The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

40. A Book With Photographs Inside


This prompt is for a book with photographs inside. Many non-fiction reads about history, true crime, memoirs or biographies will contain photographs, but there are lots of fictional stories to meet this prompt too. You could also choose a travel book, cook book, or a book about photography itself.

As mentioned before, members are encouraged to read or listen to books in any format they’d like. We want each prompt to include everyone! As long as one version of the book has photographs inside, that book will work for this prompt.

Check out our Goodreads List for examples

This is definitely true for non-fiction. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell has several photos in it. I just finished this and it was a good read. I'm assuming that it's ok to finish prompts out of order :-)

Strange Planet

Beast — John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin

I read this already but highly recommend House of Sticks by Ly Tran for this one. Several photos inside, and it's a beautiful story.

I saw 11/22/63 by Stephen King on the Listopia. I've got the e-book so not sure if I will be seeing the photos, but if it works it works! Also just realized this is the 3rd Stephen King book I have picked for this challenge.

I read Cleopatra: A Life

Started: 1/21/2022 Finished: 1/27/2022

I just finished Seabiscuit. What an amazing story! I loved it.

The Atomic City Girls

I am going to read "Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank.

Divine Disruption by Dr Tony Evans and children. 5 stars

A very punchable face by Colin Jost has photos in it. He refers to them throughout the book.

I read water for Elephants for this prompt.

I read ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (illustrated classics).

I read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. Contains wonderful photos of the traveling book women on horseback, mule, and donkey in Kentucky in the late 1930's/1940's. Stronger women than me!

I read "National Geographic Rarely Seen: Photographs of the Extraordinary" by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

I read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I got the beautiful illustrated edition for my daughter. I’m definitely a huge HP fan and it was fun to see someone else’s take on the different beasts ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just finished North to Paradise by Ousman Umar. It was a short memoir that was amazing to imagine this child on a journey as a migrant out if Ghana and his journey to freedom. It also had an authors note, was published in 2022, had a BIOOC as main character, set on multiple continents (Africa and Europe) and likely would fit other prompts as well.

I read Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery. The photographs are actually drawings the author did.

Lifeboat 12

The Boys in the Boat: by Daniel James Brown

I plan to use The Boys in the Boat for this.

I read The Twelve Lives of Alfred Hitchcock: An Anatomy of the Master of Suspense by Edward White.

Just finished Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
Pictures of the real children on the orphan train were at the back of the book. Also works for June mini-challenge of Trains, Planes and Automobiles

I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

I read A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury, 4 Stars

The Year of the Monkey by Patti Smith. The book is written in a lyrical style and is a blend of memoir and fiction. It contains Polaroid photos she has taken that relate to events, people, places or concepts that appear in the book.

Madly, Deeply: The Alan Rickamn Diaries by Alan Taylor

"Hello, Molly! A Memoir" by Molly Shannon & Sean Wilsey

Idiots: Marriage, Motherhood, Milk, & Mistakes by Laura Clery