26ish books 2026

[Tinkhasflown]

A shiny new thread for 2026.

All welcome and note 26 is just a number. Everyone can set their own target and you are welcome here even if you only read 2 books a year.

I personally count the larger novel style books I read to my children and audio books I listen to. Others don't and there are no rules.

I look forward to all your suggestions again this year.

I finished book 4, All the Little Bird Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow. It was so atmospheric, languid and beautiful, narrated from the perspective of an autistic mother in the 80s before people really understood anything about autism. Sad too.

Next, I'm starting on The Safekeep.

Morning 👋 Finished book three...

(1) The French for Christmas by Fiona Valpy
(2) The Outside Boy by Jeannie Cummins
(3) Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Description taken from amazon:

“Sunrise on the Reaping is a propulsive, heart-wrenching addition to The Hunger Games, adding welcome texture to the cruel world of Panem ... This is the project of dystopian fiction: to shine a light in tyranny's greasiest corners and show how people - ordinary, determined human beings - might take it apart” - New York Times
“Collins is an excellent writer, and there are moments of surprising lyricism ... Sunrise on the Reaping contains enough both to snare new readers and to satisfy the most bloodthirsty fan” - Guardian
“A brutal, tender tale that adds depth to the franchise, weaving pertinent themes of misinformation and propaganda around the thrills and action.” - The Observer
When you've been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?
As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.
Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.
When Haymitch's name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He's torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who's nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town.
As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he's been set up to fail. But there's something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

I really enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to seeing the film adaptation when it is out later this year!

Onto the next - The New Neighbours by Claire Douglas

Happy reading everyone :)

@CitygirlrurallifePlease could you recommend some of your favourite narrator-book combos? I’ve 2 audible credits to use before I cancel and nothing on my wish list is grabbing me.

I’ve got to admit - I am really struggling to get back into reading for fun. Joining this thread really gave me an extra push to finish my first book for the year though.

1. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman - short chapters, endearing characters, overall an effortless read.

I have to pick up the pace if I’m going to read 25 books over the next eleven months.

Michelle Obama's autobiography was one of my favourite audio books.

Book 2- My Father's House by Joseph O'Connor
This was good but not really what I expected, it was simultaneously lighter than I expected but still quite literary. It's very different to the only other book of his that I have read which was "Star of the Sea". I couldn't put that down but the subject matter was traumatic and has long stayed with me.

I’m not really a fan in general of authors narrating their own books, I just don’t think they’re as good (for a good reason, they’re not highly skilled and experienced audio narrators) even Michelle Obama while lovely to hear hee voice lost me in parts because she fell into monotony sometimes. Roxanne Gay is a good example of comparing when an author reads their own book and when a proper narrator does - Bahni Turpin (one of my favourite narrators) did Bad Feminist and Roxanne did Hunger, the difference is night and day - and I ADORE Roxanne and have gone to her talks etc. so to be honest for pleasure listening (ie not work) I tend to avoid books read by authors…..unless they’re an actor!

my favourite narrators though are: El Potter, Fiona Hardingham, Rebecca Lowman, Dominic Hoffman, Vikas Adams, Hilary Huber, Dion Chapman, Bahni Turpin, Ros Watt. Lots of others too so let me know if you want more recs!

I've finished Safekeep, book 5. I loved it. I doubt I can keep this pace for past January, though. Not sure what to read next

Finished book 4 The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. I know a few in here haven't enjoyed it but I really liked it!

Off to choose book 5 now.

OK I'm going for:

1. His and Hers by Alice Feeney

Book 6 finished - My Friends by Fredrik Backman. Another one of his I’ve enjoyed. As always I liked how he developed the characters.

Book 7 is Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton. This one has come up loads of times in my book searches and prompted by another thread on here I’ve finally bought it.

I’ve read 7 books already but some moths I read loads and other months I hardly get chance at all so it won’t always be this many.

@CitygirlrurallifeBrilliant, thank you! That’s a great place to start - any particular books to look up from those??

Book 3 read. A very short Nevil Shute book called "The Seafarers". I'm counting it as book 1 was very long indeed! I really enjoyed it, it was the last Nevil Shute book for me, I've read all of his other books. They're really dated now and some of the language is very offensive but in their time they'd have been thought very progressive. Thank heavens times change! I enjoyed this one for the characters who are typical Shute characters; decent people trying to do their best.

Late to join. I managed 14 last year, i think my goal was 12 to 15 so i am happy with that, especially as i had about 3 months of no reading. It also took me AGES to read Orbital, despite how short it is!

So, for 2026 i will aim for 15 to 18. I am 2 in so far

1. The September house - Carissa Orlando. Recommemded on a book group i am on (online) i mostly enjoyed it but thought the ended was ridiculous.
2. Our endless numbered days - Clare Fuller. An easy read, generally enjoyed it and read quickly. Not outstanding though.

Now looking for book 3....

Totally depends on your taste and what you like to read/listen to! But you can do an audible search by narrator

Book 3. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell. I did enjoy the book but I think I read it too close in the heels of The Marchessa by Sarah Dunnant which is just so much better and also centres the d’este family.

1.One of us by Elizabeth Day.
2.The Backpacking Housewife by Janice Horton.
3.The Hike by Lucy Clarke
4.Postcards from a stranger by Imogen Clark

1. Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris

6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt. 7. Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher I loved the shell seekers so was excited for this but was massively disappointed as I got almost to the end whilst waiting for the storyline to actually started.

Glad I'm on this thread as my kindle died and I didn't charge it for a week as kept forgetting which can often go on for weeks or months for me and I just forget to rest but this thread motivated me to get back as when in doing it I love reading

5. The God of the Woods - Liz Moore
An excellent character driven mystery thriller. Set in the Adirondack Mountains, it's about a wealthy banking family who own a large plot of land, including a summer camp for teenagers. When their 13-year-old daughter Barbara goes missing from her cabin in August 1975, history seems to be repeating itself – her older brother Bear vanished without trace in 1961, aged 8.
It's very well written and told through multiple points of view over different timelines. Reminded me of the Australian crime writer, Chris Hammer, whose books I also enjoy.

I read James last year & loved it - one of my favourite books of the year. I didn't know the story of Huckleberry Finn & Tom Sawyer, other than having heard their names, and I don't think you need to, to be able to enjoy this book.

I have started book 6, Milkman by Anna Burns. Stylistically I love the stream of consciousness but I feel like I know embarrassingly little about the troubles in Northern Ireland to get some of the nuances

Try books by Claire Douglas - very similar to Frieda McFadden but far superior in my opinion :)

I read this a couple of years ago. Took me a while to really get use to the writing style but once I did I loved it. I thought the way she did not actually name people but described them in NI terms actually helps clarify the trouble in NI so to me that helped. Maybe i am older than you so come from a different baseline, I was born in the 70’s so grew up very aware of NI. But I certainly learnt a lot more about living in NI during that era as opposed to the politics.

@Citygirlrurallife I didn’t realise you could search by narrator - thanks again

Book 7 Come and Get It by Kiley Reid, who wrote Such a Fun Age. Mildly disturbing but really very good and readable.

I’ve just finished my #4 and #5 this week
4. The Children Act by Ian McEwan, read for a book club - I am a fan of his but hadn’t read this before, I mostly really enjoyed it and am looking forward to discussing it so was reading it with that in mind, which is a bit different to jus reading for pleasure it’s it? (I don’t usually do a book club!)
then in wasn’t quite ready to dive into a new novel yet so I picked up and finally finished:
5. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert - I know she’s a bit marmite but I restarted this before Christmas, having bought it when it came out and never finished it for some reason! I’m not very good with non fiction though I love lots about this book and it got me all fired up to start writing again (not that I’ve actually done that yet, it just made me want to 😜).
have a bit of a pile to choose from next but I’m not sure what I feel like reading. To be honest I’m still not quite over my #3 book Dreamland - those who read very quickly, how do you find transitioning between books? I have to feel in the right mood to start a new book, and struggle a bit after reading something very memorable to find the right thing! Sounds silly but it’s only this challenge that’s made me aware of it really, and I wondered how others approach it. For example, after the dystopian, quite dark Dreamland I don’t want to read another dystopian book in my TBR list (fair enough) but nor do I feel like the first Slow Horses book, or one of the slightly random punts by unknown authors I received for Christmas… was glad of the book club option as it got me over that at least!