50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Three

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the third 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 first thread of the year is here and the second thread here

Another friend gave me a personalised ex libris stamp a few years ago, which became my library default for anything I wanted to loan people.

The embosser is even more fun; it's so tactile!

Everyones positive reviews of A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing prompted me to go and add it to my wishlist. It's £1.99 right now so I just purchased it instead!

12 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 - Sue Townsend
I heard this was being made for television again, which prompted me into a re-read. I first read this when I was aged about 10 and of course much of it went over my head. I've re-read many times as an adult and always find a different character to identify with as I pass though different stages of my own life. I am Queenie this time (although a much younger version 😀)

13 The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole - Sue Townsend
You can't re-read one without the other, so this one gets another round too.

Mmmm, I'm uneasy about the idea of a remake of Adrian Mole. I hope they don't try to update it. It's so much of the 1980s. Adrian Mole is 15 months older than me.

Thank you for this !

I remember the theme tune from the original "I'm profoundly in love with Pandora" @Yolandiifuckinvisser

36. Green Dot - Madeleine Gray. This was in the deals the other day and a couple of people said they liked it up thread. It's narrates by Hera, a 24 year old bi girl living in Sydney who falls in love with a married man. I enjoyed this, the wiring was very funny, although towards the end I did want her to snap out of it. Could be a good one for those stuck in a rut.

@Tarragon123 so pleased to hear you will be trying Perveen Mistry out. I am not Australian, what made you think so? I am actually Indian, though I have been settled in the UK for 20 years.

Adrian looks like this, so I think they're going for full 80s!

Forgot the link Adrian Mole

Not sure if anyone else has linked this , but here is the Sir Walter Scott historical fiction shortlist

https://www.walterscottprize.co.uk/the-2026-prize/the-2026-shortlist/

Five books, all British authors. I have all of them on order or on my TBR!

I have just finished one of the Women's Prize books , Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. I think someone else has read this. It was intriguing and interesting, very much about parents and children, love , survival and also about environmental harms and damages. It has lots of voices which can be a bit much at times and some plot reveals that lurch about a bit. The most likeable characters are the whales ,seals and penguins. The bits about the natural world are beautiful. There are some plotlines and contexts I didn't concentrate enough to get and I genuinely don't know what happens to someone but it would be a huge spoiler to ask!

I didn't know before I read it but it seems it was more hauntology for Piggy!

Oooh, thank you @Piggywaspushed ! I have enjoyed quite a few from past lists. This year I have read one, have two on my Wish List already and will put another on there from that link. There’s only one I don’t fancy so I’m sure that will be the one that everyone else loves, I sniffily resist for a year or so, then buy and end up bolding

Hunger And Thirst by Claire Fuller. I don’t use Netgalley much at all these days (never got books I really wanted, formatting so skewed even good books were unreadable, difficult to write a review for books I hated when I’d got it for free) but they still send me invitations to download. This was one of them. As I mostly liked her other books I accepted the invitation, but I’m not sure I’m ready for a review yet, not least because I need to log in to Netgalley and check when I can review outside of there! I’ll check back when it’s published.

The Alan Carr gentle autobiographical comedy, Changing Ends, has an Adrian Mole-ish vibe. Totally 80s and very sweet and charming.

Sorry, should have mentioned that it's the same actor. He's very good.

@Piggywaspushed feel free to DM me if you want to ask about spoilers for Wild Dark Shore, I read it a few weeks ago.

I hadn't seen the Walter Scott list but have The Pretender on my TBR. And I didn't know Graeme Macrae Burnet had a new book out. interesting.

Adrian Mole is being filmed near me. I was most put out earlier this year when a couple of my neighbours were asked if their houses could be used as potential filming locations. My house mustn’t be good enough!

Ooh, our thread is in a group now, how exciting!

Will make finding 50 Bookers threads a lot easier.

I’m confused…

’View Group’ is now at the top of the thread on every page. It brings up a list of all the 50 Booker threads. I’m not sure what use it is beyond not having to wrestle with Advanced Search. You can ‘Join Group’ to get a notification if a new thread is started, I think.

???

@ÚlldemoShúl
At the top of the thread is says ‘This thread is part of a group’ and when you click on it invites you join. All it does is group all the 50 Bookers threads together.

I miss @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie. Sending love in case she still lurks.

Oh ok that doesn’t come up on the app

This is what the top of the page looks like
for me now (mobile site)

Here.

Picture