26ish books 2026

Morning :)
Books read so far:
(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
(8) Never Lie by Frieda McFadden
(9) All Her Fault by Andrea Mara (Audio book)
(10) The Locked Door by Frieda McFadden
(11) All the Light We Cannot See by By Anthony Doer
(12) The Book of Lost Names' by Kristin Harmel
(13) The Room on Rue Amélie by Kristin Harmel
(14) The Names by Florence Knapp
(15) The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
(16) Her Husband's Lover by Patricia Crouch
(17) Here One Moment by Liane Moriarity
(18) The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas
(19) Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell
(20) One Day by David Nicholls
(21) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
(22) My Brother's Secret by Maggie Hartley

Latest book...

(23) Us by David Nicholls

Just want to say thank you to everyone for the recommendation - I loved this book - made me cry.

Onto the next - another David Nicholls - bought 4 for about 12 pounds - love worldofbooks!

Happy reading everyone. 😀

24 Carrie Soto is Back - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Having loved Atmosphere I decided to give another TJR a go and was not disappointed! I thought I might find the tennis setting a bit dull by my heart was in my mouth reading each match. Carrie is an interesting main character - difficult to like at first but when you understand her complexities you start to love her. Interesting exploration of her developing friendships and relationships too. A most enjoyable day binge reading this.

@Tinkhasflown I read Flesh a few months ago and I had similar views. It just didn't seem worth bothering about. I was a bit surprised it had such good reviews.

There's a companion book to that, Malibu Rising, which features some of the same characters. Not sure if companion is correct, but I'd you wanted to read another by her that is a good one to go for.

20. Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner.
Crime novel, first in a series. Female detective in a very "modern life" way - Internet dating, text messages, hangovers. I wasn't at all arsed about the crime aspect other than plot involving the detective, if that makes sense, but that didn't matter. Not violent or gory. Easy read.

15. A court of thorns and roses by Sarah Mass

Continuing with a lack if inspiration with books went for a different genre this time of fantasy. I have read a few fantasy books but really not my go to books. This was OK, not great but readable. Maybe a 3/5. Undecided if i will continue with anymore of the series yet.

Book 34: Everyone Here Is Lying by Shari Lapena
I enjoyed the story, I’ve been reading a lot of books that have been narrated by characters so it felt a little off to read one that was written in third person, I did find it a little slow and it felt dragged out at the end. I was intrigued by what happened and it kept me reading

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
The Silent Patient
The Night She Disappeared
The Divorce
Hide And Seek
None Of This Is True
I Found You
Such A Nice Girl
The Couple Next Door
It Could Have Been Her
It’s Not What You Think
Watching You
The Last Party
I Let You Go
The Sleeper Lies
The Couple At No.9

28 Kill Your Darlings - Peter Swanson
A reverse psychological thriller that starts in 2023 with Wendy plotting to kill her husband Thom, and moves backwards in time to 1982 to reveal the dark secrets binding them. A clever story that looks at the effects of guilt, with plenty of film-noir references.

29 Flesh - David Szalay
DNF, didn't care!

17 should have been the book thief but I had to pause it as of all of my library books came at once.

So,

17- Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke.

I struggled with it but glad that I finished it.

I’m now reading Another life by Kristin Hannah.
My next three tbr are Kristin Hannah 😂

20: The Artist by Lucy Steeds
For me, this was the perfect book for the end of summer. Some of the descriptions (rather than the plot) made me nostalgic for lovely holidays in France

21: One Hundred Days by Lukas Barfuss
A complete contrast - a book set in Rwanda at the time of the genocide and how a young, naive man gets caught up in it.

Book 22 Murderland by Caroline Fraser.
Grim subject matter but mainly interesting. The author wrote the superb Prairie Fires about Laura Ingals Wilder which is why I picked up this book as an impulse buy.
I think I'm going to read the first book of the Cazalet chronicles next, which will be a contrast 🙂

27 Trio by William Boyd I thought this was a brilliant character study. It is about 3 people who are (tangentially and very) involved in making a film. I thought it was brilliant in the descirption of the characters and what they do...until near the end. I often find endings rage inducing and disappointing, this was not rage inducing but for some of the characters the ending did not seemed to fit. I think he tried to write an ending but maybe it should have just stopped (which I often do not like) rather than had an ending as it were.

28 The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier I was not so keen on this at the start and then it was quite gripping. I read the Glassmaker last year which was in a different league to this (and a few themes or motives were present in both). The characters are those involved in the commissioning, artistic creation and manufacture of famous tapestries in France and Belgium and so are across the class spectrum. Different chapters are written from their view points and I found it very well written.

I think both writers are at the top of their game and, though they are prolific, the works they turn out are so much better than most out there.

1. The September House
2. Our Endless numbered days.
3. Then she was gone
4. 1984
5. The Crossing Places Elly Griffiths
6. Game Changer
7. Heated Rivalry
8. Verity
9. One of us is lying

I have been awol a while, started out so well this year but really slacked off the last couple of months.

I am currently reading Mania by Lionel Shriver.

After a false start where I began A is For Alibi, which my 10 year old told me I'd already read...only to realise by page 2 she was right...
21. Leonard and Hungry Paul by Ronan Hession (should be accents over the vowels in Ronan but I can't work out how to do them.)
At times I thought this was a bit wordy, then I found myself re-reading sections and enjoying the writing. Perhaps this is the type of book that maybe you aren't sure what to make of while reading but stays with you. It reminded me a bit of "Fortnight In September" if that helps anyone.

Titular characters are awkward introverts who live at home with their mum / parents well into adulthood. You spend time with a few other characters around them too. The opening set up is Leonard's mum dies leaving him with a new sort of loneliness, and Hungry Paul's sister is about to get married and, in doing so, shift the family dynamic. There's been something of a failure to launch in the conventional sense but our 'heroes' are making progress in their own way.

DD finished all the books she brought on holiday so I went to a second hand bookshop that had a few English books, and gave her back her Kindle, so I read
53 The Third Wife by Lisa Jewell. Mildly suspenseful, good holiday read.
54 The Second Penguin Book of English Short Stories. Totally not what I would read normally, I developed an aversion to literature after O level compulsion, but I really enjoyed most of the stories in this.
Then on Kindle
55 Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Definitely an adult novel though very good.

I seem to be one out but cannot work out where I've gone wrong.

We also watched A Gentleman in Moscow on Paramount+ with Ewan McGregor. Loved it - highly recommend.

25 - The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian
I’ve never heard of this author before but I thought this boon was excellent. Follows the story of a teenage golf prodigy in the late 70s, and how a tragic accident ricocheted through her life. A really interesting exploration of misplaced guilt, and how young women were treated and viewed in that era. Will definitely look out for more of his work

@drspouse I really enjoyed In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume too. She has such a recognisable voice - it must be easily 30 years minimum since I read her teen books but it felt so familiar as soon as I started.

12 The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

This is quite a chunky book and slow going in parts so felt a bit of a slog to get through. It was ok though. Follows a family (the 3 children in particular) through to WWII. A story of love and loss. Nicely written.

3 stars out of 5.

32 The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

a Young made addicted to painkillers and lying to his mother in order to not disappoint her is rescued from throwing himself off a bridge by an elderly woman whom he subsequently moves in with cares for as her dementia increases. A bit day in life, very character driven with beautiful writing and many many characters that you root for. I love his writing
4 out of 5 stars

26 - Restless by William Boyd found this in a charity shop am having enjoyed his more recent spy novels (the Gabriel Dax ones) I couldn’t resist another. Really enjoyed it - classic ww2 spy fiction with great characters. Some confusing parts what with all the double agent stuff so had to concentrate but had fun reading it over the last couple of days

16. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart.

I read Shuggie Bain a couple of years ago and thought it was an incredible book especially the way he writes about the nuances of relationships. But it wasn’t an easy read so I held out a while for mungo. This book I was expecting to find easier but I truely found it really hard to read. Beautifully written but some very very dark, disturbing parts that I was not expecting. But really again an amazing book despite been a very tough read. He really develops his characters so well and is so talented and capturing the complexities of relationships.

11- pa salt the story of atlas.

I have absolutely loved reading the seven sisters. I only started as my husband brought me this not realising it was the final book in a series. Reading this has made me want to go back and reread each of the sisters stories again.

At a loss as to what to read next.

13 Three Days in June by Anne Tyler

'Weddings aren't just about the happy couple'.
From The Sunday Times bestseller comes this short (165 pages) novel about the day before, the day of and the day after a wedding.
A look at family relations, work, marriage - everyday life. A nice read.
I'm going to seek out some of Anne Tyler's other work.

3 stars out of 5