26ish books 2026

1.One of us by Elizabeth Day.
2.The Backpacking Housewife by Janice Horton.
3.The Hike by Lucy Clarke
4.Postcards from a stranger by Imogen Clark
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden
21.Yesteryear by Caro Burke
22. Table for one by Emma Gannon
23. Tilt by Emma Patte

both 22 and 23 were kindle 99p purchases, which I enjoyed think Tilt still available at that price

trying to load up my kindle for plane tomorrow so scrolling back through this thread for recommendations and good reviews

Congrats! I'm surprised how much I've read to, something about the 26 books was such a good goal... not as overwhelming as the 52 books that which I would never have joined and then one you get reading it just followed as a habit. Such a great help @Tinkhasflown to create this

26 Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly

Short, prosaic, graphic and elegant, I read this quickly. The language is very accessible despite the multitude of metaphors and inner life struggles. Really big recommendation.
I also cannot quite believe I got to 26 books by mid-year! I'm quite impressed by my efforts

I would but I didn’t think very much of it!

1.One of us by Elizabeth Day.
2.The Backpacking Housewife by Janice Horton.
3.The Hike by Lucy Clarke
4.Postcards from a stranger by Imogen Clark
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden
21.Yesteryear by Caro Burke

I'm desperate to speak to someone about Yesteryear as it totally blew my mind

22 Look What You Made Me Do - John Lanchester

Kate, thirty years into her marriage, has a seemingly idyllic life with her husband, Jack, an architect. Phoebe, a young screenwriter, is the creator of the year’s hit TV show, Cheating. Like all married couples, Kate and Jack have a private language, and after Jack dies, Kate hears one of their intimate lines mocked in the show, and realises her marriage has been looted for content. The obvious conclusion: Jack had an affair.

Feeling completely violated, Kate embarks on a quest for the truth, trying to figure out who betrayed who and how Phoebe got her hands on their story.

I really enjoyed this book - it's a black comedy of revenge. I thought John Lanchester wrote two very convincing and complex female characters.

Book 19: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
I originally started this a few years ago, but put it down a couple of chapters as the writing annoyed me. I decided to revisit it… the writing style still irritates me but overall I liked the story and the twists, but I’ve read it quickly just to try get through it 😆

2026 books so far:
then she was gone
beautiful ugly
the intruder
the shadowman
the family upstairs
Rock Paper Scissors
The Family Remains
The House we Grew up in
It Should Have Been You
Dont Let Him In
Daisy Darker
Someone In The Attic
The Tenant
One Click
The Other Side Of The Wall
No One Saw A Thing
Ward D
My Husband’s Wife

41 Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson. I've listened to the previous ones on audio and the narrator's Aussie accent is good at setting the scene but this was still good. My kind of mystery: Golden Age plot set in modern days.

The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman.

Love this author’s witty writing and this one is only 68 pages of anyone is after a short book to bump up their numbers

25. The Handmaid’s Tale- Margaret Atwood

I Loved the TV series to a point however felt that it dragged on a bit and so never actually finished. I knew that the TV series carried on further that MA wrote so was intrigued by the ending she wrote vs where the TV series went and also wanted to read the 2nd book which is 15 years later.
I find it hard to read a book after already watching the story unfold but I actually really enjoyed this and thought that Hulu did a good job (until they didn’t) with the characters and visuals. Looking forward to book 2 and I might even try and finish the tv series.

2026 reads so far

1. What a Way to Go - Bella Mackie
2. All the Colours of the Dark - Christopher Whittaker
3. The Briar Club - Kate Quinn
4. The Names - Florence Knapp
5. None of this is True - Lisa Jewell (audio)
6. A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J Maas
7. James - Percival Everett
8. Daisy Darker - Alice Feeney
9. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir (audio)
10. A court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J Maas
11. A Good Girls Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson
12. A court of wings and ruin - Sarah J Maas
13. The Cut Throat Trial - The Secret Barrister (audio)
14. Daisy Jones and the six - TJR (audio)
15. Fourteen days - various authors
16. The Family - Mario Puzo
17. A court of Frost & starlight - Sarah J Maas
18. The Correspondent - Virginia Evans
19. The One - John Marrs
20. The Nothing Man - Catherine Ryan Howard (audio)
21. A court of silver flames - Sarah J Maas
22. Long Time Gone - Charlie Donlea
23. Good Girl bad blood - Holly Jackson
24. Atmosphere - TJR (audio)

25. Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

I rarely buy books in hardback but made an exception for Strout as she's one of my favourite authors. It didn't disappoint; it's a short novel and I devoured it in two days. It's a simple and eloquent story of lives we live under seemingly still surfaces, but also about the state of the nation. Big contender for the booker I'm sure.

Book 18: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney
Loved this book, it was a little slow to start but after once it got going it was fantastic and kept the pace up, it was really intriguing and all the twists came together.

2026 books so far:
then she was gone
beautiful ugly
the intruder
the shadowman
the family upstairs
Rock Paper Scissors
The Family Remains
The House we Grew up in
It Should Have Been You
Dont Let Him In
Daisy Darker
Someone In The Attic
The Tenant
One Click
The Other Side Of The Wall
No One Saw A Thing
Ward D

24.Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

This was one of my "read what you already own" along with Purity, Middle England, Vanishing Half and Milkman. I'm glad I finally got to it and Im slightly annoyed I hadn't done so before, after loving Lacuna amd Poisonwood Bible. What a beautifully crafted book, so sad and full of characters. There's so many layers to this book that I coukd write an essay about it. Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year.

Book 10 You Are Here by David Nicholls.
I really enjoyed this book, a very easy read but with some great observations about relationships. Could not put it down and have that slightly bereft feeling now I've finished it.

40 The Overstory by Richard Powers.
I had this book because I bought it for my brother but he'd already read it. It's basically about trees, very American focussed, not what I'd normally read but actually very interesting. Mild magical realism, fairly political, though I know we have some of the same issues with forestry but not as intensive. Long though: I decided to start reading it because it was on the Goodreads long books list. Dragged a bit in the middle but I read the last 1/4 really quickly.

17. The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

This was a light read for my holiday and had such a bizarre story line. It's about a single woman looking for love - every time her husband went up into the attic, a new husband came down! She went through hundreds of husbands, hoping for the perfect man to appear - sending the undesirable ones into the loft for fabricated reasons. I really enjoyed this, it made a change to my usual books.

12. Wedding People by Alison Espach. Read in a few days on a hot laze-about holiday. Brilliant holiday read! Snappy dialogue heavy with lots of incident so easy to speed through. Twists largely but not entirely predicable and no less enjoyable for it.

Literary professor whose husband has left her plummets into depression, walks out her job mid lecture and checks into a madly expensive hotel. Turns out she is the only guest not there for a lavish wedding week and shouldn't have been given a room. She and the bridezilla cross paths and some unlikely friendships are sparked. Darkly comic, lots of ridiculous but fun contrivances along with musing on Jayne Eyre's walking habits and depressive states.

I read this a couple of years ago. It’s one of those books I still think of.

Ive just finished Flashlight by Susan Choi which was number 9 for this year.

1.One of us by Elizabeth Day.
2.The Backpacking Housewife by Janice Horton.
3.The Hike by Lucy Clarke
4.Postcards from a stranger by Imogen Clark
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden- I had got this on an Amazon 99p kindle deal and didn't know anything about the fuss surrounding it. I actually really enjoyed it but was a quick read maybe 4 hours max

11 Bel Canto by Ann Pratchet.

I think someone else read this in this thread and commented on it coincidentally on the day i got it in a charity shop. I really loved this book, beautifully written and enjoyed the characters and the unlikely relationships. Left me wanting a little more.

39 *Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line" by Elle Cosimano. I like this series, it's kind of as if Stephanie Plum was a bit better off and a single mum.

@MammaGnomes I see how it can help people at a certain stage in their life. I, personally, had already read similar books long time ago and didn’t find anything new here.

What I found hard to read by this particular author, (who admits she hasn’t been earning her own money up until three years ago and she has only started being a ‘manifestation specialist’ since then), was the ‘trust the universe’ and ‘it was meant to be’. This is hard to read when you’ve buried a loved one, have a chronic illness, have been a victim of a heinous crime, etc.

But if we take from it - define your goals and focus on them - yeah, that’s good.

@u3ername
I really enjoyed Manifest. I listened to it on audio a couple of years ago after a friend recommended it to me. Within the year I had requested study support for my higher qualification at work and it was accepted and received a promotion off the back of it.
it made me realise that we are the makers of our own fate. Although the book on surface is to manifest what I actually took from it was that we have to put the balls in motion and set our own plates spinning in order to accomplish our goals.
each to their own I suppose but it definitely gave me the confidence to believe in myself and go for it!

Book 9 Manifest - Roxie Nafousi

I'm a little embarrassed by this one. At 45, I've faced too many adversities (to put it mildly) in my life to easily embrace the idea of ‘trust the Universe’. I feel stuck in a rut at this stage of my life and would love something inspiring and motivating, but this is not it. I can’t believe Penguin published it in 2022, to be honest. It feels very much like a rewrite of personal development books from the early 2000s.