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.

The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman.

Love this author’s witty writing and this one is only 68 pages of anyone is after a short book to bump up their numbers

41 Everyone in This Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson. I've listened to the previous ones on audio and the narrator's Aussie accent is good at setting the scene but this was still good. My kind of mystery: Golden Age plot set in modern days.

Book 19: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
I originally started this a few years ago, but put it down a couple of chapters as the writing annoyed me. I decided to revisit it… the writing style still irritates me but overall I liked the story and the twists, but I’ve read it quickly just to try get through it 😆

2026 books so far:
then she was gone
beautiful ugly
the intruder
the shadowman
the family upstairs
Rock Paper Scissors
The Family Remains
The House we Grew up in
It Should Have Been You
Dont Let Him In
Daisy Darker
Someone In The Attic
The Tenant
One Click
The Other Side Of The Wall
No One Saw A Thing
Ward D
My Husband’s Wife

22 Look What You Made Me Do - John Lanchester

Kate, thirty years into her marriage, has a seemingly idyllic life with her husband, Jack, an architect. Phoebe, a young screenwriter, is the creator of the year’s hit TV show, Cheating. Like all married couples, Kate and Jack have a private language, and after Jack dies, Kate hears one of their intimate lines mocked in the show, and realises her marriage has been looted for content. The obvious conclusion: Jack had an affair.

Feeling completely violated, Kate embarks on a quest for the truth, trying to figure out who betrayed who and how Phoebe got her hands on their story.

I really enjoyed this book - it's a black comedy of revenge. I thought John Lanchester wrote two very convincing and complex female characters.

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
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden
21.Yesteryear by Caro Burke

I'm desperate to speak to someone about Yesteryear as it totally blew my mind

I would but I didn’t think very much of it!

26 Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly

Short, prosaic, graphic and elegant, I read this quickly. The language is very accessible despite the multitude of metaphors and inner life struggles. Really big recommendation.
I also cannot quite believe I got to 26 books by mid-year! I'm quite impressed by my efforts

Congrats! I'm surprised how much I've read to, something about the 26 books was such a good goal... not as overwhelming as the 52 books that which I would never have joined and then one you get reading it just followed as a habit. Such a great help @Tinkhasflown to create this

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
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden
21.Yesteryear by Caro Burke
22. Table for one by Emma Gannon
23. Tilt by Emma Patte

both 22 and 23 were kindle 99p purchases, which I enjoyed think Tilt still available at that price

trying to load up my kindle for plane tomorrow so scrolling back through this thread for recommendations and good reviews

I definitely cannot take credit for this thread! I think it was actually @drspouse who started this originally and it's been on the go for 6 or 7 years.

23 Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

very short classic but dove straight into the story, very atmospheric - I’d have loved it to be longer!

I started one year but I was repeating an idea that was already going!
Come on, own up, who started the first one??

It wasn't me, I've been here for 3 or 4 years.

17: Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (audio). I tried reading this in hard copy last year and got bored about a third of the way through and sent it to the charity shop. However I read on another thread that the audio version was really good and as it is one of those I felt I should have liked I got it from the library and tried again. What a difference! I listened to it in a couple of days and thoroughly enjoyed it this time.

I started one a couple of years ago when noone else had, just to prevent the thread dying. I've just kept going then. This place has been a game changer at getting me back reading, I love all the recommendations.

Book 20: The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

I think this is my favourite book I’ve read this year, such a well written story, with fantastic characters, I couldn’t put it down

2026 books so far:
then she was gone
beautiful ugly
the intruder
the shadowman
the family upstairs
Rock Paper Scissors
The Family Remains
The House we Grew up in
It Should Have Been You
Dont Let Him In
Daisy Darker
Someone In The Attic
The Tenant
One Click
The Other Side Of The Wall
No One Saw A Thing
Ward D
My Husband’s Wife
The Silent Patient

I'm very glad of these threads. This is the first one I've ever joined, and I've loved getting the recommendations.

18 Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers

I loved this book. Set in the 1950's about a single female journalist who follows up a lead from a mother who believed her child was conceived despite being a virgin. It sounds odd, but it trust me, it's a good read. It was a very gentle book, but the slowness reflected the dull and dreary existence of the main character, who was trapped by her dependent mother.

Book 11 - The Eights by Joanna Miller.
A good, easy read. It's about four women students in 1920s Oxford.

Love this thread too, I’ve only been on it about 3-4 years as well

13. Nella Last's War Diaries.
Probably you all already know but in case - Nella wrote diary entries throughout WW2 as part of a mass observation scheme. Years later they were edited into this book.
I really fancy watching the Victoria Wood adaptation but thought I'd best read the book first and it has been sitting in my bookcase for years.
I wanted to like this more than I did. It was well written, I enjoyed a lot of the details and observations but found it got a bit repetative (I know, I am being unreasonable given her circumstances). I do think it's a remarkable archive to have and a valuable resource. And I can see why it appealed to Victoria Wood.

It tickled me that she never named her husband, just refers to him as her husband all those years.

12 The hand that first held mine by Maggie O’Farrell

Loved this so much. Very clever weaving of stories and timelines. Made me blubber though.

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
5.Introducing Mrs Collins by Rachel Parris
6.Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
7.Sleeping Tiger by Rosamund Pilcher
8.When the cranes fly south by Lisa Rizden
9.A midlife holiday by Carry Hanson
10. Nesting by Rosie O'Donnell
11. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
12. Ripeness by Sarah Moss
13. Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
14. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
15.Slags by Emma Jane Unsworth
16. We begin at the end by Chris Whittaker.
17. Until Next Weekend by Rachel Marks
18. Two Lives Together by Lauren Ho
19. What will people say by Sahaj Kohli
20. Strangers by Belle Burden
21.Yesteryear by Caro Burke
22. Table for one by Emma Gannon
23. Tilt by Emma Patte
24. The court of thorns and roses

Tried this as it was mentioned up thread and I will definitely read more in the series. A bit predictable at times but interesting world seeing and characters kept me intrigued

Book 10 We Are Here, David Nicholls
A lovely, engaging story. Loved the main female character.

27. To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf

Part of my large TBR; I read this in French in high school but I remembered barely nothing of t. It did come back to me somewhat. It is a challenging book but I've always loved her stream of consciousness writing.

23…..Counterfeit - Kirstin Chen

bookclub pick, not what I’d usually go for, only bothered because of bookclub, it was fine, I’m not bothered about chick lit so while it wasn’t atrocious it was def not something I’d choose to read and pretty forgettable

19 The list of suspicious things by Jennie Godfrey

I loved this book. Set in 1979 when Margaret Thatcher came into power and the Yorkshire ripper was on everyone's minds. It's about a girl who wants to solve the ripper case by suspecting all the men she comes across. But the book isn't about that at all, it's about the trials of living in the 70's when domestic violence, racism, abuse and emotional neglect were part of every day life. It's so relatable. I loved the mention, all the way through, of all the music I listened to as a teen.

Beautifully written, and like most books, it got better as it went along.