50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Six

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth thread of the 50 Books 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, the fourth thread here and the fifth thread here

1. The Zone Of Interest by Martin Amis
2. Valley Of The Dolls by Jacqueline Susann
3. The List by Yomi Adegoke
4. Here In The Dark by Alexis Soloski
5. Mistborn : The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
6. True Grit by Charles Portis
7. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
8. The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim
9. My Friends by Hisham Matar
10. Polo by Jilly Cooper
11. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
12. The Unfinished Harauld Hughes by Richard Ayoade
13. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
14. Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar
15. There There by Tommy Orange
16. Rogues : True Stories by Patrick Radden Keefe
17. The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers
18. Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange
19. The House Of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
20. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
21. Starve Acre by Andrew Michael Hurley
22. The Secret Lives Of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw
23. Good Material by Dolly Alderton
24. The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
25. A Voyage Around The Queen by Craig Brown
26. A Very Private School by Charles Spencer
27. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea
28. The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott
29. Purple Hibiscus’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
30. A Pocketful Of Happiness by Richard E Grant
31. Outside The Door by Jane Casey
32. Still Life by Sarah Winman
33. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
34. The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths
35. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
36. Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
37. The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
38. The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths
39. The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths
40. Firebrand by Elizabeth Fremantle
41. Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald
42. The God Of The Woods by Liz Moore
43. Long Bright River by Liz Moore
44. Him by JD Kirk
45. Slow Horses by Mick Herron
46. The War Of The Worlds by HG Wells
47. Yes Ma’am by Tom Quinn
48. Dead Lions by Mick Herron
49. Real Tigers by Mick Herron
50. The Kellerby Code by Jonny Sweet
51. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
52. The Moon’s A Balloon by David Niven
53. Death At The Sign Of The Rook by Kate Atkinson
54. In Ascension by Martin MacInnes
55. Men Who Hate Women by Laura Bates
56. Pearl by Siân Hughes
57. All Fours by Miranda July
58. Briefly, A Delicious Life by Nell Stevens
59. The Power Of The Dog by Thomas Savage
60. The Secret Room by Jane Casey
61. Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
62. The Echoes by Evie Wyld
63. Geneva by Richard Armitage
64. Our London Lives by Christine Dwyer Hickey
65. Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
66. The Story Of A Heart by Rachel Clarke
67. Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
68. The Coin by Yasmin Zaher
69. Conclave by Robert Harris
70. Unruly by David Mitchell
71. All The Lovers In The Night by Mieko Kawakami
72. From Here To The Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keogh
73. Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll
74. Crying In H Mart by Michelle Zauner
75. The Trees by Percival Everett
76. Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
77. Black and British by David Olusoga
78. Maps Of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
79. Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
80. Atmosphere: A Love Story by Taylor Jenkins Reid
81. Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen
82. She Speaks by Harriet Walter
83. This Immaculate Body by Emma Van Straaten
84. Murder At Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd

Thanks to southeast as always for the thread!

only 12 bolds so far ! Even for someone discerning this seems paltry

Signing in! Thanks for new thread.

Signing in. Will add my list later. Just saw that thread favourite Annie Bot has won the Arthur C Clarke award.

Thank you Southeast. Checking in with a short list and some reviews:

1. Slough House by Mick Herron
2. Bad Actors by Mick Heron
3. Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans
4. Old Baggage by Lissa Evans
5. V is For Victory by Lissa Evans
6. Shy Creatures by Clare Chambers
7. Don’t Forget To Scream by Marianne Levy
8. Still Life by Sarah Winman
9. Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell
10. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
11. The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone
12. The Library Book compiled by Rebecca Gray
13. All The Colours Of The Dark by Chris Whittaker
14. Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan
15. Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins Valdez
16. The Names by Florence Knapp
17. When The Dust Settles by Lucy Easthope
18. The List Of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
19. Fire by John Boyne
20. Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
21. Water by John Boyne

Latest reads are Here One Minute, the novel where an elderly woman stands up on a plane and starts predicting her fellow passengers age and cause of death. I thought this was a great concept poorly executed. Half the novel was taken up with the, in my opinion, ‘Death Woman’s’ supremely uninteresting life story. The other, more interesting half, deals with the passengers and their increasing panic as her predictions appear to be coming true. Some try to outwit fate by taking evasive measures others appear to bow to what they feel is the inevitable. The whole thing seems to fizzle out and I couldn’t help feel that Stephen King would have written a much more enthralling tale if he’d been given the central concept as a starting point.

Water is another of John Boyne’s elements series. A woman changes her name and moves to a remote Irish island to escape her traumatic past. A past that is slowly revealed to the reader. A great little read, not as gripping as Fire but more believable.
I’m now starting Earth, despite an aversion to its central theme of football/footballers.

1. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah [P]
2. The Fifth Risk - Michael Lewis (NF) [P]
3. Deadly Cross - James Patterson [P]
4. The Silent Wife - Karin Slaughter
5. Apples Never Fall - Liane Moriarty
6. The Lost Notebook - Louise Douglas
7. The Sky Beneath Us - Fiona Valpy
8. The Sea House - Louise Douglas
9. Giraffe & Flamingo - Curtis Sittenfield (short story)
10. Red Sauce, Brown Sauce - Felicity Cloake (NF) [P]
11. Elizabeth of York: The Last White Rose - Alison Weir
12. This Is Why We Lied - Karin Slaughter
13. Drowning Rose - Marika Cobbold
14. The Long Call - Ann Cleeves
15. The Glassmaker - Tracy Chevalier
16. Hex - Jennie Fagan
17. Taken as Red - Anoushka Asthana
18. Human Remains - Elizabeth Haynes
19. Never Never - Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
20. The Stranger Diaries - Elly Griffiths
21. Velocity - Dean Koontz
22. Bone and Cane - David Belbin
23. The Keeper of Stories - Sally Page
24. Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent - Judi Dench (NF)
25. The Postscript Murders - Elly Griffiths
26. Layla - Colleen Hoover
27. The Spy and the Traitor - Ben McIntyre (NF)
28. The Midnight Hour - Elly Griffiths [P]
29. Goodfellowe MP - Michael Dobbs
30. Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 - Mitchell Zuckoff (NF)
31. The Man of My Dreams - Curtis Sittenfield
32. The Lincoln Lawyer - Michael Connolly
33. Henry VIII: The Heart and the Crown - Alison Weir
34. Over Sharing - Jane Fallon
35. The Return - Victoria Hislop
36. Bleeding Heart Yard - Elly Griffiths
37. A Bookshop of One’s Own - Jane Cholmeley (NF)
38. Storm In A Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life - Helen Czerski (NF)
39. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender
40. A Most Desirable Marriage - Hilary Boyd
41. Daughter - Jane Shemilt
42. Vaxxers - Prof Sarah Gilbert and Dr Catherine Green (NF) [P]
43. Careless People - Sarah Wynn-Williams (NF)
44. The Report - Jessica Francis Kane
45. The Glassblower of Murano - Marina Fiorato
46. The Lying Game - Tess Stimson
47. Fatherland - Robert Harris (P)
48. The Infidelity Chain - Tess Stimson
49. The Book of Two Ways - Jodi Picoult
50. Reading Lessons - Carol Atherton (NF)
51. How I Caused the Credit Crunch - Tetsuya Ishikawa (NF) 2011
52. Here One Moment - Liane Moriarty
53. and how does that make you feel? - Joshua Fletcher
54. Still Midnight - Denise Mina
55. A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict - Ilan Pappe (NF) (P)
56. The Secret By The Lake - Louise Douglas
57. A Heart That Works - Rob Delaney
58. The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson (P)
59. A Spark of Light - Jodi Picoult (P)
60. Famous Last Words - Gillian McAllister
61. The Reversal - Michael Connelly
62. A Spy in the Family - Paul Henderson and David Gardner (P) (NF)
63. A Curious Career - Lynn Barber (P) (NF) (2015)
64. The Shadow Wife - Diane Chamberlain
65. The Searcher - Tana French
66. The Hunter - Tana French
67. The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths
68. Promising Young Woman - Caroline O’Donoghue
69. No Mercy - Martina Cole
70. Reminders of Him - Colleen Hoover
71. Conclave - Robert Harris
72. Herc - Phoenicia Rogerson
73. The Book of Beginnings - Sally Page
74. No Way Out - Tim Shipman (NF)
75. The Second Sleep - Robert Harris
76. A Killing in November - Simon Mason
77. The Small Hand - Susan Hill (2012)
78. Precipice - Robert Harris
79. The Year of Magical Thinking - Joan Didion (NF)
80. The Ship Beneath the Ice - Mensun Bound (NF)
81. The Secrets of Flowers - Sally Page
82. At Home - Bill Bryson (NF) (2011)
83. Going Infinite - Michael Lewis (NF)
84. Secret Lives - Diane Chamberlain (2017)
85. Taste - Stanley Tucci (NF)
86. Mantel Pieces - Hilary Mantel (NF) (P)
87. The Last Word - Elly Griffiths
88. Bookworm - Lucy Mangan (NF)
89. When the Dust Settles - Lucy Easthope (NF)
90. Doctor Who: The Writer’s Tale: The Final Chapter - Russell T Davies and Benjamin Cook (NF)
91. Munich - Robert Harris
92. The Outsider - Stephen King
93. Four Thousand Weeks - Oliver Burkeman (NF) (P)
94. The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ - Philip Pullman
95. The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah (P)
96. A Dark-Adapted Eye - Barbara Vine
97. Verity - Colleen Hoover
98. The Surf House - Lucy Clarke
99. Bad Dreams and Other Stories - Tess Hadley (P)
100. Cover Story - Mhairi McFarlane
101. The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker
102. The First Girl - Claire McGowan
103. Out - Tim Shipman (NF)
104. Firefly Lane - Kristin Hannah
105. The Women of Troy - Pat Barker

Thanks for the new thread, South.

My reads since the start of the last thread:

38 The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club - Christopher de Hamel
39 Precipice - Robert Harris
40 Agent Zo - Clare Mulley
41 The Man on the Balcony - Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, transl. Alan Blair
42 My Grandmothers and I - Diana Holman-Hunt
43 Five Letters From an Eastern Empire - Alasdair Gray
44 Millions Like Us - Virginia Nicholson
45 The Light-Hearted Quest - Ann Bridge
46 Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon - Michael Lewis
47 Westwood - Stella Gibbons
48 Story of a Murder - Hallie Rubenhold
49 Yellowface - Rebecca Kuang
50 Edwardian Childhoods - Thea Thompson
51 Providence - Anita Brookner
52 The Perfect Summer - Juliet Nicolson
53 The Mystery of Yew Tree House - Lesley Thomson

Again, my numbering system has gone weird, but I think that’s correct. I’m also doing the Dombey & Son readalong, and (exciting news!) just about to start on the last volume of Proust, so the summit is in sight!

(I also realise I got totally confused with my Nic(h)olsons and can confirm that Virginia and Juliet are not the same person, as I seem to have thought in my review of The Perfect Summer - Juliet didn’t write Millions Like Us! 🤦‍♀️ I blame the heat….

Thanks @Southeastdweller

No list from me and I hate this bit of the thread with all the long lists which makes it hard to read any actual posts, so see you in a few days!

Thanks for the new thread Southeast. No list from me and will be back with some reviews soon.

Thanks for the new thread @Southeastdweller

Bringing over my reads since the last thread.

47. Evenings and Weekends - Oisín McKenna
48. Family Album - Penelope Lively
49. On The Calculation Of Volume,1 - Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland
50. The Burning - Jane Casey
51. The Mountain In The Sea - Ray Nayler
52. The Reckoning - Jane Casey
53. The Story Of A Heart - Rachel Clarke
54. Glorious Exploits - Ferdia Lennon
55. The Adversary - Michael Crummey
56. The Dark Wives - Ann Cleeves
57. Days of Light - Megan Hunter
58. Our London Lives - Christine Dwyer Hickey
59. Real Americans - Rachel Khong
60. Maurice and Maralyn - Sophie Elmhurst
61. Nora Webster - Colm Toíbin
62. Fundamentally - Nussaibah Younis
63. The Last girl - Jane Casey
64. The Stranger You Know - Jane Casey
65. The Kill - Jane Casey
66. After The Fire - Jane Casey
67. Audition - Katie Kitamura
68. The Rest Of Our Lives - Benjamin Markovits
69. Let The Dead Speak - Jane Casey
70. Cruel Acts - Jane Casey
71. Ripeness - Sarah Moss
72. We Pretty Pieces of Flesh - Colwill Brown
73. Slags - Emma Jane Unsworth
74. The Cutting Place - Jane Casey

Good selection for me with quite a few bolds and near bolds, I'm still debating about On The Calculation of Volume. Also as predicted by Eine, a lot of Maeve Kerrigan!

😈

Thanks for the new thread Southeast

Just placemarking.

I've been shockingly useless this year.

Thanks @Southeastdweller for the new thread.
My list since the last one
63 Spiderweb- Penelope Lively
64 Middlemarch- George Eliot
65 What the Wild Sea Can Be- Helen Scales
66 The Secret Room- Jane Casey
67 A Month in the Country- JL Carr
68 Conclave- Robert Harris
69 The Story of a Heart- Rachel Clarke
70 Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
71 Perfection- Vincenzo Latronico
72 She-Wolves- Helen Castor
73 The Children of Men- John Connolly
74 Mrs Dalloway (reread)- Virginia Woolf
75 Eurotrash- Christian Kracht
76 On the Calculation of Volume, Volume 1- Solvej Balle
77 The Death of Ivan Ilych- Leo Tolstoy
78 In Plain Sight- Marion Todd
79 Small Boat- Vincent Delacroix
80 Lies to Tell- Marion Todd
81 The Names- Florence Knapp
82 Pure- Andrew Miller
83 The Weimar Years- Frank McDonagh
84 This Motherless Land- Nikki May
85 Brideshead Revisited- Evelyn Waugh
86 The Unworthy- Augustine Bazterrica
87 The End of the World is a Cul de Sac- Louise Kennedy
88 Come with Me- Ronald Malfi
89 A Leopard-skin Hat- Anne Serre
90 Show Me Where It Hurts- Claire Gleeson
91 Holiday- Stanley Middleton
92 Heart Lamp- Banu Mushtuq
93 The Mitfords- Letters Between Six Sisters- Ed Charlotte Mosley
94 The Lost Man of Bombay- Vaseem Khan
95 The Lesser Bohemians- Eimear McBride

@cassandre I’m currently reading Theory and Practice- liking it so far
@Stowickthevast when you finish Maeve you could consider

• Strike books- much more wordy but mysteries with a will they/won’t they
• The Simon Mason DI Wilkinson books- an odd couple detective duo
• Vaseem Khan’s Persis Wadia books- great protagonist, interesting historical period
• Marion Todd’s Clare Mackay- Tartan Noir- diverting with likeable protagonist

Thank you for the new thread, Southeastdweller!

Here is my list continued from last time;

31. Glorious Exploits: Ferdia Lennon.
32. A Girl's Story: Annie Ernaux (trans. Alison L. Strayer).
33. Murder at Gull's Nest: Jess Kidd.
34. Le Comte de Monte-Cristo: Alexandre Dumas.
35. The Young Man: Annie Ernaux (trans. Alison L. Strayer).
36. Shame: Annie Ernaux (trans. Tanya Leslie).
37. Westwood: Stella Gibbons.
38. The Secret Room: Jane Casey.
39. The Ghosts of Rome: Joseph O'Connor.
40. The Trees: Percival Everett.

41. La grammaire est une chanson douce: Erik Orsenna.

42. Une page d'histoire et autres nouvelles: Romain Gary.
43. Naufrage: Vincent Delecroix.
44. The Artist: Lucy Steed.

I'm sorry for your loss @AlmanbyRoadtrip Sending love ❤️

Thanks for the new thread southeast!

Thanks for new thread @Southeastdweller. No list from me.

Just checking in. I'm so behind on my reviews. I'll copy my list over and catch up soon.

I should also just post the update from the last thread instead of the full list but I must be thick because I can’t get it to format!

That’s not you, it’s mumsnet 😀

Thanks for the list @Southeastdweller

Hi all, posting to bookmark. Might try to sort out my list over the weekend.

Thank you southeast. Am ploughing through a big book right now so am placemarking. Book of the year so far is James by Percival Everett.

Thanks for the new thread! Here’s my list:

1. The Girl of Ink and Stars - Kiran Millwood Hargrave
2. Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield
3. My Perfect Friend - Sarah Clarke
4. One of the Good Guys - Araminta Hall
5. A Spy among Friends - Ben Macintyre
6. The Secret Hours - Mick Herron
7. Black Rabbit Hall - Eve Chase
8. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton
9. No Escape - Lucy Clarke
10. The Poison Pen Letters - Fiona Walker
11. Instructions for a Heatwave - Maggie O’Farrell
12. The Marches: Border Walks with my Father - Rory Stewart
13. The Sea House - Louise Douglas
14. Yellowface - Rebecca Kuang
15. The House of Fortune - Jessie Burton
16. The Muse - Jessie Burton
17. The Birdcage - Eve Chase
18. Butter - Asako Yuzuki (tr. Polly Barton)
19. Airhead - Emily Maitlis
20. Case Histories - Kate Atkinson
21. Our Wives under the Sea - Julia Armfield
22. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O’Farrell
23. Just Another Missing Person - Gillian McAllister
24. The Wych Elm - Tana French
25. The One - John Marrs
26. Raven Black - Ann Cleeves
27. Three Sisters, Three Queens - Philippa Gregory
28. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (tr. Robin Buss)
29. The Sweet Dove Died - Barbara Pym
30. The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim
31. White Nights - Ann Cleeves
32. The Dark Queens - Shelley Puhak
33. A Sicilian Affair - Susan Lewis
34. The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
35. The Survivors - Jane Harper
36. One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware
37. The Long Call - Ann Cleeves
38. One by One - Ruth Ware
39. Red Bones - Ann Cleeves
40. Promising Young Women - Caroline O’Donoghue

Thanks for the new thread. My list since the last thread:

27 A Girl is a Half-formed Thing - Eimear McBride
28 In the Shadow of Wolves - Alvydas Šlepikas trans Romas Kinka
29 The Rajah's Emerald - Agatha Christie
30 I Will Find You - Harlan Coben
31 Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart
32 Girl Unmasked - Emily Katy
33 Maddy Alone - Pamela Brown
34 The Lido - Libby Page
35 Only Dull People are Brilliant at Breakfast - Oscar Wilde
36 Notes on Grief - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (reread)
37 A Memoir of my Former Self - Hilary Mantel
38 The Running Grave - Robert Galbraith
39 The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde

Currently reading The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinni and Dombey & Son as part of the Dickensalong.

Thanks for the recommendations @ÚlldemoShúl I've avoided Strike since I found reading HP to my kids when they were younger quite a painful experience - so wordy! But maybe I need to succumb.

Glad Theory & Practice is getting some love, I know the author and saw her speak about it recently which was fascinating.

@Almanbyroadtrip so sorry for your loss. I hope reading can provide some comfort.