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 also loved this! Brought back memories of those times.

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 by Sarah Maas
25. We are here by David Nicholls

I went through my to be read list and took inspiration from @u3ername and read this which worked well as I was on long train journey to and from a couple days away hiking in Devon.

1. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes
2. The Marriage Portrait* - Maggie O’Farrell
3. The Safekeep* - Yael van der wouden
4. The Coral Bones - EJ Swift
5. The List Of Suspicious Things - Jennie Godfrey
6. Hex - Thomas Heuvelt
7. Demon Copperhead* - Barbara Kingsolver
8. I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jenette McCurdy
9. The Names - Florence Knapp
10. The Wall - Marlen Haushofer
11. Penance -Eliza Clark
12. Bloody Awful in Different Ways* - Andrev Walden

Haven’t caught up with this thread in ages and so many good reads being noted but I’ve been much slower than I’d planned. Going to keep going though and try to stick to reading from my own stock of books. * = particular favourites so far.

9 The Party by Tessa Hadley

A 115 page novella about two sisters coming of age. The first half seemed to take forever to get into but once it got going, I sped through it.
Never read anything by this author before but I liked her writing style so might check out some of her other work.
3 stars out of 5

15 Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke
I wasn’t sure if I would like this as quite a lot of recently hyped books have not been for me. But, I really enjoyed this - I found it interesting and very original, and I was impressed by the twist and ending.

Book 21: The Divorce by Freida McFadden
A typical Freida book, easy to read but not my favourite of hers, most of the characters were not very likeable so it was hard to root for anyone, with a last minute curve ball. It was recommended to me by someone so just goes to show how different everyone’s tastes and perceptions are!

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

42 Missing Sam by Thrity Umrigar. I picked this as the "least worst option" from a Goodreads list but ended up really enjoying it. It's part mystery, part gentle love story, part cultural memoir. It's also set just before COVID so has that feel of "everything will be fine oh no it won't help!" panic stations.

Book 12 - Heartburn by Nora Ephron
This was excellent, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very much of its time - 1970s Washington and New York - and it's funny as well as sad. Nora Ephron was so sharp and witty and insightful. Thoroughly recommend.

20 The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
I loved this book, I couldn't put it down. It was set in the Great Depression in the USA and has a theme of poverty, prejudice and survival. Great book.

• The tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
• James by Percival Everett
• The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
• As long as the lemon trees grow by Zoulfa Katouh
• To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee
• I am I am I am by Maggie O’Farrell
• Lord of the flies by William Golding
• The midnight library by Matt Haig
• All the broken places by John Boyne
• Cilka’s journey by Heather Morris
• The outside boy by Jeanine Cummins
• How to stop time by Matt Haig
• All her fault by Andrea Mara
• Dominion by C J Samson
• The light between oceans by M L Stedman
• A better life by Lionel Shriver
• The husbands by Holly Gramazio
• Small pleasures by Clare Chambers
• The list of suspicious things by Jennie Godfrey
• The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

I loved this book also - also learnt so much about a period of history that I knew very little about.

With my exam marking finally done and the end of the school year upon me I cannot wait to get back into reading!

Aim for this summer is to be much more productive, enjoy my reading and less dom scrolling rubbish on my phone!

Happy reading everyone

Claire :)

13. The Secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Such a lovely book despite lots of sadness. Beautiful book that I really enjoyed getting lost in.