2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

14. The Trading Game by Gary Stevenson

This is a memoir by a working class boy who grew up in poverty in East London and how he landed a job in banking and became a millionaire. I first heard of Gary through his Youtube channel, Gary's economics, where he advocates for a wealth tax to tackle inequality. His channel is very accessible, he explains complex economics in simple terms. This book was harder to digest when it came to details of trading, although that was just a small part of the story. It provided more insight into the huge gap between the reality of a young working class man and those born into and accustomed to money. The book depicted a pretty bleak environment where everybody seemed miserable, whether for lack of success or the price they had to pay for it.

I love Anne Tyler's books, will try to get hold of Three Days in June, not read that one.
I've started to read Broken Light but can't seem to warm to it.
It would be my 13th book of this year. Not sure if it's worth persevering with or to try a different one, has anyone read it.

9 Six Little Words by Sally Page

Six little words - To be or not to be? Pinned on the notice board in a local café, it attracts a disparate group of people who form a group to try to find or rediscover their creativity and enter a competition. Friendships are formed, secrets discovered and people find things out about themselves which help them to move on.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

#31. The End Of Her by Shari Lapena.

#24 The Take Martina Cole

This is the first Martina Cole book I've read. I found it a bit hard to get into but once I'd got into it it was really good. It's a gangster book set in London and not something I usually read.

I shall get round to reading that latest Anne Tyler book, her novels are so insightful about small town America and family relationships.

#24 Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
I love Anne Tyler’s books, the only problem is that they are so short. This one is only 165 pages, but it’s a pretty perfect 165 pages.
It’s the day before Gail’s daughter’s wedding and things are not going well. She’s just quit her job, or been fired, she’s not sure which. Then her ex-husband Max turns up on her doorstep looking for somewhere to stay. He doesn’t even have a suit, but he does have a rescue cat with him that’s looking for a new home. Next her daughter Debbie discovers a secret that throws the whole wedding into question.
Lovely and so full of perfectly believable characters and social mores. 9/10

23 The Intruder Freida McFadden

Freida McFadden is another one of the literary runaway successes of late, with 5 of her books currently in the fiction paperback top 10.

Fast paced crime fiction the sort of book that could be started and finished waiting in the airport lounge. Very much a definition of pulp fiction, read and dispose. Personally, I'd much prefer just the one a year from say Lisa Jewell, Ellie Griffith's or Robert Galbraith's carefully crafted crime novels, generally worth the wait, as opposed to one off the ever increasing FM production line. I just picked this up at the library, one of their promoted crime books. Something I must stop doing because I have better books waiting on my shelves at home.

Casey lives alone in a cabin in the wood, on the eve of a hurricane she takes in a young girl with a knife. Both the woman and the girl harbour dark secrets. A tale of an abusive childhood at the hands of a crazed, neglectful, hoarder of a mother. Killer twist delivered towards the end. Okish.

I loved Buckeye AliBeeee, when you get round to reading it, come back and tells us what you thought.

Youngerthanspringtime That Lucinda Riley book, The Last Love Song, was one of her earlier works when she published under the name of Lucinda Edwards before she became really successful. After her death her son reworked some of her earlier books including that one.

Terribull, I love Lucinda Riley's books. I haven't read the one you read but will now seek it out.
I'm a little behind on my 50 books but one I would recommend is The Lighthouse Keepers Daughter , I loved it .
It's based on the Grace Darling Lifeboat rescue in Northumberland and was written by Hazel Gaynor.
I am now on The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas, a pyschcological thriller, my twelfth book this year.

Terribull I like the sound of Buckeye, I will add it to my list.

#23 Attention All Shipping by Kathy Biggs
Grace lives with her father Jack on a farm in Wales. Grace’s brother Michael died at sea 20 years before and now Jack is slipping into dementia. Every night he is lulled to sleep by an old recording of the Shipping Forecast. Their lives have become small and Grace wonders how her life has been reduced to this.
One day a young woman appears looking for Michael as she believes he is her father, however she was born more than a year after he died. Their investigation becomes a journey from the Welsh coast to Whitby, in search of news of Michael.
Very enjoyable, great characters. 8/10

#20 The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
I do like books about Australia of the 1800s, Alibeee but had not heard of this author so will look out for her.
Thank you.

#30. Where The Silence Calls by MJ Lee.

Book 12: Old Glory by Christopher Nicole - In 1769 Harry McGann flees Ireland for the shores of America. In the following years he is involved in. the formation of the US navy and the war of Independence. A world of intrigue,violence and untold dangers. It is a tale of naval battles and romance on the high seas. I enjoyed it but am not sure if I will read more of this series.

22 Buckeye Patrick Ryan

My last book should have been 21 so I haven't jumped a book.

This is one of those small town America books at it's very best. A two generational saga of the tale of two intertwined couples. A time span, starting at the outset of WW2 to post Vietnam. Set in a fictional town of Bonhomie, Ohio.

Cal is a young man struggling with his self worth, due to being born with a disability relating to one leg shorter than the other and therefore unable to serve during the war. Son of a veteran, Everett, traumatised by his own wartime experiences often found writing vitriolic letters to the President of the day having consumed a fair amount of alcohol. Cal shortly into the story is to marry Becky, daughter of of the owner of the hardware store where he works the odd shift, when not working in his main place of tedious employment, the local concrete factory. It's in the store, that he first cross paths with redheaded Margaret Salt at a captured moment in time, whilst they are both listening to President Truman's announcement of victory in Europe. Margaret's own husband, Felix is away in the Pacific on a ship that is to be torpedoed as the conflict in the Far East is drawing to an end. Felix, initially thought to be missing, then dead eventually returns home both mentally and physically scarred from his experiences. The two couples lives are to become intertwined as they emerge into a post war America going forward in the post war boom years in the pursuit of the American Dream. Felix and Margaret both carry their demons, he struggling with his sexuality, and it is to Becky's counselling as a psychic medium he at times turn to reconnect with the soul of a departed serviceman who was close to his heart. Meanwhile, Margaret has never really overcome her abandonment as a baby and as a child growing up in care something that is to impact all her relationships. Both couples are to go on to have a son each, who despite a couple of year age gap connect as friends in childhood.

A family saga unfolding through the long term consequences of secrets, infidelity, the impact of war and ultimately forgiveness. A slow burn at first. Top marks from me. I'd certainly recommend it to those who enjoy the works of Ann Tyler and Ann Patchett.

27- Lily's War-Shirley Mann
A heartwarming story of Lily's experiences when she becomes a WAAF wireless operator.

I’ve got a bit behind with posting again, here are my latest ones.

#18 Ahead of the Game by J Kirk. One of the DCI Logan books set in the Scottish Highlands. I’m really enjoying this series, the characters are great and developing further as the series progresses. 8/10

#19 An Isolated Incidents by JD Kirk. Next in the series. These were a great easy read on a long travelling day. 8/10

#20 The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
Tells the story of 2 women who were transported to Van Diemen’s Land and an aboriginal girl who was removed from her family as a social experiment. It was excellent and I recommend it. I won’t go into details in case anyone decides to read it as there was a very unexpected twist half way through. 9/10

#21 Prey by Vanda Symon
The latest Detective Sam Shephard story, set in Dunedin. Sam has just returned to work from maternity leave and is give the job of investigating a cold case, the 25 year old murder of a priest on the steps of the cathedral. Great sense of Dunedin for anyone who has visited. 8/10

#22 Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
Annie is a 32 year old realtor on Vancouver Island who is abducted and held captive for almost a year before she manages to escape. The story is told through Annie’s sessions with her psychiatrist. The story of her year in captivity, her escape, her struggles to put her shattered life back together and the feeling that she’s still in danger is disturbing but very compelling. I couldn’t put it down. 9/10

#29. To Catch A Killer by Julie Mackay.

20 Secret Smile - Nicci French

I'm reading a couple of escapist crime books at the moment, this one followed by Freida McFadden. The Nicci French collaborations can be very good or not so good. This, an earlier one, veers more towards the latter, too implausible. Obsessive boyfriend, who after being dumped by main character, Miranda, turns up dating her sister. Being an arch manipulator he ingratiates himself to her entire family and turns them against her. Revenge,deception, coercive control and stalking escalate the tension as Miranda and later her sister are to discover, the boyfriend Brendan is not the person he pretends to be, which was probably quite clear from the outset.

Gutenberg’s Apprentice by Alix Christie
We visited the Gutenberg Museum and I downloaded it to read as we travelled. It’s a gripping historical novel about how Johannes Gutenberg introduced the printing press and the opposition he faced.

#24 It Ends at Midnight by Harriet Tyce.

I didn't like this for several reasons and didn't finish it. Harriet Tyce was on the "civilian" Traitors UK and displayed a formidable and (to me) quite frightening temper when she verbally attacked a young woman contestant, so I took a dislike to her. She also admitted that she is a recovering alcoholic and was a barrister before turning to writing. Naturally enough her books use this knowledge.

However, I didn't enjoy reading about a young barrister drinking herself to oblivion, and descriptions of vomiting and being hungover.

Book 11: The Sewing Machine by Natalie Fergie The story of a Singer Sewing Machine through three different eras and the tribulations of the machines owners with a lot of period details. The end left no loose ends, but stretched credulity a bit far!

26-Katie and Clara's Curious Cornish Craft Shop-Ali McNamara
Delightful story in the St. Felix series. A magical read.

#23 Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

I first read this years ago and decided it was time for a re-read but didn't enjoy it as much as I'd expected.

My favourite Daphne du Maurier books are "Rebecca" and "The Scapegoat".

#28. The Move by JP Delaney.

Just started this, the latest by JPD, looks brand new from the library.

Looks promising.