r/52book

I am halfway through my (theoretical) goal of 104 books this year. Theoretical because I'm not sure I will (or maybe even want to) maintain this pace and so might change it.

Titles, authors, and translators to follow in a comment.

Takeaways:

• Why'd I take so long to read The Age of Innocence?
• A book about cycling (The Rider) can be interesting even if all you know about racing going in is, "people pedal fast maybe?".
• Some kinds of dated sci-fi are more enjoyable than others (e.g. The Radium Age short stories, while from the 1900-1930s were in some ways less dated than Asimov and Bradbury)
• Reading in translation will sure widen your reading horizons. Even if you don't like the book that much (e.g. No One Prayed Over Their Graves), you get a fascinating glimpse into another part of the world.

This book is AWESOME !

This was so refreshing because I’ve had a run of so-so books and this one seemed to really shocked me back out of a daze. I know this is an older one (2017) and I’m a bit late to the party but I just kept seeing it everywhere and decided to give it a shot. And I’m so glad I did, because it’s been a while since I haven’t been able to put a book down.

This is an epic multi generational tale of a Korean family living in Japan spanning over most of the 20th century. It explores identity, family, love, success, culture, everything. The characters are so vivid, the history comes alive, it just feels grand in scope and depth. It’s heartwarming, it’s tragic, it’s entertaining, it’s educational. Everything just grabs you.

This was a DELIGHT to read, and one of the top books I’ve read so far this year.

I‘m just 100 pages in

This is incredibly well written. Should’ve probably read this in winter..

Finished last night. I’m a sucker for the epistolary format.

Friendship, Angst, Love and Anger, all driving forces of puberty and the haze of emotion that fuels the burgeoning relationships of two young Latino males in El Paso, Texas. Themes of belonging, heroism, acceptance, family secrets, love and friendship all take center stage in the slow burn coming of age tale. Yes it’s “Young Adult” but there’s nothing “young” about the lessons these young men learn. Despite your age, this is a story that any queer person should read and recognize. SILENCE = DEATH. Celebrate queer joy, safely, wherever and whenever you can. Life is short.

This book was a full sensory experience. The world building was phenomenal. The characters were developed and nuanced so they were easy to get invested in.

The plot did remind me of The Heir Chronicles which I read 20 years ago. Both had the theme of characters forced to fight an ongoing battle as pawns in others’ games. This books battle was more on Nature vs Nurture.

I didn’t like the jumping around the timeline even when I could see what the author was building towards. I loved the multigenerational aspect. So much of the book came alive in my mind as if I was watching/experiencing it first hand.

3⭐️

This might be a bit of a hot take. I was kind of expecting more from this as it was hyped up so much and said to be one of the best books of 2025. But I found that the plot moved really slowly and the writing was too descriptive for my liking. I also knew very early on in the book where things were going to go and found the book overall rather predictable. The drama in this was interesting but not particularly exciting. I struggled with the decisions the characters made in this, particularly Beth — I definitely wanted to shake her.

My biggest issue with this book was that I found it really choppily written with the switching back and forth between time periods. There was “Before” and “After” and the amount of time passing in both those timelines was written in a very muddied way. I was confused about whether days, weeks, months were elapsing, and I felt it jumped between time periods a little bit too much. I eventually just kept reading, knowing that I’d never be sure exactly when the events were taking place. Only later in the book did the author give you specific dates. I found that a bit disorganized and frustrating.

I did consider DNFing it many times but kept going because it was actually a rather short book (it felt long though…).

I will say, however, that the ending saved it. Part 3 (about 2/3 in) was where things really started to actually happen and I got properly invested in the book. The conclusion was rather beautiful and gave me sufficient closure for the book overall, which is the main reason why my rating is not lower.

People seem to really love or really hate this book, but my opinion falls more into the middle; I will say it is not one of my favourites, and was not really worth the hype, but it was still an okay read overall.

P.S. Don't listen to anyone who refers to this book as a thriller. I feel like hearing that got my hopes up a bit too much. This is decidedly a drama rather than a thriller, so if you read this, just know what you're getting into.

It's not a book I grew up with as a child. My fairy tales of choice were always written by the Brothers Grimms. Which means I don't hold any childhood nostalgia to this story, but I know it's loved and praised everywhere.

I thought it would be the best read as a pallet cleanser. The recent books I've read were mediocre at best. This one isn't. It made me tear up in the end so badly, I almost started crying. Just proves that a good book doesn't need to be +300 pages to make you emotional. No shame in adding children's books to my counter, whether it's Disney retelling as novels or a book like this one. If it touches me, it counts

This one was on my to read list and was heavily recommended for many years.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It gives an interesting retelling of some of the old testament characters and stories from a woman's/minor character's perspective. It makes you think about how so much of history and religion is told from one perspective that writes out women's stories. It was also a fascinating look into the cultural and religious practices of ancient civilizations.

I set myself a tentative goal of 25 books but I am currently on a warpath of utterly devouring books. Just so excited to finally be back in the books!

My 2026 reads so far. Took me an hour to put it together and it was worth it!

I didn't like this book that much! It reminded me a little of Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews! I think this is considered a Frankenstein retelling and I really liked the premise but it was just too slow...I kept waiting for it to pick up but I didn't actually start enjoying it until the last like 15-20%. I watched some reviews of it afterwards and I completely understand why some people loved it so I guess this just wasn't for me and that's okay! I'm still glad I read it!

The amount of time the word "Sharpie/Sharpied" was used in the first part is getting funny. But I'm loving the found footage/creepy SCP-esque anomaly vibes.

After a mysterious object appears in the town of Midwich, all of the women capable of getting pregnant end up simultaneously getting pregnant and giving birth to odd children who might pose a danger to the townsfolk.

I didn't mind this book but it didn't hold my interest as much as I would have liked. I did find the tone interesting as I expected it to be more horror or thriller than it was. It felt a lot more grounded than I expected. I liked the concept too but for whatever reason, it didn't get its hooks in me. It was still good but it wasn't great

5⭐️

Psychologically disturbing thriller at its finest!

It is dark, the characters are raw, well written and flawed, which makes it more interesting to me.