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 last night Last One At The Party by Bethany Clift, was really good

Finished For thy Great Pain Have Mercy on my Little Pain - Victoria Mackenzie. Loved it, 12th book overall and 9th RWYO

I read that recently and totally agree

Finished Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace, a reread but from maybe 8-10 years ago. Lighthearted rom-com.

Finished Anthony Horowitz - The Twist of a Knife and Caroline Roberts - The Second Chance Supper Club

Finished another: The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths which I quite enjoyed , despite disliking the two main characters.

I just finished another book Four Sisters. The Lost Lives of the Romanov Grand Duchesses by Helen Rappaport which was very good, if somewhat overlong.

You’re going great guns @MamaNewtNewt I’ve buried myself too deeply in long lists which I swore not to do this year and yet I find myself simultaneously reading the WP for non-fiction, the WP for fiction and the International Booker. Thankfully most of these are library books. Anyway I’ve burnt myself out and have decided to read what I want - which happens to be RWYO for me. So I’ll keep going with a few of the prize lists, but only the ones I’m in the mood for reading (and finishing the one I’m currently enjoying) The rest will be RWYO and first up on that list is Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan because a Malabar House book will get me out of any reading overload situation.

It's taken a while to get through but now finished Lessons - Ian McEwan which I bought in 2024. Not sure why it took me so long as not a difficult read.

I just read Purple Hibiscus, another book lurking on my Kindle for ages. I am so glad I read it. I won't risk any spoilers but the depictions of an outwardly respectable person who is also very abusive in private were powerfully resonant for me.

I am not managing to stop myself buying more books though, there are just so many I want to read!

Finished A Fatal Crossing - Tom Hindle
@ÚlldemoShúlI also have some of the Malabar House books on my TBR. Haven’t read any so far but now tempted to pick the first one as my next read.

Read “Our Evenings” by Alan Hollinghurst amazingly boring the most boring book I’ve read since the Lucy Worsley Queen Victoria book! Could contest it actually. Memorable because it was so dull

I have a book or two by Alan Hollinghurst, which I’m sure I will get to at some point, but I get the feeling he’s someone whose books I feel I should like, rather than them actually appealing to me.

I’ve just finished the next book in the Ruth Galloway series (The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths). I am so far into the series I am going to finish, despite really disliking the two main characters

I managed to finish another book tonight, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler. I’m really enjoying my reading at the moment.

I enjoyed Parable of the Sower too Mama Newt Newt. I finished Death of a Lesser God by Vaseem Khan- 4th Malabar House- enjoyed it. You should definitely give them a go @SilverShadowNight
Next up for me is Call for the Dead by John le Carre - I have the full George Smilie series on kindle and haven’t read any of them. This is book one so hopefully I’ll like it! Still reading WP longlist along with it.

Just finished Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix, based on the sinking of a small boat crossing the Channel and the drowning of 27 refugees. It was long-listed for the International Booker last year. It is a very thought-provoking work.

I read that last year @BuffysBigSisterit was a great book. Tough to read at times. I’ve finished two more Call of the Dead by John LeCarre- the first George Smiley and apparently very different from the others. I enjoyed it- fast-paced wee mystery more than espionage. I also finished Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee- a near-future dystopia set in Margate- very bleak and actually possible. Terrifying. Enjoying getting back to some RWYO amongst the prize lists.

@ÚlldemoShúl the first - and I think the second - are a bit more like crime novels in the spy world than spy novels. I liked the book.

That’s good to know that I should like at least the next one as I have every last one on my kindle- hope I like the spy ones when I get that far too

I loved Dreamland @ÚlldemoShúl one of my standouts from last year!
No RWYO going on here, I'm on prize lists as well, doing the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Climate Fiction Prize. In both cases I already had a few read so a bit of a head start! And I'm getting most of the rest from library reserves so not buying!

Just finished my 10th RWYO of the year, 14th book overall, All the Birds, Singing - Evie Wyld which has been on my kindle since 2015 - think it’s the oldest unread one I had on there (as in one I’d had the longest rather than publication date!)

Brilliant, unsettling read - not sure what took my so long!

Im sure I have another of her books - I saw her talk at Cheltenham festival and bought a signed copy I think. I’ll have to see if I can find it, some of my books have still not surfaced since we moved last year.

Finished Tom Lake - Ann Patchett which I bought in 2024 and really enjoyed it. Review to follow on 50B thread.

Finished Babel by RF Kuang which has taken bloody ages. I really liked it, but I am fascinated by etymology so there was lots for me here.

Finished a 2016 purchase, JM Gregson - Making a Killing. The second in the Lambert and Hook mysteries. Cosy crime and easy reads, I enjoy these.

Finished Desperate Undertaking by Lindsey Davis, another whodunnit set in Ancient Rome. This one was relatively dark in tone but I love the setting and characters. It was a birthday/Christmas present some years ago and is a keeper. Full review to follow on 50B at some point.