2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

2 Bad Dreams and Other Stories Tessa Hadley

Liatening to this good collection of short stories via Spotify from one of my favourite authors, a distraction from my book club read this month. Plodding on with that, reading as many pages I can possibly stand, probably about 40 today, until I reach the end. Also reading a Rob Rinder simultaneously for some light relief Will post on both of those in a few days.

Book 2
The Disappearing Act - Catherine Steadman
Not really for me.
An established British actress heads to Hollywood in search of work there.
She gets tangled up in a rather unbelievable situation, which is at times confusing, for me, it was at best mediocre.

I won’t have a problem with the 50 books, but I decided to try some more light hearted books this year, by people like Phillipa Ashley, Trisha Ashley, Sue Moorcroft, Sarah Morgan and Milly Johnson. I started by rereading my all time favourite, The Magnificent Mrs Mayhew. Who else likes light hearted books, or as one member of our book club derisively dismisses it as chiclit!

Greciangirl

Just wondering what you all do with the 50 odd books that some of you read.

Also, buying all those books if new is expensive.
Even scouring charity shops doesn’t always come up trumps.

I would like to read a lot of titles that are recommended, but they are costly.

I get the majority of books from charity shops, usually NT, but others too, plus several friends swap them between us. I think the last time I bought a new book was when I was given a book token about 3 years ago!

I'm delighted to join you all again in this challenge for 2026, so here we go with:-
1-B is for Burglar-Sue Grafton
Private detective Kinsey Millhone is asked to investigate Beverly Danziger's missing sister, and accepts as it looks like an easy job. But how wrong she was to make this assumption.

2-Like No Other-Anna Jacobs
A family saga this time set in a Penine village, where spinning and weaving are done in most households. Rachel Smedling is not like most women, she is stronger, taller and weaves cloth like a man. This is frowned upon as un lady-like, but she doesn't care, and will do anything to earn enough to feed her family.

2. Miss Savidge Moves Her House

Started yesterday about 3.30ish and finished this morning just after 9. Admittedly, I've been up since 3am.

Recommendation from DH where Miss Savidge moved mediaeval hall house from Herts to Norfolk and reconstructed most/a lot of it herself. I couldn't put it down.

I probably won't read 50 books in a year as I only tend to read at night.

#1 Finished Lessons in Chemistry and enjoyed it; it was quite different from most other books I've read.

#2 Started reading Homecoming by Kate Morton. An unsolved mystery, set in Australia and based on a true story. Enjoying it so far.

Fifty books is just a guideline, Querty - it doesn’t matter how many you read. Joining in the chat and giving/getting ideas for new books is the aim, I think I’m right in saying.

I read regularly but I'm not sure I manage 50 books a year. A slow start with seeing family and health issues this year but I've begun Sue Gee's Coming Home and enjoyed it so far. I read one of her books last year which set me off on more. I'll attempt 50 books this year!

#2 A Child’s Christmas In Wales and other stories by Dylan Thomas.

1. The River Kings
Just finished this and what a fascinating book it is. An archeologist looks at Viking burials in Repton, finds a carnelian bead, explores how it got there and traces it back to India. This includes the history of how the Vikings raided, settled and traded both east and west. Were involved with the Silk Road and travelled much further than I ever realised. It was a really good, informative read. Now on to book number 2.

1. My Family, David Baddiel

A “no holds barred” depiction of a very unconventional family. Poignant in parts, hilarious in others. I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, which I think may have added to the enjoyment.

2. The Hawk is Dead, Peter James

I found the last Peter James I read - I Follow You - a bit underwhelming, but this one I thought got him right back on track (literally, as the book opens with an attack on the royal train). The premise is crime committed in Buckingham Palace, and it had a real sense of place. I found it extremely well researched and written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Book 2 The Coast Road by Alan Murrin

This is a debut novel and I will definitely be looking for more books by this author. It's beautifully written and the characters are very relatable.

It's set in 1994 in County Donegal, Ireland, and people are gossiping about Colette Crowley - the bohemian writer who left her husband and family to be with a married man in Dublin.

Returning to pick up the pieces of her old life, Colette meets with many challenges. Her husband, to whom she is still married, denies her access to the children which breaks her heart. She enlists the help of Izzy, a married mother of two.

This book covers the scandal, hypocrisy and the stigma of divorce in Catholic Ireland in the 1990s.

I recommend this book and give it 10/10.

Well I started my January book club book on Sunday, and have just finished it!
It was What the Shadows Hide, by M J Lee, a police murder whodunnit, and held out no great hopes for it.
How.wrong I was - a great page turner with twists and turns to the plot, difficult to put down.

Book no 2 this year: Pandora's Jar - Women in the Greek Myths. A Christmas present from DD. We share a love of Greek mythology - I gave her a book about Penelope, the wife of Odysseus.

I'm also reading the River Kings, #Helterskelter1. Really interesting and has taught me a lot about the Vikings that I didn't know. Should be finished it within the next couple of days and well worth the read.

#2 Baxter’s Requiem by Matthew Crow
Mr Baxter is 94 years old when he finds himself in Melrose Gardens Care Home following a fall down the stairs. He’s a retired teacher, a raconteur, a bon viveur, but not a good patient. Melrose is his worst nightmare, but there he meets Greg, a young man who has suffered a great loss and is lost. Baxter takes him under his wing and together they embark on a journey to the war graves of northern France. As Baxter shares his memories, Greg begins to see that there’s more to life than endurance and he has his whole life ahead of him.
This was a lovely little book, one I found in the withdrawn books in my local library. 8/10

Together by Julie Cohen, book 2 finished ✅
Robbie and Emily have lived a happy life together for many years but there is a secret to their relationship. The book goes backwards in time until they first become a couple and only then the secret is revealed. Not at all what I was expecting. Unfortunately I missed today’s book club so didn’t get to hear the opinion others
Next book should be an easy read. Cragside by L J Ross, book 6 in the DCI Ryan series

I loved The River Kings HelterSkelter1
Hope you do too.

Well I bought my hardback notebook this morning to write down recommendations and the books I am reading.. I am going to order The River Kings from the library today. It sounds just my cup of tea

Still cracking on with The Forsyte Saga. A re read after watching the tv series with Damian Lewis from early 2000s.

I have just finished reading a book by one of the victims of the Post Office scandal: 'Signed, Sealed, Destroyed' by Scott Darlington. I had already read Nick Wallis's book, which contains all the information, but it was good to read something shorter and more personal. Scott describes the sequence of events from his perspective including the problems with the process and the emotional impact. It is an excellent read.

For lovers of crime books, the author of some good reading is currently a contestant on Traitors, by the name of Harriet Tyce. She used to be a criminal barrister and is the daughter of a judge so knows her subject, and I thought she was brilliant on the Traitors in taking down Hugo at the round table (those who watch the programme will understand what I'm talking about.)

Good morning from a snowy Northumberland !! I have read “The Island of Missing Trees “ by Elif Shafak
“The Daughter” by T M Logan and “ So Late in The Day” by Clare Keegan
All good , but I didn’t like “The Housemaid “ by Freda MCFadden
No heading into “ Rising Hare” as I am snowed in
Have a good day fellow readers !

How wonderful to find this thread!
I’ve been keeping a record of my reading, as an aide-memoir more than anything else, for several years now. In 2025 I read 89 titles.
Two I’d recommend from last year are Andrew Miller’s The Land in Winter and The Pretender by Jo Harkin.
I finished Sally Carson’s The Crooked Cross on NYDay, it’s going back to the library as the new(ish) Richard Osman is arriving there for me.

#1. Silent Bones by Val McDermid.

Book 1 The Singer's Gun by Emily St John Mandel

Everyone Anton Waker grew up with is corrupt. His parents deal in stolen goods and his first career is a partnership venture with his cousin Aria selling forged passports and social security cards to illegal aliens. Anton longs for a less questionable way of living in the world and by his late twenties has reinvented himself as a successful middle manager.

Then a routine security check suggests that things are not quite what they appear. And Aria begins blackmailing him to do one last job for her. But the seemingly simple job proves to have profound and unexpected repercussions.

10/10