50 Books Challenge 2026 Part Six

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the sixth 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, the third thread here, the fourth thread here and the fifth thread

I met Margaret Yorke at a crime fiction festival about 25 years ago. I say ‘met’ but she held forth on a variety of subjects, aired some rather <cough> old fashioned views and didn’t take questions. Not that I think anyone would have dared to ask any questions.

The Bellweather Revivals by Benjamin Wood
My word, this was tedious! Working class youth presses metaphorical nose to windows of Cambridge elite. Something about music and hynoptism. Dull, dull, dull. I have found both Wood’s books underwhelming and won’t be bothering with any more.

Ooh, that sounds like an experience, @MaterMoribund !

I always think Margaret Yorke is a character from Wolf Hall.

I’ve just checked and she had a book out that year, so was probably promoting it (while hating every second of having to talk to The Public). She opined at length about ‘unmarried mothers’ and was quite racist too. I think she was on a panel with Ian Rankin, Joolz Denby and Cath Unsworth, who just sort of glossed over the more extreme pronouncements.
There was another writer there who I really wanted to meet but he was so grumpy at the book signing, very unpleasant. The nice author next to him was very chatty and started asking me what sort of crime fiction I liked - that was Ian Rankin, who I had never read. I picked up Black And Blue purely because he was lovely and that started my decades of Rebus adoration

Congrats @VikingNorthUtsire
Loving the book gossip @MaterMoribund I always thought Ian Rankin was a good ‘un

Susannah York played Margaret More (Roper) in the film of A Man for all Seasons so there is a sort of naming link given Wolf Hall was a counterview to A Man.

My #24 has been well liked on this thread and with good reason. The Benefactors, by Wendy Erskine. Quietly devastating. Polyphonic telling of young Belfast woman Misty, who is raped at a party by 3 privileged boys she considered friends. This sets the scene beautifully and mercilessly, then follows the aftermath and fallout for all the characters concerned. There were some of the voices that I couldn't identify, but they were all very clearly drawn. A fantastic, distressing read.

I have just found my old copy of Wildfell Hall in my memory box and put it on my reading list! It's a copy from the 80s and the cover looks like a modest-end Harlequin romp with 80s hair

Well done @VikingNorthUtsire

@MaterMoribund – I actually know Ian Rankin. They used to live next door to my Mum and Dad. My Dad got chatting to him when they moved in and Dad asked him what he did for a living. Ian told him that he was a writer, so of course Dad asks more, including 'you got anything I could read?'. Ian had just won the Gold CWA for Black and Blue and gave him a copy. My Mum had actually already read Rebus and was mortified at my Dad. She babysat the kids for years after to make up for Dad's cheek LOL

Can absolutely confirm he is a good egg. Does a lot for charity in the background. Really unassuming guy.

My late dad had very similar reading tastes to me and Ian Rankin was a favourite. He was thrilled to meet him at a book promotion in the local library and said what a lovely guy he was. I still have the signed hardback that dad bought, it's survived my huge book purge. I've only been to Edinburgh a couple of times but made sure to have a Rebus on the go.

Ahh, that warms my heart @Tarragon123 ! I could tell he was a decent guy. One of his sons had come to Manchester with him for Dead On Deansgate and he was proudly introducing him to people. Even grumpy old Mark Timlin cracked a smile . He was just as nice when I met him at a talk and signing in Preston a few years later. Very humble and unassuming.
I used to pass my Rebus books on to my Dad too @NotWavingButReading , then we’d have a chat about what we thought of them.

33 - Beginning middle end - Valeria Luiselli
I was drawn to this for the family dynamics—a newly separated mother trying to rebuild her life while caring for both her 12-year-old daughter and her ageing mother from afar. Add a road trip around a sweltering Sicily and it sounded right up my street.
The Sicilian setting is gorgeous and wonderfully atmospheric, but the story is steeped in Greek mythology and philosophical musings that often left me feeling I needed to up my intellectual game!
I also struggled to believe the daughter's voice. She's only 12, yet often seemed far wiser and more emotionally mature than felt realistic, even if she is a chess prodigy.
I did like the way everything came together at the end, but overall I admired this book more than I enjoyed it. If you enjoy literary fiction with beautiful prose, mythology and philosophy, I think you'll get much more from it than I did.

Adding to the chat on The Women - I did enjoy it, but take on board the comments here. Based on the title I assumed it would follow the lives of the women - Frankie, Barb, Ethel etc, and possibly how they had different experiences during the war and afterwards. Barb and Ethel were definitely underdeveloped and it would be a better book with more of them in it.
It was a divisive one in my face to face book club - one woman claimed it was the worst book she had ever read, which I thought was a bit harsh.

Thanks for The Rent Tent review - that has been on my radar to read for a long time, but never quite got around to it.

56. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas Feyre is a young woman looking after her impoverished family in a world where the live adjacent to a forest full or faeries and magical creatures. She accidentally kills a faerie disguised as a wolf and has to move to the magical land to atone.

This was not really my thing. I found Feyre irritating in her inability to communicate with people rather than just stewing on problems. I may or may not read the next book in the series. If I did my main motivation would be to find out about the character arc of her sister Nesta who is rude, selfish and arch. However, she turns out to have a bit more too her as she is not enchanted by the same magic that fools her father and sister Elain. It feels like it is shaping up for her to become something of an antihero and I found her by far the most interesting character in the whole book.

57.Don’t Run Whatever You Do by Peter Allison
An autobiographical account by a safari guide in Botswana in the 90s. Lots of derring do and fun adventures getting landrovers flooded in hippo infested waters. Enjoyable if you are interested in that sort of thing (I like ‘behind the scenes’ type stories).

58.John of John by Douglas Stuart
Beautifully written story about a young man who goes home to the Hebrides to look after his grandmother. An exploration of sexuality, small community lives, family responsibilities and traditional crafts. I particularly enjoyed the way in which these brusque, uncommunicative men have a delicate and nuanced understanding of colour when blending their tweed weaving. I’m not convinced about the ending but as a whole this was very very good.

59.The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Much read on here recently. I suspect many of us are catching up on recommendations from Tabby and Dominic. Like others I enjoyed this. I rooted for the protagonist despite his wrongdoing. I have never seen the film but I just couldn’t help but picture Matt Damon the whole way through. I don’t know whether this was a help or a hindrance.

60.Five by Ilona Bannister
An interesting premise. Reviewed very clearly by @MaterMoribund I can’t add much to your review other than agreeing with your observation about how the second person could have been irritating but was handled quite well.

However, much like Look What You Made Me Do by John Lanchester, I found the characters unpleasant to the point of unbelievability. They are all basically psycopaths to one extent or another. To this extent I found it very bleak. I also saw parallels with another famous book (I won’t say which to avoid spoilers) about parent and child relationships. Also depressing.

61.The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
OMG How have I not read this before? I didn’t know anything about it other than that it was considered quite a good read. I therefore didn’t know anything of what would happen to Hazel and those in her lives. Hazel is a 16 year old living with terminal cancer. Her life, outlook and relationships are beautifully portrayed. This was extraordinary. I finished this in one sitting and it is rare for books to move me to tears. I was lying next to my sleeping teenager and could have wept and wept. Just brilliant. Bold.

62.Bitter Sweet by Hattie Williams
Charlie is a publisher’s assistant in her early 20s. She meets an author she has long had a crush on- the author is an older man, booker prize winning, household name etc. They embark upon an affair. The whole book has a Greek Tragedy feel to it- we know that this affair will end in devastation.

Having listened to the Tortoise Media podcasts on Neil Gaiman, I found this very interesting and well written. There was a good and nuanced exploration of consent in a relationship where there is an imbalance of power.

This was a bold but only slightly marred by a little too much of Charlie’s thoughts on the relationship. The same ground was covered a few times and it became a little bit ‘tell’ rather than ‘show’ which was a shame because it was really very good.

63. The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Has been read quite a bit so I won’t give a synopsis but I’m afraid this fell rather flat for me. Too many twists and turns so that I didn’t really care by the end. Just didn’t do it for me.

77. The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain - What an unexpectedly lovely little book! It's modern fairytale about a hat (belonging to François Mitterand) that passes from person to person leaving each of them changed. Is it magical or is it just a catalyst for making its owners brave enough to grasp the life they truly want? It hardly matters.

I loved the warmth, whimsy and optimism. It left me wanting to go out and make one small change in my own life.

@elspethmcgillicudddy Looking For Alaska is John Green’s best IMO actually could be one for @RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie

@VikingNorthUtsireThanks! I really love Lisa Jewell now and I’m really not one for HE’S BEHIND YOU type books

Thanks @EineReiseDurchDieZeit that’s gone on my wish list. I may have to wait a while though- I’m not one for seeking out tragedy unless I’m really in the mood and that is only very very occasional!

I’ve added the Lisa Jewell audios to my wishlist @EineReiseDurchDieZeit Love having a new thriller author to try.

On the Calculation of Volume IV by Solvej Balle
I can’t say too much here for fear of spoiling anything for people reading who haven’t got this far. Suffice to say this one follows the pattern of slow exploration of themes at the start and unexpected turn of events towards the end. I’m still enjoying these and wonder how they will end up now we’re more that half way. Anyone else still reading them?

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne (audio)
Set in a world where the gods are dead and any of their ‘tainted’ descendants are hunted we follow three points of view- Varg who wants to avenge his sister’s murder, Orla who is trying to protect her family and Elvar who wants to leave her family behind to become a warrior. At the start I only was really interested in Orka’s story in this Norse inspired fantasy, but by the end I was loving all the POVs. First fantasy I’ve really enjoyed in ages. Going to make it bold for sheer entertaining fun. Going straight onto the next one.

I’m still reading the Solvej Balle @ÚlldemoShúl I do find them a bit tooo slow though. I would start with LJ on None Of This Is True unless you’ve already read it. Read by Nicola Walker and Louise Brealey

@nowanearlyNicemum I've been hearing great things about Lusielli's book and it's on my wishlist. I think I read somewhere it's kind of a sequel to her previous one so may read that first.

Lol at the Tabby and Dominic reference @elspethmcgillicudddy as have just been listening to a few of their more lightweight ones on things I've already read. Have just listened to the Elena Ferrante one which has made me think I should try and give it another go.

I think I may try the LJs too as need something lighter having a pretty intense time at the moment. I need a new audio and the literary stuff I normally choose is not appealing, hence listening to D&T!

I've read the first two Solvej Balle and will pick up the next ones when they're on offer. Agree they're slow and need to be in the right mood as they're quite meditative.

Hard to beat Dominic and Tabby! I especially like her.
Thanks for the tip re LJ @EineReiseDurchDieZeit I have a new audible credit coming tomorrow so may well use it on that- strangely my library don’t have it and they usually have all the crime you could want!
ai know what you mean about the Solvej Balle books - generally too slow and philosophical isn’t my thing but for some reason those books (and Proust) almost make me fall into a relaxed meditative state.

lol snap @Stowickthevast

@SpunkyKhakiScroller I liked The President’s Hat when I read it a few years ago, it’s a book that makes you feel positive about people.

52 The Sea Sisters - Lucy Clarke Two sisters in their 20s, with a love/hate relationship, dealing with life after their mum’s death. The flighty one goes travelling on a whim and never comes back, falling from a cliff in Bali. The other one decides to set off on her own round-the-world trip, following in her sister’s footsteps to find out what really happened, helped by the extremely detailed journal which dead sister conveniently wrote and which was returned to the remaining sister with her backpack. Remaining sister’s fiancé is a twat, but there is an old family friend who seems like a nice guy. You can guess where things end up…

I’ve read a few of Clarke’s books and they range from quite good to really irritating. This was her debut novel and is at the less good end, though I’ve certainly read worse books! I didn’t really like or care about the main character (the remaining sister) and the overall story was pretty depressing. It was ok but I’m probably not going to bother with any other books by this author.

I read this before! I liked it too.