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

Merry Christmas, lovely bookers.

236 We Are All Guilty Here - Karin Slaughter

First in her new North Falls series. Basically, if you like Karin Slaughter and her brand of crime novel/police procedural set in the Georgia heat, then you will like this.

Detective Emmy Clifton is policing a fireworks event and arguing with her deadbeat husband. In a moment of inattention, her best friend’s teenage DD Madison slips past Emmy and into a nightmare abduction. The first part of the book details the investigation and the second part where we are 12 years later. With a family saga of the Cliftons as a backdrop. A good read.

Merry Christmas 50 Bookers

Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas lovely 50 bookers! @Jecstar I love that image of the start to your weekend 😀📚

Merry Christmas to my online book friends! As we’ve been up since the crack of dawn here’s my book haul, along with some book related blu rays. I hope Santa brought you all lots of good reads 🎅🏻 🎁

Merry Christmas, everyone! 🎄🎁📚

Merry Christmas , Bibliophiles!

No sleep for me last night so will have to power through the day.

Doubt I have a book. Everyone seems scared to buy books for me even though I have a list!

Hopefully, Stepmum will see sense and send Amazon vouchers. (last years was Lakeland vouchers - nice but not a bookseller!)

It's quite urgent . My TBR pile is down to two.

Merry Christmas to the best corner of the internet!

I'm not expecting books as gifts, I am a bit difficult to buy for reading wise as my tastes are a bit eclectic and most people know I keep a list but don't know what's on it! So I popped onto Amazon and got

You are here by David Nichols
Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

Then I remembered I wasn't supposed to buy any more books until I had made a big dent in my TBR pile. Oops! To be fair I have no plans really between now and 2nd January, so I am expecting to get through several books!

Happy Christmas, everyone! Looking forward to seeing what bookish presents everyone's unwrapped later - we haven’t done the gift thing yet but if my instructions were obeyed I should be receiving three ☺️

Have a lovely day, all.

Merry Christmas - not expecting (m)any books but looking forward to seeing other people’s hauls!

I don’t know if I will be getting any books but I have bought The Stolen Crown by Tracy Borman for 99p over my Xmas coffee 😀

Happy Christmas everyone 🎄

Wishing you all lots of lovely books, and time to read them. ☕️

I doubt I shall receive books, but in fairness, my TBR pile is substantial, I shan’t be short of material.

Happy Christmas fellow readers, and thanks to you all for another great year of reading recommendations - it really is a joyful part of the internet ❤️

I'm another one that everyone is too scared to buy books for so not expecting anything but I have bought a few for my teens.

Not sleeping brilliantly so managed to finish 2 last night/this morning.

146. Bury Our Bones in The Midnight Soil - V.E. Schwab. I think this could be good if you're in a slump and would enjoy some vampires with a feminist lesbian twist! It follows 3 characters, Maria/Sabine in the 1530s, Alice in 2019 and Lottie in the 1830s. The older ones particularly are looking for ways to escape the patriarchal bonds of society. It did sag a bit in the middleand as ever with multi-viewpoints, some draw you in more than others, but I really enjoyed this. I listened to the audio which was good.

147. On The Calculation of Volume, 2 - Solvej Balle. The second part of the groundhog day series, where Tara is stuck in reliving the 18 November. In this one, she tries to live through different seasons on the same day by travelling from North to South. It dragged a bit in the second half for me but ends on a cliffhanger that makes me want to read the third. These are quite short books for anyone (like me) looking to get their stats to a round number by year end!

Yeah no one buys me books either I’m too hardcore to buy for!

Happy Xmas 50 bookers! Lovely morning here. Hope you all have a great day. Couple of the recommendations that made it onto DD's pile. & yes it was a pile & i dont care 😁

Merry Christmas to all my fellow 50 bookers!
I was expecting one book for Xmas but got four. DH and I got a larger joint present for each other, so to speak, so for my present from the kids we set a small budget and I sent him a list of four books and asked him to pick one. He got me all of them!
I have read all these before but I'm collecting the books I've borrowed in the past and loved, now that I have the space for them.

Happy Christmas all! Love seeing the book piles 🙂 I got one book, as requested from DH - thanks to your recommendations! Really looking forward to it.

My books were :

Bouddicas Daughter by Elodie Harper
Go as a River by Shelley Read
Broken Country by Clare Lesley Hall

Merry Christmas to all on this thread. I wish I could invite you all round for a Christmas book party!
I don't see any book shaped presents for me under the tree this year but you never know.

I forgot I told DH to order me Twas The Krampus Night Before Christmas by Jonathan Green!

It's a choose your own adventure but a bit DnD like as I had special abilities and could gain and lose points and had to roll dice to determine combat. I hadn't realised I'd have to put effort in other than turning pages, but it's been very entertaining for the last 90 mins and I think I got a long way through the story. I am sure I died right at the end. Might suggest to DH we read/play this together later and see if we can get further.

Highly recommend as a Christmas gift to the geek in your life next year!

DH did well with the book choices

Merry Christmas to all you fantastic 50 Bookers!
I got Peter Ross’s latest book for my birthday earlier this month and a considerable amount in book tokens for birthday and Christmas, so I’ll be planning my order and pre-order list in the New Year. Last year’s book tokens lasted me until September! I have been politely firm about people not assuming what books I would like
Whatever you are doing today I wish you peace and joy. X

These were my book gifts. Very happy with them.

Merry Christmas all / Nadolig Llawen I chi gyd.

No books here apart from one on crochet (I’ve just taught myself). Lots of lovely presents though.