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50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Six

1000 replies

Southeastdweller · 26/06/2025 18:13

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

OP posts:
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13
BlueFairyBugsBooks · 02/07/2025 01:04

Here's my list carried over

  1. A New Doctor At Orchard Cottage Hospital. Lizzie Lane.
  1. Intense Desire. Kris Kassidy
  1. Stumbling Stones. Bonnie Suchman
  1. Courage For The Clark's Factory Girls. May Ellis
  1. Letters from the Ginza Shihodo Stationery Shop. Kenji Ueda. Trans. Emily Balistrieri
  1. All The Broken Places. John Boyne
  1. Dark Times For The Clark's Factory Girls. May Ellis
  1. Alpha Beta Gamma. Malabika Ray
  1. Fracture. Elyse Hoffman.
  1. The Vengeance of Samuel Val. Elyse Hoffman

  2. Black Fox One. Elyse Hoffman

  3. Until We Meet. E.V Radwinter

  4. I'll Never Cry Again. Roberta Kagan

  5. Sweet Pear. Jessica Butler.

  6. Adiel and The Fuhrer. Elyse Hoffman

  7. The Hangman's Master. Elyse Hoffman

  8. Wild Lilacs. Jessica Butler.

  9. The Ballroom Girls. Jenny Holmes

  10. The Train That Took You Away. Catherine Hokin

  11. Sara, My Sara. Florence Wetzel

  12. Butterflies. Phill Featherstone

  13. Here Lyeth. Johanna Frank

  14. Murder by Letter. Carmen Radtke

  15. The Family Next Door. Charlotte Stevenson

  16. The Family Behind The Walls. Shari J Ryan

  17. Datonga. Martin Smalley

  18. Invocation. Aileen Erin

  19. On The Ledge. Naomi Clarisse.

  20. The Look of Death. C C Gilmartin

  21. The Little Island Flower Stall. Tilly Tennant.

  22. Wolf-blessed. John O’Donnell.

  23. Lunar. Chloe Openshaw

  24. The Zone of Interest. Martin Amis

  25. The Red Magus. Natasha Joy Price

  26. Tangles. Kay Smith-Blum

  27. The Girl who Saved Them. S.E Rutledge

  28. Aristotle for Novelists. Douglas Vigliotti.

  29. Family Affairs at the Orchard Cottage Hospital. Lizzie Lane

  30. Matritto/Motherhood. Ameena Tabessum

  31. Shadow Runner. K.J. Fieler

  32. The Promise She Made. Julie Hartley

  33. Hitler, Stalin Mum & Dad. Daniel Finkelstein

  34. Finding Home in Hartfell. Suzanne Snow

  35. End of a Century. Paul Carnahan

  36. Witness to the Revolution. Kiersten Marcil

  37. False Tidings: A Fool’s Errand. Stephen J. Grant

  38. The Trips. Pat Murray

  39. Ballet Shoes. Noel Streatfeild.

  40. Artificial Agent. J.W Jarvis

  41. A Portion of Malice. Lloyd Jeffries

  42. Because You Asked. A.E Bennett

  43. Gone in the Storm. B.R Spangler

  44. Lost Soul. Theresa Van Spankeren

  45. The Curlews Scream. Annette Leigh

  46. Edith's Story. Edith Velmans

  47. Mother Of The Bride. Quinn Avery

  48. A Measure Of Rhyme. Lloyd Jeffries

  49. The Hunt for the Peggy C. John Winn Miller

  50. The Babylonian Chronicles. Henry Sipes

  51. A Child Far From Home. Lizzie Page

  52. The Bracelet. Diane Clarke

  53. Killing Lily. Jilian Gardner

  54. The Wartime Nursery. Lizzie Page

  55. The Wartime Mother. Lizzie Page

  56. The Tiger Curtain & Other Stories. Paul Marriner

  57. The School That Escaped The Nazis. Deborah Cadbury

  58. Beyond the Sea. Nina Purtee

  59. Life Gets In The Way. Chris Husband

  60. The Secret of Ruby's Lighthouse. Kristin Harper

  61. The Hero Virus. Russell Dumper

  62. Three Little Lies. Danielle Stewart

  63. Dominion. Ray Star

  64. The Walls of Totterum. Benjamin Kamphuis

  65. Touchpaper. David Dodds

  66. Shaken. Jill Amber Chafin

  67. Where The Crawdads Sing. Delia Owens

  68. Who Served Well. Lawrie Johnston

  69. Sunrise On The Reaping. Suzanne Collins

  70. Newer. Robyn Abbott

  71. The Return of Frankie Whittle. Caroline England

  72. The Spanish Daughter. Soraya Lane

  73. Sister, Liar, Suspect, Sleuth. Lisa Nicholas

  74. The Wartime Chocolate Maker. Gosia Nealon

  75. The English Wife. Anna Stuart

  76. Rembrandts Promise. Barbara Leahy

  77. The Shining Men. Nicky Heymans

  78. I seek a Kind Person. Julian Borger

  79. Barley Sugar. Jack Charles

  80. Three Children in Danger. Marion Kummerow

  81. Remembering Demons. J.Cornelius

  82. The Seven O'clock Club. Amelia Ireland

  83. The Art of Life. S.L Russell

  84. Operation Fools Mate 48. ML Baldwin

  85. The Game. Danny Dagan

  86. Crossing Paths. Nina Purtee

  87. The Tangled Mane. Charlie Tyler

  88. Constructing Churchill. Jon Hartless

  89. The Countess and the Nazis. Richard Jay Hutto

  90. The Bridge to Always. Lynda Marron

  91. Finding Sarah. Nina Purtee

  92. Moroccan Sunset. Nina Purtee

  93. The Einstein Vendetta. Thomas Harding

  94. Kill Call. Jeff Wooten

  95. We Are Not Anonymous. Stephen Oram

  96. All Our Yesterdays. Guy Hale

  97. Ordinary Saints. Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin

  98. Hidden in Plain Sight. Julie Brill

  99. Searching for Jakup. Roberta Kagan

  100. A Fresh Start at Polkerran Point. Cass Grafton

  101. And It All Makes Sense In The End. Adam Blue

  102. Open Your Eyes. Heather Fitt

  103. Maelstrom of Malice. Karen Taylor

  104. Godwin's Revenge. O.C Heaton

  105. When Geminis Fall. Eoin O'Donovan

  106. The Home Front Girls. Susanna Bavin

  107. Courage For The Home Front Girls. Susanna Bavin

  108. Flora’s French Murder Mystery. Anna A. Armstrong

  109. Christmas For The Home Front Girls. Susanna Bavin

  110. A Wedding for the Home Front Girls. Susanna Bavin

  111. The Abandoned Theater. Dana Robertson

  112. Pyg. Pip Landers-Lett

  113. The Not So Average Life of Average Jane. Marissa Malson

  114. Wave After Wave. Sarah Ansbacher

  115. About War. Christopher K. Pike

  116. The Love We Chase. Alison Irving

  117. A Parent's Guide to Living With Adult Children. Catherine Jennings

  118. Way Beyond The Grits. Sidney Kate

  119. The Dressmaker's Secret. Michelle Vernal

  120. The Dressmaker's Past. Michelle Vernal

  121. The Dressmaker's War. Michelle Vernal

  122. The Irish Daughter. Daisy O'Shea

  123. The Home For War Orphans. Jenna Ness

  124. Outlaw: Nemesis of Rome. Adam Lofthouse

  125. Ever Since New York. Colleen Conklin

  126. The Widow's Irish Secret. Susanne O’Leary

  127. The Last Song of The Mistle Thrush. Ruth Mary Flanagan

  128. The Emerald Girls. Helen Fripp

  129. Legacy. Jim Chambers

  130. The German Next Door. Gosia Nealon

  131. Night. Elie Wiesel

  132. Foundations Under My Feet. Susana M. Henschel

I'm so behind with reviews. Here's the first glut.

  1. Steel Princess. April Grace
    Fantasy. Silver is a cyborg growing up among humans. And then she finds out shes actually the stolen princess. But her mother is evil. So she needs to kill her to take the throne. Fun futuristic fantasy if thats your thing.

  2. The Empathist. Alex Franklyn
    This book was so dark in places. It delt with mental health issues, murder. According to the review i wrote at the time i worked out who the killer was but there were lots of other twists.

  3. The Girl Who Fell Through Time. Katherine Macdonald
    This was a bold for me. An historical, time slip adventure. Selene is a young noblewoman whose husband accidently starts a war, leading to Selenes death. Only instead of dying she wakes up back in the past before she married her husband and has the chance to change her future. IIRC her husband was abusive and this was a fascinating, if implausible, story looking at how much power women had over their own lives.

  4. Skin Walker Medium. GG Collins
    I didnt realise this was Book 5 in a series, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Based around the Santa Fe penitentiary riot of 1980, and Navajo beliefs there are Witches, Curses and skin walkers. Enjoyed it.

  5. Cursed by Sorrow. Michelle Moras
    Romantasy retelling blending The Little Mermaid and Greek Gods. I secretly love these.

  6. The Tuscan Sister. Daniela Sacerdoti

  7. The Tuscan Sisters Secret. Daniela Sacerdoti
    Books 1 and 2 in a series. A set of sisters who have all inherited various "gifts" from their mum. Seeing the past, or the future and so on. Full of family secrets. Nice easy read stuff.

  8. Dreams of the Fallen. A.S. Colworth
    Apparently "epic fantasy". I remember that I enjoyed it, but as so often happens with fantasy the worlds are so intricate that I forget them once ive finished the book.

  9. Budapest Noir. Alison Langley
    Set in Budapest in the 1990s, which I'll admit I dont know much about, but also being about the uprising of 1956. Ilona has grown up under Communist rule. She's finally had a phone installed in her flat, something she wasn't allowed previously due to her husband's involvement in the Uprising. This was a fascinating story with a setting I know next to nothing about. Ilona's son moves back from America and the differences in lifestyle are vast! Id recommend this for anyone who loves European history wrapped up in fiction.

(Only 21 unreviewed books to go)

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/07/2025 09:22

86 . The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale (Spotify)

Read by Nicola Walker

The Peepshow chronicles the murders by Reg Christie at 10 Rillington Place. It’s very thorough almost too thorough focusing on the lives of the bit players long after Christie’s trial and demise.

I use audiobooks as a “Book At Bedtime” and this was so depressing and bleak that it didn’t work for its purpose, enough to give you nightmares.

I think someone else has read this : I thought it was overcooked and the ending dragged out.

Terpsichore · 02/07/2025 09:29

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/07/2025 09:22

86 . The Peepshow by Kate Summerscale (Spotify)

Read by Nicola Walker

The Peepshow chronicles the murders by Reg Christie at 10 Rillington Place. It’s very thorough almost too thorough focusing on the lives of the bit players long after Christie’s trial and demise.

I use audiobooks as a “Book At Bedtime” and this was so depressing and bleak that it didn’t work for its purpose, enough to give you nightmares.

I think someone else has read this : I thought it was overcooked and the ending dragged out.

Yep, me, Eine. Agree on all counts!

ÚlldemoShúl · 02/07/2025 09:45

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I read it too- though not on audio. It was on the WP for non-fiction longlist and I have no idea why.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/07/2025 09:53

Yes I nearly put that if was WPNF LL but I wasn’t sure and couldn’t be arsed to check. It’s a good 4 hours too long, I imagine this accounts for about 150 pages in real terms.

MonOncle · 02/07/2025 10:04

I spotted The Borrowed Hills in the deals which was one of my favourite reads from last year, one for fans of McCarthy and Tarantino.

Whilst it was quite silly and trying to do too much, I really enjoyed reading The Ministry of Time so give it a go!

elspethmcgillicudddy · 02/07/2025 13:15

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie The Lamb was a very rare DNF for me. I thought it was icky and couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters…

ÚlldemoShúl · 02/07/2025 15:14

99 Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel
This book is described as being about whether or not to have children. As someone childless/ childfree? (Not sure where I fall on that spectrum- I’ve been both) I looked forward to hearing about womanhood from a perspective that didn’t include motherhood and yet this book is actually a focus on motherhood. The one childfree character spends her time mothering someone else’s child but most of the book focuses on the difficulties of mothering a severely disabled child. That part is excellent and thought-provoking but overall the book disappointed me by not really exploring womanhood without parenthood.(Edited for not checking for appalling syntax)

Tarragon123 · 02/07/2025 16:36

@elkiedee – as a huge Style Council fan (I was a bit too young for The Jam) I love the sound of Walls Come Tumbling Down. I remember going to a Red Wedge concert in 1986 (I think). Must track that down.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 02/07/2025 19:51

elspethmcgillicudddy · 02/07/2025 13:15

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie The Lamb was a very rare DNF for me. I thought it was icky and couldn’t get past the first couple of chapters…

I read the first couple of chapters in the sample before buying. Survived those, so will see how I get on. Right now I’m on a Georgette Heyer fest though. No reviews but they’re keeping me quiet for a while.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/07/2025 21:04

87 . I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

Jolene, an early thirties misanthropic woman in a dead end job gets reprimanded when she accidentally sends a colleague a rude email. However, instead of the promised restrictions to her computer she is accidentally given Admin level access and can read everybody’s emails and messages.

Will she use the power for good or evil ?

I LIKED this! I really did, Jolene was easy to root for, it was funny without trying hard, there was light and shade, the inevitable coming undone….

This was a bold for me, and then the very cheesy and not very believable 1 year later chapter knocked it off course..I probably will still keep it as a bold but I think maybe the publisher insisted on that last chapter because the end of the penultimate chapter is perfect and strikes exactly the right tone. We don’t need a forced catch up with minor and unlikeable characters

As an enabler, I’d like to point out that this is still 99p.

The thing it most reminded me of was Monica Heisey’s Really Good, Actually which I think had mixed reviews on here…I say go for it.

ChessieFL · 02/07/2025 21:10

I bought that one in the monthly deals too Eine so pleased to see a good review! It does sound fun.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/07/2025 21:14

I would have read it in one sitting had I not had to do life instead @ChessieFL

AlmanbyRoadtrip · 03/07/2025 06:24

33 Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
A welcome escape from all the Sadmin and general bereavement upheaval. The science bits sailed merrily over my head for the most part, but there’s such humour and courage and sheer humanity in the rest of it that this will be a definite bold. Amaze Wink DH has been telling me for years that I would enjoy The Martian but I don’t like much science fiction at all, usually. He is pleased this book has given him an “I told you so!” moment Grin

I liked I Hope This Finds You Well a lot, @EineReiseDurchDieZeit but had to leave the last couple of chapters when my eye went squiffy. I’ll try and get back to it this weekend.

Castlerigg · 03/07/2025 07:33

Just bought I Hope This Finds You Well thanks @EineReiseDurchDieZeit 😀

Stowickthevast · 03/07/2025 07:38

@ÚlldemoShúl have you read Boulder? That was on the Booker list the same year as Still Born and explored similar issues but in a very different way. Mammoth by the same author was also very good I thought.

Tempted by I Hope This Finds You Well Eine... It's still basically deals day isn't it?

I've had my first DNF The Pure Gold Baby by Margaret Drabble which has been sitting on my Kindle for about 10 years. It's about Jess, an anthropologist, who has a "Pure Gold Baby" Anna, who is beautiful and good but mentally disabled. It's starts in the 60s and follows Anna's life as attitudes develop. But it's narrated by a friend of Jess's and it's told in a very meandering style with lots of random anthropological anecdotes. It really wasn't doing it for me so I've given up at 25%. I did check on Good Reads and the reviews seem to agree that nothing really happens.

LadybirdDaphne · 03/07/2025 08:32

38 Hex - Jenni Fagan
Modern-day witch Iris contacts Geillis Duncan via time-travel seance (like you do), on the eve of 15-year-old Geillis’ execution on a trumped up charge of using witchcraft against James VI’s new bride. Moving and grim, with visceral descriptions of the torture Geillis endured - smacks you hard with the realities of the Scottish witch trials, despite the fantastical elements.

39 The Folklore of Wales: Ghosts - Delyth Badder and Mark Norman
Comprehensive account of Welsh folklore around ghosts, based largely on 19th and early 20th century records, with accounts given in their original Welsh and in translation. Pretty dry and not exactly a page turner, but a good resource for people interested in Welsh woo. Also, a surprising find in my local public library, which is about as far from Wales as you can get while still being on planet Earth.

40 Watching Neighbours Twice a Day - Josh Widdicombe
Light well-placed counterweight to the previous two! I loved it, but that’s mostly due to the nostalgia value of being more or less the same age as Josh and having v similar TV memories.

ÚlldemoShúl · 03/07/2025 08:32

I have @Stowickthevast amd I wasn’t mad on that either. I wonder is it that both authors are mothers so can’t really imagine what it is to be childless/ childfree - although that’s not fair as I do feel authors usually are great at putting themselves in other people’s shoes. Perhaps it’s because of translation? In both books the childfree people were distinctly odd- a little cold (less so in Still Born) I’ve yet to see a representation of a child free person who is fairly normal! The search goes on!

Stowickthevast · 03/07/2025 09:52

I can see that. I think I'm both books the authors were deliberately trying to upset the "women are maternal" trope. For me it worked more successfully in Boulder/Mammoth but that may just be that Eva Baltasar is a bit bonkers!

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/07/2025 11:20

Oh erk!! It’s awful when you praise something and other people buy it because of you and are then like What The Fuck Is This Tripe? I hope everyone likes it well enough! I posted a Sad Kermit once because I praised On The Road and everyone said it was pretentious and terrible Grin

BlueFairyBugsBooks · 03/07/2025 12:06

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/07/2025 11:20

Oh erk!! It’s awful when you praise something and other people buy it because of you and are then like What The Fuck Is This Tripe? I hope everyone likes it well enough! I posted a Sad Kermit once because I praised On The Road and everyone said it was pretentious and terrible Grin

The only times I can remember people on here reading a book after I recommended it they didnt like it. So now im scared to recommend things Grin

Castlerigg · 03/07/2025 12:16

It was only a quid @EineReiseDurchDieZeit, and I’ve bought so many kindle books based on this thread that there is zero chance of me remembering who recommended it by the time I’ve actually read it, and it’s anyone’s guess when that will be!

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/07/2025 12:19

That’s a fair point ! I am always like “someone read this can’t remember who sorry”!! Grin

ChessieFL · 03/07/2025 12:33

I had already bought it before seeing your review Eine so there will definitely be no blame attached to you if I don’t like it!

nowanearlyNicemum · 03/07/2025 13:29

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit Your review had me sold until you compared it to Really good, actually which I didn't get on with at all 😂

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