50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Two

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the second thread of the 50 Books Challenge for this year.

The challenge is to read fifty books (or more!) in 2026, 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 and maybe authors as well of books you've read or going to read? It makes it much easier to keep track, especially when the threads move quickly at this time of the year.

The previous thread is

I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself sounds wonderful, @noodlezoodle . Is it going to tip me into full-blown midlife crisis?

@VikingNorthUtsire Thanks for your review of Dreamcount - I agree 100%- we read it for bookclub last month. I had read Americanah years ago, it stayed with me and I still recommend it to people. Alos enjoyed |Half a Yellow Sun but not quite as much as Americanah which I would put in my top ten of all time. I found Dreamcount a fairly engaging meander around the thoughts of the women, mainly due to the quality writing, but Kadiatou's story was by far the most interesting.

I remember enjoying Merivel- a Man of his time by Rose Tremain, as well as "Restoration" (one of which is the sequel of the other but I can't remember which way around) - It's probably 8-10 years since I read them though. It's not a period of history I know a lot about either.

I have knocked off another couple-

14. The House at Sea's End (Ruth Galloway #3) by Elly Griffiths
    Easy murder mystery with added new motherhood for Ruth. Ruth is called in to examine six skeletons found in a cave on the Norfolk coast. Ruth dates them to the 1940s, and there is subsequently a secret attempted invasion of England by the Nazis uncovered.

15. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
    Much reviewed on here, way out of my usual reading genres - my dabble in Science fiction is limited to The Martian and Project Hail Mary (plus a really dire thing we read in book club about 10 years ago). It came up on the Audible 2for1 deals so I went in!
    Set in (I assume) future New York, where bachelor Doug has bought Annie, an AI robot girlfriend, indistinguishable from a human, except for the need to charge. Doug has had her custom made to look like his ex wife, and it soon becomes clear that Doug is a controlling, insecure manchild, who emotionally abuses Annie, whose artificial intelligent begins to develop like a classic abused woman - too eager to please, on eggshells constantly and in a constant state of being alert to what will set him off next. It's a complex book, with lots going on, but the most remarkable thing for me was the similarity of Doug to my exH (Though I suspect Doug is better looking and definitely has more money!) , over generous at some points, but quick to anger if I said the wrong thing or "slighted" him in some way, days and days of the silence treatment as a punishment.
    Possibly not 5 star, but definitely one that will stay with me

Thanks, everyone.

Re I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself - I’ve just read and enjoyed the sample. BUT - the reason I hated Cheryl Strayed was because so much of it was about her wanting a shag. Is Mostly going to be mostly about her shagging her way around Paris? I don’t mind shagging, in fact I like it and I’m happy to partake in it myself when the occasion arises, but I don’t much enjoy reading about it.

I’ve read The Indifferent Stars Above which is very much my sort of thing!

@MegBusset will read the sample of that immediately

You're probably the reason that I found, when I went to add it to my wishlist this morning, that it was already there.

😂

Just read The Distinctly Competent District Councillor. As may be obvious from the title , it's the latest jaunt from Jonas Jonasson. This is a novella - only 130 pages. His recent novels became very outlandish, silly and overly complex. So this, by contrast, is short and sweet. It's nice to read something uplifting and brief for a change! It's about a German bed company looking for a factory location in Sweden but it's also about loss and love in a very broad brush but quite cute way. Jonasson says at the beginning that he wanted to write something that 'might give us hope'.

@noodlezoodle Haha, yes, 'eclectic' is a word that's been used more than once by people who've seen my Goodreads account.

I'm now reading Other Women by Emma Flint, a crime story inspired by real events and set in the 1920s. It's about the wife and the mistress of a man who is accused of murder. She writes so well about women in period settings; her characters are so complex and flawed and the settings are really well evoked. I enjoyed her previous novel Little Deaths a few years ago too.

If it does, it will be in the best possible way!

There are a few hook ups in the book but it's far from the main theme. I think you could easily skip over those pages and still really enjoy it if you liked the sample.

Pagans by James Alastair Henry
Picked it up on a whim in Waterstones the other week and what a find!
It’s the present day, but the Normans never invaded Britain, Christianity is a weird little cult, the Native Americans retained their land and autonomy, Africa had the Industrial Revolution, the Mughal and Moorish empires reign over Europe as well as their base countries…….the world building in this alternative history is superb. That’s not all, it’s a backdrop to an energetic, violent, highly amusing crime drama. Aedith Mercia is a senior police officer, daughter of a high ranking Saxon lord. Someone is murdering members of the above ‘weird little cult’ and it takes a while to even work that much out, until a crude fish tattoo is found on the bodies. There’s also the matter of a second killer, the Fengyr, who is beheading people, many of them close to the High King and Aedith’s father, Lod. Drustan, a Tribal (Celt) from the West, is sent to help investigate, fortunately well used to the casual and not so casual racism relentlessly fired his way. Together they need to find the killer of Fishers and protect the world summit being held in London.
Imaginative, gritty, just about perfect. There’s a fantastic teaser intro to the next book and a bonus short story about Drustan’s initiation by druids.
Henry is/was a script writer for Smack The Pony, Green Wing and er….Bob The Builder and it shows in the crispness of the dialogue and plot structure (if I was being extremely picky, some of the chapters are a little short).
I’m so glad I took a chance with this book and thanks go to the Waterstones employee who said several staff had read it and enjoyed it.
Minor downside is that my inner pedant hates typos and bad grammar that a good proof reader should have picked up but meh…,it won’t stop it being a bold.

@MaterMoribund ooh! this is on my wishlist but I'm really trying to make progress on already owned /borrowed books before I let myself buy more! Great to hear you loved it though and I'll hopefully try it in a month or two.

@Tarragon123 I hope you like it as much as I did. my next book by him has arrived today too very much looking forward to reading the next.

@Frannyisreading it’s on my wish list too, after seeing it in Waterstones. Funnily enough I’ve been reading up on the Saxons for something else (despite my user name 😁), and it looked like a great read so thanks Mater for confirming that, definitely a birthday present to myself when RWYO is done. I’m working through the Hitchhiker’s trilogy in four parts so that’s slightly holding up proceedings, but in a good way.

@MaterMoribund oh that sounds amazing and has gone on my wish list. I maintain that the Battle of Hastings was the most consequential event in England’s history so I’m intrigued to read this one.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh what did you think of the film Wuthering Heights.? I just saw this today with my daughter and loved it. We both came out in tears. I first read this when I was 15 and I liked the interpretation. As I was looking for the romance in this at the time I read this so I got the way the film was done. Want to read this again so will buy a good cloth bound for my book case. I really enjoyed the dark brooding scenes and the music all in all anyway it got me. A real tear jerker.

I'm back from the cinema where I saw 'Wuthering Heights' @DesdamonasHandkerchief

As a film in its own right it's okay so long as you're not looking for a faithful adaptation of the book.

The storyline is coherent and credible, but I estimated that the content of the film is based on approximately one quarter of the book. There are some recognisable moments and lines from the book, but these are few and far between.

The plot has been reimagined to create a doomed love affair between Catherine and Heathcliff. It is based on the misunderstanding between the pair when she decides to marry Linton. (That much is true). They go on to have a physical relationship. (Not true as far as we know in the book).There is lots of sex and raw passion. Heathcliff's treatment of Isabella is vile, but there is a suggestion that she consents to it. It's very unsavoury.

I think that on balance that the character of Heathcliff is more sympathetic and that Catherine is more malicious in the film, so they meet more in the middle. Heathcliff is more of a brute in the book. And he doesn't wreak revenge on the next generation, because there isn't any.

Nelly Dean's role (the servant) is developed and she plays a pivotal role in the story. This is ambiguous in the book.

Thorncroft Lodge is turned into an opulent palace with very gaudy furnishings verging on psychedelic which contrasts with 'Wuthering Heights' that is depicted as a hovel (greatly exaggerated). @ChessieFL said it's like a fever dream and she's right.

So, there you go. I'd give the film a swerve if you think these things will annoy you! If I'm being kind, it's like it's loosely based on 'Wuthering Heights' or it's a film that borrows the names of some of the main characters ;)

Thanks for your thoughts Fuzzy. How funny that you cross posted your excellent review with Midnightstar’s request for you to do just that!

@DesdamonasHandkerchief I was the same and wanted to swerve the film wuthering Heights just because the reviews were so dire. But my daughter wanted to see it and had no idea what it was about. It is definitely a case of ignore the critics as I really did love it. It definitely took me back to my 15 year old self and all the romance I wanted to in a book. It was my first classic read too. Yes a favourite of mine too. I wander if my opinion will change when I re-read it again. I hope not.

I definitely want to see the movie now, I may wait for it to come to Sky though. I did really enjoy Saltburn apart from the hideous bath water scene 🤢

I can't watch films any more due to brain injury but I would have been well up for a bonkers female gaze Wuthering Heights so I'm loving reading your reviews.

This made me laugh: I think we forget how many people loathed WH when it first came out!

www.countrylife.co.uk/quiz/the-reviews-are-in-but-can-you-guess-whether-these-wuthering-heights-reviews-are-of-the-new-film-or-the-original-novel-find-out-in-the-country-life-quiz-of-the-day-february-16-2026

Hi @Midnightstar76 ! I was just posting my thoughts on the film as you were typing!

Well, I have mixed feelings about it. As a standalone film, I think it well done; a good story, and it was visually very interesting and beautifully shot. The scenes on the moors were really beautiful.

I thought the casting was good. I thought the dynamics between the main pair was good too. Margot Robbie was a very spirited Cathy. I didn't shed any tears, however! My friends said they enjoyed it, but they didn't warm to the characters.

I'd prefer to think of the film and book separately, I think, because they are so different.

Random capital letter.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh - the casting…. Martin Clunes and Alison Oliver were great in their greatly altered roles. I thought MR too old for Cathy and JE not “right” for Heathcliff. it’s a book I love and I remember thinking “I don’t know where this is going” which was a weird sensation. I also thought too much of the essence of the story was cut. I am glad you enjoyed it though!

I walked past The Curzon in town today and saw a trailer for Wuthering Heights running - it says "Inspired by Wuthering Heights", which i guess explains a lot.

Yes, the film is called "Wuthering Heights" apparently, not Wuthering Heights.