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

Sorry things are tough @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie [Flowers]

On to another Maeve Binchy - Firefly Summer.

Still plodding on with the Dutch art book but only managing a chapter a month.

@Frannyisreading i did a history degree and managed to write one essay about a person who acquired a different title as if he were two separate people 🤦‍♀️ so I can relate.

@PermanentTemporary these comments are very cheering, thank you!

@RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie very sorry to hear things are so hard atm.

The Amateur Marriage - Anne Tyler
this was very good - the trademark Tyler observation of middle class, middle age, middle America. In this case, Michael and Pauline meet and marry in haste at the start of the Vietnam War, then Michael enlists but is soon invalided home and there is plenty of time to repent at leisure. We follow their lives, family and friends through children, grandchildren and beyond. A bold.

@Frannyisreading I saw the Mary Queen of Scots ballet last night! They helpfully hand out leaflets with a summary of the story, although I didn’t get one until the interval so spent the first half with no idea what was happening…

Fell off the last thread - and here you all are! Bringing my list over:

1 Edenglassie – Melissa Lucashenko
2 All the Colours of the Dark – Chris Whitaker
3 Boymum – Ruth Whippman
4 Bramble Fox – Kathrin Tordasi
5 Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
6 Scattered – Aamna Mohdin
7 Hangover Square – Patrick Hamilton
8 Due to a Death – Mary Kelly
9 The Reckoning – Jane Casey
10 The Last Girl – Jane Casey
11 Factfulness – Hans Rosling
12 The Stranger You Know – Jane Casey

And here are my latest - bit behind with reviews. All of these three were read for a book club discussion:

13 Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Cheating a bit as this is really a short story, but it was prefaced by an essay by Zadie Smith which was nearly as long as the story itself. Twyla and Roberta meet at an orphanage. One is black, one is white, and you never find out which. They intersect throughout their lives in this economical, clever story, which has plenty to say about disadvantage and race. I have never managed to get through a Toni Morrison novel, but after this I think I will give it another go.

14 The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

This is a short book containing two letters/essays - the first addressed to Baldwin's nephew, the second more generally, musing on race and religion. The letter to Baldwin's nephew was very short and hugely affecting. I found the second essay more challenging - it is quite bombastic and tonally unvaried, and didn't quite work so well for me as a means of conveying either passion or information. But there was a lot of interesting stuff in there, particularly the section on the Nation of Islam.

15 Whites: on race and other falsehoods by Otegha Uwagba

Again, an essay rather than a full-length book. Uwagba is a Nigerian-born journalist, and this was written in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder. I found some of it interesting, but felt some of the sections on whites giving up their privilege failed to acknowledge the writer's own background and advantages. It was, in that respect, an interesting contrast to Recitatif and The First Next Time - one strong message of the former was that there are many other sources of disadvantage, not just race; and I felt the latter was an altogether superior and more emotionally intelligent analysis of how entrenched advantage might be tackled.

Currently reading The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst which is taking me forever because of life, but I am enjoying it.

Also - I have managed to keep away from the Jane Caseys until after the end of February and well into March, so I shall reward myself with another soon. I wouldn't want to forget what's happened in the ones I've read so far...

1 The Bear and the Bird by Katherine Arden
2 Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. Translated by Allison
3 The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
4 The Giddy Limit: Fifth Anniversary Book by Alex Leonard
5 Seascraper by Benjamin Wood

An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie. Translated by James Kirkup

This is a fascinating memoir of Kpomassie's travels from his native Togo to Greenland via Europe in the 1960s after being bitten by a snake and then reading in a library book about this cold island where there are no snakes. It takes him 10 years to get there as he slowly travels across Africa then Europe before finally arriving in Greenland. He experiences enormous hospitality but also sees poverty, alcoholism, promiscuity, and violence. He learns to hunt and drive a sled and eats a lot of raw meat. Recently republished by Penguin Moderm Classics as Michel the Giant (he's 7" taller than the average Greenlander).

18. The Crowded Street - Winifred Holtby

Main review over on the Rather Dated Bookclub thread, but I became very engrossed in this story of Muriel Hammond, daughter of a solid middle-class Yorkshire family in the years leading up to WW1, who struggles to live up to the heavy societal expectations placed on her, not least by her controlling mother. Muriel’s failure to please, and to behave as a proper young girl ‘ought’ (marriage fails to come her way and she lacks the imagination and courage to seek her own path) is charted from her childhood through to her lonely and unhappy late 20s, but a resolution arrives which I, for one, was cheering on. I enjoyed Holtby’s writing very much too.

Dead Ground
Yet another Washington Poe book. I thought this was a bit slicker than the previous ones, with slightly less superfluous details. I guessed whodunnit but not whytheydunnit, and I liked seeing a bit more of Poe’s softer side, although I like his rough side too.

@GrannieMainland what did you think of MQoS ballet? I really loved it, especially Elizabeth's costume - very Vivienne Westwood - and the stilts!

Calling our history scholars... I'm guessing Rizzio and Darnley didn't really have an affair before Rizzio was murdered? It was a thrilling part of the ballet but I didn't see mention of it in my Scholastic guide to MQoS 😅

I'm another one who fell off the end of the last thread, so marking my place on this one!
Hugs to everyone having a tough time at the moment.

This is my list so far this year - I am doing quite well for me really!

1. A Place of Execution - Val McDermid
2. The Ministry of Time - Kaliane Bailey
3. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
4. The Glass Maker - Tracey Chevalier
5. Nothing Ventured - Jeffrey Archer
6. The Janus Stone - (Ruth Galloway 2) - Elly Griffiths
7. The Reckoning - (Maeve Kerrigan 2) - Jane Casey
8. The Last Girl (Maeve kerrigan 3) - Jane Casey
9. Lincoln in The Bardo - George Saunders
10. After The Party - Cressida Connolly
11. The Briar Club - Kate Quinn
12. Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy
13. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
14. The House at Sea’s End - (Ruth Galloway 3) - Elly Griffiths

15. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
    Much recommended on here and one of those examples of this thread leading me towards books I would never think of picking up.
    Science fiction is not a usual genre for me. I am limited to The Martian and Project Hail Mary (plus a really dire thing we read in bookclub about 10 years ago.
    This is set in the near future in 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 manchild, who emotionally abuses Annie, whose artificial intelligence begins to develop like a classic abused woman- too eager to please him, on eggshells constantly and in a constant state of being alert to what will set a bad mood 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 ex (though I suspect Doug is better looking and less drunk)- over generous at some points, but quick the anger if I said the wrong thing or “slighted” him in some way, with days and days of the silent treatment as a punishment.
    Possibly not a real bold, but one which will definitely stay with me.

16. Boudica by Manda Scott
    I thought I read this years ago, but I have no memory of it.
    It's a well researched, well written fictional early life of Breaca who later became the warrior queen Boudica who held tribal Britain against the Roman invasion.
    For some reason that is probably entirely my fault rather than the book's, I really didn't engage with it and it felt a bit of a chore. Can't really explain why.

Fewer not less - forgive me!

@EineReiseDurchDieZeit – that would be great. I’ll try to DM you. I think I might have to do it from my phone. If I don’t message you, can you message me please?

@Frannyisreading – what?? Rizzio and Darnley having an affair? No, that didn’t happen as far as we know and I’ve never seen that suggested. If anything, the rumour was that Rizzio was having an affair with MQoS and was the father of James VI. I think that very unlikely, but it gave Darnley the excuse to murder Rizzio in front of MQoS. He hoped that the shock would make Mary, who was 6 months pregnant, go into early labour and die. He would then take the crown. Utter shit.

35 Glass Houses – Louise Penny Chief Insp Gamache 13. I don’t know whats wrong with me atm. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as previous ones. I felt it was a bit complex, maybe it was, maybe my concentration is just off at the moment. Ofc, I will get the next one from the library on Monday!

I am managing to get through Entitled. I’m about a third of the way. I’ve also just picked up Introducing Mrs Collins and that seems like an easy read too.

@Frannyisreadingre Rizzio & Darnley - I think that is suggested in Denise Mina’s book Rizzio (although that’s a fictional retelling rather that history). I can’t remember offhand what is said in history books, but The Rest is History podcast have a really good series of episodes in Mary Queen of Scots and remembering what they say about Darnley it’s not impossible (being incredibly promiscuous was just one of his many unpleasant characteristics).

@Tarragon123 and @Benvenuto , thanks for the info! I did assume it was a creative bit of embroidery but it certainly provided some added spice between the two dancers!

Sorry for the sidetrack, I know it's 50 books not 50 ballets...

Oh lord, instant flashback to when I wrote an essay about Henry VI but accidentally included some quotes that were actually about Henry IV to support my argument, because I am easily confused by roman numerals

Expo 58 by Jonathan Coe

This is one of his earlier books, and is set in 1958, mainly at the World Fair in Belgium. Thomas Foley is sent to work out there and ends up getting caught up with Russian and American spies. I enjoyed this because I wasn’t aware of the World Fair before so it was interesting to read about that. It is quite funny too - there’s a double act that appears every now and then to fill Thomas in on as much as they want him to know, who remind me of Thomson and Thompson from the Tintin books (not as bumbling, but do finish each others’ sentences as if they’re operating as one person). Worth a read if you like Coe’s work.

Bog People: A Working Class Anthology Of Folk Horror ed by Hollie Starling
A somewhat grand title for a bog standard (see what I did there?) collection of mostly adequate folk horror stories. I am always open to discovering authors and have followed up new ones found in anthologies but there were no surprises here. The authors I’ve read before I enjoyed, the unknowns weren’t very good.

Hawthorn: A Scottish Ghost Story by Elaine Thomson
A man undertaking landscape reviews with the army for Ordnance Survey finds himself billeted after an injury in a faded but grand country house. Something with hollow eyes, muddy clothing and a terrible stench follows him about gurgling in his ear. The author uses the same descriptions over and over, to the point of tedium. There’s a parentage mystery, a bluff doctor, taciturn villagers and the final, final twist is stupid. Tbh I might have DNFed this but I have some (hopefully!) better books waiting and I’m always careful to give so-so books a fair chance when that is the case.
The OS surveys were the best part, but they are tiny. Luckily, DH has a book on the history of map making he’s reading at the moment and will pass to me, so I’m looking forward to that.

19. Regency Buck - Georgette Heyer

Judith and Peregrine Taverner have been recently orphaned and are still minors (having not turned 21). Their father appointed Lord Worth as their guardian but he has been happy for them to remain at the family estate in Yorkshire whilst he manages their affairs and fortunes from London and takes a hands-off approach. The Taverners decide to head to London for some fun where they meet a friendly cousin, Bernard, who falls for Judith. They also discover that Lord Worth is much more interventionist in their lives in London - taking decisions, controlling their allowances and policing their behaviour. Peregrine gets into any number of scrapes and Judith receives lots of proposals. Bernard remains steadfast whilst Lord Worth is a continuing thorn in their side.

It was a little darker in places than your average Heyer making me uncertain how things would unfold. Still enjoyable.

For anyone wanting to read the WP longlist Moderation by Elaine Castillo is 99p today but not in the daily deals.

What Happened That Night - Nicci French

Not one of their best. A group of university friends, most of whom haven’t seen each other since university, have a reunion. The twist is that one of them has just been released from prison having served almost 30 years for murdering another university friend. Inevitably tensions rise at this reunion and it doesn’t end well. Unfortunately I found this a bit slow - there’s lots of characters to keep track of and none of them are particularly likeable (I didn’t really care in the end who had done it because they were all annoying in different ways). The first third of the book is the reunion, with all the various conversations going on, then the next third is lots of police interviews. It does pick up a bit in the final third but not enough. I mean it’s fine, it’s not a terrible book, but I’ve read better from them.

16 The Sparsholt Affair by Alan Hollinghurst

First things first - books where I'm not sure how to pronounce a key name (Susan Hill and Simon Serrailler, I'm looking at you) drive me potty. Spar-sholt or Spars-holt? He does actually tell you part-way through the book but I kept forgetting (I think it was Spar-sholt). Anyway. The fact that I got distracted by the name thing probably tells you I wasn't quite as absorbed in this as I could have been. It's a saga spreading over several decades, starting during WWII when 17-year-old David Sparsholt spends a term at Oxford, young and beautiful and lusted over by a variety of slightly older students, before heading off to war. I really enjoyed this first part; lots of undertones and unrequited longing and all beautifully written. It's followed by sections where we follow the married, adult David on holiday with his family as the focus shifts to his son, Johnny, who is desperately in love with his French exchange student, who (despite previously responding to Johnny's advances) has developed an interest in girls. There is a slowly growing undertow of unease relating to David's relationship with the husband of the family they're holidaying with, and we then shift further into the future, at which point the (main) affair of the title has taken place. It is cleverly done, as little hints of what has happened are tossed around throughout without it ever being made fully clear. For me, the later parts didn't live up to the beautifully realised Oxford section. Johnny felt like a little bit of a cipher and, whilst the point is that his father is largely unknowable, that didn't quite work for me as I was much less interested in spending time with Johnny! Having said all that, the first time I read The Line of Beauty I didn't love it; the second time, I really did, so perhaps I should give this another go in a few years' time.

17 The Evin Prison Bakers' Club by Sepideh Gholian

The latest Shelterbox book - quite a contrast from Hollinghurst, it was written by Gholian, who has been a political prisoner in Iran for many of the last 7 years, in texts/on scraps of paper smuggled out the prison. The book merges the stories of Gholian's fellow prisoners - whose alleged crimes range from owing money to retaliating against male violence, as well as dissidence - with fantasy sections depicting, amongst other things, meetings with lost and dead children - and baking recipes. It is never clear how far the women are able to make the recipes Gholian describes in the confines of the jail, but it is clear that what they are able to make (and the embellishments they can imagine) brings comfort in almost unimaginable circumstances. The accounts of their imprisonment, and the deaths of some of their number, are harrowing, but Gholian brings a wry humour to her writing as well. I'm not sure I fully understood everything she was saying, but it is an extraordinary book and well worth reading.

Thank you @Southeastdweller for the new thread (which is moving along at the usual breathless rate!). @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie and @Terpsichore I'm thinking of you both 💐

@Welshwabbit I love The Fire Next Time. When I read it, I was very struck by how relevant the ideas in it remain today.

I'm not reading as much as I wish I were at the moment. Work is getting me down a bit, as it typically does at this time of term. Looking forward to the Easter break and some happy guiltless uninterrupted reading! After not starting Les Miz till mid-February though, I've now almost caught up to where everyone else is, and am hoping to join that read-along soon.

My list so far:
1 Le jeune homme [The Young Man], Annie Ernaux
2 Mauvais élève [Bad Pupil], Philippe Vilain
3 Immaculate Conception, Ling Ling Huang
4 A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr
5 Triste Tigre [Sad Tiger], Neige Sinno
6 Seduction Theory, Emily Adrian
7 Remorse, Alba de Céspedes, trans. William Weaver
8 The Spoilt Kill, Mary Kelly
9 Artemisia, Letizia Treves et al
10 In the Darkroom, Susan Faludi

I'm also interested in the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, even though every year I tell myself I'm not going to get sucked in. I'd read only two on the list this time, the ones that were shortlisted for the Booker: Flashlight (loved it) and Audition (meh).

Have read one more book since the longlist came out:
11 The Best of Everything, Kit de Waal 4/5
Women’s Prize longlist. A young Black British mother meets the orphaned grandson of the man responsible for killing her lover in a car accident, and gradually becomes a mother figure to that boy as well as her own. At the beginning I thought that the story was shaping up to be too sentimental, but as things evolved, the narrative gained more darkness and complexity. By the end I liked it very much. Incidentally, I reread my review of de Waal’s The Trick to Time (which I read years ago), and my review of that book said very much the same thing! De Waal writes very well, and her main characters are sympathetic and convincing.

As as aside, de Waal's novel is in the present tense, and the longlist book I'm about to read next (Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy) is also in the present tense.

I think I have a weird aversion to novels written in the present tense, and every year, SO MANY of the Women's Prize novels do this! Argh! Yes, sometimes it can be very effective, but it always gives me the sense that the novel has come out of a creative writing workshop somewhere. I'm fond of old-fashioned past tenses.