26ish books 2026

@greencrab I have to say I found 1984 a struggle at times, even though I have read it before.

13 Small Things Like These by Clare Keegan. A novella, rather than a novel. But incredibly impactful. I read this on Sunday as I had a very late lie-in and loved it. I definitely want to read her other stories now

9 - Seascraper by Benjamin Wood
this was a booker 25 and I was really looking forward to it. Was really disappointed! Nice descriptive writing but otherwise I found it slow moving and unimaginative. Not for me but it was a quick read.

8. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

I wanted a quick fast paced thriller whilst I was waiting for my next borrow box book to come in and this one did not disappoint! A shocking plot twist that I did not see coming and raised the hairs on my arms. I don’t usually give thrillers 5 stars as I normally find them quite predictable but this got me so It’s a 5 star from me
if you like Freida and Lisa you’ll like Alice too. This one is currently free on Prime and I think a couple of her others are as well

2026 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

I loved this when it was new as a teen but don't think it's aged well. Probably didn't give me useful perspective on life and dating as a young woman either! The sequel "Mad about the boy" set 20 years later when she had children was more relatable as an adult.

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

I really tried to read 1984 after discussion on here but just couldn't get into it and then lost my reading motivation for a bit

11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou, I was loving this as it was fascinating to hear description of Southern US which I know little about until about a third in when there was a violent act described and so I really struggled with the rest

I watched the first two Slow Horses seasons when they came out on TV, then binged all the books on audible and have carried on watching each season as it's come out and reading new books on release. It does get a bit muddly timeline-wise but both are brilliant.

19 Clown Town by Mick Herron. This is no 9 in the Slow Horses series and it didn't disappoint. I can see Gary Oldman et al as I read. It was a Christmas present from DS guided by DH but he didn't notice it was no 9. So now I know about things that happened before this one but that aren't in the TV series yet. But that's ok!

I really liked this book when I read it last year.

Just finished #7 Slow Horses by Mick Herron - I got this for Christmas having watched all of the series already. It took a little while to be into but then I enjoyed it, but I wonder has anyone else read these either before or after watching the series? The Lamb character is so absolutely Gary Oldman he just leaps off the page, I suppose that’s a testament to him as an actor as much as the written character? I found it a bit off putting at first but then settled into it. The other characters aren’t all such carbon copies so i had to let go of the images of them and create my own. Interesting experience to read something I’d already watched, I would usually do it the other way around I suppose!

Book 12, Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis. This book is having a bit of a moment right now, and I understand why. It manages humour and relatability within a different subject. Easy to read and engaging, but something about it still felt a bit surface-level, it kind of whizzed past difficulty somewhat brazenly. I loved the main character Nadia though

13 - Anything Could Happen by Elizabeth Strout. Audio, much in the same line as the rest of the Lucy Baryon books but very sad and poignant at times. Think I’ve had my fill of those for a while though

Just finished no.7 Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth.

Two middle aged sisters go on a road trip in a camper van to Scotland. Interspersed with flashbacks to their messy teenage years. I thought this was great, really well written and fast paced.

Starting Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley next.

Evening 👋
(1) The French for Christmas by Fiona Valpy
(2) The Outside Boy by Jeannie Cummins
(3) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
(4) All the Broken Places by John Boyne
(5) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
(6) Crooked Branch by Jeannie Cummins
(7) Nesting by Roisin O'Donnell

Latest books.....

(8) Never Lie by Frieda McFadden

Taken from Amazon:
Newlyweds Tricia and Ethan are searching for the house of their dreams. They think they've found it when they visit the remote manor that once belonged to Dr. Adrienne Hale, a renowned psychiatrist who vanished without a trace years ago. But when a violent winter storm traps them at the estate, the house begins to lose its appeal.
Stuck inside and growing restless, Tricia stumbles on a collection of audio transcripts from Dr. Hale's sessions with patients. As Tricia listens to the cassette tapes, she learns about the terrifying chain of events leading up to the doctor's mysterious disappearance.
With each tape, another shocking piece of the puzzle falls into place, and a web of lies slowly unravels. But by the time Tricia reaches the final cassette, the one that reveals the entire horrifying story, it will be too late…

An enjoyable, easy to read book, what you expect from Frieda McFadden - thought it was much better than the Housemaid!

(9) All Her Fault by Andrea Mara (Audio book)

Taken from Amazon:
Marissa Irvine arrives at 14 Tudor Grove, expecting to pick up her young son Milo from his first playdate with a boy at his new school. But the woman who answers the door isn't a mother she recognises. She isn't the nanny. She doesn't have Milo. And so begins every parent's worst nightmare.

FOUR GUILTY WOMEN.

As news of the disappearance filters through the quiet Dublin suburb and an unexpected suspect is named, whispers start to spread about the women most closely connected to the shocking event. Because only one of them may have taken Milo - but they could all be blamed . . .

IN A COMMUNITY FULL OF SECRETS, WHO IS REALLY AT FAULT?

Really enjoyed listening to this to and from work - would recommend - also looking forward to watching the televised version - once I find the time!

Happy reading everyone :)

7: Things I Couldn't Tell My Mother by Sue Johnston (audio).
Narrated beautifully by the author, I absolutely loved this book. I'm a huge fan of Sue, she has had some amazing roles and a really interesting life, the book particularly focusses on her relationship with her mother. Published around 2012, I'd love an update.

5. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

I tried to read this obe a couple of years ago and didn’t get very far. The way it’s set out in on the page on my kindle is a bit odd and I think I found it frustrating at the time. So glad I went back to the book and gave it another try.

4) the list of suspicious things Jennie Godfrey. didn't enjoy as much as id hoped and found it a bit of a drag in places. 2 girls are trying to find the Yorkshire ripper by noticing things that are suspicious with people around them. They uncover many things about their neighbours and people in the community whilst doing so.

7. The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson. I don't usually do ratings but maybe 3 out of 5. Crime / Thriller- protagonist found a murdered woman when in her teens, then shortly afterwards her best friend disappeared. 25 years later she wants to find out what happened to her friend and who the woman was.

Bit repetitive with some character traits and some plot points just got bloody irritating. E.g. "If only I could tell her what I found that night" "it's on the tip of my tongue to tell her" "I need to tell her" times a million. All from the same character about the same thing.
Likewise some clunky "oh no, I forgot to check the..." "I haven't got round to looking at the...yet" "I should do...but I'm so tired." So you know that the thing not yet done will be crucial.

I would also warn that some of the VAGW aspects get really grim too. Not in the graphic blood and gore sense more Andrew Tate type characters.

No 18 The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Interesting, describes the kind of sharing economy that has been the case forever in the UK/Europe and I think there's a feeling that it's gone away/is now coming back but I don't think it's ever gone away.

12 Victorian Psycho - Virginia Feito
The only good thing I can say about this book is that it's less than 200 pages. What a load of utter tripe. I can't believe they are making a film of it.

After that experience, I needed to read something completely different. A re-read RWYO.

13 Bedsit Disco Queen - Tracey Thorn
A pop memoir. Love Tracey Thorn & Everything But The Girl. Always wanted her haircut but don't have her hair type.

Book 6
Game Changer Rachel Reid
Jumped on the bandwagon for this one. Not for the faint hearted! There is a LOT of sex, and to me a bit like an X rated YA book. Enjoyed it none the less and will read the next one

James by Percival Everett
I liked this book but really wanted to love it.
I’m don’t know why I found it disappointing, but I did.
However, the ending was great.

Thanks, I’ll look out for that one. One of my DCs has access to the countryside as a particular interest too.

Oh my gosh if you enjoyed those bits you should definitely read The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes - I read it a few years ago and it made me furious but super super interesting.

I read that a few weeks ago, I found the sections about the countryside and how our access to the land has been dictated by wealthy landowners over the centuries (and still is by and large) particularly interesting.