50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Eight

[Southeastdweller]

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

@ChessieFL It did pick up again a bit but it also got quite incoherent and messy. I wanted to finish it to see what it was trying to do and be, but I’m still not quite sure of either.

@DuPainDuVinDuFromage Tes, I know the boring section was sort of the point, but I’d have preferred to be interested whilst reading about it being boring. It really could have used some trimming.

I’m disappointed because I loved the concept and the early section so much. For me, I wasn’t bothered about things like where did all the food come from, but inconsistent or incomprehensible things that were crucial to the plot did annoy me. Unless I’m just being dim.

216 Hags - Victoria Smith

Aka Glosswitch around these parts, the subtitle of the book is the demonisation of middle aged women. It is based on the thesis that feminists tend to ignore the generation before them, as part of the societal trend that women become more invisible as they reach menopause. Interesting book and well written with many shocking facts (e.g. the murders of women over 59 were not included in the crime survey until 2018, although research shows that a disproportionate number of women over 60 die in domestic homicides).

Read and enjoyed by some of us www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/27/the-artist-by-lucy-steeds-wins-waterstones-book-of-the-year?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Popping in. Sadly, i haven't read any more books, but i thought here might be a good place to get some recommendations for books I could get DD for Xmas. We have quite different reading tastes so i struggle to choose. She'd like a couple of books, but hasnt recommended any specific titles.

DD is 13. She reads a lot if gripped by a book (particularly if it's the school holidays), but also spends loads of time doom scrolling & has periods when she doesnt read much (like me). She enjoys dystopia (Hunger Games series & similar) fantasy/romantsy (Powerless series & similar - shudder - not for me), teen thrillers & horror.

Surprise hit - Rebecca (but not enjoying My Cousin Rachel as much). Surprise miss Stephen King (didnt finish Fairytale after labouring through about a third of it). She doesnt read much 'realistic' contemporary fiction, but i think she'd enjoy it if i found the right thing. If anyone has any ideas - young adult or potentially adult fiction i'd be grateful. Im a bit stumped for ideas at the moment.

143. The Chimneys of Green Knowe, by Lucy Boson
Second in the series of the classic children's books. Someone mentioned upthread that there is a real attempt to be inclusive here. The book features a blind girl and a boy who has been rescued from slavery. The portrayal of the latter shows its age - it was first published in the 1950s - but is generally respectful. A cosy read on a cold winter's night.

Mine are boys @Owlbookend but Hunger Games a definite cross over. So possibilities from their (past) lists are:

Traitor's Blade et al from Sebastian de Castell
One of Us Is Lying trilogy from Karen McManus
Time Riders - Alex Scarrow (maybe a bit young for her)
Rivers of London (poss a bit too old for her)

Frances Hardinge @Owlbookend ?
’Classic’ YA for me would be Robert Westall. Obviously no mobile phones, social media etc but The Devil On The Road and The Watch House are two of my all time favourites. His short stories are good too, but again, set in a past so different to today that they might seem like ancient history to a teenager! The things in The Wheatstone Pond are pretty timeless horrid things, though.

@Owlbookend Patrick Ness Chaos Walking. If she liked Rebecca try Wuthering Heights ?

@Owlbookend Has she read the Divergent series? It was a hit with mine about the same time as the Hunger Games. John Wyndham is also fairly universally popular - the Chrysalids is my favourite. A bit of classic dystopia maybe - 1984 or Animal Farm? My teenagers also loved the Skulduggery Pleasance series but that is a bit more comic - I think Derek Landy also wrote a horror trilogy Demon Road.

Did I read somewhere (either on this thread or a readalong one) that there's going to be a Les Miserables readalong soon? Katie from Books and Things is planning a readalong from January (although hers looks to be going quite fast - three months!)

Yes @AgualusasL0ver mentioned it- a chapter a day for 2026.

Yep. We havent hashed the details out yet, as we are just finsihing Kristin Lavrensdattar, but the general idea was 1 chapter a day for the year as it is 365 chapters (I think). We haven't started a thread yet.

Great ill be signing up for that one. Audio is 65 hours long 🙈

@bibliomania- I mentioned the Chimneys of Green Knowe & good to hear that you enjoyed it. I agree that the portrayal of Jacob is dated - it’s not his character so much (I like how he is clever and how he & Susan retaliate against the adults) but the way he speaks that has always bothered me. What I do like is how well the the house is described & how savage the portrayal of all the adults who support slavery are. It’s something I sensed as a child reader, but when reading it to my DC as an adult really noticed what’s implied. I suspect you could probably map the 7 deadly sins on to them as the book does draw on religious ideas.

@Owlbookend- like your DD, I read Rebecca but couldn’t get into My Cousin Rachel as a teen. It might be worth looking at other du Mauriers as I remember also enjoying Frenchman’s Creek, Jamaica Inn and The King’s General. I second Frances Hardinge - I would have loved her as a teen.

@AgualusasL0ver- a Les Mis thread sounds fantastic!

46 The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves - this is the first book in the Vera series; which I found on BorrowBox as I wanted another detective story to read (as I’ve read a few recently inc some recommendations from here). It’s the case of a scientist working on a remote farm in Northumberland. She discovers a body (presumed suicide), but then there is another death & the police are called in. It’s easy to read & the case is sufficiently interesting - but the evocative description of the setting is the real star. I will read more by the author (although annoyingly the next book BorrowBox has in the series is 5) & might even watch the TV programme (which I haven’t seen).

@Benvenuto yes, totally agree. The first encounter at the slave market is done fairly gently for the child reader, but carries an emotional heft all the same.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

This was a really slow build. The new room mates move in (or the paying guests as they were called in the 1920s) and nothing happens except narration of the day to day for a long time. Luckily Sarah Waters is an exceptional writer so I stuck with it and suddenly the story explodes but somehow still slowly as each day is described over huge chunks of the book. I had no inkling of how this was going to end right up until the very last page and I so desperately needed to know.

It's 4.5 stars for me, not quite a bold as I would have liked a slightly quicker pace but I think that might be a me problem!

It is also quite a heavy read in terms of subject matter. From here on, I shall mostly be reading winter and/or Christmas books, some of which might be children's and some of which might be the 'lady who owns the light bulb cafe' variety.

I think I've got about 6 books to go to hit 50 but my Christmas is really quiet so no reason I can't do it. Especially if I go a bit low brow.

@Owlbookend I second sheila’s suggestion of One of Us is Lying - I haven’t read the trilogy but my DDs loved it.

@Owlbookend has she read His Dark Materials? I read the first one (as an adult) at Christmas and I don't think I moved out of my chair for the whole afternoon!

Also wondering if she would like The Dark is Rising sequence?

@Owlbookend I also have teen girls.

A couple that haven't been mentioned yet that she may like are Red Rising- Roman space dystopia - the Legend series and Shatter Me series. Oldest liked Fourth Wing too but it gets quite saucy so depends on her taste for that.

Away from dystopia, my 13 year old likes some of the Greek retellings, Song of Achilles and Stone Blind were both hits.

After a sleepless night, just finished 61 Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Emma Törzs Thanks for the recommendation @SheilaFentiman , I really enjoyed this and it was just what I needed after a lot of non-fiction! Intriguing premise which developed gradually throughout the book, with lots of mini revelations that eventually all made sense. I like books about books and magic anyway, but I thought this was a pretty good example. A nice fun read with a bit of depth too.

I've borrowed the Ink Blood Sister Scribe book too, but it might take me a while to get to it at current rate of progress.

80. Missing Person : Alice - Simon Mason

I recall this being recommended sometime ago (but can't remember by whom) and bought it but then didn't get round to reading it. Anyway it resurfaced on my Kindle as part of RWYO. The narrator is a freelance "finder" who works with police forces to locate missing persons. Alice, a schoolgirl, went missing 9 years earlier and the police are re-investigating her disappearance following the murder of a schoolgirl and the arrest of a local man. I'm not keen generally on books about violence against women but this was sensitively written. Initially it was unclear (to me) if the finder was a man or woman which didn't matter and it was the respectful and thorough nature of the process which was key. I also liked their relationship with the B&B host. Did make me question why the police hadn't asked these questions/followed these leads historically. Well done. Has anyone read anything else by Simon Mason?

81. Kristin Lavransdatter : The Cross - Sigrid Undset

The final book in the medieval trilogy about Kristin. Her sons reach adulthood and Kristin is aging. It's been an interesting read and whilst Kristin is a strong character who deals with an awful lot over the course of three books and quite a bit in this final book, I do feel her character has been very much shaped by the key men in her life particularly her father (Lavrans) and husband (Erlend). I think if she had married Simon and had a reliable, solid and unexciting marriage that she would have been a very different woman.

Next up is Book 1 of The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy. Reading a physical copy as big family tree and lots of characters!

Glad you liked it @DuPainDuVinDuFromage

Wow! Im waking up to such a great list of suggestions. Thank you all so much
🙂.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit Chaos Walking series is an excellent shout. Just taken a look and it looks right up her street. She does have a copy of Wuthering Heights but i think she is finding it a bit heavy going at the moment. She may mature into it.

@SheilaFentiman & @DuPainDuVinDuFromage the McManus series is also right on track. She has read most of them now. One of our rare cross overs as i quite enjoy the early ones too. Traitors Blade could definetely be a hit, this is the type of stuff i would hate, but she really enjoys.

@MaterMoribund I'd forgotten all about Westall's ghost stories. Again definite possibilities. They might not be in print, but im sure i could get secondhand. Hadnt heard of Frances Hadinge before, but a quick google suggests she'd enjoy.

@CutFlowers I think she's seen the film of Divergent, but not read the books another possibility. They have.been reading extracts from 1984 in English and she did ask for a copy, but havent got round to getting her one.

@Benvenuto will take a look at the other DuMarier's. She romped through Rebecca (although mentioned there were some words she didnt understand). They have to have a book for school for form, library lesson & when they finish work etc. My Cousin Rachel has been going back and forth for over 6 months now so can only assume it isnt grabbing her.

@noodlezoodle The Dark is Rising was a surprise miss a couple of Xmas's ago. I thought she'd love it. I think she finished it, but wasnt keen. She might have been a bit young for it at the time. His Dark Materials is a good shout. I have thought about it before, but had forgotten about it.

@Stowickthevast Shatter Me series looks just her type of thing. On the 'saucy' one Im always wary of giving stuff that is er very 'mature' ( ok - has graphic sex). Im not sure why i have no problem with her reading it, just seems a bit weird being given it by your mum 😳. Probably should get over it. Greek retellings are a good idea. She loved non-fiction about ancient Greece & Egypt as little kid.

Anyway, cant thank you all enough. Loads of great ideas

I've a teen DD who enjoyed Shatter Me too. The Fault in our Stars was a favourite for years.

The Simon Mason rec was me, @TimeforaGandT . He has another crime series featuring two DI Wilkins(es) which is quite different in tone but also enjoyable.