Picking one author to 'complete' in 2026

[atiaofthejulii]

My daughter (a grown up!) heard someone talking about this and is now thinking of reading all of one author's work in 2026. Preferably someone with not too many books, lol, so she's not just reading them constantly. Looking for someone contemporary or fairly recent (e.g. not Jane Austen), would probably prefer a female author. Not into fantasy/sci fi.

At the moment I think she's leaning towards Maggie O'Farrell (9).

Wondered what suggestions other people might have, for interesting authors, and trying to hit that sweet spot of about 7-10 novels!

Curtis Sittenfeld - 6 novels but other short stories too. Quite varied in subject - boarding school, politics and more - but with a distinctive voice and strong female protagonists.

I second this choice, love her writing !

Ooh good call

From what she's read already, I think she'd love Lissa Evans. I read her new one (Small Bomb at Dimperley) this year and couldn't believe I hadn't heard of her before. I read all the others straight after. There are five, I think? All set between 1920s and 1940s but very much not stuffy. It's sort of Muriel Spark but much lighter and warmer, and really funny. I'm trying to give them to everyone I know this Christmas 😂

Sarah Waters was my first thought too.

Barbara Kingsolver would be my choice. 9 novels.

How about Amanda Craig? I thought of her because I have just this evening finished a re-read of one of hers from 2017, "The Lie of the Land."

I was going to say she has written nine, but I did a quick Google to check and discovered she has a new one out this year that I didn't know about. Why didn't I notice that before I wrote my Christmas list!

My immediate thought was Sarah Waters but I know my Mum thought a lot of the characters were unpleasant so if she likes to like the characters that might be tough.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a good shout. The four novels cover a range of different themes, there's a book of short stories, and three non-fiction books, there's even a children's book.

I was going to suggest Barbara Kingsolver who has come up twice already.

I'm working my way through all the John Le Carré books. Not my usual thing but I'm enjoying them. They need a different kind of concentration.

Iris Murdoch

I thought of her but she wrote 26 novels!

I was thinking Mary Lawson but she's only written 4!

Clare Chambers? 12 I think

But for a whole year?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie?

4 novels, 1 short story collection, 1 memoir & 2 non fiction books.

Not too many but enough to satisfy - and all worth reading.

The OP has stated her DD is looking for 7-10 novels.

Apologies

Ooh I like this as an idea. Must look through my unread kindle books for a candidate.

Every once in a while they sell a series for 99 people each so there's probably a few I've bought and not read.

Great choice.

How about Iris Murdoch? She wrote more than seven, I think, but she's wonderful and incredibly addictive. I started reading her 2025 and god it was like falling in love. I was obsessed. Just couldn't put her books down. I read about eight of her novels in two months and had to force myself to get on with some work.

• Evelyn Waugh?
• Aldous Huxley wrote about nine novels in total, I think. I'm a big fan so would recommend him too.
• Virginia Woolf didn't write that much and you could easily read her major novels in a few months.

Anne Enright, Sarah Hall, Jenny Erpenbeck, Vigdis Hjorth, Laurie Colwin, Annie Ernaux, Mary Gaitskill.

@atiaofthejulii let us know what she chooses, it's an an interesting challenge.

I vote Wally Lamb. Not so many books but they are all rather huge. Don't let that put her off, it's pacy storylines.and great characters. Not always in the slightest bit pleasant, but well drawn and rounded.

I love Lissa Evans who was mentioned t too but I think they'd be raced through because they are such enjoyable and (deceptively) easy reads. It takes a lot of skill to make it seem so effortless. My DD is really enjoying her kids' fiction at the minute too - as am I when I get a chance to read any!

I forgot another one whom I’ve completed: Alan Hollinghurst (7). Not sure how much he’d appeal – they’re so overwhelmingly gay that the few female characters don’t tend to be fleshed out very much (with a few honourable exceptions).

This (and @HonoriaBulstrode’s observation above) has got me thinking about what I would want from a year-long project like this. I probably would want someone who writes with some sort of unifying theme—otherwise it wouldn’t feel like a project at all—but it would have to be so high-level as to allow maximum variety or I’d just get bored. A single complex character, or a particular society, or a very abstract idea.

Best summarised, I think, as the creation of a world in which all sorts of things could happen. The author needn’t actually go all over the map, but she should at least give you the impression that she might take it anywhere.

She writes well enough, but Sally Rooney would be simply terrible in this respect. You get the idea far too quickly. Nothing will come as a surprise.

I like that way of thinking about it @Sskka

I love Iris Murdoch, but yes 26 is too many - she wants to read other books as well, not just one author 😄

She is fabulous. I think her latest is 'A God In Ruins'. What a read it is!

Based on some excellent books I’ve read I’d do-

Taylor Jenkins Reid - 10 books
or
Kristin Hannah - 24 books

Anne Tyler is brilliant but can be v v long too.
I agree about Natalie Haynes. Very very readable.