Read What You Own 2026

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This is a brand shiny new thread for those of us who want to continue reading what we own in 2026.
My aims for 2026 are:

• At least half my reading will be from books I already own on 1st January 2026
• I will buy less than a quarter of my reading new including kindle deals😱 and book club books
• I will wait when prize lists are released to see if the books appear in the library within a week. I will not read full longlists unless I love the sound of each and every book on it.
• For the first two months I will only read what I own- focusing on the older books on my kindle while allowing myself to read newer (but already owned) physical books

What are your RWYO aims for 2026?

I've completely resisted buying any Kindle daily deals but can't resist having a look everyday!

Me too @TittyGajillions can't resist looking but doing ok so far on not actually buying!
Finished my 4th RWYO, Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney, a story of Arctic explorers at the turn of the century. It was ok, a bit too long.

Oh dear, I've had another slip up and bought John & Paul: A love story in songs in the kindle deal yesterday - the 50 booker thread alerted me and I couldn't help myself!

That's 2 purchases now, what with wedding people. And I'm torn between wanting to crack on with reading what I owned already, but also knowing if I don't get to new purchases soon and whilst I remember why I wanted to buy them in the first place, then I end up never getting round to them.

I've started 2 new RWYOs - Step by Step Simon Reeve in paperback, which was a Christmas present from an aunt who knows I quite fancy him a few years back. And People Person by Candice Carty-Williams on Kindle. Making a deal with myself that if I get those 2 finished in Jan, that's 7 RWYO down, and I can read the newer 2.

Also listening to Braiding Sweetgrass on audible but only very sporadically.

@AliasGrape I do pick and mix with RWYO and new - I want to read a new purchase whilst I’m excited (otherwise it’ll just be on next year’s RWYO pile!)

This thread - and keeping an eye on my TBR - is helping me do more RWYO, but I would enjoy it less if I felt obliged to only do that.

The John and Paul book was a bold for me last year so I think that was an absolutely required purchase. I don’t think it’s feasible for me to not buy any new books but this thread is making me be more considered. Like most of you I also look most days but am resisting the “hmm I’ll give that a go” purchases and will just buy the “yes! Finally! I’ve been waiting for this one and really really want to read it” books.

Well.
I've ordered 2 new books 😬🫣🤣
The house of the wolf by tony Robinson and a book on early British history by dan Jones.
I buy a lot from awesomebooks.com as they donate books for every book bought 😊
Thats my excuse, anyway 😊🫣

Have just finished my first RWYO of the year - Anna Karenina. Enjoyed it but it was rather sad. Moving on to the Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams next.

Well done - Anna Karenina is HUGE!

Finished The Wedding People by Alison Espach, don’t have many left in my Jan TBR now

DNFed Who’s that Girl by Mhairi McFarlane

Finished my 7th RWYO The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths which is The 7th Dr Ruth Galloway book.

And finished my 8th RWYO The Witch’s Egg by Donya Todd, which was a graphic novel, so a quick read thankfully as I hated it.

Highly recommend The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Finished Death of a Witch by MC Beaton, one of the Hamish Macbeth series, which I bought in 2012. An okay but not great easy read, with the usual characters and storyline.

Hi, can I join in please?
I really want to finally get through some of my tbr books.

I've looked on Kindle and I've got 25 unread, which is much better than I actually thought. I'm too scared to count my physical books I've got a bookshelf in the living room full of them and two bedside cabinets full of dusty books I've been meaning to read for years 🙈

I want to try and not buy any new books unless it's one I really want like a new one from one of my favourite authors or the next in a series. I will try to avoid browsing charity shop book shelves until I have a good chunk of my tbr done.

I am reading Quicksilver at the moment which I bought last year and then after that I'm going to go back and finish all the books I started reading then abandoned when I went through a stage when I was struggling to sit down and concentrate.

Two more RWYO - . Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adidche and Recitatif by Toni Morrison. Slightly cheating as one is really an essay and one a short story but both interesting reads and counted as books by my kindle!

Welcome @RightOnTheEdge

The Wolf of Wall Street is a DNF. I enjoyed the film, but just can’t get past the sleazy mistreatment of women in the book.

I'm almost halfway into The Sittaford Mystery....I think I might have read this before 🤔
Amazing to think it was written 100 years ago

I’m reading Last Man Standing which I bought in 2019. Going ok but it’s a bit of a tome!

Another DNF for me - Going To Sea In A Sieve by Danny Baker I quite liked the TV series it was based on but can’t be bothered with the book.

Another RWYO Death Rocks by LJ Ross. A bit far fetched and cliched, but there is some humour in the team dynamics. I keep thinking I won’t read the next one, then I do.

I feel exactly the same every time I read one of hers!

Dnfed Forever, Interrupted, too depressing and soap opera dramatic for my tastes.

I’m still sticking to RWYO in my reading but I was in an independent bookshop yesterday and always feel bad to leave without buying something (that’s my excuse anyway!) I bought Heart the Lover by Lily King and A Family Matter by Clare Lynch.

And now you own them so you'll have to read them 😎 I applaud your reasoning!