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.

35 . David Mitchell - Back Story - The comedian/ actor not the author! I really enjoyed this, I listened to it on audible and it's narrated by Mitchell and he does have a distinctive voice. It chronicles the early life of Mitchell from childhood to university to making his acting break through, lots of anecdotes from the days he lived in London post uni with Robert Webb. I also enjoyed the walk through of places in London which were significant.

36 . The city of tears - Kate Mosse - The second in the series of historical novels about the Joubert family. It had been several years since I read the first and I wondered whether I would pick it up ok but it was fine. This book is quite epic, it spans several decades and has settings in Chartres, Paris and Amsterdam. The story involves, relics, family feuds, secrets, wars, tragic deaths and missing children. I really enjoyed it. I have ordered the final two in the series.

Just posting to place mark ready for the new thread, catching up now.

I hope to finish the bastard thing tonight - how I feel about my current read!

How dare books be so disappointing? It's Really Not Good Enough.

29 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Recent winner of the Women's Prize. I thought this was very good. Isabel lives alone in her family's house, until her brother's new girlfriend Eva asks to stay with her whilst he is away for work. Suspicious and set in her ways, Isabel resents Eva's intrusion, but slowly, she begins to change. There is a lot in this book, about love and the aftermath of war (it's set in the Netherlands in the early 60s) and attachment to property and home. It is also very well written. I was amused by the author's apology to her family for chapter 10, which is essentially all sex scenes, but they too are well done. Recommended.

84 . Murder At Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd (Audible)

a former nun investigates the disappearance of her friend. Though this is finely read by Siobhan McSweeney, it bored me to tears, I couldn’t care less about the mystery or anyone in it. Absolutely hated it and couldn’t wait for it to end. I now know that “cosy crime” is not for me! Going against the grain here as I know that everyone who has read it so far really liked it. I’m going to be the naysayer who thought it was dire! Sorry!

28) Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

An easy read but a well plotted, cunning whodunit. Would make a great holiday read.

40 Promising Young Women - Caroline O’Donoghue This was interesting - kind of chick-lit with a creepy twist. I’m a bit old for its demographic but then I have been a 26-year-old in lust with my older married boss (unrequited, don’t worry!) even if it seems a very long time ago, so I can definitely relate. The story follows Jane, fresh from a break-up and drawn to a 40-something senior guy at the advertising business she works at - they start an affair and it all seems pretty standard, but then things get weird - she loses loads of weight, has memory gaps, and starts to get really ill.

Not quite a bold but good, especially for a debut novel, and I’m interested to read the Rachel Incident which I’ve heard is very good.

The Lifeline - Libby Page
Sequel to The Lido which I know a few liked last year. I haven’t read that but the sequel is about a new mother and a mental health nurse and wild swimming in a river (with lifeguards and coffee - does such a place actually exist?).
I used to be a regular swimmer pre pandemic and it did have me looking up the times of my local pool.
Also, it made me worry about where I’d leave my car keys and phone should I want a dip in the river or sea - I’m only about 6 miles from lovely beaches.

103 Out - Tim Shipman

I did it!! I finished the quartet of Shipman’s “…Out” books about Brexit. This 900-page final volume is a bold for me and tells the story from Johnson to Starmer’s win.

Shipman is chief political correspondent of the Sunday Times and is slightly but not overly disposed towards the Tories. However, he is clear eyed about the personalities that led to the Brexit that we have and alllll over the detail of the tortuous negotiations. Very good.

Impressive @SheilaFentiman I like Shipmen's journalism and used to follow him on Twitter when all the crazy stuff was happening and before it got Musk'ed. I don't think I could cope with 4 x 900 pages of reminisces of that time though!

72. Slags - Emma Jane Unsworth. I picked this up as she's a friend of a friends and it popped up in the Kindle deals. I don't think the title does it any favours, and in fact is quite off putting for me anyway. It's a story of sisters Sarah and Juliet told across two timelines. The past is the late 90s and is narrated in the first person by Sarah as a 15 year old, obsessed with her English teacher and into drinking, boys and boy bands. The modern part follows Sarah and Juliet on a road trip to Scotland for Juliet's 40th and sets their life choices against each other - Sarah still partying, Juliet with annoying husband and kids. It was ok but not as funny as it thought it was. I think We Pretty Pieces of Flesh covered a similar period much better.

25 Mrs England by Stacey Halls
Halfway through the 50! I really enjoyed this, much more than The Foundling which I read a few years back. In 1904, Ruby May is a recent graduate of the Norland Nurse training programme. She is doing well with the Radlett family but then needs to change placement, which is frowned on. Heading north to Yorkshire, she encounters the England family, four children and the cheerful Mr England. His wife is oddly set apart from the family and Ruby starts to wonder whether there is a secret about her. But then, she has her own secrets.

@Stowickthevast if it helps, this is the longest one. The shortest is 600 pages 😀😀

@BestIsWest you want a tow float that you can put your car keys and phone in. You can get one to tie to your waist. It’s always safest to swim in open water with a float anyway so other people can easily see where you are. Safe and handy!!

Hmm I’ve re-read your post and don’t think you were looking for actual open water advice! Well… now you have it anyway….

@elspethmcgillicudddy that makes total sense and answers my question. Are they really waterproof? I’d go to a local beach that has a lifeguard.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit glad you said that as I also found MAGN incredibly dull!

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage The Rachel Incident is great and a bit of a departure from her earlier books, more mature and thoughtful.

I'm about halfway though All the Colours of the Dark which I know is often raved about but I'm finding it quite strange - zipping along with the short chapters but feels so unreal that it almost reads like a kind of parable?

I've also read:

The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam about a married couple who start an app together - aimed at creating rituals for non-religious people or something silly like that - which quickly takes off, and the wife (who did all the work obvs) finds herself sidelined in favour of her charismatic husband. Fine as a commentary on women in tech, but like most tech satires, I thought the various apps and products just sounded stupid and implausible.

Wellness by Nathan Hill. More tech satire alas! Sprawling, big American novel looking at a married couple struggling with their relationship in middle age. This got great reviews but I thought it was overlong, slow, and jumped around in the stories too much to follow properly. It also seemed oddly dated for a book of the moment - satirising the wellness industry and luxury apartments buildings, which in the post-covid, Trump, climate emergency era just didn't feel very current.

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor. Interesting novel about Paul, a student who can shapeshift to change gender, and pursues relationships with men and women in his different forms, set in the early 90s queer scene with AIDS still very much dominating people's minds. I thought this was a worthwhile experiment although it tailed off a bit towards the end. I have to be honest, there is definitely content here some people would find offensive.

Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones. Her first book, set against the real and horrifying story of a string of black children being murdered in 1970s Atlanta. It follows 3 kids in the same class at school grappling with what's happening around them and the fears and reactions of their parents. It's really nicely written and all the characters are well done, I did think at least one of the stories was unfinished and it could have had a bit more narrative, but really great and moving for a debut.

34 The Big Short - Michael Lewis

Account of the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis that I found fascinating and appalling in equal measure. Focuses on some key individuals in the US financial world who foresaw (and profited hugely from!) the crisis. I found this explained complex financial concepts extremely well but would have liked a bit more detail on the after effects of the crisis.

Quite a few reviews to catch up on- I seem to have finished a whole pile of books at once.

91 Holiday by Stanley Middleton
I’m trying to read a few more prize winning books and this won the Booker and was available in my library. Edwin is at the seaside trying to come to terms with the break up of his marriage. Explores themes of grief, class and marriage. Slow but better than I expected from the beginning.

92 Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq, translated by Deepa Bhasthi
This selection of short stories centre around the lives of Muslim women in India. It started out well with interesting stories and perspectives but every story had exactly the same theme and I lost attention in the end. This won the International Booker and the last I had to read from the shortlist of which, in my opinion, at least 3 books were more deserving of the win.

93 The Mitfords, Letters between Six Sisters, edited by Charlotte Mosley
One of the books I’m reading for Biblio’s thread (one of 6 2012 unreads on my kindle- this is number 4) In many ways the Mitfords are absolute horrors but they certainly led interesting lives spending copious time with world leaders and literary greats as well as the notorious involvement in Nazism by Unity and Diana. They carry the expected prejudices of their time and class but despite all this you can’t help but admire them. They don’t let anything get them down- relentlessly cheerful, determined to get on with things, and (mostly) sticking together and supporting one another. Fascinating. May be bold over time but not yet as there were some uneventful bits where I skimmed a little.

94 The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan
Someone read one of these recently which reminded me to get back to them. The next Persis Wadia book, India’s first female police inspector in the 1950s. This time Persis investigates 3 deaths of foreigners that she is convinced are connected. Good fun.

95 The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride
I read A Girl is a Half-formed Thing last year and really enjoyed it including McBride’s stream of consciousness style. In that, and her detailed descriptions of things that are usually skimmed over in literature (like very explicit sex in this book) she is seen by many as the heir to James Joyce and I reckon she’s love or hate. I’ve only read a bit of Joyce (have Ulysses on the TBR for next year) but can see where the comparison came from. This is explicit, upsetting and has a questionable, sometimes toxic central relationship and I loved it. I listened to McBride read it on audio which helps with the prose style. Planning to read the recently released follow up soon- but not just yet - too heavy. Bold for me.

@GrannieMainland good to have an ally! Dreary!

53. The Mystery of Yew Tree House - Lesley Thomson

My interest was piqued upthread by @Arran2024 mentioning the Lesley Thomson Detective's Daughter series, which sounded really appealing - typically, my library has all her books except the first - doh! - but this was 99p on kindle so I took a punt.

Disappointingly, I have to report that I found it a real slog. The main protagonist, Stella, has gone away for a holiday with her (30 years younger) boyfriend Jack and his 7-year-old twins, staying in the titular house. In no time they stumble across dark doings from the past, unravel mysteries surrounding the ancient locals (and I do mean ancient: ages range from 80-something to 103, all apparently in fine fettle) and lay a wartime tragedy to rest. I so wanted to like this because I'd love nothing more than a shiny new series to enjoy, but I found the writing frustratingly choppy and hard to follow; the children were badly-behaved horrors, and Jack's obsession with something called 'True Hosts' seemed the kind of woo nonsense that made me give up on Stuart MacBride. The final exasperation was being assured that a character had been traced through their entry 'in the 1961 census', which is impossible, since that census won’t be released until 2061.

I'm still willing to go back and try the first book, in hopes that this was just a very weak link in the series!

Too late to edit the above but - 30 years younger

Actually, more like 20 years younger - I misread!

Red Love: the Story of an East German Family by Maxim Leo
Jeez. This was a slog and a half. It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, which was a focus on life in East Germany through the lens of a specific family. Instead, most of it was a (to me) very tedious look at two men (the grandfathers of the writer) before the end of World War Two, which I found badly written, badly punctuated and badly boring. It picked up at the end, but it was far too little, far too late. Deeply disappointing.

I think that's why you have to start at the beginning of a series! Jack is in the first book but he isn't Stella's partner - yet.

That's a poor piece of editing re the census.

I wonder if you’d like this : The Winter of Our Lives: A brand new uplifting novel about friendship, the menopause and happiness by Sára Barnes, í haven’t read it but I stumbled across it just now when adding the life line to my wish list (thank you!) and at 99p immgivung it a go.

and yes, there are wild swimming places with coffee but it’s A former fishing pond not a river.