50 Books Challenge - 2025 Round up

[RomanMum]

Hello again 50 Bookers! Here’s a separate thread to gather together our top recommendations from the year. Please post your final lists, or just your outstanding reads – good and bad - if you prefer. If you are posting the full list just a reminder to please bold your favourites (the best written, plot, characters, or books that stayed with you long after you finished them), and italicise the duds, disappointments or any DNFs if you can.

It would be handy if you could mark which are Fiction and which Non-Fiction too. Thank you!

I’ll wrangle the spreadsheet and put together some meaningful stats in early January – there’ll be a reminder on the main thread nearer the deadline.
Still ploughing through my current NF so I’ll come back later in December with my bolds.

Cheers! Roman

I made it to 50 exactly. Here is my list:

) The Trials of Marjorie Crowe by CS Robertson
2) Bad Fruit by Ella King
3) Unruly by David Mitchell
4) Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent
5) Butter by Asako Yuzuki
6) North Woods by Daniel Mason
7) Nothing Left to Fear From Hell by Alan Warner
8) How to Solve your own Murder by Kristen Perrin
9) The Palace by Gareth Russell
10) Strange Pictures by Uketsu
11) Night Swimmers by Roisin Maguire
12) The List of Suspicious Things by Jenny Godfrey
13) The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell
14) One of the Good Guys by Amarinta Hall
15) Cloistered by Catherine Coldstream
16) Precipice by Robert Harris
17) The Picnic by Matthew Longo
18) Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
19) Four Shots in the Night by Henry Hemming
20) Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson
21) Getting Over Your Parents by the School of Life
22) Sandwich by Catherine Newman
23) Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
24) Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
25) The Detective's Daughter by Lesley Thomas
26) Her Side of the Story by Alba de Cespedes
27) Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
28) Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
29) Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll
30) The Skeleton by Erin Kelly
31) A Case of Mice and Murder by Sally Smith
32) A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
33) Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
34) Trust by Herman Diaz
35) Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister
36) The Wedding People by Alison Espach
37) Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
38) Connective Tissue by Eleanor Thom
39) The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
40) Larry's Party by Carole Shields
41) Ordinary Time by Cathy Rentzenbrink
42) A History of Britain in 10 Enemies by Terry Deary
43) The Artist by Lucy Steeds
44) Munich Airport by Greg Baxter
45) Shattered by Hanif Kureishi
46) The Siege by Ben MacIntyre
47) Precious Lives by Margaret Forster
48) Eurotrash by Christian Krach
49) Beautiful Ugly by Alice Freeney
50) The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Favourite three:
North Wood
Killing Thatcher Night Swimmers

Least Favourite:
Victorian Psycho
Sandwich
Death at the Sign of the Rook

I've read 118 books this year, may make it to 119 by tomorrow night. I've actually loved very few, I'm not sure why - it's been a bit of a tough year so maybe I wasn't in the right headspace to really enjoy things, or maybe I've been too influenced to read things that are big on social media and then disappoint (looking at you, These Summer Storms, my worst book of the year!)

My absolute stand out favourite was Consider Yourself Kissed which has everything I want in a book. I also loved Bring the House Down.

I was astonished by The Safekeep (not universally popular) and Glorious Exploits was like nothing I've read before, in a very good way.

Like lots of others I binged and adored every second of the Jane Casey/Maeve Kerrigan books (Josh!!)

Looking back at my list I think I also bolded:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
The New Life by Tom Crewe
Confessions by Catherine Airey
Greatest of All Time by Alex Allison
Love Forms by Claire Adams
Helm by Sarah Hall

Confused a bit by your formatting @GrannieMainlandas italics is books you hated and I think you meant bold

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit oh that's weird everything looks bold on my app! They are all the books I enjoyed, for avoidance of doubt

How strange!

I have finished 98 books so far this year – annoying I have four on the go at the moment and I suspect two of them will be bolds but I am unlikely to finish any more before tomorrow!

Fiction Bolds
The Vegetarian Han Kang trans Deborah Smith
And Then She Fell - Alicia Elliot
Ali & Nino - Kurban Said trans unknown
A Terrible Kindness - Jo Browning Roe
At Night All Blood is Black - David Diop trans Anna Moschovakis
An American Marriage - Tayatri Jones
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexander Dumas trans Roger Buss
In the Shadow of Wolves - Alvydas Šlepikas trans Romas Kinka
Shuggie Bain - Douglas Stuart
The Running Grave - Robert Galbraith
Water - John Boyne
The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead
The Dead Lake, Hamid Ismailov, trans. from Russian by Andrew Bromfield
The Visit - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There are Rivers in the Sky - Elif Shafak

I also really enjoyed Dombey & Son – Charles Dickens and the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy by Sigrid Unset trans Tiina Nunnally I think because I read them as part of the readalongs.

Non-Fiction Bolds
84 Charing Cross Road
Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad - Daniel Finklestein
Reading Lessons - Carol Atherton
Breaking Through - Katalin Kariko

Books I really didn’t like but I suspect it is because I am not clever enough particularly for the stream of consciousness style: Flights ‐ Olga Tokarczuk trans Jennifer Croft, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing - Eimear McBride and Night Train to Lisbon – Pascal Mercier trans Barbara Harshav.

I was also really disappointed by the The Hallmarked Man - Robert Galbraith and Memoirs of my Former Self – Hilary Mantel – not because they were terrible but because I had been looking forward to them.

Thanks so much to @RomanMum for collating and all 50bookers for reviews and recommendations.

I'm calling it a year on 240 books.

My stats: 22% were bolds (seems high but lower than 2024!), 67.5% were fiction, 33% were RWYO (which I defined as 'bought before 1/1/24' and is nearly double my prior year percentage, so yay me!)

Bolds (fiction)
The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
This Is Why We Lied - Karin Slaughter
Never Never - Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
The Stranger Diaries - Elly Griffiths
The Keeper of Stories - Sally Page
Layla - Colleen Hoover
Bleeding Heart Yard - Elly Griffiths
The Report - Jessica Francis Kane
Here One Moment - Liane Moriarty
The Hunter - Tana French
Conclave - Robert Harris
Precipice - Robert Harris
Bad Dreams and Other Stories - Tess Hadley
The Voyage Home - Pat Barker
The Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes
Dark Fire (Shardlake 2) - C J Sansom
By Any Other Name - Jodi Picoult
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
The Trespassers - Tana French
Firebrand - Elizabeth Fremantle
Sovereign (Shardlake 3) - C J Sansom
The Names - Florence Knapp
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
Revelation (Shardlake 4) - C J Sansom
Indemnity Only - Sara Paretsky
The Likeness - Tana French
Drayton and MacKenzie - Alexander Starrit
Romantic Comedy - Curtis Sittenfeld
The Martian - Andy Weir
The Book of Guilt - Catherine Chidgey
The Wise Woman - Philippa Gregory
Immaculate Conception - Ling Ling Huang
The Best Of Everything - Kit de Waal
Artemis - Andy Weir

Bolds (non fiction):
The Spy and the Traitor - Ben McIntyre
Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 - Mitchell Zuckoff
A Bookshop of One's Own - Jane Cholmeley
A Very Short History of the Israel Palestine Conflict - Ilan Pappe
When the Dust Settles - Lucy Easthope
Out - Tim Shipman
Bess of Hardwick: First Lady of Chatsworth - Mary S Lovell
Young Elizabeth - Nicola Tallis
The Only Plane in the Sky - Garett Graff
Uncrowned Queen: The Fateful Life of Margaret Beaufort, Tudor Matriarch - Nicola Tallis
Blood Sisters - Sarah Gristwood
A Spy Amongst Friends - Ben McIntyre
Operation Mincemeat - Ben McIntyre
Johnson at 10 - Anthony Seldon
Enshittification - Corey Doctorow
A Life of My Own - Claire Tomalin
Play It Again - Alan Rusbridger
Wintering - Katherine May

Duds (first two fiction, last three NF):
A Most Desirable Marriage - Hilary Boyd
The One That Got Away - Simon Wood
A Cheesemonger's History of the British Isles - Ned Palmer
Pattern - Emma Bridgewater
Thinking About It Only Makes It Worse: And Other Lessons from Modern Life - David Mitchell

DNF (so also duds!):
Confessions of a GP
The Bellini Madonna
How to Build a Girl

Bolds....
The remains of the day - kazuro ishiguro
Heretical fishing - haylock jobson (deranged gamers fantasy with super mild peril)
The hearts invisible furies - John Boyne
The casual vacancy - jk Rowling
All the colours of the dark - Chris Whitaker
Dombey and son - Dickens
Miss Bensons beetle - Rachel Joyce
Carpet Diem - Justin lee Anderson (comedy fantasy)
Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake (non fiction)
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The secret garden - Frances hodgson Burnett
I am pilgrim - Terry Hayes
A fine balance - rohinton mistry
The Postman - David brin
Fantasticland - Mike bockoven
Cousin Bette - Balzac

And I hated..
The time travellers wife
The let them theory - Mel Robbins (non fiction)
The year of the locust - Terry Hayes

Thanks as always to southeast for organising us all, and to @RomanMum for undertaking this roundup once again.
Massive thanks to all 50 bookers for the brilliant variety of recommendations and opinions shared on these threads. The best corner of the internet, for sure.

Here's my list:

• An Island Wedding – Jenny Colgan
• Red Sauce, Brown Sauce – Felicity Cloake
• The Christmas Bookhunt – Jenny Colgan
• When the dust settles – Lucy Easthope
• The answer is no – Fredrik Backman
• A little life – Hanya Yanagihara
• This much is true – Miriam Margoyles
• One Good Turn – Kate Atkinson
• Waterlog – Roger Deakin
• How to build a boat – Elaine Feeney
• Loosely based on a made-up story – James Blunt
• Tuesdays with Morrie – Mitch Albom
• Anybody out there? – Marian Keyes
• The Summer of the Bear – Bella Pollen
• When will there be good news? - Kate Atkinson
• Between the stops – Sandi Toksvig
• The Hairy Bikers: Blood, Sweat & Tyres – Si King & Dave Myers
• My Friends – Hisham Matar
• What I ate in a year – Stanley Tucci
• The Pursuit of Love – Nancy Mitford
• Moranthology – Caitlin Moran
• Crying in H mart – Michelle Zauner
• Summer – Ali Smith
• The man who pays the rent – Judi Dench & Brendan O’Hea
• Started early, took my dog – Kate Atkinson
• The Ninth Child - Sally Magnusson
• The Gran Tour – Ben Aitken
• Big sky – Kate Atkinson
• The Last Anniversary – Liane Moriarty
• Grown ups – Marian Keyes
• Brain food – Lisa Mosconi
• The Wilderness – Samantha Harvey
• Four mums in a boat – Janette Benaddi, Helen Butters, Niki Doeg & Frances Davies
• Namaste MotherFckers - Cally Beaton*
• Us – David Nicholls
• A better second half – Liz Earle
• Reasons to stay alive – Matt Haig
• The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
• Away with the Penguins – Hazel Prior
• Lady Tan’s circle of women – Lisa See
• The only plane in the sky – Garrett M. Graff
• Half-arse human - Leena Norms
• Britt-Marie was here - Fredrik Backman
• The Silkworm – Robert Galbraith
• Becoming you – Suzy Welch
• Christmas Pudding – Nancy Mitford
• Small things like these – Claire Keegan
• Career of evil – Robert Galbraith

Best fiction:
One Good Turn – Kate Atkinson
The Summer of the Bear – Bella Pollen
When will there be good news? - Kate Atkinson
Us – David Nicholls
The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
Britt-Marie was here - Fredrik Backman
Small things like these – Claire Keegan

Best non-fiction:
Red Sauce, Brown Sauce – Felicity Cloake
When the dust settles – Lucy Easthope
Waterlog – Roger Deakin
Between the stops – Sandi Toksvig

I read 48 books, 72% of which were written by women. I listened to 47% of them on audible. 45% of my reads were non-fiction. This has massively increased since joining these threads, and discovering audible which I find is a great medium for non-fiction. Only 52% were by authors I hadn't read before which is unusual for me.

Looking forward to a brand new year of reading - already have several books on the go that might possibly get finished before I go back to work.

Here’s my full list, with bolds and also a couple of stinkers; non-fiction is marked NF:

1. The Girl of Ink and Stars - Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Moana-esque cartographical adventure)
2. Once Upon a River - Diane Setterfield (storytelling on the Thames)
3. My Perfect Friend - Sarah Clarke (stalkery thriller)
4. One of the Good Guys - Araminta Hall (dreadful attempt at feminist manifesto)
5. A Spy among Friends - Ben Macintyre (double agents, drinking and deception) NF
6. The Secret Hours - Mick Herron (le Carré meets Whitehall bureaucracy)
7. Black Rabbit Hall - Eve Chase (60s siblings in gothic Cornwall mansion)
8. The Miniaturist - Jessie Burton (human nature in old Amsterdam)
9. No Escape - Lucy Clarke (backpackers on a boat)
10. The Poison Pen Letters - Fiona Walker (Cotswolds cosy crime)
11. Instructions for a Heatwave - Maggie O’Farrell (Irish family drama)
12. The Marches: Border Walks with my Father - Rory Stewart (nostalgia trip mixed with cultural history) NF
13. The Sea House - Louise Douglas (missing people and unsolved mysteries)
14. Yellowface - Rebecca Kuang (publishing industry navel-gazing)
15. The House of Fortune - Jessie Burton (The Brandts revisited)
16. The Muse - Jessie Burton (30s Spain; 60s London; great story)
17. The Birdcage - Eve Chase (sisters and secrets)
18. Butter - Asako Yuzuki (tr. Polly Barton) (food, Japan, learning to love yourself)
19. Airhead - Emily Maitlis (behind the scenes of TV interviews)
20. Case Histories - Kate Atkinson (awful things happen to women and girls)
21. Our Wives under the Sea - Julia Armfield (unexplained deep-ocean weirdness)
22. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O’Farrell (tragic story of misunderstood girl)
23. Just Another Missing Person - Gillian McAllister (detective thriller with a twist)
24. The Wych Elm - Tana French (memory gaps and murder)
25. The One - John Marrs (good idea, very badly executed)
26. Raven Black - Ann Cleeves (atmospheric Shetland murder mystery)
27. Three Sisters, Three Queens - Philippa Gregory (Tudor princess in Scotland)
28. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas, tr. Robin Buss (epic story of adventure and revenge)
29. The Sweet Dove Died - Barbara Pym (unlikeable characters do nothing much in the 1970s)
30. The Enchanted April - Elizabeth von Arnim (happiness and love in flowery Italy)
31. White Nights - Ann Cleeves (summer in Shetland with lots of murders)
32. The Dark Queens - Shelley Puhak (powerful dark ages women) NF
33. A Sicilian Affair - Susan Lewis (Mary Sue goes to Sicily and boringly recounts her life)
34. The Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware (seriously creepy kids and house)
35. The Survivors - Jane Harper (small-town Tasmania with secrets and tragedy)
36. One Perfect Couple - Ruth Ware (desert island disaster)
37. The Long Call - Ann Cleeves (Devon community secrets)
38. One by One - Ruth Ware (ski chalet murders)
39. Red Bones - Ann Cleeves (secrets on an archaeological dig)
40. Promising Young Women - Caroline O’Donoghue (creepy workplace affair)
41. The Heron’s Cry - Ann Cleeves (death in Devon)
42. Blue Lightning - Ann Cleeves (Fair Isle, birds and the wrong ending)
43. The Crow Trap - Ann Cleeves (Northumberland wildlife survey)
44. The Raging Storm - Ann Cleeves (murder on the coast)
45. Les Cahiers d’Esther: Histoires de mes 14 ans - Riad Sattouf (Fr) (la vie en 4ème)
46. The Peacock and the Sparrow - I S Berry (deeply unpleasant CIA officer in Bahrain’s Arab Spring)
47. The Figurine - Victoria Hislop (cosy Greek story with interesting history)
48. The House of Mirrors - Erin Kelly (intriguing and stylish family mystery)
49. Zero Days - Ruth Ware (cyber crime thriller by numbers)
50. Fall Out - M N Grenside (one-dimensional tell-not-show supposed thriller)
51. Her Secret Service - Claire Hubbard-Hall (dense history of female spies) NF
52. Shadow State - Luke Harding (gob-smacking network of corruption) NF
53. Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England - Tracy Borman (1066 and all that) NF
54. The Odyssey - Homer, tr. Emily Wilson (epic)
55. In the Woods - Tana French (police procedural with tantalising mystery)
56. Hons and Rebels - Jessica Mitford (funny and fascinating memoir) NF
57. Autumn Chills - Agatha Christie (seasonal short stories)
58. The Other Valley - Scott Alexander Howard (girl grows up in a world of time travel)
59. The Napoleon of Crime - Ben Macintyre (master thief and his duchess) NF
60. The Disappearing Spoon - Sam Kean (wide-ranging history of the periodic table) NF
61. Ink Blood Sister Scribe - Emma Törzs (books, magic, sisters)
62. Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent (grim story with weirdly simplistic style)
63. Madam, will you talk? - Mary Stewart (romance and adventure in the south of France)
64. Every Little Secret - Sarah Clarke (psychos, misdirection and melodrama)
65. Gnomon - Nick Harkaway (onion-layered literary sci-fi)
66. The God of the Woods - Liz Moore (70s summer camp mystery)

Top fictions (in no particular order):

The Wych Elm
The Survivors
The Other Valley
Gnomon

Top non-fictions (probably in this order):

The Disappearing Spoon
Shadow State
A Spy among Friends
The Napoleon of Crime

Here's my 2025 list:

1 Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit
2 Summerwater by Sarah Moss
3 Girl by Edna O'Brien
4 Outline by Rachel Cusk
5 Intervals by Marianne Brooker
6 An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
7 Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
8 On the Front Line with the Women Who Fight Back by Stacey Dooley
9 Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor
10 Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
11 Defending the Guilty: Truth and Lies in the Criminal Courtroom by Alex McBride
12 Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
13 Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
14 Strong Female Character by Fern Brady
15 The Case Against the Sexual Revolution by Louise Perry
16 Good Girls: A Story and Study of Anorexia by Hadley Freeman
17 Bad Fruit by Ella King
18 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
19 Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
20 Chances by Freya North
21 Are We Having Fun Yet? by Lucy Mangan
22 The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
23 The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid
24 The Chain by Adrian McKinty
25 Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder
26 The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanon
27 Open Secret by Stella Rimington
28 Paper Cup by Karen Campbell
29 A Bird in Winter by Louise Doughty
30 The Neighbours by Emma Babbington
31 Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
32 Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
33 A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe
34 Spare Brides by Adele Parks
35 Nuclear War by Annie Jacobsen
36 Nesting Roisin O'Donnell
37 Extreme Economies: Survival, Failure, Future - Lessons From the World's Limits by Richard Davies
38 Still Me by Jojo Moyes
39 My Family by David Baddiel
40 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
41 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
42 Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
43 Childhood by Tove Ditlevsen
44 Youth by Tove Ditlevsen
45 Dependency by Tove Ditlevsen
46 The Seven Ages of Death by Richard Shepherd
47 The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
48 Paula by Isabel Allende
49* *Open by Andre Agassi
50 Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood
51 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
52 The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
53 Gillespie and I by Jane Harris
54 The Vital Question: Why is life the way it is? by Nick Lane

My book of the year was Cryptonomicon - amazing.
Several bolds and only one real stinker. No DNFs (I rarely DNF).
59% fiction, 41% non fiction.
72% female author, 28% male author.

Also, the number of unread books on my kindle went from 212 at the start of the year to 198 at the end of the year, so I read more than I bought. I'll aim to continue that trend in 2026.

Happy new year you lovely lot!

Just summarising my bolds and stinker to make it easier for @RomanMum :

Fiction:
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
Paper Cup by Karen Campbell
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Non fiction:
The World I Fell Out Of by Melanie Reid
Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall by Anna Funder
My Family by David Baddiel
Paula by Isabel Allende

Loved the mini reviews @DuPainDuVinDuFromage the Pym one made me laugh.

I read 125 books this year, with 15 (12%) being bold. Only 6 (4.8%) were non-fiction.

I did focus more on easy reads in the second half of the year when my mental health dipped, so would like to read a bit more non-fiction (esp as 2/3 of the non-fiction books I read were bolds) , and some more challenging reads next year.

Here’s my full list, with the bolds highlighted but I’ll also post my duds and bolds, split by fiction / non fiction separately.

1 Redemption by Jussi Adler-Olsen
2 Remember Me Tomorrow by Farah Heron
3 The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B Tyson
4 Exhalation by Ted Chiang
5 Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
6 Guilty by Jussi Adler-Olsen
7 Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
8 Relive by KJ Nelson
9 The Party on Laurel Street by Ruth Heald
10 Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
11 To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
12 Buried by Jussi Adler-Olsen
13 The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen
14 Old Filth by Jane Gardam
15 The Hanging Girl by Jussi Adler-Olsen
16 All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
17 The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen
18 Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
19 Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
20 The Other Times of Caroline Tangent by Ivan D Wainwright
21 The Whisper Man by Alex North
22 1066: The Year of Three Battles by Frank McLynn
23 Victim 2117 by Jussi Adler-Olsen
24 The Shadow Murders by Jussi Adler-Olsen
25 Locked In by Jussi Adler-Olsen
26 Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
27 The Night We First Met by Clare Swatman
28 Black Rock Bay by Brianna Labuskes
29 Passing by Nella Larsen
30 Web by John Wyndham
31 Find Me by Anne Frasier
32 The Outsiders by SE Hinton
33 The Reckoning by DM Taylor
34 Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
35 The Man Who Saw Everything by Deborah Levy
36 Finding Suzy: The Hunt For Missing Estate Agent Suzy Lamplugh and ‘Mr Kipper’ by David Videcette
37 Truth and Lies by Caroline Mitchell
38 The Day Tripper by James Goodhand
39 The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths
40 Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky
41 The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner
42 Diva by Daisy Goodwin
43 The Burning by Jane Casey
44 The Reckoning by Jane Casey
45 The Last Girl by Jane Casey
46 The Stranger You Know by Jane Casey
47 The Kill by Jane Casey
48 After The Fire by Jane Casey
49 Let The Dead Speak by Jane Casey
50 Cruel Acts by Jane Casey
51 The Cutting Place by Jane Casey
52 The Close by Jane Casey
53 A Stranger In The Family by Jane Casey
54 The Secret Room by Jane Casey
55 The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
56 Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane
57 Under Your Spell by Laura Wood
58 Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovich
59 I’ll Stop The World by Lauren Thoman
60 Poison Study by Maria V Snyder
61 Magic Study by Maria V Snyder
62 Bad Moon by Jodi Taylor
63 Her Last Move by John Marrs
64 How Soon Is Now? by Paul Carnahan
65 The Defence by Steve Cavanagh
66 An Accidental Death by Pete Grainger
67 The Plea by Steve Cavanagh
68 The Liar by Steve Cavanagh
69 Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
70 Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
71 The Devil’s Advocate by Steve Cavanagh
72 The Accomplice by Steve Cavanagh
73 Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
74 Horns by Joe Hill
75 The Dentist by Tim Sullivan
76 The Bat by Jo Nesbo
77 Femlandia by Christina Dalcher
78 Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo
79 The Silent Quarry by Cheryl Rees-Price
80 The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey
81 The First Time Laura Pailing Died by Alyson Rudd
82 Moment of Truth by Shari Low
83 Me:Moir Vol 1 by Vic Reeves
84 O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
85 Always You and Me by Dani Atkins
86 The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
87 The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith
88 The Love Interest by Victoria Walters
89 The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
90 The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey
91 The Awakening by Kate Chopin
92 Ask For Andrea by Noelle W Ilhi
93 Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
94 Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
95 Just Say Yes by Maxine Morrey
96 The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier
*97 The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
98 Count to Three by TR Ragan
99 Her Perfect Family by Theresa Driscoll
100 The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
101 Out of Time by Jodi Taylor
102 Never Lie by Frieda McFadden
103 The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
104 Upgrade by Blake Crouch
105 The House at Seas End by Elly Griffiths
106 The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
107 Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
108 Something Bad Wrong by Eryk Pruitt
109 Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood
110 Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk
111 The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
112 John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie
113 Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea
114 The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
115 Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
116 The Prodigal Hour by Will Entrekin
117 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
118 Message In The Bones by Dawn Merriman
119 Message In the Fire by Dawn Merriman
120 Message In the Grave by Dawn Merriman
121 Everything’s Eventual by Stephen King
122 The Vegetarian by Han Kang
123 Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
124 A Room Full Of Bones by Elly Griffiths
125 The Measure by Nikki Erlick

Non-Fiction Bolds

The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B Tyson (Account of the murder of black teenager by white racists, with the person, myth, and impact all covered. Horrifying but necessary read. Free on kindle unlimited.)

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (Minute by minute account of how a nuclear war could unfold. Excellent and terrifying in equal measure.)

Me:Moir Vol 1 by Vic Reeves (Covers early life of the comedian Vic Reeves in Leeds and Darlo. Interesting and funny, as you would expect.)

John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie (Examination of the relationship between Lennon and McCartney through their songs. It made me look at some of the songs in a different way, which surprised me as a mega Beatles fan. Just beautiful and poignant.)

Fiction Bolds

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll (Focus on the female victims of a serial killer based on Ted Bundy. I liked the exploration of the myth of the intelligent super villain and exposure of the misogyny and police incompetence that allowed him to kill again and again.)

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers (A four person crew visits different planets for the expansion of knowledge. Raised interesting ethical questions about interactions with other life forms, that could just as easily apply to our own planet.)

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Jen travels back in time to work out why her son stabbed a man. Brilliantly plotted, I thoroughly enjoyed it.)

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer (Covers the relationship between a robot and her ‘boyfriend’ / owner. Thought provoking on the nature of free will and humanity.)

The Outsiders by SE Hinton (The conflict between the haves (the sochs) and the have-nots (the greasers). Pony Boy Curtis, Johnny and their friends will break your heart.)

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Tale of a boy born into poverty in the Appalachians, with a horrifying insight into the foster care system and opioid crisis in the US.)

Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky (A rescue mission goes to the equator which is a tropical rain forest in which humans can’t survive without a whole load of equipment. However life in the zone has evolved… Another excellent book by the author.)

Diva by Daisy Goodwin (Explores the relationship between the opera singer Maria Callas (whoever she is) and the shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Until he blindsides her by marrying Jackie Kennedy that is.)

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (About two teenagers, outsiders in different ways, who gradually develop a friendship and fall in love. Set in the 80s There’s poverty and how those who haven’t been there don’t quite get it, identity, abusive step parents, bullying, and race.)

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Retelling of the biblical tale centering Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob by his wife Leah. Told in Dinah’s own words, it really brings to life the world of ancient women and their bonds and traditions.)

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (Story of the fictional maid who is the subject of the famous painting by Vermeer.)

Here's my list, I was on the 50 Books thread but I have had a name change and I fell off towards the end of the year. I made it to 56, which is my best number for the last few years.

Fiction:
1) A Single Thread - Tracey Chevalier
2) Fire - John Boyle
3) Earth - John Boyle
4) Water - John Boyle
5) Air - John Boyle
6) The Burning - Jane Casey
7) The Lost Bookshop - Evie Woods
8) The Secret History - Donna Tartt
9) The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths
10) The Yacoubian Building - Alaa Al Aswany
11) Dreamcount - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
12) A Shilling for Candles - Josephine Tey
13) The Franchise Affair - Josephine tey
14) The Frozen River - Ariel Lawton
15) My Brilliant Friend - Elena Ferrante
16) After the Clearances - Alison Layland
17) The Godmother - Hannlore Cayne
18) Verity - Colleen Hoover
19) The Hallmarked Man - Robert Galbraith
20) Body of Evidence - Patricia Cornwell
21) 11.22.63 - Stephen King
22) The Sellout - Paul beatty
23) Middlemarch - George Elliot
24) Confessions - Catherine Airey
25) The DaVinci Code - Dan brown
26) We Solve Murders - Richard Osman
26) The Man in the Queue - Josephine Tey
27) The Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
28) Post Mortem - Patricia Cornwell
29) The Missing Sister - Lucinda RIley
30) Labyrinth - Kate Mosse
31) Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van pelt
32) 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World - Elif Shafak
33) Love in the Time of Cholera- Gabriel García Márquez
34) Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt- Lucinda Riley
35) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
36) The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson
37) The Wrong Sister - Clare Douglas
38) The Trial - Rob Rinder
39) The Phoeninx Ballroom - Ruth Hogan
40) The Satsuma Complex - Bob Mortimer
41) The Sun Sister - Lucinda Riley
42) The Hotel Avocado - Bob Mortimer
43) Hamnet - Maggie O'Farrell
44) Sycamore Gap- L.J Ross
45) The Murders at Fleet House - Lucinda Riley
46) The Moon Sister - Lucinda Riley
47) Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus
48) The Bee Sting - Paul Murray
49) The Women - Kristen Hannah
50) Weyward - Emila Hart
51) The Tainted QUeen - Alison Weir

Non-fiction:
52) Reading Lessons - Carol Atherton
53) Wicked Beyond Belief: The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper- Michael Bilton
54) Unruly: The Ridiculous History of England's Kings and Queens- David Mitchell
55) The Five - Halle Rubenhold
56) Manhunt - The search for Levi Bellfield - Colin Sutton

Thank you for doing this @RomanMum! My list of bolds follows - fortunately no stinkers this year, and what a great reading year, particularly for fiction! Top 3 were Whale Fall, The Safekeep, and Wild Dark Shore, each of which were spectacular in their own way.

Fiction bolds
The Cracked Mirror, by Chris Brookmyre.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, by Grady Hendrix.
Whale Fall, by Elizabeth O'Connor.
Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty.
The Great Alone, by Kristin Hannah.
The Safekeep, by Yael Van Der Wouden.
This is a Love Story, by Jessica Soffer.
God of the Woods, by Liz Moore.
Wild Dark Shore, by Charlotte McConaghy.
Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley.
Slow Horses, by Mick Herron.
Dead Lions, by Mick Herron.
Real Tigers, by Mick Herron.
Spook Street, by Mick Herron.
Heartwood, by Amity Gaige.
A Gorgeous Excitement, by Cynthia Waite.

Non-fiction bolds
A Walk in the Park, by Kevin Fedarko.
Careless People, by Sarah Wynn-Williams. This was a retrospective bold, as I am still thinking about it months later, and she's very brave to take on the tech titans.
The Year of the Dog, by Sophia Money-Coutts.

Posting my list below. In 2025 I read 34F, 31NF, roughly the same ratio as most years. Despite borrowing 36 from the library service I ended up with the same amount of books as I started with, so will try RWYO in 2026 to empty my shelves and make room for more new books. Brought my books back from storage last month and there are more than I remember...

• Angelmaker – Nick Harkaway
• My Lady Parts – Doon Mackichen
• Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
• Ghosts of the British Museum – Noah Angell (NF)
• Beyond the Wand – Tom Felton
• Spook Street – Mick Herron
• Dark Earth – Rebecca Stott
• The Complete Yes Minister: the Diaries of a Cabinet Minister – Jonathan Lynn & Antony Jay
• Voices of Rome – Lindsey Davis
• Children of Paradise – Camilla Grudova
• The Drama of 365 Days: Scenes in the Great War – Hall Caine (NF)
• When the Dust Settles – Lucy Easthope (NF)
• Nightclimbing – Sarah Day
• Thunderstone – Nancy Campbell
• What you are Looking for is in the Library – Michiko Aoyama, trans. Alison Watts
• One Woman Show – Christine Coulson
• The Road – Christopher Hadley
• All the Beauty in the World – Patrick Bringley (NF)
• Shadowplay – Joseph O’Connor
• 1001 Ridiculous Ways to Die – David Southwell & Matt Adams
• All Quiet on the Western Front – Erich Maria Remarque, trans. Brian Murdoch
• Broadcasting Britain – Robert Seatter
• Sussex Murder Casebook – Rupert Taylor
• Into the Uncanny – Danny Robins
• The Body Beneath the Willows – Nick Louth
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
• The Enchanted Castle – Enid Nesbit
• Saltblood – Francesca de Tores
• Guardian Angels Around my Bed – Sally Jane Danter
• A Comedy of Terrors – Lindsey Davis
• Grounded – James Canton
• The Penguin Lessons – Tom Michell
• Undercurrent – Natasha Carthew
• Over my Dead Body – Maz Evans
• The Amber Fury – Natalie Haynes
• A Fortunate Woman: a Country Doctor’s Story – Polly Morland (NF)
• A Chip Shop in Poznan: my Unlikely Year in Poland – Ben Aitken
• The Bullet that Missed – Richard Osman
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John le Carre
• London Rules – Mick Herron
• Tales from Devon Folklore – James Whinray
• Divine Might – Natalie Haynes
• Son of Soup – Rob Grant & Doug Naylor
• The Leopard in my House – Mark Steel (NF)
• The Women – Kristin Hannah
• Longhand – Andy Hamilton
• The Orpheus Trail – Maureen Duffy
• Here – Richard McGuire
• Passing – Nella Larsen
• The Dictionary People – Sarah Ogilvie (NF)
• Up with the Larks – Tessa Hainsworth
• The Voyage Home – Pat Barker
• Be Funny or Die – Joel Morris (NF)
• The Names – Florence Knapp
• The Frozen People - Elly Griffiths
• Ashes to Admin – Evie King
• The Crossing Places – Elly Griffiths
• The Museum Makers – Rachel Morris (NF)
• A Mudlarking Year – Lara Maiklem (NF)
• The Art of a Lie – Laura Shepherd-Robinson
• That’ll Teach Her – Maz Evans
• The Bookshop, the Draper, the Candlestick Maker – Annie Gray
• The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Lady Detective – Sara Lodge
• Bookish – Lucy Mangan (NF)
• A Waiter in Paris – Edward Chisholm

The Crossing Places was the only disappointment, not a bad book, but just not living up to expectations - probably a me thing as I know many here like it.

I’m not going to post my list, and I’ve posted by bolds and stinkers above, but I’ve just been looking at my stats for the year.

I have read 33% male writers and 66% female (the remaining 1% is joint/various). This is pretty much the same as 2024.

I have listened to 4% on Audible, read 33% on kindle, 16% physical from the library, and the remaining 46% physical books. The Audible and kindle levels are about the same as 2024 but I have doubled the number of books from the library which I’m pleased with.

77% are fiction, 16% non fiction, 5% children’s/YA and the remaining 2-3% are short stories or novellas. Pretty much the same as 2024.

Lastly, 87% of my reads were new with 13% being rereads. I reread less in 2025 compared to 2024.

Basically my reading pattern hasn’t really changed except for getting more from the library!

My bolds and stinkers are above too but a quick count up
72 in total.
25% NF - 9 Male, 9 female authors.

75%. Fiction, 53 of which were by female authors, 1 male. The one by the male author was my fiction book of the year.

27 (50%) of the fiction books were re-reads. It’s been a year for comfort reading.

Thanks for doing this as ever, @RomanMum

Here's my list. I think there are 17.5 (counting Jeanette Winterson as half of each!) or 24% non-fiction (marked in the list); the rest are fiction.

1 Winter Swimming - Dr Susanna Søberg (non-fiction)
2 The Story of Art Without Men – Katy Hessel (non-fiction)
3 Mr Loverman – Bernadine Evaristo
4 We Solve Murders – Richard Osman
5 City of Destruction – Vaseem Khan
6 Girl A – Abigail Dean
7 The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
8 Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World – Mark Aldridge (non-fiction)
9 Black Butterflies – Priscilla Morris
10 Portrait of a Marriage – Nigel Nicolson (non-fiction)
11 The Sibyl in her Grave – Sarah Caudwell
12 The Dispossessed – Ursula Le Guin
13 Dark Wives – Ann Cleeves
14 The House of Doors - Tan Twan Eng
15 A Mouth full of Salt – Reem Gaafar
16 One of the Good Guys – Araminta Hall
17 Ghost Wall – Sarah Moss
18 Goodbye to Berlin – Christopher Isherwood
19 Why we Swim – Bonnie Tsui (non-fiction)
20 Such a Fun Age – Kiley Reid
21 Happiness – Aminatta Forna
22 Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent – Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea (non-fiction)
23 Queen Macbeth – Val McDermid
24 Mad Honey – Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
25 In a Lonely Place – Dorothy B. Hughes
26 The Anxious Generation – Jonathan Haidt (non-fiction)
27 The In-Between – Christos Tsiolkas
28 When the Dust Settles – Lucy Easthope (non-fiction)
29 The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden
30 Excellent Women – Barbara Pym
31 The Death of Us – Abigail Dean
32 Rural Hours: the Country Lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner and Rosamond Lehmann – Harriet Baker (non-fiction)
33 Lolly Willowes – Sylvia Townsend Warner
34 The Transgender Issue – Shon Faye (non-fiction)
35 White Tears/Brown Scars – Ruby Hamad (non-fiction)
36 Latitudes of Longing – Shubhangi Swarup
37 Abundance – Amit Majmudar
38 The Thirteen Clocks – James Thurber
39 Childhood – Tove Ditlevsen
40 Youth – Tove Ditlevsen
41 Dependence – Tove Ditlevsen
42 Young Jane Young – Gabrielle Zevin
43 On Looking – Alexandra Horowitz (non-fiction)
44 Ru – Kim Thuy
45 Deadly Animals – Marie Tierney
46 Swim London – Joe Minihane (non-fiction)
47 Butter – Asako Yuzuki
48 A Touch of Silk – Caro Fraser
49 Wild Geese – Soula Emmanuel
50 Clown Town – Mick Herron
51 The Suspect – Rob Rinder
52 The Protest – Rob Rinder
53 Haven’t You Heard? Gossip, Politics and Power – Marie Le Conte (non-fiction)
54 The Family Upstairs – Lisa Jewell
55 None of this is True – Lisa Jewell
56 Private Revolutions – Yuan Yang (non-fiction)
57 Without Prejudice – Nicola Williams
58 Until Proven Innocent – Nicola Williams
59 Killer Instinct – Nicola Williams
60 The Girl in Cell A – Vaseem Khan
61 Austral - Carlos Fonseca
62 The Fall of the Red Wall - Steve Rayson (non-fiction)
63 My Favourite Mistake - Marian Keyes
64 Orbital – Samantha Harvey
65 Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil – Oliver Darkshire
66 The Land in Winter – Andrew Miller
67 Raising Hare – Chloe Dalton (non-fiction)
68 The Hunter – Tana French
69 Tom Lake – Ann Patchett
70 The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper
71 Christmas Days – Jeanette Winterson (half fiction, half non-fiction)
72 The Mistletoe Mystery – Nita Prose

I hesitated over bolding Austral because it was very definitely flawed, but it has really stuck in my mind so in it goes.

My top 5 fiction books (not counting the one re-read) were, I think, not in order:

Mr Loverman
The House of Doors
In a Lonely Place
Dependence
Without Prejudice

My top 5 non-fiction books (counting Jeanette Winterson as non-fiction for this, which I think is reasonable as my favourite parts were non-fiction):

Portrait of a Marriage
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
On Looking
Christmas Days
Why We Swim

Too lazy to type them all, but I'm happy to stick with the list of favourites I posted earlier in the thread.

154 books in total (156 would have been more satisfying, at three books per week, but never mind). Around 38% non-fiction. I managed my goal of reading two physical books I own per month, and of the remaining books, well over half were from the library - sincere gratitude to the local council for standing between me and penury. Kindle deals and second-hand books account for most of the rest. I had fun with the back catalogues of Lee Child and Georgette Heyer this year.

Quite a lot of non-fiction queued up for January.

As mentioned on the other threads I will be doing the summary on Monday, so if you haven’t contributed your favourite reads here and would like to, please do so over the weekend. Thank you!

Here is my full list (although I haven’t included all the Chronicles of St Mary’s novellas in my numbers). I have updated my bolds slightly to reflect those which have stuck with me:

1. Small Bomb at Dimperley - Lissa Evans
2. James - Percival Everett
3. Five Little Pigs - Agatha Christie
4. Spook Street - Mick Herron
5. Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers
6. Hangman Island - Kate Rhodes
7. Blaming - Elizabeth Taylor
8. Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent
9. The Thirteen Problems - Agatha Christie

10. The Wizard of the Kremlin - Giuliano da Empoli

11. The House on the Strand - Daphne du Maurier

12. The Photograph - Penelope Lively

13. Ballet Shoes - Noel Streatfeild

14. Witness 8 - Steve Cavanagh

15. The Eighth Hour - Linda Segtnan

16. Kitchen - Banana

17. Towards Zero - Agatha Christie

18. Three Act Tragedy - Agatha Christie

19. Paper Cup - Karen Campbell

20. The Ink Black Heart - Robert Galbraith

21. The Seven Dials Mystery - Agatha Christie

22. The Good, the Bad and the History - Jodi Taylor

The Very First Damned Thing - Jodi Taylor (novella)

23. Just One Damned Thing After Another - Jodi Taylor
24. A Symphony of Echoes - Jodi Taylor

When a Child is Born - Jodi Taylor (novella)

25. My Father's House - Joseph O'Connor
26. A Second Chance - Jodi Taylor

Roman Holiday - Jodi Taylor (novella)

27. Cards on the Table - Agatha Christie
28. The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
29. North Woods - Daniel Mason
30. A Trail Through Time - Jodi Taylor

Christmas Present - Jodi Taylor (novella)

31. No Time Like the Past - Jodi Taylor
32. What Could Possibly Go Wrong - Jodi Taylor

Shops and Stings and Wedding Rings (novella) - Jodi Taylor

33. Lies, Damned Lies and History - Jodi Taylor

The Great St Mary's Day Out (novella)- Jodi Taylor
My Name is Markham (novella) - Jodi Taylor

34. And the Rest is History - Jodi Taylor

A Perfect Storm (novella) - Jodi Taylor
Christmas Past (novella) - Jodi Taylor

35. An Argumentation of Historians - Jodi Taylor

The Battersea Barricades (novella) - Jodi Taylor - Jodi Taylor
The Steam Pump Jump (novella) - Jodi Taylor
And Now for Something Completely Different (novella) - Jodi Taylor

36. Hope for the Best - Jodi Taylor

When did you last see your father (novella) - Jodi Taylor
Why is nothing ever simple (novella) - Jodi Taylor

37. Plan for the Worst - Jodi Taylor

The Ordeal of the Haunted Room (novella) - Jodi Taylor

38. Another Time Another Place - Jodi Taylor

The Toast of Time (novella) - Jodi Taylor

39. A Catalogue of Catastrophe - Jodi Taylor
40. The Good, the Bad and the History of- Jodi Taylor
41. The Crooked House - Agatha Christie
42. Of all Faiths and None - Andrew Tweeddale
43. A Remembrance of Death - Andrew Tweeddale

Lights! Camera! Mayhem! (novella) - Jodi Taylor
Christmas Pie (novella) - Jodi Taylor

44. Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym
45. Learning to Swim - Clare Chambers
46. Death in the Clouds - Agatha Christie
47. Island in the Sun - Katie Fforde
48. Small Great Things - Jodi Picoult
49. The Corinthian - Georgette Heyer
50. The Scarlet Papers - Matthew Richardson
51. Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively
52. The Cypress Maze - Fiona Valpy
53. The Cut - Chris Brookmyre
54. An Officer and a Spy - Robert Harris
55. One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Agatha Christie
56. Glorious Exploits - Ferdia Lennon
57. Caledonian Road - Andrew O'Hagan
58. Kiss Myself Goodbye - Ferdinand Mount
59. The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer
60. Platform Seven - Louise Doughty
61. The Foundling - Stacey Halls
62. Mrs England - Stacey Halls
63. The Man who made Husbands Jealous - Jilly Cooper
64. Syndicate - Felix Francis
65. The Secret Place - Tana French
66. Kristin Lavransdatter : The Wreath - Sigrid Undset
67. Lady of Quality - Georgette Heyer
68. My Family - David Baddiel
69. The House of Doors - Tan Twan Eng
70. The Sittaford Mystery - Agatha Christie
71. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
72. Miss Marple's Final Cases - Agatha Christie
73. Appassionata - Jilly Cooper
74. Kristin Lavransdatter : The Wife - Sigrid Undset
75. Nesting - Roisin O'Donnell
76. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
77. London Rules - Mick Herron
78. Soldier, Sailor - Claire Kilroy
79. Patricia Brent, Spinster - Herbert George Jenkins
80. Missing Person : Alice - Simon Mason
81. Kristin Lavransdatter : The Cross - Sigrid Undset
82. The Forsyte Saga (Book 1 - A Man of Property) - John Galsworthy
83. The Forsyte Saga (Book 2 - In Chancery) - John Galsworthy
84. Snowdrift and Other Stories - Georgette Heyer
85. The Forsyte Saga (Book 3) - John Galsworthy

Quite a few of my bolds are series - here are all my bolds briefly summarised:

James - Percival Everett - the alternative story of Huckleberry Finn from the (more interesting) perspective of the slave, James
Shy Creatures - Clare Chambers - a therapeutic art teacher and a male recluse encounter one another when his maiden aunts die
Blaming - Elizabeth Taylor - Amy, an Englishwoman with low tolerance levels, encounters Martha, a gregarious American
Strange Sally Diamond - Liz Nugent - Sally’s limited contact with the world and literal interpretations cause issues
The Photograph - Penelope Lively - the photograph of Kath is worth more than a 1000 words as we learn about her from her family
Paper Cup - Karen Campbell - homeless Kelly reunites an engagement ring and its owner but has to tramp around much of Scotland to do so
novella)
My Father's House - Joseph O'Connor - resistance in the Vatican during WW2
The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - epic tale of betrayal, double-crossing, revenge and disguises in 19th century France
Of all Faiths and None and A Remembrance of Death - Andrew Tweeddale - fictionalisation of the building of Castle Drogo by Lutyens in early 20th century
Some Tame Gazelle - Barbara Pym - loves and losses of spinster sisters in a village
Learning to Swim - Clare Chambers - unlikely schoolgirl friendship with Frances and her family’s bohemian lifestyle change Abigail’s life
An Officer and a Spy - Robert Harris - fictionalisation of the Dreyfus affair
The Secret Place - Tana French - investigation of murder of a schoolboy in Irish girls boarding school
My Family - David Baddiel - tragicomic autobiographical tale of dysfunctional upbringing
The House of Doors - Tan Twan Eng - adultery in colonial Penang featuring Somerset Maugham
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - no summary required!
Nesting - Roisin O'Donnell - young Irish mother's attempts to leave her coercive husband
Patricia Brent, Spinster - Herbert George Jenkins - joyous wartime story of Patricia's hoodwinking of her fellow lodgers in her boarding house with a fake romance
Kristin Lavransdatter - Sigrid Undset - epic three book Norwegian tale about the medieval life of Kristin and her swashbuckling liability of a lover/husband, Erlend
The Forsyte Saga - John Galsworthy - three book saga about the upwardly mobile extensive Forsyte family, their secrets and scandals, love and loss

If I had to do a top 5 then I think it would be:

The Count of Monte Cristo
Kristin Lavransdattar
The House of Doors
Nesting
Learning to Swim

No stinkers.

Almost wholly fiction as my only non-fiction was My Family – David Baddiel

I really hope this turns out ok to view as I have spent ages trying to sort out the formatting!

Thirty one books, all novels. One graphic novel, six children's books (all by Rick Riordan, this was the year of Percy Jackson), nine by men (mostly Rick Riordan), eleven in translation. I have quite a few non-fiction on my TBR shelf so plan to read some next year. Eight bolds but could have added a few more. A joy as ever to read with you all (and glad to see so many have bolded Kristin Lavrandatter).

1 Suggested in the Stars by Yoko Tawada. Translated by Margaret Mitsutani
2 Your Wish is my Command by Deena Mohamed
3 The Fraud by Zadie Smith
4 After Midnight by Irmgard Keun. Translated by Anthea Bell.
5 Mrs Granby's Secret or The Bastard of Pinsk by Eleanor Farjeon
6 Mr Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo
7 Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
8 The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta
9 A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro. Translated by Frances Riddle
10 The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. Translated by Robin Buss.
11 The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
12 Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
13 The Leopard by Guiseppi Tomasi de Lampedusa. Translated by Archibald Colquhoun
14 Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
15 Heroes of Olympus: The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
16 Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
17 Child of All Nations by Irmgard Keun. Translated by Michael Hofmann
18 Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
19 The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
20 Greek Lessons by Han Kang. Translated by Deborah Smith and E. Yaewon
21 Alberta and Freedom by Cora Sandel. Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan
22 Lolly Willowes or The Loving Huntsman by Sylvia Townsend Warner
23 The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
24 Destination Biafra by Buchi Emecheta
25 The Provincial Lady in Wartime by E. M. Delafield
26 Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan. Translated by Heather Lloyd
27 A Certain Smile by Françoise Sagan. Translated by Heather Lloyd
28 The Women of Troy by Pat Barker
29 Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
30 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
31 Christmas Pudding by Nancy Mitford