Read What You Own 2026

[ÚlldemoShúl]

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?

Finished the beautiful ugly. brought late last year..I enjoyed this and all the unexpected twists

Finished The Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare. At 630 odd pages it was quite a tome.

Finished Witches of America, by Alex Mar. 'Twas good. Looking forward to taking a few to the charity shop next week.

I've just started to read The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves. I started it last year but couldn't settle down and read it properly.
This is my first RWYO so far.

I'm currently reading Klara and the Sun- I've had it on my shelves for a couple of years now and I'm really glad to be reading it. it's maybe not my favorite of his books but it's a really thought provoking read . I am only halfway through though so no spoilers please! I note there's a film of it that's due to be released later this year as well, I don't know how I will feel about watching that sometimes when you read a book you get such a clear idea in your head that the film can just feel really frustrating

@CassandraWebb No Spoilers but I loved the writing in the beginning and the end and thought it sank completely in the middle

Just catching up on the thread. I have resisted buying anything new. But I’m not doing too well at reading full stop.

Am half way through Blue Sisters but Coco Mellors. Which is ok. It hasn’t grabbed me but I think it’s because I’ve just been dipping in and reading a few pages rather than getting engrossed. So that is this afternoon’s plan.

Also finished Murder at the Nineteenth by JM Gregson bought in 2017. The first in the Lambert and Hook police procedurals and I found it an easy read, and though I guessed the killer, several of the clues did make me doubt myself along the way.

Finished Winter in Madrid by CJ Sansom- oldest book in my kindle. Loved it!

Oh yes I loved that book! I picked it up on a whim and then couldn't put it down

I also loved Winter in Madrid.

Finished The Mercenary River by Nick Higham, about the history of London’s water companies. Niche but very good if that’s your thing.

Ooh I have Winter in Madrid in my TBR 🙂

Also finished The Silence by Susan Allot on audio (just okay) and my only non RWYO of the month. So far I’ve read 11, of which 10 are RWYO and DNFed 2 RWYO. I’m quite pleased with that. Possible I’ll finish 1 more before the end of the month but only maybe.

Just finished The Director by Daniel Kehlmann. Really enjoyed it. And I haven't bought a single book so far in January!

Congrats Buffy!
I have that on my kindle too- glad to hear it’s a good read.

Had a couple of DNFs which means my oldest NF was now purchased in 2016 and still no purchases.

My latest RWYO is a NF graphic novel which I enjoyed: Menopause. A Comic Treatment ed. MK Czerwiec which is a collection of comics from various contributors dealing with the menopause.

I’m finding graphic novels a good way to break up reading the behemoth that is The Goldfinch which it feels like I have been reading FOREVER!

Have finished my first book of the year after watching all of you steam ahead.

Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold. Absolutely loved this, so rich in social history and the fabric of women's lives.

I've finished The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson and am now itching to get more house sorting done.

Now onto The Language of Birds by Jill Dawson. It's a shortish novel, a retelling of the Lord Lucan case, told from the perspective of a childhood friend of (and fellow nanny) of the nanny, here called Mandy. It has a horrible sense of foreboding hanging over it, knowing how that fateful night played out.

@CatWithThreeLegs The Language of Birds sounds really interesting. Damn this thread😀

@CatWithThreeLegsI’ve got The Swedish Death Cleaning book on my TBR pile too.

Currently reading Closed Casket by Sophie Hannah, which I bought in 2017.

@SilverShadowNight I've read The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah but I wasn't that keen on her recreation of Poirot.

@CatWithThreeLegsI thought the same about The Monogram Murders and that she had Poirot in situations that he would never have been in. Decided to give her another go to see if it picks up in the second book in the series.

@BeaAndBen – what a thoughtful gift from your DD.

@SheilaFentiman – LOL at the ribbons! You could just buy a RC Sunday Missal if ribbons are your thing

@ÚlldemoShúl – Winter in Madrid is in my TBR. I might just start that next, seeing the love that it is getting.

So I’m not long back from my 2 week holiday. I managed to read 9 Chalet School books, so that’s the 58 book set finished. I took HHhH by Laurent Binet and The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by SG Maclean with me and left them. I finished some Kindle books, but not really counting them for RWYO as I have had them for less that a year. I need to concentrate on my physical pile. I have bought 3 books so far this month, succumbed to FOMO and got The Wedding People plus an Elin Hilderbrand. I also bought a copy of Giant by Edna Ferber, which I’m reading as part of an international book club. This was so difficult to track down. Eventually I got a copy from Etsy, a first for me!

@Tarragon123 , she's very thoughtful. They all are - her brother bought me a beautiful cloth-bound edition of Stig Of The Dump because "one of my favourite childhood memories was you reading it to us each night."

I've just read my first ever Chalet School books (one and two) and can see why they are so popular.