Read What You Own 2026

Finished Tamar by Mal Peet which has been on my kindle for nearly 10 years. Enjoyable. Review on the 50 books thread.

Have finished four more RWYO - Every Light in the House is Burnin' by Andrea Levy,
Sedated by James Davies, Good Harbour by Anita Diamant and The Missing Family by Tim Weaver.

Finished Scaffolding - Lauren Elkin which I bought at the 50B London meet-up last May. Not quite what I was expecting.

Another one off the list - Vile Bodies - Evelyn Waugh

Semi-cheated as I bought this on kindle years back, got bored trying to read it so used an audible credit. I actually quite enjoyed the audio, the narrator makes all the difference and this one was brilliant.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin

Bought in 2023, finished today. Loved it!

Have finished and enjoyed The Library by Bella Osborne
Also finished The Crossing by Matt Brolly

Finished The Editor's Wife - Clare Chambers which I bought almost exactly four years ago. Worth waiting for and review will follow on 50B thread.

I should also say I’ve fallen off the wagon in spectacular style, only on kindle not so much physical books but I must have bought about 10 titles in the last week. I’m still determined to read more of the ones I own though - I’ve managed 17 RWYO so far this year, would like to get that number to at least 27 say. Then any outstanding ones of my current purchases can be next year’s RWYO fodder 😀

I remember not particularly loving Brooklyn but I’d like to try again at some point, I read it at a not great time in life.

Finished 2 I’ve had knocking around since last year - Really good actually - Monica Heisey which I think was a kindle 99p deal at some point. And We Solve Murders - Richard Osman on audible.

Neither anything amazing but I enjoyed both in their own way.

Coincidence! I will try to avoid spoilers in my review

I have got back onto RWYO and finished Brooklyn - Colm Toibin which I enjoyed. I bought it in September 2024. Review to follow on 50B thread.

I’ve finished Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and Breakneck Point by T Orr Munro.

👍

Elizabeth's Rival - Nicola Tallis

Physical book! Though more of a RWYDMO - with great restraint, I gave away many of Mum's books when she went into a care home but I kept this one so I'm counting it.

This is about Lettice Knollys, who was (probably) the granddaughter of Henry VIII, through Mary Boleyn's DD Katherine (Carey). Very good, fuller review on 50B.

I did enjoy! Thank you 😊

I am trying to attack my physical book pile in June. I have some that have been on my shelves unread for years - quite a few of them were presents and some are not the first in a series. I am going to try the 'read 50 pages and DNF if not grabbed' as I feel too guilty to give away presents without trying them. But also have always struggled with DNF-ing (more guilt!).

So far I have read two - How to be Invisible by Tim Lott ( a readable YA book) and Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls - David Sedaris which was part Memoir, part observation. Amusing in places but not laugh out loud funny for me. I have also DNF two - Let Me Go On by Paul Griffiths which tells a story of Ophelia after she dies using only the 400 odd words she is assigned by Shakespeare in the play. I really liked the premise of this and it reads very lyrically but in reality I don't know enough Shakespeare to follow the references. Also DNF The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde which is the second in his YA series about magic/dragons. I love Jasper Fforde but not that fussed about dragons and not sure how it ended up on my shelves. I probably bought it to encourage one of my kids to try it (they have since left home!).

Finished another one Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh

Finished two more: Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis, a Victorian-era gothic heist, and The Usual Suspects by Ernest Larsen, an examination of the 1990s film. Reviews to follow on 50B in due course.

As I’ve said on 50 Books, I recently finished The Grapes of Wrath. This has got to be a record for this thread because I’ve owned a copy since the 90s. Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy it

I have DNF The Wych Elm by Tana French - it was becoming more and more of a chore just to pick it up.

I remember liking TheFuture Homemakers of America @InTheCludgie.

I am hoping to tackle my unread physical book pile this month. Some have been unread on my shelves since the 90s. I am going to try 50 pages for each book and DNF if it doesn't grab me.

I've recently finished The Future Homemakers Of America by Laurie Graham. I DNFd this a couple of years ago, only got a few pages in then gave up. It came up again on my random number generator so thought I'd give it another go and so glad I did, I could hardly put it down.

This follows a group of US forces wives whose husbands are stationed on a UK base at the start of the story, around 1950 or so. Their lives diverge as they then move around to different places and the decades pass. A bold for me.