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

Broken bones are exhausting. And I think physical incapacity can also be mentally incapacitating. I spent three months on bed rest once and I thought I'd get stacks of reading done (I have long had an ambition to read A Suitable Boy and this ought to have been perfect). But I probably read less than normal; I don't really know what I did. Hope you are feeling better soon.
Book 11. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Subscription from my local bookseller sent me this last year and it's been on my shelves for ages. I never quite fancied it, despite all the good reviews I saw. And it's taken me a while to read - I have a very low tolererance for anything unsettling at night so I've been alternating it with some light old favourites (Melissa Bank, still great!) - and although I was admiring and enjoying the writing, the story didn't really get going for me until over halfway through, when suggenly it really did. I imagine it was discussed on here last year, but just in case: Dominic Salt and his three children are the last people remaining on a deserted Antarctic research base, due to leave due to rising sea levels. A woman washes up on shore. The question of who she is and why she is here leads into the secrets everyone is keeping on the island, interspersed with some really lovely nature writing and a good bit of climate anger. I think it's a book I'll remember for a while.

I expect the body is working like crazy to fix broken bones, even though it's not visible on the outside. I hope the fatigue eases for you both.

Katabasis - R.F. Kuang

Coincidentally I was working through this as well. It's my first Kuang and I was mostly sucked in by the cover which is rather gorgeous!

I agree with a lot that @DuPainDuVinDuFromage wrote about it. I liked the premise and the descriptions of magic, often involving trying to temporarily fool the universe through use of paradoxes, and a lot of chalk, it seems. However I'm afraid I found the characters and story didn't really immerse me. Alice was riskily unlikeable, I thought, and I didn't feel chemistry between her and Peter, or even get a strong sense of Hell as a place, just a backdrop for a series of not very engaging new characters. It could have been an exciting fantasy yarn but it seemed to want to be more: it felt very ambitious and for me, fell short, so I was disappointed.

I'm off to see To Kill A Mockingbird at the theatre in April, I can't wait!

A Court OF Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

I have a history of ignoring popular things because I don't like being told what to like, so I thought I should stop being obstinate as popular could mean it's actually good.

As it happens, this was just fine. There are faeries, humans think they are evil but some are good. There is some good world building, there are some coincidences that are so contrived I nearly put the book down in disgust.

There was only one sex scene which surprised me to the extent I googled it. Apparently they get smuttier.

I gave it 3.5 out of 5. It was fine. I might read the next if it ever turns up at 99p and I am paying attention but I won't seek it out.

I've just done pretty well in the deals.

Fourth Wing I won't read this yet, I feel like it's going to be similar to Court but I am hoping it's better.

A Terry Pratchett as I am trying to get them all

The Great Alone by Kirsten Hannah which was on my wishlist. I have three of hers waiting on my kindle so I'll space these out a bit.

The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell which wasn't on my wish list but should have been.

Pretty happy with that. Although I wanted to clear my TBR on kindle, I was actually down to a handful of fiction books. It's the non fiction that are making me feel bad for neglecting them.

Thanks everyone.
@noodlezoodle Holding a Kindle is one of the few things I can do physically, along with endless walks whenever it stops raining.

I’ve been all through the kindle deals, but haven’t found anything to tickle my fancy. I’ve tried re-reading stuff I love, but even that isn’t working - in fact, it’s making me feel worse.

Hopefully another long walk today will help me to get over myself a bit.

This is my February list, mix of audio and proper books. Bit of a random mix but have been trying to do the Goodreads Winter challenge.

13.So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (audiobook)
14.The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (audiobook)
15.The Satsuma Complex by Bob Mortimer
16.We Solve Murders by Richard Osman (audiobook)
17.We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
18.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling (audible audiobook)
18.The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (audiobook)
20.The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer by Ragnar Jonasson (audiobook)
21.Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
22.Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (audiobook)
23.The Wedding Vow by Dandy Smith
24.James by Percival Everett

DNF Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (audiobook). Had heard such good things but I just got so annoyed at all the useless men these women has put such hopes on, and seemed to base their entire existence on that I quit after about 40%.

Just finished James last night, which was great. Take on Huckleberry Finn from slave Jim’s PoV. Sure has been spoken about a lot on here already. It is surprisingly funny a book about slavery and some of the treatment of the people involved is very hard to read.

Current audiobook is Demon Copperhead which I’m about half way though and enjoying it very much. Told in first person by Damon, 10 years old, telling his life story as a child of a drug addict mother and dead father, his journey through several foster homes and friendships made along the way etc. Equally anticipating and dreading how his life is going to turn out.

Stuff I got in the deals :

Perspectives by Laurent Binet
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash
Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ni Mhaoilcoin
Square Haunting by Francesca Wade
The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh
Three Days In June by Anne Tyler

Nine. Theory and practice by Michelle de Kretser
A young woman moves to Melbourne to study Virginia Woolf in the 80s.
I really enjoyed this one. There's a lot in there for a short book. I like how she's fiddled with the idea of the novel.

Ten. A court of thorn and roses by Sarah J Maas
A book club read and not my cup of tea. I don't really enjoy fantasy. Good that she's got so many people reading though.

Interesting review @carefullythere - this is one of the books that everyone is touting fur the woman's prize.
@campingwidow - I did finish Dream Count but felt it was a bit too much, it didn't really hold together that well. Loved Demon too.

I thought the deals were pretty good today, there's a few of my favourites from last year in there:
Fundamentally
Nesting
Glorious Exploits
Ripeness
as well as a couple more that made the Booker/Woman's Prize

I've picked up:
Three Days in June
The Finest Hotel in Kabul
The Pretender - which at £3.79 is not exactly a deal but it's got great reviews
and a MW Craven, recommended for those wanting a crime fix

18 New Boy - Tracey Chevalier retelling of Othello for young adults set in Washington DC. O is the son of a Ghanian diplomat and only black child starting at a suburban elementary school. He is befriended by D who is the most popular girl in school. But sadly things don't turn out well due to the interference of Ian, the school bully. I thought this was really well done. The characters were interesting and fully formed even though all the action took place over a single day. Somehow the insecurities and changing emotions were more believable because of the ages of the protaganists. A bold for me.

19 Kitchen Curse - Eka Kurniawan trans various. Short stories by Indonesian author, Eka Kurniawan. These were surreal and quite dark in places but also funny. I am not normally a fan of short stories but some of these really struck me. Another bold.

Oh I forgot to add Ordinary Saints as another great book from last year and potential WP contender.

17. Unsettled Ground - Claire Fuller. RWYO. This was on the WP list in 2021 I think but I'm just getting round to it. It's about 51 year old twins Jeanie and Julius who live in rural poverty with their mother Dot, who manages their money and lives. They survive by selling what they grow in their cottage garden and odd DIY jobs that Julius gets. The book starts with Dot's death and the gradual unravelling of their world as they try to navigate money and bills. It's really sad but beautifully written and a great look at those on the outskirts of society, and the difficulty of asking for and receiving help. Jeanie has had barely any education so most venues of finding a job are cut off to her. I thought it was very good.

7 The Plague Dogs - Richard Adams
Two dogs escape from an animal testing lab and survive 6 weeks in the wilds of the lake district before they are caught swimming out to sea. Rowf has been subjected to repeated drowning and resuscitation, has never had a master and as a result is suspiscious of all men and terrified of water. Snitter, sold to the research station after his master was involved in a traffic accident, has undergone brain surgery that has left him with a tenuous grip on reality. Neither of them is equipped for survival in the wild and they befriend a fox who helps them in return for a share in any sheep and poultry they kill.

Meanwhile a gutter-press reporter uncovers the study of bubonic plague within the lab, prints a story about the dogs and their potential for contact with the plague and a hunt ensues.

This is a book I re-read from time to time. It is a brilliant book, but harrowing and difficult to read. In the preface, Adams explains that no single institute would in reality perform the variety of experiments described within, but each is a real test carried out on animals somewhere in the world. Humankind's cruelty and indifference to the suffering of other species is a central theme, while Snitter's confidence in the trustability of men and Rowf's intuitive knowledge of the relationship between human and canine remain unshaken by their experiences.

I read that as a teenager @Yolandiifuckinvisser I remember that it left me feeling very unsettled.

A reminder for those on the A Take Of Two Cities read along that its discussion day for the first half of Book 2.

@weareallcats I both love and hate Enriquez. I am easily uncomfortable and scared and I remember reading The Dangers of Smoking in Bed at night on holiday in a very very dark room (the swimming pool, dog story to be exact0 – a chill just went down my spine as I typed it. I hated reading it (for book club). I had to delete it off my Kindle once finished as I just couldn’t own it, and I can never hear Barcelona without thinking about the spirit children.Neverthless, despite hating it and feeling sullied, I still read her new collection last year, which I felt the same about, but less intense and still plan to read some of her others that made a fab Foyle’s display a few months ago. I figure to impact me so profoundly I actually love her writing, despite hating it, which I think it a huge talent.

@Demo I saw that a few years ago and thought it was wonderful they way that they brought the story to life. I also cried.

Instead of ‘Wuthering Heights’ I took myself off to see Riz Ahmed’s Hamlet at the cinema this weekend which was decent, he was astonishingly good though and I think I might be in love. I cried at the end on the edge of my seat despite having seen Hamlet many times before.

@SheilaFentiman TeamShafak here as always😍. I also loved My Name is Leon. More crying from me. Of the ugly sort.

It would appear I am an emotional reader 😢

I'm a crier too! More at TV and films that books - but a good bit of pathos will get me.

I have just finished The Lost Pianos of Siberia - about Sophy Roberts' travels through some of the remotest parts of the world. It's really a history of Siberia (and Russia) through the lens of piano hunting and it is fascinating, educational, compassionate - and very moving in places. It's not a book any Westerner could research now, only 8 years later. Her descriptive writing is excellent. I would have liked more of a sense of the vast distances she travelled as she hops a bout a lot.

The end - where a specific piano is given to a Mongolian pianist- is lovely.

@Iamnotaloggrip I have a heart of stone and seldom cry at anything but TheTime Traveller's Wife was a real tear jerker.

I have been unwell and stressed for a couple of weeks. Ironically given the opportunity to read all day while huddled on the sofa I had five consecutive DNFs and couldn't get into anything.

11.We Belong Together by Beth Moran.
Romantic comedy / chic lit. Look away now if that's not your thing.

Eleanor Sharpley is a famous restaurant reviewer popular for her witty but brutally cutting reviews. She has always felt a bit uncomfortable with her role but it paid well. A stalker gives her the nudge she needs to quit. She runs away to stay with an old friend on her family farm. There follows the usual tropes whereby she meets her man but a dark secret/ misunderstanding keeps them apart. Beth Moran usually includes a few interesting female characters who also have challenges in finding true love. The book as always is set in the Nottingham area and in this case a former mining village where, like many in real life, the inhabitants are still divided over strikers and scabs.
It's light and entertaining and has got me out of a slump.

I've looked at the Amazon deals and was tempted by The Running Grave: Cormoran Strike Book 7. I've only read one of the Strike books which I enjoyed but not enough to buy more. I also bought Daughters of the famine Road by Bridget Walsh because I have been reading about the Irish potato famine.

I'm a crier! It's a bit odd because I cry easily over books and films but very rarely in real life.

I just picked up Ootlin, Ripeness and The Great Alone in the deals.

just to say O’Caledonia Elspeth Barker is on for 99p today - it is filed under Romance, which I definitely don’t think it is… more an coming of age. I loved it.

@campingwidow – oooh I think that you have just inspired me to get Damon Copperhead on Audible. I have a physical copy of the book, but its just not doing anything for me.

I got Butter and The Secret Hours in the Kindle deals. Including those two, I only have 16 unread books on my Kindle.

Thanks @SharpPoet that’s been on my list for a while.

I read 8 books in February, 4 Kindle, 3 library and 1 Audible. I need to get better at RWYO, sigh.

I've bought lots of books this month, including several Daily Deals - the ones I wanted most are sadly £1.99 rather than 99p - and a couple of books I've borrowed from the library and read. The daily deals I bought included The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai (very long book from last year's Booker shortlist) and Lyse Doucet's book about Afghanistan, The Finest Hotel in Kabul.

I've also bought the Virago Modern Classics reissue of one of the first books published by Virago in the early/mid 1970s, Fenwomen by Mary Chamberlain. I've been wanting to read this for a while and bought a secondhand paperback, Virago of course, last year, but Kindle deals (up to £2) seem to me like an excuse to have both.

Oh, and I bought a Kindle copy of Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, a sort of historical novel, at least to start with.

I’m really enjoying it. The narrator has a very thick southern drawl.

24 The Time Machine by HG Wells

I was familiar with this tale of the Eloi and Morlocks from the film, but despite my love of time travel books I’d never got round to reading this until it came up on my RWYO list. In all honesty I found it pretty dull overall, which is shame.

Apologies if someone has already mentioned it but there's a sequel to The time traveller's wife out this year. I hope it isn't a disappointment.