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.

I’m going to have to hunt down Conclave!

14 Bring up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel

I often struggle with fiction audiobooks, but as with Wolf Hall, I listened to the Ben Miles reading and he is excellent. I thought this was brilliant, just as good as Wolf Hall. I see that The Mirror and the Light is a mere 38 hours, lol. Might give myself a wee break before starting that one! A bold.

15 Gilead, Marilynne Robinson

Letters from an elderly preacher at the end of his life to his young son.

I picked this up because it was in the top 10 of the NY Times 21st Century list but I found it to be a total snooze fest. The writing is absolutely stunning but there is no plot. I glazed over at a lot of the religious thinking.

I’ve made the mistake of having too many books on the go (the fault of Gilead!). I’m currently working on Prophet Song on audio; Heartstone, the 5th Matthew Shardlake book (not loving this either!) and Count of MC (very behind on the read along, this is my next priority).

I think Conclave is on Prime now if anyone wants to see the film

Also a fan of Conclave. I enjoyed Diva mentioned just up thread too.

I DNFd Gilead. I keep meaning to revisit it with a view to reading the whole series, but I'm not sure I can face it.

Currently enjoying Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior - Catherine Hanley. It's aimed at a non academic audience and so far is a bit of a page turner even if you are familiar with events. It's comprehensive without being too much. If you're not familiar with Empress Matilda, she was the daughter of Henry I and mother of Henry II. She was formidable and robbed of her crown. She didn't take it well and fought hard for her birthright.

The World of Suzie Wong Richard Mason

This would probably be a good recommendation for the ‘Really Dated’ thread.

Written in 1957, it is based in the red light district of Hong Kong and follows the friendship/relationship between English artist Robert Lomax and sex worker Suzie Wong of the title. I was apprehensive going in and there are some very specific ideas and language around stereotypes and gender and race, but I was surprised that the book won me over in the end. The way Eurasians were spoken about was a bit of a shock to me.

Mason seems to have really spent some time on the characters, its narrated from Lomax’s point of view, but Suzie is actually pretty inspiring and loves and lives very much on her own terms given the hand she is dealt. Sometimes I wanted Suzie to stab Robert with the scissors (makes sense when you read it) and sometimes I wanted them to ride off into the sunset.

In the end I liked this against my better judgement and was rooting for Suzie all the way. She demonstrates more than once that she doesn’t actually need Robert and the difference between need and want.

I do recommend this, but with reservations, as it is, dated.

@FortunaMajor I was a fan of Gilead and Home but the series has gone a bit diminishing returns. For Home to completely destroy you emotionally though you do need to read Gilead

I’m definitely going to give Diva a go and may join in with the Conclave readers as it is so timely. I have seen the film though

Oh @MonOncleive just seen that it was you mentioned Gilead first - it was 5 star for me. Just goes to show the diversity of opinion on this thread

18. Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink
A frustrated vicar's wife regains control of her life. I loved this one. Definitely would recommend.

19. Untypical: How the world isn't built for Autistic people and what we should all do about it by Pete Wharmby
The author looks about his experiences of being late diagnosed and recommends things to help autistic people. This one hasn't stuck in my head at all.

20. The sea, the sea by Iris Murdoch
A retired theatre director buys a house by the coast and his friends come to visit. He is reacquainted with his first girlfriend and becomes obsessed.
I read this for my alumni book club and went in completely blind. It was quite a nice read at the beginning. Then the obsessing got a bit boring. I like the sea descriptions and there were occasional well observed sentences. I might read another Murdoch eventually.

62 . The Echoes by Evie Wyld

The novel intertwines the lives of Max, a creative writing lecturer who unexpectedly dies, and his girlfriend Hannah, a barmaid with a concealed history. After his death, Max's ghost remains in their London flat, observing Hannah's mourning and uncovering the secrets she left behind in Australia.

This didn’t work for me. The ghost story was interesting, but the quite unexceptional Australian melodrama side didn’t really add anything to it and it all seemed a bit confused, like ideas from different books just thrown together. I did enjoy the prose and read it quickly, but I will have completely forgotten this by the end of the year.

I have that on my Amazon wishlist @EineReiseDurchDieZeit . I will wait until it’s 99p!

@AlmanbyRoadtrip fairly certain that I actually got it for 99p so it will probably happen again soon!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit oh I can very much see how people love it (Gilead). The parts where he writes about the awe he has for his child are just beautiful and the arc of the troubled relationship with his godson was so nicely done. But ultimately it struggled to keep my attention and I had to force myself through it, I was only managing about 10 pages at a time! Despite that, I’m still intrigued by Home.

@MonOncle I would still recommend Home even if you didn’t like Gilead The two endings are connected but Home is very differently written and has a different tone. I cried, I think twice reading Home

70. Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover

Kenna has just been released from prison, after a sentence for involuntary manslaughter, when she left her boyfriend Scotty to die after crashing the car they were both in. She gave birth to their daughter Diem in jail and this is the story of her returning to Scotty's home town, meeting his best friend Ledger and trying to regain contact with Diem, who is in the custody of Scotty's parents.

You know what you are getting with a Colleen Hoover book - a thoughtful examination of complicated emotional relationships - and this was the same. I enjoyed it.

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
(11) Maid by Stephanie Land (Audio Book)
(12) The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Latest two books....
(13) The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
(14) Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education
Book by Stephanie Land
(15) Verity by Colleen Hoover
(16) Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Latest Book

(17) Firefly Lane

Description stolen from Amazon

Now a number one series on Netflix, Firefly Lane is an unforgettable, poignant and powerful coming of age story spanning more than three decades. It is a story of love, loss and the magic of friendship between two women which forms the basis of their lives.

'Friendships were like marriages in that way. Routines and patterns were poured early and hardened like cement'

It is 1974 and the summer of love is drawing to a close. Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the secondary school social food chain. Then, to her amazement, Tully Hart – the girl all the boys want to know – moves in across the street and wants to be her best friend. Tully and Kate became inseparable and by summer’s end they vow that their friendship will last forever.

For thirty years Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship, jealousy, anger, hurt and resentment. Tully follows her ambition to find fame and success. Kate knows that all she wants is to fall in love and have a family. What she doesn’t know is how being a wife and a mother will change her.

They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart. But when tragedy strikes, can the bonds of friendship survive? Or is it the one hurdle that even a lifelong friendship cannot overcome?

I absolutely loved this book - the Netflix series was good but the book was a million times better. I finished this book in the park crying my eyes out lol

This challenge continues to enrich my life - I am loving it.

Onto the next!

Happy reading everyone! :)

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I will definitely keep an eye out for it then, thanks!

26 Raven Black - Ann Cleeves First in the Shetland series (and my first book by Cleeves - I know she’s an old favourite on here!). A sixth-form girl is found dead and suspicion turns to the old man living nearby, who was suspected of killing a young girl several years earlier (who was never found). DI Jimmy Perez (a born-and-bred Shetlander, despite his exotic name) tries to get to the bottom of the mystery.

I really liked the setting and the evocation of a remote community (I was living temporarily in the outer Hebrides around the time this was published and it rang very true - everyone in each other’s pockets and knowing each other’s business; young people trying to be independent and grown-up in the ever-present shadow of their parents; and people with idiosyncrasies like Malcolm being a part of the community). Not hugely keen on the ending but will seek out the next in the series, and also the Vera novels.

One of my favourite reads last year was Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey, about two Irish people living in London over a 40 year period from the late 1970s. It's 99p on Kindle today, I don't know how long for. (I have several wishlists including one for books I borrowed from the library but would like my own copy of). I did also buy an ARC uncorrected proof copy from a charity shop last year which will now need a new home.

16) Precipice by Robet Harris

A strong bold for me. I raced through it - I can't believe the story behind it isn't better known.

It is the lead up to WW1. The historical detail about that is fascinating in itself as the Gov was totally obsessed with Ireland and didn't realise the enormity of what was happening in Europe.

But the story is mainly about PM Asquith and his infatuation with a young society woman, Venetia Stanley, and the letters he sent to her and the frankly bizarre attitude he had to the Official Secrets Act! You would be astonished by his behaviour.

A young police sergeant is trying to find out who is leaking state secrets and can't believe what he discovers.

Great historical novel.

I already had this and started it tonight. It’s very good.

Precipice sounds brilliant, can't wait to read it. I had perhaps an unusual History O-level teacher who taught us the Edwardian and Georgian periods really well so the story is familiar.

12. Normal rules don't apply by Kate Atkinson
Short stories in that inimitable Atkinson voice. A series of interconnected and sometimes supernatural vignettes. These are a little bit patchy, I'm not rushing to get her earlier collection as I think she does better at novel length, but enjoyed and galloped through this nonetheless.

Just reserved Precipice at the library…..it'll be available in July! I heard quite a lot of it when it was R4's Book of the Week a year or so ago, and I have a memory of reading something about Asquith and Venetia Stanley as well. A very strange story.

I really enjoyed Precipice as well.

Just finished
62 The Art Thief by Michael Finkel
This non-fiction reels the story of Stephane Breitweiser- a young man who managed to steal hundreds of pieces of art from galleries and museums and just kept them in his bedroom. It explores his case and trial, his psychology and his relationships with his mother and sister. Fascinating and a bold. I’m having such a good reading year.

I'm going to have a look at the library catalogues for Precipice, as I'd like to read it. Though I'd be very happy to join a long queue as I already have more library reservations than I can really deal with, and waiting until July (or longer) would be fine. And maybe it will come up as a Kindle offer in the meantime, Robert Harris's books often do. Like @Terpsichore, I heard parts of it on Radio 4. Otherwise most of what I know of Asquith from reading about the suffragettes, so it's not a very positive view.

Like many, I have started on the topical Conclave

I'm pleased to see the interest in Conclave! I enjoyed it very much.
I'm going to look up Precipice in my library as well. It sounds good. He seems to have written a good few books.

Edited to add that I'm 208 in the queue for 'Precipice'!