The 52 Book Club: 2025 / 2026 Challenge discussion

13. Published Posthumously

What does published posthumously mean? This means that the book was published after the author died. It may have been published a few days after the author’s death, or several decades later. This might be a full length book or part of a short story collection, a play, a work of poetry, etc. It might also be an unfinished work.

As a creative interpretation, you might choose an author who had a book published posthumously but decide to read one of their earlier works published while they were still alive.


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Breanne wrote: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..."
Thanks for this! Found a few options.

I'm going to do Alan Rickman's memoirs.

I'm thinking Sanditon by Jane Austen. She was in the middle of writing it before she died. Someone else finished the story and published it. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I'd like to work on my tbr but I haven't got anything published posthumously so I will probably read Alan Rickman's memoirs

Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge. Bob Probert.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

I'll Be Gone in the Dark was unfinished at the time of McNamara's passing, and her husband (Patton Oswalt) and others worked to finish it for her. It's a great read, especially for those who like non-fiction and/or true crime.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. I've read it before, but it's been several years.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

When breath becomes air by Paul Kalanithi

Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman

A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway. I just finished The Paris Wife by McClain. This is a good follow up.

I looked through the lists posted above and nothing jumped out at me. It appears this will be a tough category for me to fill so I moved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society from another prompt to fulfill this one instead. It was a great book I really enjoy and I am now looking forward to watching the movie.

Also, A Wild and Precious Life by Edie Windsor fits this prompt. It is about her life story and ultimately her lawsuit that brought about marriage equality in the US.

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
2666 by Roberto Bolaño
The Trial by Franz Kafka

I also finished Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman for this category.

I’m going to read the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society too!

I’m reading When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi.

I’m reading I’ll be gone in the dark one woman’s obsessive search for the golden state killer by Michelle McNamara

Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskill

I read The Bright Hour: a Memoir of Living and Dying by Nina Riggs. It tugged at my heart strings a few times, but overall just okay.

I just finished Wish Upon A Star by Olivia Goldsmith. Only 3 stars - it fits the "just ok" category. I definitely wanted to see the story to it’s ending and felt invested in the main character.

I finished The Father Christmas Letters By J.R.R. Tolkien J.R.R. Tolkien wrote Letters to his children from Father Christmas to put in their stockings each year from 1920 to 1943. These photographs of the envelopes, Letters, and drawings are a treasure. The children published them in a collection after Tolkien's death. Enjoy !

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I think you might be trying to post a picture, but it doesn’t show up (at least on my phone).🤷‍♀️ Just thought I would let you know.

I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer


Read this in one day as it is a very easy read and I very much enjoyed it!! A must read if you haven't!!

I went old school and read Agatha Christie's Sleeping Murder for this one. The book features Miss Marple. Released posthumously, it was the last published Christie novel. It was not her best but was enjoyable.

I am using some creative license here and have chosen to read ‘Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography’ by Laurie Woolever since it was published after his death. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for awhile and I am looking for to reading it.

I'll be gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.. I find it sad she never lived to see the Golden State Killer captured...

I’ll be reading The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

I also chose Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie for this prompt. Not bad, I'd say three stars.

I read On the Way Home: The Diary of a Trip from South Dakota to Mansfield, Missouri, in 1894 by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 4 Stars. Laura passed away in 1957 and the book was published in 1962

One amazing book. Many pages, slow story, greatly done where it paints a picture. Even though it has been written about 60 years ago, the philosophy behind it still works: Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright

And: Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley and her son Harry Whittaker will come out in May. She passed away. Her son now co-writes this book to finish it. This book could also count for "#1. A Book With A Subtitle" or "#39. Final Book In A Series" or "#52. Published In 2023"

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

I read the Dead Are Rising: The Life of Malcom X by Les Payne and Tamara Payne. Les, a lawyer, had been compiling this research for years and working on this book. When he died, his daughter completed it. It was a long read and I got a bit lost a few times but I'm so glad that I read it. I thought I knew a lot about Malcom X but this book was wonderful to learn more about this important historical figure. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I read Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie for this prompt

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. Stieg Larsson died in 2004 before either book was published. I am currently reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third and final book of the "Millennium series" written by him.

So I was thinking True Crime Stories. In the book one of the main characters dies before publishing her expose on a missing woman. The person she was collaborating with publishes her work and faces criticism for his interactions with both the author and the family and friends of the deceased…..

Michele wrote: "Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. I've read it before, but it's been several years."

I had to quit reading this book. At the rate I was going, it would have taken me until February of next year to finish it. Instead, I picked up Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, and discovered it will fit this prompt.

Just finished Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Brave New World: A Graphic Novel by Aldous Huxley
Fred Fordham (Adaptor/Illustrator)

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara 5 stars

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

"Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman"

The Opposite of Loneliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan 3.5 stars

I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

I think I will use The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Have had this book for over a year now. Should work out for not only the challenge but to get through my TBR pile lol.

If you're still seeking a book for this prompt, I recommend Toad. She wrote it in the early 70s & it was finally published late last year. Dunn died in 2016. It reads like it was JUST written. She is such an incredible writer.

I listened to When Breath Becomes Air. 5 stars!