50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Five

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fifth 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 or / and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track. Some of us like to bring over lists to the next thread- again, this is up to you.

The first thread of the year is here, the second thread here , the third thread here and the fourth thread here.

My pleasure, @PermanentTemporary !

Have fallen off these threads for the first time since i joined ☹️. However, i have finally finished a couple of not very exciting reads so am just place marking - will return with the not very exciting reviews.
In my absence some of my favourite books have been reviewed (Cats Eye, The Vanishing of Esme Lennox & The Outsiders) as well as The Shiralee - I've never known anyone else to have read it (I got my copy by posting an ad.in The Guardian years ago - they used to have 'a books wanted section').

70 Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
The second of my book clubs novellas for this month. Marlow tells the story of his time sailing a ferry boat for the ‘Company’ in Congo. Lush prose, criticism of imperialism which was ahead of its time, though some shocking racism also. An uncomfortable read.

71 Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
International Booker shortlist, this just became available in my library. Anna and Tom are living the millennial dream in Berlin, attending the trendiest gallery openings, being at the centre of the zietgeist- their home and lives, like their social media are heavily curated. This short book is written with a very distant point of view- I would assume purposely to fit with the themes. I can see what he was trying to do but it wasn’t for me.

26 A Memoir Of My Former Self - Hilary Mantel

A grab bag of various articles, posthumously compiled, and with some random additions such as the rather pointless film reviews which occasionally give the impression of editorial barrel-scraping. But there’s plenty to enjoy here too - particularly when she’s writing about writing.

The Silent Pool by Patricia Wentworth
Another Miss Silver crime, but I didn’t like that one. I think I’ve read at least three of these where coats are main plot points and it’s lazy and tired. Too many characters; too much knitting; too much coughing; too, too silly.

Whats Next, A backstage pass to the West Wing

Someone on here enjoyed this and I listened on Spotify while DH and I did a re-watch of the whole thing

It's hard watch now to be honest, the good guys are really so good and try hard to bridge the massive gap between American political parties and the contrast between Aaron Sorkins ideal and the current administration is huge. I cried occasionally.

The book was a good accompaniment. I got a bit confused about who was talking and when, I am not enough of a fan to know the actors names of most roles, only their characters.

It was fascinating to discover most of them serve on charitable boards in some capacity and Martin Sheen came across as presidential in his determination to protest and was regularly arrested causing filming schedules to be adjusted. It makes me admire the actors nearly as much as the characters they play.

I won't be re-reading this book I don't think, and I would only recommend to huge fans of the West Wing, but I'm glad I read it.

I wish I could vote for Bartlet.

I’ve just finished a rewatch of the West Wing and cried a few times too. I might give that a go @RazorstormUnicorn

I was the recommender @RazorstormUnicorn I have watched the series through at least 4 or 5 times. It’s beginning to show its age and earnestness, particularly the early series and also compared with the early series of House Of Cards. I think it’s really nice that Bradley Whitford and Elisabeth Moss now work together on Handmaids Tale and that Bradley is going to be playing Allison Janneys husband on The Diplomat soon. Both well worth watching if you haven’t already.

74 . Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

I initially mistook this for a novel but it’s actually a memoir. It’s by Korean American musician Michelle Zauner who performs as an act called Japanese Breakfast.
It’s the story of her bereavement at the loss of her mother, the ups and downs of their relationship and the importance of food as memory.

I really appreciated this story and enjoyed finding out more about Korean culture and in particular the rich descriptions of food. It’s a very highly rated book and I believe a film is coming but it wasn’t quite a bold for me.

Just read Dream Count.

Yes, it's a bit disappointing compared to her other novels. I wasn't sure why it needed the different women and wish the whole book was about Kadiatou really who seemed the most interesting.

I saw Pride and Prejudice (Sort of) again this afternoon. It's an absolute blast.

@RazorstormUnicorn that's inspired me to dig out my 'Bartlet 2016' campaign t-shirt. Sigh, if only that's what we'd got instead of 45 (and 47) - the world would have been a much different place.

These lists are so helpful - much better than the 'Sunday Times best seller', or 'Prizewinning Author' tags which entice me into books I wish I'd never chosen.
Thankyou everyone.

I agree @Toootss - I get nearly all my reading recommendations from this thread!

42. My Grandmothers and I - Diana Holman-Hunt

I've known about this book forever and indeed have a hardback copy, but it was seeing a paperback in a charity shop that reminded me of that (maybe an inadvertent candidate for biblio's challenge because I’ve definitely had it for 35 years!). What a delight it was - Diana H-H was born in 1913 and the two grandmothers of the title were very different: her maternal grandmother Freeman in Sussex, presiding over a wealthy and cosseted household run by a battery of servants who were the bedrock of young Diana's world, and in Kensington, the deeply eccentric 'Grand', Edith Holman-Hunt, widow of the Pre-Raphaelite painter William, whose gloomy, beetle-ridden house was stuffed with art treasures but who lived on frugal scratch meals and deprived herself of any luxuries. Both doted on Diana and she alternated her time living with them while her father was permanently away with the Colonial Service in Burma.
At times hilariously funny, this is a marvellous portrait of a vanished era - 'Grand' was a living link with the high echelons of Victorian art and literature - but you also ache at the intelligent Diana's neglect and lack of any real mothering (although I suspect she employed a little artistic licence because I did a bit of digging and her never-mentioned absent mother didn’t in fact die until 1959 - we're never told where she was).
Any fans of 'Period Piece' might like to search this out, though it’s a darker and sadder book by the end, I think.

43. Five Letters From an Eastern Empire - Alasdair Gray

A very short novella - or long short story, but I’m counting it because it was published as a standalone book - by the maverick Scottish writer, artist and general force of nature. The first time I’ve read any Gray and DH (who’s a big fan) assures me it’s not representative, as he wrote in a multitude of styles. This is an allegory, highly mannered, told in the 5 letters of the title from a young court poet, Bohu, to his parents far away in the 'old capital' of an unnamed Eastern country as he travels to the presence of the emperor. Essentially a story about power, imagination and repression, but told with immense wit and an impressive evocation of an imaginary world. I enjoyed it and would read more of Gray's writing.

Weirdly, I put the Holman-Hunt book on my tbr a few months ago Terp - I think it was mentioned in All the Rage, by Virginia Nicholson, though I wouldn't swear to it. You have rekindled my interest (that is not a pun).

There are some accounts of extreme dentistry she had done to improve her appearance (supposedly), so that may be why it’s in the Nicholson book, biblio. It's a lovely read, though, and beautifully written. So funny but so sad.

Okay, sold!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit thank you! I don't have a good memory for these things!

The End Of Mr Y by Scarlett Thomas

I found this in a second hand bookshop, bad the premise on the back is that the narrator finds a book she has been wanting in a second hand book shop which takes her down a dangerous path as it is cursed. How could I resist? What ify book is cursed too?

The book found by the narrator tells us how to get into a space where we can get into consciousness and read everyone's minds. From a person nearby you can then jump to other minds and through their ancestors actually travel back in time.

It's a fun premise, but with more science and philosophy than I expected and about the right amount of peril. The main character is not especially likable though tries hard from time to time.

I found this hard to put down and engaging. I guessed a fair bit of where the book would go but that only took us to half way through, so it was still interesting to see what would happen next. A big win for a random charity shop find and hopefully I am not now cursed myself.

@RazorstormUnicorn really enjoyed The End Of Mr Y it was a total bold for me before I started on this thread though. Her others I’ve read Popco and Bright Young Things were not as good and I tried Our Tragic Universe and DNFd and haven’t followed up with Scarlett Thomas since.

Do any of you use NetGalley ? I joined up during Covid and have downloaded and read loads .

I love NetGalley, but I'm so behind with my reviews on there. I'm currently at 59% and some of them have been released before I managed to read them

I have a friend who was on the editoral team for Mr Y and sent a proof copy to me when it first came out - I remember loving. Agree with Eine that her other books haven't lived up to it.

55. The Adversary - Michael Crummey. This is a historical novel set in 18th century Newfoundland in a fishing village called Mockbeggar. The main characters are the awful Abe Strapp who is the main landowner, the Widow Caines who has inherited some ships from her husband, and the local Beadle and Abe's godfather, Mr Clinch. The book deals with the rivalry between Abe and Widow Caines ( Cain & Abel) and the effects that has on the the villages. It's pretty relentlessly grim and dark in its descriptions of hardship and all the characters are pretty terrible in their own ways. It's quite Dickensian in its reportage style and names, but there is some humour too. I didn't really enjoy reading it but it's well done for those who like this sort of thing. It's currently shortlisted for the Dublin literary award alongside some thread favourites like James and North Woods.

56. Days of Light - Megan Hunter. This was marketed as Virginia Woolf writing One Day, and the mother in it is loosely based on Vanessa Bell. It starts on Easter day 1938 when Ivy is 18 and follows her life through 6 separate days, although the first 2 days take up far more of the book than the later ones. It's quite slow moving and I did get a bit bored towards the end, particularly as it gets rather religious.

57. The Dark Wives - Ann Cleeves. The latest Vera book which I inhaled in a weekend. A good page turner was just what I needed after the previous two books.

I use Netgalley though I'm terribly bad at getting round to reviewing books these days - I try to make up for it by recommending books that I've read and enjoyed though I've never got round to reviewing!

@TotemPollyand @BlueFairyBugsBooks
What have you read from Netgalley and any particular recommendations for me to wishlist and/or look for from the library?

Through Netgalley, I've just read the excellent Stealing Dad, which I think is the third novel by Sofka Zinovieff - she's also written a sort of memoir about her life in Greece, Eurydice Street and other non fiction about some of her most intriguing relatives.

In Stealing Dad, Alekos, a Greek artist who has spent most of his life in London, dies suddenly, and his seven grown up children are sad and shocked to discover that his wife at the time of his death (number 7) plans a cremation with only herself present, and no funeral, no part for them in mourning him. His children, aged 19 to late 40s/early 50s (?) are from several marriages and relationships and some have only just learned about each other, or indeed their late father. Their response is audacious and somewhat shocking. I do love books about eccentric and unconventional families.

I'm now reading Love Song of the Nightingale by Deryn Lake, a timeslip novel by a writer who has written historical fiction, including family sagas and crime novels. The historical story is about Jenny Lind and some of the men in her life, although looking at Wikipedia fact and fiction are quite mixed here.

@Stowickthevast
I've also read Days of Light though I think I enjoyed it more than you did. I did think of Vanessa Bell and her daughter Angelica Garnett but aspects of Ivy's life and the lifestyles of her family were taken I think from different figures in the Bloomsbury set.