50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Four

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the fourth 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 as this makes it much easier to keep track of books or authors that may appeal (or not appeal) to everyone else.

Some of us bring over our updated lists to the new thread. Again, this is up to you.

The first thread of the year is here the second thread here and the third thread here

What's BBB?

Bloody Boring Butler.

Oh...... got it!

Not read it...

Feel like today's list is the ones you'd expect

A couple I think I have read but don't really remember so am not counting:
The Age of Innocence
Invisible Man - think we did this at school when I was about 12
Don Q - Dnf
David C - also Dnf
Brothers K - DnF despite being stuck at Moscow airport for 18 hours with this as my main book in about 1993. It was a useful pillow....

ones I've definitely read
The Handmaid's Tale - loved
Great Ex - ok
Wolf Hall - loved
God of Small Things - Loved but want to re-read
Jean Brodie - Loved
Frankenstein - good
The Trial - depressing
Lolita - amazing language, don't think I could read it again having daughters
BBB - liked
Midnights Children - loved when I first read it but read it again about 5 years ago and was less impressed
Things Fall Apart - sad

I'm at 43, should make 50 by the time it's done. Like @BestIsWest the majority of these I read between the ages of 14 and 25.

@TimeforaGandTIn our Time did an episode on Edith Wharton a few years ago, which led me to read several of her books - before that I was aware of The Age of Innocence & The House of Mirth due to the films but had never read or watched them. The advantage of that was I hadn’t spoiled them by reading them too young. My favourites are The House of Mirth, The Reef & Glimpses of the Moon but there are much more that I haven’t read.

Only read a couple of today's list. Handmaid's Tale was ok but not as good as Cat's Eyes which was powerful imo.
I did The Invisible Man for O level but it was the HG Wells one!
Brothers Karamazov read in my teens so can't remember much.

Today’s list I’ve read
Their Eyes were Watching God (good)
The Age of Innocence (loved)
The Handmaid’s Tale (good but about to blaspheme and say season 1 of the tv show was better)
Great Expectations (liked a lot)
Wolf Hall ( top read so far this year- looking forward to the rest)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (not keen)
Frankenstein (surprised how much I liked it)
The Brothers Karamazov (dense and heavy)
Don Quixote (felt like it lasted forever- really skimmed the second half)
The BBB (all time top 10)
Brings me up to 10 today and 31 in total.

Maybe we should do a 50 Bookers all time top 100? If everyone nominates a top 10, I’ll take the hit of compiling it? But not before June as May is busy for me!

There's far more Americans than I'd expect, but only three from India (though they are the obvious big hitters) and two from Nigeria (again, the obvious big hitters). And Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy and James Baldwin each have two but there's only one Jane Austen (and not the best), no Brontë, no George Eliot. Just realised you can see all the books that each person nominated and there's quite a bit of variety outside the top 200.

Anyway, 12 today so 34 so far for me.
• 38 The Age of Innocence
• 36 The Handmaid's Tale
• 34 Wolf Hall
I love this but Bring Up the Bodies is even better
• 32 The God of Small Things
• 31 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
• 30 Frankenstein
• 28 The Brothers Karamazov
• 27 The Trial
• 25 Lolita
• 24 The Remains of the Day
• 22 Things Fall Apart
• 21 The Portrait of a Lady

Only 5 for me:

Portrait of a Lady
Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
Lolita
God of Small Things
Great Expectations

So 19 so far

I've started a lot of these but only read five from the whole list so far. What are we predicting for the top twenty? I notice we haven't had Pride and Prejudice yet.

I’m only on one so far, Mansfield Park, which I did for higher English 21 years ago!

Feeling incredibly uncultured!

More Austens
More Hardy
Bleak House
Beloved
War and Peace
Madame Bovary
Anna Karenina
Possibly A Suitable Boy
I did think Captain Corelli btu I don't think it would be that high.

I have read about 45 so far, but surprised that there’s quite a few I haven’t heard of. More for my to read list.

I would think Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Jane Eyre, War and Peace, Moby Dick, Madame Bovary, Bleak House, Anna Karenina, Mrs Dalloway and Ulysses for the top 20

Wuthering Heights has got to be in there surely?

Agreed Wuthering Heights and P&P have to be in the top 10.

I’m on 13 from the whole list so far, holding out hope for the top 20!

Of the 13, there’s quite a few I don’t remember a thing about.

I agree it will be there and I forgot Middlemarch!

I do think Frankenstein is better than WH but I assume Emily Bronte is still to come notwithstanding.

Lord of the Rings usually does well in polls - but not sure the voters will go for it.

Usually does well in polls of the general public, I think it's less likely to be in the top 20 with authors, academics and critics.

Agree with Piggy WH will be in the top 20 and possibly Jane Eyre. I predict Tristram Shandy (can you tell how much I love this, it's so post modern and meta before the novel was even settled as a form), The Tale of Genji (first ever novel), Middlemarch (only book for grown ups), something very early like Robinson Crusoe or Pamela, either War and Peace or Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, Ulysses by JJ (we've actually not had any Homer but I don't think he's going to appear now), at least one Jane Austen and then because of the US bias either or both of Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby. There should really be at least one of the Chinese greats but there won't be. Oh, and 100 Years of Solitude (again because of the American bias).

Agree about LOTR - this looks like an official favourite list rather than guilty pleasures (although I don’t see why LOTR couldn’t be there - it is a genre defining read, spawned a host of imitators & the writing is both powerful and beautiful altbough he does overuse the words behold & and lo).

It won’t be The Tale of Genji as I’ve spotted that on an author’s list & the ones in the final 20 are still blocked out.

Five from this batch I think:
Handmaid’s Tale
Wolf Hall
David Copperfield - about 90% sure I read this as a young teen
Frankenstein
Lolita - that’s how you do an unreliable narrator

14 from the whole list so far - in my defence, a fair few of the others are in my kindle tbr…

I’ve read 4 from today’s list: The Handmaid’s Tale, Great Expectations (for GCSE and A level) Frankenstein & BBB. Takes me to 11 so far, not too shabby considering how poorly I normally do on these things.

I have read 9 of today's list - The Song of Solomon, The Handmaid's Tale, Wolf Hall, David Copperfield, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Lolita, The Remains of the Day and Things Fall Apart. Am also currently part way through two of the others - The God of Small Things and The Brothers Karamazov.

On tomorrow's list, I think we will get Bleak House, Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, P&P, Anna Karenina and/or War and Peace, another Hardy, 1984, Les Miserables, 100 years of Solitude, maybe The Warden, Brave New World, or L'Etranger?

I couldn't remember either. I've enjoyed the other Ishiguros I've read - I'm not sure whether I want to read all of the others but this definitely appeals to me despite the thread nickname.

I would be surprised not to see some of those. I would like to see James Baldwin, Another Country on the list - I think it's his masterpiece.

Maybe a Colette or Emile Zola novel? And I don't see any Irish literature - James Joyce or the more readable The Country Girls?