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?

@AliasGrape I enjoyed the first. Then Kindle lied and said blueyedboy was the second. It isn’t- though it is set in the same universe but should really be read after the second. I have now read the second and own the third, which I will read some day

Yes I have the third too- the first is worth going back to- decent read.

You're all flying!

Finished The Women by Kristen Hannah.

My other aim I forgot to add earlier is clearing my Netgalley backlog and getting my score up. It's a website where you get free copies of book to leave a review. However when I joined I had no idea they'd say yes to the majority of my requests and I got swamped.

@AliasGrape – I’m the world’s worst for buying kindle books and then realising that they are book 2 of a trilogy!

I’ve finished The Feud in the Chalet School, book 48 in the series and onto book 49.

I finished In the Shadow of the Mountain, by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, the first Peruvian woman to summit Everest. Very interesting but quite harrowing. Been on my bookshelf for a couple of years and now in the donate pile.

I'm now onto a library book - I'm assuming we don't record anything that is NOT RWYO on here?

I've read it now , a very different book , in a good way , but in my opinion a disappointing end .

No, we dont. If you'd like to join us on the 50 bookers, you'd be very welcome 😁

I am already there! My favourite place on Mumsnet

I wish I could get my reading mojo back 😕
I used to read every day.
My attention span is just shot 😕

@Raven08start by goal setting. I once went a 2 year period of no reading at all (mental health) I started back with a goal of 50 pages a day, absolutely forcing myself to do it. I was back in no time.

Thank you.
I'll try this.

I have looked at NetGalley😜I might have actualy 'more than looked!'

..still sticking to my original pledge. I just signed up. That is all😆

I've just cleared my kindle of all the rubbish i downloaded over a year ago on one of the "fill your kindle days" I felt like it had got overwhelming and I was never using it as a result. Still have over 50 physical books ive brought some as far back as 2020

Finished Bob The Robin by Tony Putman today.

It was a charming little tale of the author's growing friendship with the robins living in the garden where he works as a gardener. He spent the longest time with one he called Bob - several years, taking photographs and building a following on social media. The photographs are delightful.

Currently re-reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell ahead of (hopefully) going to see the film soon.

Haha I did think "should I mention it"

They do approve quite a lot of requests so let my downfall be a warning...or an encouragement!

My first RWYO for 2026 was The God of the Woods by Liz Moore. It was a 3 read for me. I found it interesting *but not gripping, just a bit flat and mediocre. It certainly didn't leave me 'gasping for air' (one of the reviews on the back cover😂)

@WinterFrogs - have just looked at Bookworm by Lucy Mangan. It sounds right up my street. Very tempted to buy it. Which is not what I’m supposed to be doing!

I finished Vince and Joy by Lisa Jewell. Quite enjoyed it.

Have just started one of the books DS gave me for Christmas- Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. Might be my first DNF of the year. Not enjoying it so far. Thought I would like it as it’s set in New York in 1746. One of the reviews on Good Reads sums up just how I’m feeling about it 66 pages in.

I've been on NetGalley since lockdown and have in the past fallen down the hole of requesting more than I can read .
I'm now auto approved for quite a few and get send invitations and for awhile that also made me accept too many .
I now only request my favourite authors or if one in a series I've read gets released .

@Peridot1 I didn't even get that far with Golden Hill before DNF'ing it. I realised it was just not my cup of tea after just a handful of pages. Sometimes a book is just not meant to be, but someone else will probably love it.

@Peridot1 I have had Bookworm on my wishlist since I heard the author on a podcast some years ago. I'd downloaded and read the sample, and when my daughter bought me the paperback for Christmas I decided it well and truly qualified as a 'what you own'. (Who doesn't love a bendy rule?)

It's really inspired me to carry on reading, as I was such a bookworm pre internet!

I've struggled too, and I have found revisiting old favourites has helped. I started with Pullein-Thompson pony books, a bit of Enid Blyton and then moved to who-dunnits by the likes of MJ Aldrige. It's really helped to form a new reading habit.

@CatWithThreeLegs - glad it wasn’t just me. Well I know it wasn’t by the reviews TBH.

@WinterFrogs - I’m definitely tempted! Might put it on my wish list. I think my sister would love it too so might buy the paperback and then I can pass it on.

I remember struggling with Golden Hill a few years back, I did finish it but I had to force myself. I can’t remember a thing about it now beyond that, but then I can’t remember a thing about most things I’ve read these days, my memory has disappeared to the same place my attention span buggered off to it seems.

I also read Golden Hill didn’t rate it and can’t remember a thing about it