A few days ago on Bluesky, I posted that I’ll be turning 50 later this year and that I’d love to celebrate by reading 50 books—one for each year I’ve spent on this spinning rock.
Here’s the original post:
Believe it or not I turn fifty at the end of this year and I’ve decided to challenge myself by reading 50 books for the fifty years I’ve been drawing breath. Can any of you recommend a book to read from each published year beginning 1975.
Cheers.
#Bookish #BookBlog #BookSky #BookChallenge #50Books— 🔖 🇬🇧 𝔓𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔩🖖🔖 🇬🇧 (@lrp.blog) January 20, 2025 at 1:16 PM
As you can see, the idea has already sparked quite a bit of interest, and I’ve received numerous suggestions to fill my list. Thanks to the amazing community on Bluesky, I’ve already covered many of the years, but I’m still on the hunt for a few more titles to complete the challenge.
My goal is to have at least 45 books selected before I officially start the challenge. Since my 50th birthday isn’t until 1st December 2025, there’s still plenty of time to finalize the list and begin my reading journey.
If you have any recommendations, please share them in the comments below or reply to my Bluesky post. Make sure to include the book’s title, author, and publication date. As a token of appreciation, I’ll include a link to your Bluesky profile in the table of selected books below.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far—this challenge is already shaping up to be an unforgettable literary adventure!
| YEAR | Book | Star Rating | Suggested By |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Kirkdale Bookshop |
| 1976 | The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Maksym Pachesiuk |
| 1977 | The Shining by Steven King | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Awex Snow |
| 1978 | The World According to Garp by John Irvine | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Jilly |
| 1979 | If On A Winters Night A Traveller by Italio Calvino |  | C |
| 1980 | Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Chris |
| 1981 | Good Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Jilly |
| 1982 | Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure by the Unfortunate Dr. Kassler, J.S.P.S. by Jeremy Leven | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Gigi Hammer |
| 1983 | Flying to Nowhere by John Fuller | ✰✰✰✰✰ | |
| 1984 | The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Jilly |
| 1985 | Nothing Happens in Carmincross by Benedict Kiely | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Chris |
| 1986 | A Perfect Spy by John leCarre | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Dwdistracted |
| 1987 | In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Reading With Cats |
| 1988 | The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 1989 | The Power of One by Bryce Courtney | ✰✰✰✰✰ | JoobileeJools |
| 1990 | On The Third Day by Piers Paul Read | ✰✰✰✰✰ | David Long |
| 1991 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 1992 | Small Gods by Terry Pratchet | ✰✰✰✰✰ | JoobileeJools |
| 1993 | The Helene Hanff Omnibus by Helene Hanff | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 1994 | Mr Vertigo by Paul Asher | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Craig |
| 1995 | The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia A McKillip | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Ricky Reads |
| 1996 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 1997 | The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Rael571 |
| 1998 | In A Land of Plenty by Tim Pears | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Craig |
| 1999 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2000 | Stardust: Supernovae and Life -- The Cosmic Connection by John Gribbin | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Rael571 |
| 2001 | Rose Boys by Peter Rose | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Chris |
| 2002 | Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Maksym Pachesiuk |
| 2003 | The Breif History of the Dead by Kevin Brickmeier | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Craig |
| 2004 | Gilead by Marilynne Robinson | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Chris |
| 2005 | The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Jo |
| 2006 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2007 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2008 | The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Skinneroldham |
| 2009 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2010 | Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Reading With Cats |
| 2011 | A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L Peck | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Harlan Wall |
| 2012 | Boneland by Alan Garner | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Rael571 |
| 2013 | The Expidition by Bea Uusma | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 2014 | The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Mind For Books |
| 2015 | A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Rael571 |
| 2016 | Born A Crime by Trevor Noah | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Ms. Rachel |
| 2017 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2018 | The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Jo |
| 2019 | Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan's Blossoms by Naoko Abe | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 2020 | On Connection by Kae Tempest | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 2021 | Birdsong in a Time of Silence by Steven Lovatt | ✰✰✰✰✰ | C |
| 2022 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2023 | Quartet by Leah Broad | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Cowering Frog |
| 2024 | ✰✰✰✰✰ | ||
| 2025 | We Do Not Part by Han Kang | ✰✰✰✰✰ | Yours Truly |
Jo
Hi Phill,
What a wonderful way to celebrate your birthday. As I was looking through your list, I was hoping that 2004 would be free for one my personal favourites – Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.
As it isn’t, for 2005, I very much enjoyed Jasper Fforde’s The Big Over Easy, or for 2018, Stuart Turton’s The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
Best of luck with your challenge. Jo.
@Phill
Hi Jo,
Thank you, it’s funny actually as I’ve just finished reading Cloud Atlas again as I purchased the 20th Aniversary edition last November and have been meaning to write up a post about it, but it’s a tough one to think out as nothing less than perfection will do.
I’m off to hit the sack now but will look at those books next. Thank you for visiting and leaving me a comment and a few recommendations.
Cheers again. Phillip