50 Books Challenge 2025 Part Nine

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the ninth and final thread of the 50 Books Challenge for this year.

The challenge was 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 , the seventh thread here and the eighth thread

@Midnightstar76 I love an Octopus book - it sounds intriguing. If you want more Octopus lit, I liked The Mountain In The Sea by Ray Naylor earlier this year, slightly sci fi though.

Just finished my final book and did manage to reach 150. I'm not that bothered about round numbers generally - last year I read 117, which I suspect is a prime - but it did feel satisfying to reach this.

150. The Black Wolf - Louise Penny. This was the 20th in the Three Pines series which I keep saying I won't read any more of, and then keep going back to. This was a sequel to the previous one and was more focused on the government and mafia than the cosy murder mysteries that I prefer. I feel like since she wrote a book with Hillary Clinton, she's got more into the former.

I finished it last night, found it enjoyable but not a standout. I'll still read her first book at some point though

And as I'm now done, I will post my bolds for the year - top 10 is on the round up page so these are I think from end to start weirdly!

Clear by Carys Davies - Remote Scottish island in 1840s
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell - Writer reminisces about murder & affair in his childhood
We Do Not Part by Han Kang. Powerful ghostly story about ethnic cleansing on snowy Korean island
The Wedding People by Alison Espach - Heart warming audio which I liked far more than I thought I would
Paper Cup by Karen Campbell - Homeless alcoholic goes on Scottish road trip
The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney - Organised crime and religious fervour with a healthy dose of humour in Cork.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Victorian thieves and gaymance
Ootlin by Jenni Fagan - Beautifully written memoir about being raised in care.
The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine - The mothers of 3 boys accused of rape and the victim reflect on the incident
The City Changes its Face by Eimear McBride. Amazingly poetic sequel with experimental language, recommend the audio.
Dreamland by Rosie Rankin Gee - Climate change dystopia in poverty stricken Margate.
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood. Best of the Booker IMO, music and poverty in 1950s Britain
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon. Irish labourers put on a Greek tragedy in ancient Sciliy
Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis. Women's prize listed humourous story about rehabilitation of Isis brides
Ripeness by Sarah Moss. Italy in the 50s and present day Ireland for story of teenage pregnancy and effects.
We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Colwill Brown. 3 friends in Doncaster in1990s told in Northern dialect
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout. Final book bringing together Olive Ketteridge and Lucy Barton
The Lesser Bohemians - Eimar McBride. Young Irish student meets older actor - writing is incredible
Hagstone - Sinead Gleeson. Women on a remote Irish island
Nesting by Roisin O' Donnell - Trying to escape domestic abuse in Dublin
The Trees by Percival Everett. Mississippi murders, Ku Klux Klan and mysterious corpses in racial satire
Human Acts by Han Kang. More disturbing expose of Korean war crimes narrated by ghosts
The Love Songs of Boysie Singh by Ingrid Persaud. Trinidad play boy narrated by 3 of his women, loved the audio on this too.

Just finished final book. This was my page a day Black History book by David Olusoga. Many interesting people and events with a good spread of countries.

@Midnightstar76 I make my own prompts, but they are largely based on things I know I want to get to this year, so a bit of a reminder.

I didn’t get to:
Tristam Shandy
Orhan Pamuk
the next d’Artagnan Romance this year

This is my 2026 plan, but I do just pick things up and deviate too. I just like highlighting a square.

@AgualusasL0ver that’s a very good idea and organised too 🙂

@Stowickthevast thanks for the suggestion I don’t know why but I always avoid sci fi stuff maybe 2026 will be the year especially if an octopus is involved 🙂

@Stowickthevast 117 isn’t a prime, it’s divisible by 3.

Just sayin’…

Finished what I assume will be my final read of 2025 (though I have a completely free day ahead…)
198 Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin
Jay is a young Irish lesbian living in London when she hears that her brother Ferdia, a trainee priest who died when Jay was 16, is being considered for sainthood. There’s a lot of themes in this book- family, belonging, identity, religion and some are dealt with better than others. Jay’s relationships with her family are the most interesting part. Parts of her present life don’t feel real- her relationship for a start- and I had issues with the ending which I won’t discuss because of spoilers. But overall it was a pretty good read and I’d read more by the author.

I like your 2026 planner @AgualusasL0ver 'Twee vicar' is a good prompt and made me smile.

I tend to bumble along from one book to another. I love reading on my Kindle, but I also love reading a proper book. I enjoy the buzz of a library notification. I have ten books to read on my tbr list, then maybe I'll think of writing up a plan like yours.

I will have filled that one pretty soon, as the book club read is Pym's Excellent Women - I don't actually know it has a vicar, but Pym is the sort of thing I think of for this category. I think of 'twee' as a loving term.

I gave my top 10 books on the other thread. Here are all my bolds:
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli- Devastating study of Palestine past and present
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay and The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante- the last two volumes of the Neopolitan Quartet telling the story of a lifelong friendship between two Italian women warts and all.
Into Thin Air- Jon Krakauer- my first foray into mountain peril - won’t be the last
In Search of Lost Time Volumes 3 and 4- Marcel Proust- more witty meanderings and this time more plot too
Ripeness- Sara Moss- beautiful tale in two timelines- the modern hooked my most.
A Fever in the Heartland- Timothy Egan- non-fiction about the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s- shocking
The Secret Room- Jane Casey latest Maeve Kerrigan- if you know, you know.
Seascraper - Benjamin Wood- Booker longlisted tale of a shrimper in 60s England. Beautiful prose. Should have won.
Music in the Dark- Sally Magnusson- Jamesina Ross, a child during the Scottish clearances takes in a new lodger in her tenement home.
The Artist- Lucy Steeds- Young journalist visits home of difficult artist in Provence and meets his housekeeper. One of the better Women’s Prize offerings.
Elena Knows- Claudia Piniero
Elena, suffering for Parkinson’s tries to find out the truth about her daughter’s death. Gave me a new viewpoint on life.
Moon Tiger- Penelope Lively- story of a life and loves. Beautiful book- glad I’ve bought loads of 99p kindle deals of hers over the years.
The Art Thief- Michael Finkel
Propulsive tale of unknown young man who stole billions worth of art
Show Me Where it Hurts- Claire Gleeson
Sad story of a bereaved mother trying to deal with grief and coming to terms with how it happened.
Under the Eye of the Big Bird- Hiromi Kawakami
International Booker shortlisted. Linked dystopian short stories. Excellent.
The Book of Guilt- Catherine Chidgey
Mysterious dystopia about triplet
boys and their lives in an institution.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Joyous Victorian queer sensation novel.
Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad- Daniel Finkelstein- story of Finkelstein’s parents and their families living in the two major European dictatorships. Difficult read.
The Story of a Heart- Rachel Clarke- the story of a heart transplant both the donor and the recipient. Beautiful and tragic.
Old God’s Time- Sebastian Barry- beautifully written exploration of love and memory, family and grief. A policeman with memory issues is asked to help out with an old case.
Immaculate Conception- Ling Ling Huang- exploration of morality, mental health and art.
The Dream Hotel- Laila Lalami
Near future set exploration of the prison system and control. Women’s Prize longlist.
The House of Doors- Tan Twang Eng- beautifully written about the last days of empire in Malaya from the POV of colonists and Somerset Maugham.
The Fatal Shore- Robert Hughes
Riveting and extensive history of early colonisation and the penal system in Australia.
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride- story of an age gap relationship. I’m a sucker for stream of consciousness and McBride does it so well.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day- Winifred Watson- frothy fun.

Reread Bolds- The Iliad - Homer Lattimore translation, The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker and Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Barbara Pym is a sure-fire bet for ticking 'twee vicar' off your list, @AgualusasL0ver! 😂 Maybe not in Excellent Women - I'm trying to remember who the vicar is in that - but definitely in one or other of her books.

@Stowickthevast my 2024 number was 117 too 🙂

Julian Mallory apparently.

Is anyone thinking of taking a crack at The Odyssey in 2026? I skim read it in 2002 for uni but the film is coming up next year

I've read my last books for this year.
They were mostly enjoyable.
Titles and very short reviews below;

65. Precipice: Robert Harris.

Prime Minister Asquith's obsession with a young socialite with whom he shares sensitive information at the outbreak of WW1. Sheila's comment of 'whiny, useless tool' (or similar words) summed him up well. Good book, however!

66. A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens

I read it every Christmas. Love it.

67. Il treno di bambini: Viola Ardone.

'The Children's Train'. I had started this book in early autumn, left it and picked it up again recently. Naples after WW2. The Communist Party organised train-loads of children from the poorest of the city's neighbourhoods to go and live with families in the prosperous north for a few months. The story is told from one boy's point of view who becomes so well integrated into his family, that he is faced with a difficult decision. This reminded me a lot of 'Doreen' by Barbara Nobel. Good book.

68. Nadja: Andre Breton.

The return of a useless, whiny tool in the form of the father of Surrealism, Andre Breton. While wandering around Paris in 1926, Breton meets a beautiful, enigmatic young woman who introduces herself to him as 'Nadja', (not her real name). He becomes enamoured with her mystical allure and can't see her often enough until he tires of her. Obviously, it doesn't end well for her. A strange, rambling tale that is difficult to read and hasn't aged well.

69. The Cruelest Month: Hazel Holt.

Mrs Mallory #2. Sheila goes to stay with a friend in Oxford while she does some research for her next article in the Bodleian Library. Her godson is upset by the recent death of a visitor to the library and Sheila, curious, looks into it. However, it leads her to uncovering truths from her own past and the book ends on a bittersweet note. Good book. I really like this series.

70. A Month in the Country: J.L. Carr.

A young man, recently* *returned from the battlefields of WW1, takes up a job to restore a medieval mural in a rustic church and slowly integrates into village life. A lovely tale about the restoration of a lost work of art and the restoration of a person who has been through the horrors of war. I really enjoyed this short, but powerful novella.

This is probably my last for the year, and I end on the same number as last year, so alls good.

135 . Redhead by the Side Of The Road by Anne Tyler

Micah, a tech guy, lives a fairly humdrum existence when suddenly a young man arrives claiming to be his son. This wasn’t great, it lacked substance. It was very “generic Anne Tyler” in that if you’ve read any of her books you know where you are. There are much better ones.

And that really is it for me this year.

I am as that’s one of the books I got for Christmas.

Interested in a buddy read @MamaNewtNewt?

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit sounds good to me, although I am notoriously terrible for sticking with the read alongs (usually when work gets busy)!

I think that’s probably me done for the year as well. I’ll add full details to the year end chat but here are my bolds (I’m undecided about The Vegetarian so will leave that out for now):

The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B Tyson
Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
The Outsiders by SE Hinton
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Diva by Daisy Goodwin
Me:Moir Vol 1 by Vic Reeves
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

I’m also terrible at sticking to readalongs! But I’ll start one off and see how it goes! @MamaNewtNewt

Readalong :

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/5468154-mn-readalong-homers-the-odyssey-in-2026?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Managed to get to 85 this year. Just finished Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones whilst eating lunch in the car.
This was one of my bolds of the year.

@LadybirdDaphne Maths obviously not my strong suit!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit I'd be up for an Odyssey read along. I've translated bits but never done the whole thing, I think the Emily Wilson version is meant to be good.

@ÚlldemoShúl Ordinary Saints was one of my nearly bolds that I removed in the end as it hadn't stuck with me enough, but did really like it.

I also meant to add Show Me Where it Hurts.