reading Bookish now, and it's interesting but I suspect I will love it a bit less than Bookworm. I'm glad to see her praise The Tenant of Wildfell Hall though.

I believe the younger woman then left Susan Hill. I also believe Sudan Hill has some pretty horrible religious opinions, although can't remember where I read that.

And she is friends with Michael Gove.

On Monday I met a Women's Prize shortlist author! I went to pick up some reservations from Kentish Town Library, and after that went to look round the charity shops and have a peek at the shiny new books in the Owl Bookshop (a former independent that is now part of the Daunt chain and is quite good for more literary books and tempting reissues. They don't seem to have a specific WPF display but had several of the shortlist on the same table near the tills. Then a woman came in saying she'd been asked if she could sign some of her books. She turned out to be Nussaibah Younis, author of Fundamentally. She was telling the bookseller she didn't really feel that she could compete with Miranda July - she'd read All Fours, I said to her, I've not read any of the shortlist yet but clearly she is in the competition, well done for making it to the shortlist, and that I hope to get a chance to read the book at some point.

@elkiedee I haven’t even read Fundamentally and I’m CERTAIN it can compete with All Fours

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie imagine being in the company of Gove! I think I’d come out in hives!

29 You Are Here - David Nicholls
I liked this but not a bold. You know the destination and just hope the journey is enjoyable, and it is.

Thanks for highlighting The Wych Elm , I've ordered from the library .

Thank you Remus - I’ve been wavering over whether to keep or donate unread some Serraillers that have been on my shelf for some years - that’s decided, straight to Oxfam.

Eek! I think talking to him would make one feel the need for a really good scrub.

I haven't read any of those, but don't think I ever will do either!

Hard agree. She came across as very unlikeable.

Oh @elkiedee that is so cool that you met her. Which means I must be able to bump into her - that being my actual local high street and all (big fan of the Oxfam bookshop across the road).

I can confirm Gove is exactly the arse you think he is from our little spat at an event the other week. He came over after and did a little nod and smile and I was tempted but too adult to ☝️ - but not that finger.

I loved Bookworm, partly because I thought it had perceptive things to say about the difference between reading as a child and reading as an adult, and partly because it was such a robust defence of people who would rather lie around and read books rather than actually interacting with people. I had strong identification with that 😂But I also became fond of Lucy Mangan over years of reading her Guardian telly reviews. So I'm still holding out hopes that Bookish will be good!

@elkiedee how cool that you met Nussaibah Younis in real life! She strikes me as someone who would be a genuinely good person to know, and fun to hang out with. Fundamentally isn't my top pick for the Women's Prize, but it's original and well-written and I'd be happy to see it win.

I read an anecdote once about Susan Hill being unkind to secondary school pupils who asked her a question about the ending of The Women in Black (did I read this on MN?! probably) and it put me off her permanently. I mean, how arrogant do you have to be to take offence at young people asking you about your book?