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2023 - 50 BOOK CHALLENGE

(1001 Posts)
TerriBull Sun 01-Jan-23 07:26:08

Happy New Year GN readers, here it is the all new 50 Books for 2023.

Once again that 50 figure is a mere benchmark to aspire to, if you would like to join in and don't think you will reach 50, please don't let that deter you from partaking in the challenge. I imagine some of you will know that I got the idea for 50 Books from MN they also have one on their site for 25 Books a Year, but their reading community is considerable, ours of course is much smaller so I think starting up two different threads is unnecessary here on GN, I guess anyone who thinks 50 is a daunting number could maybe state they'll aim for 25, but I'll leave that up to the individual.

Primarily this thread will hopefully be ongoing throughout the year for book lovers who enjoy discussing what they've read. Do come here with your recommendations, similarly if you haven't enjoyed a book feel free to say so. Either way it's good to have a range of opinions, or just merely state your reads in a list form if you don't much care for waffling on.

For any newcomers, the choice of book is entirely up to you and can include fiction, non fiction, biographies memoirs, audio/Audible, even a favourite childhood book should you fancy a trip down memory lane.

So that's it! let's commence and happy 2023 reading.

I haven't got book number 1 yet, still reading The Ink Black Heart, 900 pages in with only a 100 to go now, but I included it in last year's total, so I'll start my number 1 in a day or so.

Litterpicker Sat 22-Apr-23 23:59:41

#11 Strong Female Character by Fern Brady. Fern Brady is a Scottish comedian and journalist who suffered from mental illness in her teens and was diagnosed with autism two years ago, in her mid-thirties. This is a memoir of her life up until and since her diagnosis. It is a very frank and, I found, fascinating, account of the challenges and pain of feeling like an outsider and with little or misdirected support in dealing with powerful emotions.

#12 I started Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan on the train to London and am finding it an easy, enjoyable read so far. It is set in Brighton where I lived and worked for a few years, and love for its colour and life.

Hellogirl1 Sun 23-Apr-23 22:53:07

I loved A Killer in Winter, am just about to start book 61, another by Susanna Gregory, set in the 1350s, The Killer of Pilgrims. These books are slightly reminiscent of C .J.Sansom`s Matthew Shardlake books, but 300 years earlier. This investigator is called Matthew as well.

Diggingdoris Mon 24-Apr-23 12:30:24

39. Fiona Barton- Local gone missing. A man disappears from a music festival and the local detective discovers that he was involved in some shady money scams. Keeps you guessing right to the last page.

40.Lynda la Plante-The Legacy. Saga about a gypsy boxer and a Welsh girl. Seemed a bit over long, especially the boxing bits.

Hellogirl1 Mon 24-Apr-23 21:24:38

Liking The Killer of Pilgrims so far.

Calendargirl Tue 25-Apr-23 12:12:02

#23. Splinter The Silence by Val McDermid.

LadyGaGa Tue 25-Apr-23 22:36:03

I’m lagging behind massively but here goes ….
# 7 Where the Crawdads Sing. I must confess that I’m a bit of a book snob (🫣 judging myself) - if a book is really popular I don’t always go for it, but so glad I did. Beautifully written.
# 8 The Maid by Nita Prose. Echos of Eleanor Oliphant - it’s a murder mystery seen through the eyes of a maid on the autistic spectrum. I found the first half charming, but as the book went on it was full of stock characters with nothing new and childish dialogue. I won’t be seeking out this author again.
I’m now back to my original #7 A Little Life by Hanya Yanagitara. It’s such a well written book but very bleak. I got half way through but put it on hold for my holiday reads! So it’s now # 9. Wish me luck!

Sparklefizz Wed 26-Apr-23 13:40:13

I have just finished The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller and thoroughly enjoyed it, and now feel bereft as I always do after a wonderful read.

It's a deeply emotional love story revealing family secrets and lies .... I won't say too much more about it, just that I looked forward to picking it up to read a bit more each day, but also wanted to slow down and put off finishing it. Do you ever feel that way about a good book?

It's her debut novel and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

That was my Book No. 33. Not sure what I'll read next but I have a pile on the coffee table to choose from.

Sparklefizz Wed 26-Apr-23 17:23:31

Ps. If anyone else has read The Paper Palace I'd very much like to discuss the ending in a private message so as not to spoil it for anyone else. Thanks in advance.

Juno56 Thu 27-Apr-23 10:13:06

#22 I'll Stop The World Lauren Thoman.
This is one from my virtual pile of free Kindle books. It is about a boy who travels back in time 38 years to the week before his grandparents are due to die in a fire. At first I wasn't impressed but I became quite engrossed. I enjoyed it

Hellogirl1 Thu 27-Apr-23 17:17:17

I liked The Killer of Pilgrims. Not started yet, but book 62 will be another by Susanna Gregory, A Conspiracy of Violence, but this is 300 years further on.

Musicgirl Thu 27-Apr-23 17:49:56

#35 was The House Sitter by Peter Lovesey. This was written about twenty years ago but was classic Lovesey. A twisty police procedural featuring DI Peter Diamond and, as usual, lots of humour to leaven the mood. Peter Lovesey is one of my favourite authors.

Sparklefizz Fri 28-Apr-23 08:54:32

Thank you to the person who mentioned the author Mark Billingham as a good writer of crime novels. I'm enjoying his book Their Little Secret (My no. 34)

TerriBull Fri 28-Apr-23 09:09:45

Sparklefizz

Ps. If anyone else has read The Paper Palace I'd very much like to discuss the ending in a private message so as not to spoil it for anyone else. Thanks in advance.

Sparklefizz I have just seen this, I did read The Paper Palace last summer I thought it was very good too, but oh dear! I have forgotten the ending, not a lot of help I'm afraid. One of three books I took away on holiday. The Beloved Girls, How to Kill Your Family and that one, I remember thinking three really good books in a row smile

Sparklefizz Fri 28-Apr-23 09:47:34

Thanks anyway TerriBull smile

Diggingdoris Sat 29-Apr-23 11:58:58

41. Lynda la Plante- The Talisman. This is the sequel to the Legacy. At 917 pages it was a struggle to get through. It seems as if the story was stretched out with lots of unnecessary characters, and I was almost tempted to just turn to the end, but I persevered. Not up to LLP's usual standard, though I'm sure some readers would disagree.

Sara1954 Sat 29-Apr-23 21:00:37

Book 18
Something to Hide - Elizabeth George
I love these Lynley and Havers books , love the characters, love the way she manages to have so many stories weaving through her books.
To be honest, they’re totally unrealistic on so many levels, but they’re so readable.
I was thinking, I’ve probably been reading these books for thirty years or more, and no one has seemed to have aged at all.
By rights they would all have retired.

Book 19
One by One - Ruth Ware
A group of the most horrible pretentious idiots rent a chalet in the French Alps, for a business trip.
There is an avalanche of course, they are cut off with no services, of course, and of course they start getting murdered.
Despite the inevitability of it all, I enjoyed it.

Book 20
Exiles - Jane Harper
I absolutely love Jane Harpers books, and this one was no exception.
A woman vanishes at a food festival, leaving her new baby in her pram.
She’s back visiting her old home, and her teenage daughter with her new husband.
Her friends and family struggle to understand what happened, unable to believe she’s left her baby.
A year on, at a gathering for a christening, the pieces are gradually put together.
So atmospheric, loved it.

teabagwoman Sun 30-Apr-23 08:20:37

Book 29. Free Love by Tessa Hadley. Set in the 60s, I found this novel about the counterculture engrossing and nostalgic.

TerriBull Sun 30-Apr-23 09:53:25

teabagwoman

Book 29. Free Love by Tessa Hadley. Set in the 60s, I found this novel about the counterculture engrossing and nostalgic.

Yes me too teabagwoman, Read it last year, I liked it a lot.

Sara1954 Sun 30-Apr-23 10:40:00

Teabagwoman/TerriBull
I agree, such sharp contrast between respectable suburbia and swinging London.

Hellogirl1 Sun 30-Apr-23 22:05:37

A Conspiracy of Violence was very good. Next book, number 63, will be another Susanna Gregory, Blood on the Strand.

Sparklefizz Mon 01-May-23 08:07:16

Sara1954 Yes, I loved Exiles by Jane Harper too, and couldn't put it down. I've enjoyed all her books, but I think this one is the best.

teabagwoman Mon 01-May-23 09:45:26

TerriBull/ Sara I was living in Broadstairs at the time, definitely not ‘swinging’. Remember the older locals being very shocked when groups of hippies with flower power signs camped out on the seafront. The local cafes did a roaring trade with older people meeting up to grouse about them.

SueDonim Mon 01-May-23 13:28:24

No 15. Akenfield by Ronald Blythe, who died recently at the grand age of 100yo. It’s his account of a Suffolk village, written in 1969 and with testaments from the villagers, from the magistrate to the man who buries the bodies.

Many of their memories go back to the late 19th/early 20th century and my goodness, the poverty and the way people were treated was heartbreaking.

Juno56 Mon 01-May-23 16:53:45

#23 Flip Back Andrew Cartmel.
The 4th in the very entertaining Vinyl Detective series about a man who is commissioned to track down rare records. This always results in nefarious doings and danger to life. Well: "man goes to charity shop and pays peanuts for rare record" The End, wouldn't be very exciting would it? Easy to read and very enjoyable.

teabagwoman Mon 01-May-23 17:09:58

Book 30. The Judas Horse by Lynda La Plante. A well read audiobook that distracted me from my painful joints.

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