26ish books 2026

6 Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

I had been wanting to read this for a while, now I finally finished it 5 weeks later. It was a long hard slog. In 2 minds, parts were brilliant and other parts dragged. Some parts very difficult to determine what was actually going on and so many characters!!! But overall enjoyed. Now going to watch the TV series.

Has anyone here ready the sequel Bring up the bodies? No plans to read just yet but curious is others found it easier to read than Wolf Hall?

10. The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier.
Bit of an odd one. Jumps about in time from 1480s but following the same glassmaking family on Murano, and they don't age accordingly. For example we might skip on 120 years but all the characters only move on 4 years. It works pretty well overall and means that so much history can be packed in - such as trade, slavery, plague, wars, industrialisation and it's woven in neatly. There's something a bit odd about the writing style, a bit stilted and formal, and the use of odd bits of Venitian / Italian dialogue was a bit pretentious but I found it a very interesting read and was very invested in the characters.
I will say I am quite interested in glass making and there is a lot of description about how glass and beads are made. I know someone who isn't interested and got very bored with those passages and just wanted to crack on with the narrative.

2) Matt Haig ‘The Life Impossible’

This book reminded me a bit of the Paulo Coelho books I used to read it my early twenties, although it’s more fantastical, than mystical.
It started well but then I had big breaks from reading it as it didn’t keep my attention enough. Anyway, I persevered and although not as good as his ‘Midnight Library’ I’d recommend as a light, holiday read - full of sunshine and warmth.

10.The House Man by Tatiana de Rosnay

The idea was interesting. How it must have felt to lose your home while Baron Haussmann was demolishing and rebuilding his fabulous avenues in Paris. A woman writing and reading letters to/from her dead husband and to other people while waiting to die rather than leave her house. I didn't connect with main character really and thought (a bit like her practical daughter who'd moved out of Paris) that it was just bricks and mortar (harsh, moi!). A "twist" at the end felt a little shoehorned in. 3/5

11.The Lost Vintage by Ann Mah

Set in Burgundy, a Master of Wine candidate renews ties with her mother's family in Burgundy (and with an old flame). She uncovers stories of her family's activities during the Occupation. This novel was enjoyable, although it mixed a quite heavy WWII story with a fluffy romance. Far too much French sprinkled through to remind us that the characters were in France (OK, we get it!). 4/5

12. When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén / Alice Menzies translator from Swedish / Ifan Huw Dafydd narrator

Oh, my! 89-year-old Bo is on his last legs and his son wants to take his dog away. Sixten is my new favourite dog after Six-Thirty! Haven't sobbed so much in years. Recommended if you like slow, insightful, thought-provoking. (Reminds me of the film The Father.) Narration was excellent. 5/5

Finished book no 12 - How to stop time by Matt Haig

I loved this book, it was a nice gentle read. Complete fantasy story about a man who didn't age - he was over 400 years old but his body was that of a young adult. Each chapter was moving between different times, as he tried to not attract attention to his oddity. A really intriging book.

Just finished Crow Lake by Mary Lawson. Great read had me hooked from the start, didn’t want it to end.

7 You Are Here by David Nicholls

A nice, gentle read. Maybe didn't live up to the hype for me but I did enjoy it. A solid 3 out of 5.

29 Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson.
A really interesting and quite believable premise. Interesting and thoughtful but not too hard a read.

My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell

I enjoyed the present day stuff more than the flashbacks, but it's one that relied heavily on Lolita to tell the story.

10: We Solve Murders by Richard Osman. I DNF the Thursday Murder Club when it came out, but I do like crime and I thought I'd give this one which is the start of a different series a try. As with TTMC there are a central group of characters and about 20 minor ones, lots of twists and turns but it all turned out well in the end, even the bad guys were portrayed as not that nasty, just people who carry out crime for a living.

14 Fourteen days by multiple authors

a novel set in Covid times, residents of an apartment block in NYC gather on the rooftop each evening to cheer the key workers and share stories. Each chapter is written by a different author including Margaret Attwood, Celeste Ng, John Grisham, Tess Gerritsen, R L Stine.

I loved the idea of this and I really wanted to like it but I really struggled through it. Some of the stories were great but others were just a bit odd. If it wasn’t a read for book club I think I would have given up.
such a shame. It had the makings of a great book!

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
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

8. Orbital - Samantha Harvey
   I enjoyed reading this while following the news of Artemis II but was also listening to…

9. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
   so got a bit confused with which bit of space travel I was in at times! But as the first one was so short and read very quickly that didn’t last long. I went to see the film half way through listening to this and enjoyed the remainder even more as I could visualise everything

10. Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley
    This was fine, read most of it on holiday but didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped as I found her writing style to be really weird and formal. Not sure if I’ll read any more of the series.

9: The Shipping News by E Annie Proulx
Really enjoyable but I did find the rhythm of the language quite difficult to get into. I'm keen to watch the film but am put off by the fact that Spacey is in it.

10: You are Here by David Nicholls
I read this in two days, a really easy read. I love walking and I was on a walking holiday so it was a perfect book for me!

13. The Cut Throat Trial - The Secret Barrister

ive just finished this on audio and it was absolutely brilliant. Read by a full cast I felt like I was right there in the court room. It follows a murder trial and is told in the perspective of the defendants, their lawyers, the prosecutor and the judge. The book is currently 99p on kindle but if you can get hold of the audio I would absolutely recommend it! I don’t think anything is going to top this one this year. I wish I could read/listen to it again!

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
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

I loved that for similar reasons @Twinsybalinsy.

Number 14 for me was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I thought this was amazing - so evocative and sprawling although the time jumping did throw me a little. It felt a little hard going and bleak at times and was a prescient reminder of how life can be turned on its head.

18, Dark Wild Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Finished this last night - I loved the writing, the characters and the rugged setting. But there was a little lag in the middle where things stalled, before it all coming down to a very manic, slightly over-the-top end. it was very sad though, for so many reasons. I kept thinking that I certainly hope this family gets a lot of mental health support!

Not quite sure what to read next, though. This left quite an impression on me.

12. A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

im really enjoying this series, I didn’t want to get sucked into the hype but here I am! It’s like a grown up version of twilight! I have a couple of book club books to read before I can return to Velaris for my next fix.

books 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
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

28 To Die But Once by Jacqueline Winspear. I loved the early ones in this series but they are possibly getting a bit same-ish, though the premise in this one was very interesting and apparently was from her own family.

17 Heaven - Mieko Kawakami

picked this up in Japan when I finally found a tiny English section of a bookshop and so glad I did. Incredibly engaging and I’d not read her work before so picked up another at the airport on the way home

I have just finished this too. I'm reading for the second time and am paying a lot more attention to the clues this time so I feel the Strike and Ellacott soap opera is a lot less prominent. It was no 27 for me.

I’m just catching up with the Thread. This year seems to be the year of largely non-fiction for me.

1.Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies
2.Im Glad my mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
3.I’m Not As Well As I thought I Was- Ruby Wax
4.Paula, Michael & BoB- Gerry Agar (but if an odd one- went off on a Michael Hutchence obsession for a few weeks)
5.The Chimp Paradox-Steve Peters (this is an ongoing book )

Next:
You with the Sad Eyes- Christina Applegate

9. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith.
I enjoyed this the most of the 3 so far but I'm in a strange fix with thse books. I wasn't that arsed who the killer was once they were revealed, and I'm beyond fed up with the constant updates about Strike and Robin in relation to how they think and feel about one another. She's miffed he didn't say thanks for the tea she made, he's wondering why she only ordered salad, she's delighted he...yadda yadda ugh. And yet I was thoroughly sucked in and have the next one out the library already.
I remember my friend saying not to think of them as crime novels and I get what she means, it's straying into daytime soap opera. But with more gore!

13 Absalom! Absalom! by William Faulkner Almost the opposite style to Flesh. Very long and complex sentences, Faulkner even has to put the subject's name in brackets at times because he thinks readers might get confused who is being talked about. Not one to dip into. It had me reaching for the dictionary a few times.
I like Faulkner, he is not an easy read in style or subject but, I find that when you get into it, his writing almost has a rhythm which makes it hard to put down. The first chapter is pretty confusing but it gets easier to read as it goes on. It is overtly about the US South around the time of the civil war and after and what drives a man, what he will do to go from nothing to rich and powerful and the impact on those around him. It has some race issues which are awful and the civil war, US southern society issues. A review said view it as gossip which is helpful and it raises some interesting points about story telling. This is because the story goes around and around, with parts almost endlessly repeated and told in a swirling mass, usually by people who were not there, were not involved, didn't know the people involved and so who knows what the real story is. The women were so incidental, used and thrown away by men, compare with Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. A main character started off in poverty in the Appalachian mountains and so it had a little tie in to my recent read of Demon Copperfield too.

@Troubledwords it doesn't get better imo