26ish books 2026 part 2

[Yuja]

As the person who posted the 1000th post of the last thread I feel I should be the one to begin part 2! I couldn’t see one already and I’m quite excited as I think this is the first time in my memory that the 26 bookers have made it to a second thread!

just to kick this off, I posted book 32 - Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier which I loved every minute of.

27: In All Weathers by Matt Gaw
Non-fiction book about embracing bad weather. Piqued my interest because it is part walking, part meteorological. However, there are some howling proof reading omissions.

Nothing annoys me more than typos in final manuscripts. My job involves text so they literally leap off the page at me too and really interrupt my reading experience

This is so exciting, I don’t think I’ve reached a second thread in the years I’ve been on this!

39 Things We Never Say - Elizabeth Strout

i enjoyed this more than her Lucy Barton series but because I’ve listened to all of those I struggle to get Kimberley Farr (the narrator)’s voice out of my head as she’s so tied in with Strout’s style to me now!

a gentle and sad book but I loved the development of the relationship between the father and son

Ooof same, I direct audiobooks and typos really annoy me!

I’m glad I’m not the only excited one that we’ve made it to a thread 2 for the first time ever 😂

33 - The Housekeeper by Rose Tremain. I chose this as it’s linked to my last read - Rebecca - and imagines the events leading up to du Maurier writing it. The premise is a clandestine love affair between Daphne du Maurier and the Housekeeper of a grand hall, with many nods to Rebecca throughout. Eventually du Maurier betrays the Housekeeper by casting her as the villain Danvers in her new book Rebecca. A really interesting book on homosexuality and class, and the real fear of being ‘found out’ and what the repercussions could be. The central character Danni has a sad back story and I felt for her as I read on. I wasn’t sure for the first chapter or so but it transformed into a well-written, beautiful and rich novel.

love Rebecca and this sounds great - adding to the never ending TBR

@Yuja I have a memory of reading and enjoying Rebecca many years ago. Doesn't it have one of the best opening lines to a novel ever?

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”

I think it was about 4-5years ago on this thread there was a ton of us who did a lot of Du Maurier re-reads. It was epic

Rebecca is such a good pick to kick off part 2 — I loved it too, the atmosphere just pulls you in from the first page. I'm only on book 14 for the year so I'm well behind, but this thread is giving me plenty of ideas for the next few. Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is reading.

34 Crow Lake by Mary Lawson
having read A Town Called Solace recently, I was glad to pick this up in a charity shop a couple of days ago. Really lovely book - same stark setting in rural Northern Canada. Her writing reminds me of Ann Patchett who I also love

Mary Lawson has a new one out next week, Solace In Winter set in 1969.