50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Seven

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the seventh 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 , the fifth thread here and the sixth thread

That gives me hope Eine as I will be reading it rather than listening to it.

I thought Nesting was very good and I listened to it. The husband did make me very angry but I think he's meant to - in fact he's almost too awful to be believable. I think as you get further into the story, you find out more about why she hasn't left before. Also I think there's a stat about the average woman leaving 7 times before actually managing to escape.

I thought Nesting was worth the read, and a sincere attempt to portray the reality of being in this situation.

I finished my two "Brits in Iraq" books:

116. Fundamentally, Nussaibah Younis
Young academic leaves her messy London life to set up project to deradicalise ISIS brides. I spent some time on the fringes of the aid world and this brought back my feelings of inadequacy and shame at my own naivety, which was quite cathartic. The author wears her moral indignation lightly and is wry and compassionate rather than hectoring. I liked it.

117. They Came to Baghdad, Agatha Christie
A young secretary travels to Iraq on a whim and finds herself swept up on political shenanigans. Who can she trust and will she survive? The politics are sketched vaguely - there are bad guys who must be foiled - but it's quite fun to be following clues and making daring escapes through the desert.

For a blast of testosterone, I then turned to Jack Reacher. Who needs HRT?

118. Tripwire, Lee Child
A private detective comes looking for Reacher only to be murdered before he can explain why, so Reacher needs to follow the trail of clues all the way back. This was one of the earliest ones, published in 1999, which feels a long time ago - see Reacher paging earnestly through telephone directories. Also somewhat dated is the main bad guy having a scarred face and a hook for a hand (not a spoiler). We get to see Reacher in love, which is fun, and makes the pacing interesting, as we keep switching from bad things happening to Reacher lounging around in bed, admiring his girlfriend's physique.

119. The Visitor, Lee Child
Reacher looks into the deaths of several former Army soldiers, whose common feature is that they reported sexual harassment while serving. I guessed the killer early on, but was willing to follow along for the ride.

Just finished When Breath Becomes air. An emotional read at the best of times but DHs nephew (30s) is undergoing treatment for a grade 4 glioblastoma which made it especially tough.
Now I need something light and cheerful but my TBR list of 39 has nothing suitable! A Jilly Cooper would be ideal but there's nothing in the deals and I'm too tight to pay £5.99 for a bonkbuster. Any suggestions? A family saga or something like that perhaps.

@countrygirl99 Try a Maeve Binchy or Coming Home by Rosamund Pilcher

75. The Editor’s Wife - Clare Chambers

When Small Pleasures was a big hit, Clare Chambers’ earlier novels were all reprinted - this is one of them, from 2007. I don’t know how successful it was at the time but it didn’t have the impact Small Pleasures did, and it’s interesting to see how she honed her writing and storytelling in the period between the two.

It’s narrated by Christopher Flinders, and falls into three parts - he looks back to his earlier life when he was an aspiring novelist and met the editor whose wife is a major element of the plot.

Essentially this is a love-story, with Chambers’ trademark dysfunctional families and sibling relationships looming large. Very readable, and highly enjoyable, but the structure made it a tiny bit clunky and it didn’t have quite the smooth polish that her more recent books enjoy. I do really like her easy style, though.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit Maeve Binchy is a good shout

My favourites are Light A Penny Candle and Glass Lake

I just got Light a Penny Candle for 99p😁. Was a bit 🤷seeing a used paperback of another title for £53.50 though.

176 Hacked Away - Nick Davies (NF)

Interesting account of the News of the World hacking scandal and its impact on the Murdoch empire, with a new epilogue on Prince Harry’s settlement. Written by the Guardian journalist who initially broke the story and then pursued it doggedly. Basis of The Hack, which is currently on ITV (and is quite good). Depressingly widespread problem that demonstrably continued after many investigations and inquiries had started.

I thought Nesting was really good, after putting it off for a while because I thought it would be too depressing. I'm not an expert on domestic violence but I have worked in homelessness in the past and I thought the depiction of bringing up a family in temporary accommodation was outstanding.

I second the Rosamunde Pilcher recommendation! I'm reading Coming Home at the moment. I'd also like to read more Maeve Binchy, I read Circle of Friends a few years ago and it was a revelation to me, it felt like a modern campus novel, not dusty and sentimental at all.

One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford

One from my wish list, in the Kindle sale. I can’t remember if I read about it on here or in a review in the Grauniad.

It’s a zombie book.

I liked it.

Anyone read Charlie Sheen's book? My work colleague loves him and she's debating buying it.

I got this in the kindle sale too. Glad to hear it’s good.

I’ve finished another RWYO The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. PI Philip Marlowe is befriended by Terry Lennox who months later comes asking Marlowe to get him out of down after murdering his wife. Or did he? This is a pretty bleak look at mankind- stylish though and strong voiced as you’d expect. I did guess the outcome but I enjoyed the journey. Would read more and must watch some of the old movies- feels like a Christmas holiday project.

Chandler is pretty much god imo.

The zombie book was very silly and quite science-y but the science-y wasn’t too brain hurty. Excuse the illiterate review. My brain seems to have been eaten.

Remus 🧠
In other news I’m really struggling with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. 200 pages in and it’s boring the pants off me- or more correctly the two protagonists are. Anyone read it?

I'm just about to start reading it - a whole load of my reservations have come through this week. DP collected Sonia and Sunny and Flashlight for me today, as he was working nearby.

177 The Trading Game - Gary Stevenson

Several on the thread have read this. A likeable memoir. Written by an East End boy who was the son of a post office worker, who - via a trading game whilst he was at LSE - won an internship at Citibank. He goes on to be a very successful trader in foreign exchange swaps before burning out. Clear explanations of what he learned and how he struggled to get any joy from his success.

Still catching up on the thread, but big congratulations to @GrannieMainlandI am another person who got the Katie Morag ref and thought you were a bit older because of it. Not been in a great place mental health wise so my reading has been unchallenging for the most part, here’s some reviews, with more to follow as I get the motivation.

88 The Love Interest by Victoria Walters

Enemies to lovers romance between a woman and her brother’s best friend. The MMC is ok, but I hated the MFC. Spoilt and pretentious (wearing glasses with clear lenses as she thinks it makes her look more like a librarian). I couldn’t imagine why anyone would be interested in her. Free on kindle unlimited.

89 The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

Second in the Dr Ruth Galloway series. Still not keen on Ruth herself, but enjoyed the archaeology and the mystery. Thought the identity reveal was a bit of a stretch (not the culprit, the other one) and the crime itself was disturbing. Cathbad remains the best character.

90 The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

It’s the 70s and girls are disappearing in a small town. This was more than your run of the mill crime novel, an exploration of the objectification and victimisation of young girls, and the culture of silence which pervaded. The ending was a bit too neat, and the twist was obvious, but I thought this was pretty good.

91 The Awakening by Kate Chopin

One of the earliest feminist novels, this follows Edna Pontellier and her struggle against the expectations of women, wives and mothers. I enjoyed the first section on Grand Isle, but was less enamored with the section in New Orleans. I know I’m meant to find Edna’s actions justified and inspiring, but if I’m honest I found her a little vapid and selfish.

92 Ask For Andrea by Noelle W Ilhi

The book follows three women, who were murdered by the same man, and their attempts to stop their murderer and bring him to justice. The impact that ghosts have is subtle and well done and I found this moving in places.

93 Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

The book is about two teenagers, who both feel like outsiders in different ways, who gradually develop a friendship and then fall in love. It’s set in the 80s so I loved the old school mix tapes, and how it captures the joy and confusion of first love. There’s much more to the book than that though. There’s poverty and how those who haven’t been there don’t quite get it, identity, abusive step parents, bullying, and race. I absolutely loved this, a definite bold.

94 Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Olivia Dumont is in financial difficulties so she is in no position to turn down the offer to ghost write the memoir of author Vince Taylor, who is also her estranged father. The memoir covers the murder of Vince’s older brother and younger sister in 1975, as Olivia slowly untangles the mystery of who their killer was. This was ok, but fairly predictable.

@elkiedee I think I’m going to soft DNF Sonia and Sunny. I just don’t want to pick it up- others may differ though. I enjoyed Flashlight

@MamaNewtNewt I have The Awakening in my read next pile!
Hope things improve for you soon

The Wilding By Ian McDonald

Read by someone else on here and sounded like I might enjoy it and I did!

Set in a re wilding location in Ireland, a group.of kids and their teachers and guide across the bog run into trouble with ancient myths not being as dead as thought.

I loved the writing about the bog. I often see in reviews people say the location was another character and for about the first time I can say that. The bog really did come to life and play a role. The characters were all believable and mostly likeable.

I did feel it was a little messy, we got intros to many employees at the beginning who we don't see again, which just gave me more names to fail to remember. And the thing(s) stalking the group are a bit jumbled and unclear. Possibly deliberately to make it more scary, but I just kept wondering if I had missed something. I docked a mark for that, but it was a solid 4 out of 5 and I'd read more the author.

It's overall quite haunting, pleased I don't have any immediate plans to hike through rainy boggy bits of Ireland.

Might do God of the woods next to keep the folk horror type stuff coming!

71. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

A re-read as acquired a Kindle copy in 2014 despite already owning a paperback copy and am doing RWYO. Moved up my pile as a result of seeing Death Comes to Pemberley at the theatre.

A lovely read with so many witticisms and lovely turns of phrase. I am now re-watching the BBC series and loving every minute of it.

That was me, @RazorstormUnicorn , glad you liked it! I’ve found it quite rare to come across a horror/folk horror with physical monsters that gives time to flesh out the human characters beyond basic stereotypes. There’s Adam Nevill but I can’t get into any of his books, his style doesn’t suit me at all.

@RazorstormUnicorn God of the Woods isn’t folk horror. It’s been published as if it is, but that’s entirely misleading imo.