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Read What You Own 2026

832 replies

ÚlldemoShúl · 30/12/2025 13:04

This is a brand shiny new thread for those of us who want to continue reading what we own in 2026.
My aims for 2026 are:

  • At least half my reading will be from books I already own on 1st January 2026
  • I will buy less than a quarter of my reading new including kindle deals😱 and book club books
  • I will wait when prize lists are released to see if the books appear in the library within a week. I will not read full longlists unless I love the sound of each and every book on it.
  • For the first two months I will only read what I own- focusing on the older books on my kindle while allowing myself to read newer (but already owned) physical books
What are your RWYO aims for 2026?
OP posts:
MamaNewtNewt · 24/04/2026 12:18

How are you finding Kindle Unlimited @SheilaFentiman? I find it worthwhile as I use it a lot for ‘easier’ reads like crime and romance. I keep an extensive wishlist and it’s easy to see what has moved in and out of kindle unlimited from there.

SheilaFentiman · 24/04/2026 09:12

I am also distracted by my three cheap months of KUL @MamaNewtNewt

But I’m currently on a 2024 purchase - Blood and Sugar - and I’m enjoying it!

MamaNewtNewt · 24/04/2026 09:01

I’ve been focusing on Kindle Unlimited books while I was on holiday, but now back on the RWYO bus!

SheilaFentiman · 23/04/2026 21:07

I’m trying to read through my paper books and have ended up DNFing or donating some! I DNFed Fury by Salman Rushdie because the protagonist was so awful!

Original poster
ÚlldemoShúl · 23/04/2026 19:42

How is everyone going? I think I’m finally emerging from a prizelist related book slump and it’s RWYO that have taken me out the other side. I’ve recently finished Orlando by Virginia Woolf, Volume 5 of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust and Fatal Isles by Maria Adolfsson- I enjoyed all three. Currently reading one new read and a couple of oldies Alive (the story of the plane crash in the Andes) and Skippy Dies by Paul Murray.

OP posts:
TimeforaGandT · 17/04/2026 15:50

I have finished Pandora - Jilly Cooper - I read it when it was published years ago but since then acquired it in a 99p Kindle deal so pleased to have finished. Good fun. Full review to follow on 50B thread.

AliasGrape · 17/04/2026 07:45

Finished another RWYO The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker which was as good as everyone said! I found it harrowing but brilliant.

CutFlowers · 12/04/2026 12:55

Three more RWYO for me this week - I finished A Tale of Two Cities for the readalong which I really enjoyed. Also read Home Fire (Woman's Prize Winner in 2018) which was very good and Shades of Grey - the Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde which was a bit bonkers.

Welcome @myislandhome. I am also mostly here due to the kindle 99p deals!

myislandhome · 12/04/2026 09:42

Oh wow, I just found this thread and this is for me! I have been on a "read what I have" mission but have faltered somewhat as those 99p kindle bargains keep appearing!
Things I've read this month on my "had for ages" list are:
The last passenger, will dean
The last, hanna jameson
The last house on needless street, catriona ward

And NO I'm not reading alphabetically, what the actual hell is going on with all these "lasts"??? 😱

AliasGrape · 12/04/2026 08:22

Another RWYO finished - The Carer - Deborah Moggach - enjoyed it overall, review on 50 books thread.

SilverShadowNight · 10/04/2026 13:48

Finished and enjoyed Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 09/04/2026 19:12

Finished Boy Parts by Eliza Clark - hated it

MamaNewtNewt · 06/04/2026 23:04

Managed two more RWYOs (We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid), both of which I enjoyed, but not quite enough to make them bolds, which seems to be a common theme for me at the moment. I also broke my streak of not buying books, but have only purchased two, one of which I’ve already read, and the other that I intend to read on my upcoming holiday.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 06/04/2026 17:09

Broke the slump with Death of the Author but it wasn’t good at all

SilverShadowNight · 05/04/2026 14:35

Finished Trust Me by TM Logan, which I bought in 2021.

Original poster
ÚlldemoShúl · 05/04/2026 11:10

@AliasGrapefaves from the Women’s Prize are Dominion and A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing. From International Booker (which I’ve only read a handful of) On Earth as it is Beneath

OP posts:
AliasGrape · 05/04/2026 07:08

That’s an impressive month @ÚlldemoShúl! Any faves from the lists so far?

Sorry to hear you are struggling @EineReiseDurchDieZeit , I don’t think a reread is a waste if it gets you back in the mood.

I’ve slowed right down, and haven’t picked up kindle or physical book for over a week now which is terrible. I’ve made the fatal error of putting a TV in the bedroom, so I’ve been watching The White Lotus every night when I should be reading.

I have managed one more RWYO though - or rather Listen/ LWYO which was Odyssey- Stephen Fry. I started this last year then got bored and gave up, but decided to get it finished. I’m in a phase of struggling to stay asleep, waking up for hours at a time through the night, so it’s been a good one to listen to then. I did not enjoy it as much as Mythos or Heroes, but then I’ve never really liked Odysseus and wouldn’t have minded if Homer had drowned him on day 1 honestly. It did make me think I need to get round to The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker which is another one on my RWYO list.

TimeforaGandT · 04/04/2026 10:26

TimeforaGandT · 31/03/2026 16:51

Now read a 2023 purchase - A Bird in Winter - Louise Doughty. Worth reading although slightly inclusive ending which always annoys me. Will put full review on 50B thread.

That should have said inconclusive!

Original poster
ÚlldemoShúl · 03/04/2026 22:10

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/04/2026 19:41

I’d be happy just to read ANY Book at this point

Sorry to hear you’re still struggling Eine. Any luck trying crime? Maybe M W Craven? Or a good Aussie crime like Jane Harper or Dinuka MacKenzie?

OP posts:
EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/04/2026 21:56

@SilverShadowNight I have but it feels like a waste!

SilverShadowNight · 03/04/2026 21:48

Finished Lifeless by Mark Billingham. Bought in 2015, and I haven’t read one of his for years. Enjoyed.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeitit’s awful when you are exhausted and have lost your reading mojo. Have you considered a re-read of something you enjoyed?

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 03/04/2026 19:41

I’d be happy just to read ANY Book at this point

Original poster
ÚlldemoShúl · 03/04/2026 19:38

My RWYO has been terrible in March but it’s prize season so I’m not going to beat myself up about it. I read/ listened to 20 books in total, which is ridiculous and I need to read less because I’m sure I’ll forget the half of them when I’m reading that quickly. Of the 20 only 5 were RWYO. Another 5 were prize listed books I bought and the other 10 were prize books I borrowed from the library. I almost finished the WP list and only intend to read about 5 more between the non fiction and international Booker but I’m not rushing through those. Bar the regular Booker in July and a handful of new releases I’ve preordered (like Maggie O’Farrell’s latest) I’ll be doing RWYO the rest of the year.

OP posts:
CutFlowers · 03/04/2026 19:04

Two more RWYO for me - The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway - a novel set during the siege of Sarajevo- and a book by Maggie Hartley about her experiences as a foster carer. Have so far resisted the new kindle deals.

RomanMum · 03/04/2026 18:54

Finished Expert Witness by Dr HJ Walls, a memoir of sorts from the early days of forensic science. Readable but of its time in places. Full review to follow when I have time to do a review dump on 50B.

A quarter of the way through the year (already!) - thanks to Ulldemoshul and this thread for giving me some discipline. I’ve read 20 books including 2 library books; disposed of 13; not quite as well behaved as I’d like as I’ve been given/bought 7 (including book club choices so necessary). On the whole I own less books now than at 1st January so I’m on the right track 😊