Read What You Own 2026

@ÚlldemoShúl I'm also happy to read a bit less this year (average 20 books a month last year) - it feels a bit calmer!

Finally finished Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors last night.

Liked the book but was struggling towards the end as the print seemed quite small. Went for an eye test this morning and I have reading glasses ordered. Already have distance ones. So until I get my reading glasses I will be using my kindle!

Will pick one later that I’ve had for a while.

Finished A Three Dog Problem by S J Bennett - I found it better than the first book in the series.

Second RWYO completed, The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. Enjoyable enough but not going to bother with book 2 in the series which is sitting on my shelf, so its another one down (kind of!)

I finished reading The Language of Birds by Jill Dawson yesterday evening.

It was a fictional recreation of the events leading up to the murder of, and inquest into the death of Sandra Rivett at the hands of Lord Lucan, as told by a friend and fellow nanny. Names and some details were changed, but the novel was dedicated to the memory of Sandra Rivett.

A sad reflection on the way women have been mistreated by men over the years. Not just domestic violence but the not believing them when they were telling the truth about what happened, the belittling of them and dismissing of them, accusing them of being mentally unwell so that no-one will believe them. Rather downbeat and depressing, but very well written and good to see something from the pov of the victims rather than the murderer. Something I appreciated also with Halle Rubenhold's The Five.

Anglo Collections will take books.

I use them for all sorts of donations - they even take toiletries that are up to half full.

You can choose which charity you want to donate to (I've chosen Together for Short Lives). They are very good.

https://anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk/what-we-collect/

If anyone does want to use them I can provide a referral link.

Or National Trust - a lot of their sites have secondhand bookshops and take donations.

Our local Tescos has a secondhand book stall too, fundraising for local charities. A local cafe has a book swap shelf too that I drop off a couple of books to from time to time.

So, worth having a look around for a few alternatives to charity shops if they're not currently taking book donations.

Try a local school! :)

Raced through Free Country by George Mahood. An entertaining trip from Lands End to John O’Groats with no money and relying on the kindness of strangers.

I have a bedding box full of books I still haven't read. Meanwhile, I continue to buy more books. I also have four bookcases full. I have physical books. I don't like Kindle.

I have been using an app on my phone. I think it is called Bookwise, but there are a few different ones. I scanned all my books into the app and can pick one from my TBR list on the app, rather than going through my physical books each time. You can record start and finish times. You can also put them in different categories. I have 'recommended' for books that I don't have but want to remember and look out for in the charity shop

I rarely read books twice. All my books are in perfect condition if I have bought them new. Unfortunately, most of our charity shops are not taking books as they are overwhelmed with them.

@Tarragon123 , she's very thoughtful. They all are - her brother bought me a beautiful cloth-bound edition of Stig Of The Dump because "one of my favourite childhood memories was you reading it to us each night."

I've just read my first ever Chalet School books (one and two) and can see why they are so popular.

@BeaAndBen – what a thoughtful gift from your DD.

@SheilaFentiman – LOL at the ribbons! You could just buy a RC Sunday Missal if ribbons are your thing

@ÚlldemoShúl – Winter in Madrid is in my TBR. I might just start that next, seeing the love that it is getting.

So I’m not long back from my 2 week holiday. I managed to read 9 Chalet School books, so that’s the 58 book set finished. I took HHhH by Laurent Binet and The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by SG Maclean with me and left them. I finished some Kindle books, but not really counting them for RWYO as I have had them for less that a year. I need to concentrate on my physical pile. I have bought 3 books so far this month, succumbed to FOMO and got The Wedding People plus an Elin Hilderbrand. I also bought a copy of Giant by Edna Ferber, which I’m reading as part of an international book club. This was so difficult to track down. Eventually I got a copy from Etsy, a first for me!

@CatWithThreeLegsI thought the same about The Monogram Murders and that she had Poirot in situations that he would never have been in. Decided to give her another go to see if it picks up in the second book in the series.

@SilverShadowNight I've read The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah but I wasn't that keen on her recreation of Poirot.

@CatWithThreeLegsI’ve got The Swedish Death Cleaning book on my TBR pile too.

Currently reading Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah, which I bought in 2017.

@CatWithThreeLegs The Language of Birds sounds really interesting. Damn this thread😀

I've finished The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson and am now itching to get more house sorting done.

Now onto The Language of Birds by Jill Dawson. It's a shortish novel, a retelling of the Lord Lucan case, told from the perspective of a childhood friend of (and fellow nanny) of the nanny, here called Mandy. It has a horrible sense of foreboding hanging over it, knowing how that fateful night played out.

Have finished my first book of the year after watching all of you steam ahead.

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold. Absolutely loved this, so rich in social history and the fabric of women's lives.

Had a couple of DNFs which means my oldest NF was now purchased in 2016 and still no purchases.

My latest RWYO is a NF graphic novel which I enjoyed: Menopause. A Comic Treatment ed. MK Czerwiec which is a collection of comics from various contributors dealing with the menopause.

I’m finding graphic novels a good way to break up reading the behemoth that is The Goldfinch which it feels like I have been reading FOREVER!

Just finished The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. Really enjoyed it. And I haven't bought a single book so far in January!

Ooh I have Winter in Madrid in my TBR 🙂

Finished The Mercenary River by Nick Higham, about the history of London’s water companies. Niche but very good if that’s your thing.