26ish books 2026

Hi everyone, I would like to join please. Last year I read 24, usually it’s around 40-50. I have a very busy year finishing my degree, job hunting, 3 kids and a dog but have the goal to read consistently no matter how much and hopefully reach 26 for the year.

I finished Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn yesterday and started Fairy Tale by Stephen King last night.

Aiming for 26 again this year, got Richard Coles A Death on Location lined up to read, after starting the series last year.

A tale of two cities is also a tbr book, so I may join you in that thread too.

Hello and thanks for this thread @Tinkhasflown

I’d love to join - I used to be a voracious reader but have lost my way over the last few years through motherhood, scrolling etc. Children are all older teens now so no excuses there and over the last month I have been way more disciplined about evening phone use and replaced it with reading more. The joy!

I am starting the year with The Trees by Percival Everett. Not enjoying it yet quite as much as I did James, but he can write.

Thanks @DesdamonasHandkerchief. I do like Dickens and life a longer book to read in January but I’m such a slow reader I’m always reluctant to join one of the read-a-long threads. I may take a look at this one though.

Jumping on for the first time for motivation and the recommendations! Like many my reading dropping off in the last few years - motherhood, switching my commute to cycling, living through a difficult time - but since becoming single again last Spring there’s nobody to tell me to switch the light off at night so I managed to read 24 books (including some audible) and started using goodreads to keep track - 26 seems like a good target!
I’ve just started Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister as I had seen the writer’s lovely Facebook posts and was intrigued to read her work - it’s not my usual kind of thing though so not going very quickly, and instead of luxuriating in the opportunity to read during 2 weeks off work my screen time has been through the roof while my children were away with their dad over the holidays! I got a pile of books for Christmas so need to pick up the pace as I’m keen to start some of those.
Shy Creatures (Clare Chambers) mentioned up thread was a highlight for me last year, I’ve loved the writer since her first book many years ago!

Hello! Thank you for the thread and I would love to join. Managed 32 books last year and hoping a few more this year but who knows

book 1 - diary of a murderer by Kim Young-Ha

also reading death in midsummer by Yukio Mishima

Hi all, I’ve just started a thread for a Dickens read along of A Tale Of Two Cities over 6 months.
I want to read it before a new adaptation starting Kit Harrington hits the BBC this year.
Just letting all the 26 Bookers know in case a gentle paced Dickens read along suits anyone here. I can’t vouch for the book as I’ve never read it!

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/5469580-a-tale-of-two-cities-six-month-read-along?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=app_share

Can I join please? Managed 23 books last year. My fave genres are thriller, horror and detective books.

My current read (Kindle) is Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell.

I'm also reading (hardback) Birth, Marriage & Death by Cressy.

I'd like to join please. I'm really good at reading in school holidays but during term time (teacher) I struggle. I would like to keep it up though this year.
Currently reading:

1. Last one at the Party by Bethany Clift.

It was recommended on here and I'm really enjoying it.

That’s very interesting, thanks for the insight! I feel sorry for the ones having to do it on the cheap without any of that input or support that you/others provide 😕

@Citygirlrurallife really interesting thank you. I love audio books and do wonder about the production.

I will also add that not everyone uses a director! A lot of audiobooks are produced cheaply by asking the poor narrators to record on their own at home and manage the engineering (and sometimes editing!)

@MargotMoon I’m very happy to answer if others don’t mind the de-rail!

every audiobook is different but very basic prep is to read jt (!!) and make notes on any pronunciations you don’t know particularly if said by characters in specific accents or dialects and if quoting real people in non-fiction. They and I then make notes on characters, what clues are given in the text as to age, gender, tone, accents etc. sometimes an author is quite involved and wants to give further notes but producers try to leave those creative decisions up to us. How accented you make characters totally depends on the tone and genre of the book - we lean more into defined voices for YA or books where there are say 5 female white voices all from middle class London in their twenties and you need some differentiation for clarity! I’ll also make notes on page lengths to plan breaks.

I always try to have a call with my narrators ahead of time to go over any questions for the author or pronunciations, any creative decisions we need to take, talk about any difficult/triggering material and how to help them handle that. Also I work a lot with authors and green narrators so I spend a lot of time before session guiding and helping them.

they usually read off their own marked up pdf as it will have notes they can skim ahead and see. You want to stop as infrequently as possible really so that fluency is kept consistent and different publishing houses have different expectations on what you let pass (substituting a for the for example) and which ones want every word spoken exactly as written. I’ll get a narrator to go back if they read the words incorrectly or if a phrase doesn’t quite make sense or we need to change the text to suit audio or if we find a typo etc. performance wise I don’t stop them much during recording, only if it really stands out or consistency drops (a character suddenly sounds different or the pace doesn’t align with the pace of the storytelling etc).

in my experience authors are as involved as they want to be. They will have a say/final decision on who does the narrating - often given a shortlist by the producer. I’ve had everything from authors who literally don’t care about the audio to ones who want to listen to it before it gets published (not recommended!!). Fantasy novelists have to be very involved because of course they’re making up words, names, places, accents etc so knowing how they hear these things in their heads is very helpful especially if part of a series with multiple narrators.

series are a totally different beast and require a huge amount of prep.

@CitygirlrurallifeI remember you from previous years’ threads, and often think about the mechanics of audiobook production when I’m listening to them. You’ve already answered a couple of my questions, I’ve always wondered how long it takes to record a book and how actors prepare, but I would love to know how much ‘direction’ is involved during the reading. Do you often need to ask for a re-read on specific sentences to make sure they are conveying the right tone or meaning? Do they read from a heavily-marked up script? The ones who can remember loads of different voices/accents are hugely impressive. Do the authors have much say?

Sorry, I know this is sightly de-railing the thread!

Lovely to see lots of new people joining. I tried the 50 books thread last year and found it way too fast for me, although the regulars were very friendly and welcoming!

The 50 book challenge is definitely too ambitious for me!
I noticed that they organised meet-ups…maybe something us 26ers might consider later this year?

I’m aiming for 30 this year; managed to complete 27 in 2025. Started book 1 - The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch - a few days ago in December.

Hi all, looking forward to joining you on this thread this year.
I’ve just been reading through the 50 books thread and thought it was a tad too ambitious for me. 26 is much more achievable. I set a goal for 25 last year and ended on 31.
this year I’m planning on doing the A-Z challenge.
I’ve started the year on our book club read what a way to go by Bellie Mackie (hope that works) I read how to kill your family a couple of years ago and it enjoyed it for a funny light read.

I can’t decide if I should include this in my A-Z challenge though. I was planning on reading in order

Someone who does their prep!! I think audiobooks are as subjective as the written version to be honest and I think narrators styles need to change to suit the tone of the book. We work to very tight deadlines so from my perspective someone who hasn’t prepped or read the book and self corrects constantly isn’t very good. You need insane stamina as you’re expected to read 6-7hours a day several days in a row and complete 80-100 pages a day

I really loved both of those! Stoner is such a quiet, understated classic.

Love this thread! Both the Safekeep and Shy Creatures are favourites of mine.
My first book of 2026 is Ian McEwan's new one, What We Can Know.

Hello! Am I welcome to join, please?
I’m usually a pretty slow reader, but started Flesh on New Years Day and finished it this morning. It’s the Booker winner. I’d recommend it for a quick read (fairly long in terms of pages, but full of dialogue so very fast to read). It was unusual, I didn’t think I enjoyed it as a read it, but can’t stop thinking about it now.

Hello! I'm excited to join this thread as something a little more wholesome than the AIBU lurking. Have currently got The Haunted Wood and Stoner on the go, so one of those will be my first reads for 2026. I've got 30 books as my target this year.

Ok, have to ask but ignore of course as I'm taking the thread off track, what makes a good audiobook actor? I'm remembering Finty Williams comment that her mum Judi Dench wasn't very good at it. 😀

@Philandbill I’m a director of actors - trained in theatre, worked in immersive experiences and a bit of telly and film but mainly voice directing these days. Audiobooks for about 12 years