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?

Just finished Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister.. it was ok

Finished Lies to Tell by Marion Todd - enjoying this series so far.

Managed to finish another one - The Racketeer by John Grisham - but was tempted to make it a DNF. Only the fact I was up with DD being ill and needed something easy meant I finished it.

I have finished 5 more RWYO in March (helped by some long train journeys). 3 booker winners - Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively , The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, all of which I enjoyed. I have also read a memoir of an Afghani girl Defiant Dreams by Sola Mahfouz which was excellent and The Midnight Library by Matt Haig which was less so.

I loved Moon Tiger @CutFlowers , hope you enjoyed it.

I finished The Correspondent last night, but I bought it this year so not classing as a RWYO. I've decided to only include anything I already owned on 1st Jan, though the itch to buy/ download more does keep striking me I'm still being fairly restrained.

Just finished Patricia Brent, Spinster by Herbert George Jenkins which was sweet and charming.

Now read a 2023 purchase - A Bird in Winter - Louise Doughty. Worth reading although slightly inclusive ending which always annoys me. Will put full review on 50B thread.

Finished Expert Witness by Dr HJ Walls, a memoir of sorts from the early days of forensic science. Readable but of its time in places. Full review to follow when I have time to do a review dump on 50B.

A quarter of the way through the year (already!) - thanks to Ulldemoshul and this thread for giving me some discipline. I’ve read 20 books including 2 library books; disposed of 13; not quite as well behaved as I’d like as I’ve been given/bought 7 (including book club choices so necessary). On the whole I own less books now than at 1st January so I’m on the right track 😊

Two more RWYO for me - The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway - a novel set during the siege of Sarajevo- and a book by Maggie Hartley about her experiences as a foster carer. Have so far resisted the new kindle deals.

My RWYO has been terrible in March but it’s prize season so I’m not going to beat myself up about it. I read/ listened to 20 books in total, which is ridiculous and I need to read less because I’m sure I’ll forget the half of them when I’m reading that quickly. Of the 20 only 5 were RWYO. Another 5 were prize listed books I bought and the other 10 were prize books I borrowed from the library. I almost finished the WP list and only intend to read about 5 more between the non fiction and international Booker but I’m not rushing through those. Bar the regular Booker in July and a handful of new releases I’ve preordered (like Maggie O’Farrell’s latest) I’ll be doing RWYO the rest of the year.

I’d be happy just to read ANY Book at this point

Finished Lifeless by Mark Billingham. Bought in 2015, and I haven’t read one of his for years. Enjoyed.

@EineReiseDurchDieZeitit’s awful when you are exhausted and have lost your reading mojo. Have you considered a re-read of something you enjoyed?

@SilverShadowNight I have but it feels like a waste!

Sorry to hear you’re still struggling Eine. Any luck trying crime? Maybe M W Craven? Or a good Aussie crime like Jane Harper or Dinuka MacKenzie?

That should have said inconclusive!

That’s an impressive month @ÚlldemoShúl! Any faves from the lists so far?

Sorry to hear you are struggling @EineReiseDurchDieZeit , I don’t think a reread is a waste if it gets you back in the mood.

I’ve slowed right down, and haven’t picked up kindle or physical book for over a week now which is terrible. I’ve made the fatal error of putting a TV in the bedroom, so I’ve been watching The White Lotus every night when I should be reading.

I have managed one more RWYO though - or rather Listen/ LWYO which was Odyssey- Stephen Fry. I started this last year then got bored and gave up, but decided to get it finished. I’m in a phase of struggling to stay asleep, waking up for hours at a time through the night, so it’s been a good one to listen to then. I did not enjoy it as much as Mythos or Heroes, but then I’ve never really liked Odysseus and wouldn’t have minded if Homer had drowned him on day 1 honestly. It did make me think I need to get round to The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker which is another one on my RWYO list.

@AliasGrapefaves from the Women’s Prize are Dominion and A Beast Slinks Towards Beijing. From International Booker (which I’ve only read a handful of) On Earth as it is Beneath

Finished Trust Me by TM Logan, which I bought in 2021.

Broke the slump with Death of the Author but it wasn’t good at all

Managed two more RWYOs (We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid), both of which I enjoyed, but not quite enough to make them bolds, which seems to be a common theme for me at the moment. I also broke my streak of not buying books, but have only purchased two, one of which I’ve already read, and the other that I intend to read on my upcoming holiday.

Finished Boy Parts by Eliza Clark - hated it

Finished and enjoyed Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates by Kerry Greenwood

Another RWYO finished - The Carer - Deborah Moggach - enjoyed it overall, review on 50 books thread.

Oh wow, I just found this thread and this is for me! I have been on a "read what I have" mission but have faltered somewhat as those 99p kindle bargains keep appearing!
Things I've read this month on my "had for ages" list are:
The last passenger, will dean
The last, hanna jameson
The last house on needless street, catriona ward

And NO I'm not reading alphabetically, what the actual hell is going on with all these "lasts"??? 😱

Three more RWYO for me this week - I finished A Tale of Two Cities for the readalong which I really enjoyed. Also read Home Fire (Woman's Prize Winner in 2018) which was very good and Shades of Grey - the Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde which was a bit bonkers.

Welcome @myislandhome. I am also mostly here due to the kindle 99p deals!