2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

I gonna keep track here of the books I read and I'm going to try for 15

1:
First book I read this year was Do They Hear You When You Cry by Fauziya Kassindja

The first part of the book was very interesting with Fauziya telling about her childhood in Togo. The second part of the book was rather dullish at time. Too much information on her court case that wasn't relevant. Nevertheless I kept on reading to the end. The last part was a bit too cheesy but nevertheless an interesting read.

2:
Is actually a book in my own native tongue by a Dutch journalist Troostmeisjes: Verkrachting in naam van de keizer by Brigitte Ars

Non fiction this one. On forced prostitution during the Second World War. Something I had heard of but it was nevertheless an eye-opener. Well written

3:
As a teen I read quite a lot of comics centered around girls and some of these stories where set in Victorian times and mostly had rather stereotyped story lines. The beginning of The Keeper of Secrets by Judith Cutler reminded me of these stereotyped story lines and I proved to be right in a way but not entirely. Luckily, it had some nice twists and I came to like the novel a lot.

Very atmospheric and charming story with lots of corpses centered around a parson that gives an interesting insight in the class system of the 19th century. Might check out the second book in the series.

You are doing pretty good if you are going for fifteen. Good luck!

Thanks Adriana! I'm currently unemployed so I have time to read, but when I have found a new job, I will probably have less time. I'm also doing courses that take up time as well. So that's why I'm playing it safe.

Hi, you're doing great! Good luck!

4:
Book four brought me to Sweden. A crime story by Henning Mankell. His first in the Wallander series: Faceless Killers. Really enjoyed this book as well. Good balance between crime story and Wallander's personal life.

5:
Could been seen as both historical fiction and solid detective work. A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr is situated in 1950 in Argentina. The story switches between Argentina and Berlin (Germany) as the main character is a former German police officer who worked as a detective in the Second World War. In Argentina he is forced to investigate a crime that shows simularities with a case he worked on in Berlin.

Excellent story figuring the Perons and some notorious German ex-nazis like Eichmann

Could be that I'm going to aim for 25 books instead of 15. Have to think about it though.

6:
Last year I heard a book by Georges Simenon featuring inspector Maigret and liked it well enough to try another Maigret. This time I heard A Man's Head. Liked it a lot and definitely going to read/hear other books by Simenon.

7:
The House on Dream Street: Memoir of an American Woman in Vietnam: a travel story and memoir by Dana Sachs on her staying in Hanoi for about a year. Liked it but had expected more travelling around. Nevertheless a nice read.

8:
Almost finished The Tenth Manby Graham Greene. Enjoyable and quick read.

9:
Not really enjoyed this book so much, but somehow I managed to get through it. Although I really liked Faceless Killers, I didn't like the second one in the Wallander series. The story was a bit far fetched and at times I was wondering what Wallanders was really doing in Latvia.

10:
Read this one for the March monthly challenge. I sort of had my doubts about whether I would like The Light Between Oceans, but I really enjoyed it.

11:
The One from the Other The beginning was a bit long but it turned out to be essential for the last part of the story. At the beginning you get a lot of fragments that eventually fall together. I liked it better than A Quiet Flame, while A quiet flame was more lighthearted this was far darker.

12:
My number 12 was something entirely different. Read this one:Brideshead Revisited for the genre challenge of one of the book groups I'm a member of. I had seen Brideshead Revisited once on television as a teen with Jeremy Irons and was thrilled to find the audio version of the book read by Jeremy Irons.

At first the book seemed rather dull due to lots of dialogue but the story grew on me and I particularly liked the way in which Evelyn Waugh used language. Pretty much also a look into a time long gone and the impact of religion on individuals. A typical book however for me that is much more appreciated when it's read to me as I don't think I would have managed to read it myself.

13:
Heard The Death of Ivan Ilych by Tolstoy for the monthly challenge. Liked it but need to hear it again.



14:
Also read One, Two, Buckle My Shoe for the monthly challenge. The nice thing though about reading Agatha Christie in English is that the language is fairly easy. Story at the beginning was rather interesting, the ending however was rather disappointing.

15:
Although written in the 1920'ties Greenmantle is still relevant with regards to the situation in the Middle East. The story however is set during the First World War and is more a spy story. Liked it.

16:

Just finished Lost City Radio. The book started of rather slowly and rather surrealistic but it became better.

17:
Absolutely adored The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill. I listened to the audio book version and had to laugh several times. The characters really come to live and the story is great as well. The first part of the book makes you guess whether Wolf is really innoncent or not; the second part is basically just good fun.

18:
Colm O'Gorman's memoir Beyond Belief: Abused By His Priest. Betrayed By His Church. The Story Of The Boy Who Sued The Pope is an inspriring read of a man coming to terms with the sexual abused he had to endure as a teen. It's also a time document which makes it even more interesting.

19:
I didn't held high expectations for number 19 but it turned out I was wrong. Gypsy Boy On The Run is in some ways a rehash of Gypsy Boy but it's different enough and I enjoyed it as much (in fact even more) than Gypsy Boy. Well read by the author Mikey Walsh himself which gives an extra dimension to his own story.

20:
A kid's book actually but I really enjoyed it. Listened to the German audio book version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

21:
One of the largest books I have read and I didn't know quite what to expect but I really loved it. The second part/book was a bit slowish at times but it never bored me. Certainly something to read and you don't need to be a lover of fantasy to enjoy: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

22:
Back to crime with Death Of An Expert Witness. The second book I have been listening to by P.D. James featuring Adam Dagliesh and really came to appreciate P.D. James' style.

23:
Read Eye of the Red Tsar in a few days and I'm certainly going to check out the other books in this series, since this the first book in the inspector Pekkala series.

24:
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was a book I already picked up several times in the bookstore but always ended up putting it back. I did not know what to expect and the cover didn't really appeal to me either. Nevertheless I finally downloaded the audio bookversion and was happy I did as I really like this book. It is in fact a book about life itself.

25:
Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now took me to China. In the beginning it is a bit slow but it becomes better and shows an interesting sight into modern China.

26:
Had already heard a lot about the author and this book: Dominion and I wasn't disappointed. Great read.

27:
Russia revisited with Archangel. Nice enough story; it did however took me a while to get into the story.

28:
The Yellow Dog another one in the Maigret series. As always very enjoyable.

29:
Dissolution the first in the Matthew Shardlake series.

Congrats on beating your challenge goal! What was your favorite book so far?

I always find it difficult to say 'that was my favorite book so far'; in fact I read many good books this year.

You're right sometimes I have a couple of books that I remember really standing out in my mind not necessarily one particular favorite.

30:
The Mist in the Mirror was a lovely book to listen to.

31: Stone's Fall was a book I really liked. I surely will be reading more by Iain Pears

32:
Absolutely loved Dark Matter

33:

Did a lot of reading this year and read some very fine books.

Up till now I read also these books:
and

So you are up to 37 books? That's great!

38 and 39:




I made this a few weeks ago and I just want to try if this works:
bit.ly/1cC6MTt

Adriana wrote: "So you are up to 37 books? That's great!"


Thanks