2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

I was thinking I couldn't possibly read 50 books a year , but then decided I probably do without realising it. I read on a kindle , often put recommendations on the wish list then wait for a price change !!
I revisited Wolf Hall over lockdown when I'd given up on it some time before. I was so glad I did, reading it when there was time to fully escape into the Tudor Court . I then went on to download the next two books in the Hilary Mantel trilogy and lose myself in the extraordinary mind of Thomas Cromwell for a while.
My suggestion which I have already suggested on another thread is a lovely pre Christmas read to save now for next year .
The Housekeeper by Leona Grace Its a gentle , warm spooky mystery story set on the wild coastline of Scotland.
Also A terrible kindness by Jo Browning Wroe , begins traumatically in the aftermath of the dreadful Aberfan disaster but then becomes a beautiful uplifting story of a young man as he moves on from his involvement with it.

1 Beautiful Ugly Alice Feeney (Audible)

Psychological thriller. Somewhat far fetched, but that element kind of goes with the territory of the genre. Grady Green is a moderately successful author on the cusp of his latest book becoming a best seller when his wife goes missing whilst driving home at night, stopping to help a woman lying in the middle of the road. In the aftermath, Grady's life goes to pot, grief stricken, he's suffering from writer's block, unable to keep up the mortgage payments, Abbie was the high earner of the partnership, his publisher proposes he temporarily relocate to a sparsely inhabited Scottish island where she has a cabin he can live in whilst he's there. She suggests the move will help him recharge and set about focusing on the book he has abandoned. Off he goes and whilst there he is to encounter a woman who looks like his wife, and also a chain of unsettling events that crank up the tension. Secretive, mysterious, weird, the inhabitants of the island he gradually realises are all women. Women who prove to be subliminally malevolent. A closed community a bit similar to those portrayed in The Wicker Man.

SuzieQ62 I loved Raising Hare. It was a birthday present last year and once I started reading couldn't stop. I felt it was a lovely, gentle book and would recommend it. I hope you enjoy it.

I'm reading The English Soul by Peter Ackroyd. Bet no one else is!

I have loved reading ever since I learned to read. I have always had a book 'on the go'. But nowadays I usually only read at bedtime so it can take me a month to finish a book. For this reason, if a book doesn't grab me, I won't persist with it. I love modern thrillers by Coleen Hoover, MJ Arlidge, Nicci French, Harlen Coben,Jackie Kabler. And I love Lesley Pearse books too. Just finished The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden, which I'm looking forward to watching at the cinema.

Bit if a slow start. Still reading my first book this year. Spending too much time out walking and cycling to get fit for a walking holiday in April and cycling holiday in May. Not out cycling today due to the white stuff. Unfortunately, not enough for the sledge.

Susieq62

Please can I join this thread? I loved Lessons in Chemistry , read it twice!
Just about to start Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
I am an avid reader too
Thanks

Susieq62 I thought Raising Hare was a sheer joy, and bought it for my daughter's birthday. I highly recommend for animal lovers. Hope you enjoy it.

SueDonim

I loved the book Hamnet. I lived in that era for the duration, it drew me in so much. I haven’t seen the film.

There’s another Kindle book by Maggie O’Farrell on offer on Amazon today called After You’d Gone. I liked Hamnet, so I’ll give this one a try too.

I loved Hamnet and saw it at Stratford
Waiting for the film to come near here

Our library offers free downloads on Borrowbox, Libby, ÜLibrary and CloudLibrary. All well and good, but I do miss the days when we also had a real library within walking distance (both our local ones have closed down). I buy my “proper” books from our local hospice shop, which offers them for an amazing 3 for £1, on the basis that they’d rather sell books than pulp most of them, as other local shops do. If I need a certain book for my reading group, I normally use WOB or a local book shop, though I’ve had to resort to Amazon for our latest pick, Elif Shafak’s There are Rivers in the Sky.

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves finished, book 1 ✅ detective crime stories are my favourite genre and I find her books very easy to read.
Still struggling with Together by Julie Cohen, it is a story which goes backwards in time and I almost don’t want to know what the “secret” is.
Next audiobook on the go is The Midnight Secret by Karen Swan. This is the last in a series of four books following the lives of four women who were evacuated from St Kilda in 1930.
I use World of Books to buy second hand books, I have found some bargains, particularly useful for my book club as I never know if I am going to enjoy so don’t want to pay the full price. Borrow box is great but I sometimes have to wait months for a book to become available.

I'm in. In 2020 a former classmate challenged me to do this during the pandemic. I did it. Nice to see another.

This is the first year I have started reading the thread from week 1 although I have dipped in and out of previous threads. It's exciting! And I shall buy myself a hardbacked note book to specially write down recommendations instead of on bits of paper whivh then get lost.
We have a good charity book shop in the town and I order books from the library...and swap with a friend.
I am currently re reading The Forsyte Saga, but will order The Names from the library. I don't think I will manage a book a week, but who knows.

Great idea, I am reading Wayweird by Emelia Hart. Depending on the length of the book of course I can read abt 50 in a year I think. I’ll start counting

I loved the book Hamnet. I lived in that era for the duration, it drew me in so much. I haven’t seen the film.

Book 1
A lesson in cruelty- Harriet Tyce
Very much enjoyed this, centres around four women, Anna, served a prison sentence for drunk driving, and almost killing her nephew, Marie, imprisoned for killing her lovers wife, but now living in an experimental, alternative situation, still a prisoner, but with some freedom, Lucy, crazily in love with her college professor, and Rachel, his wife.
One of them is pure evil, but which one?
Kept me guessing all the way

Allira, I loved the book, and am very much looking forward to seeing the film

Has anyone read Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell? It is now a film, about Shakespeare's son Hamnet who died, sadly, at the age of 11. I always knew of Shakespeare's wife as Anne Hathaway (even visited her cottage) but she is apparently now known as Agnes. That is not pronounced as I know it either (having had several Aunts by who were called Agnes!).

Is it an interesting read?

SueDonim, The Land in Winter is a good read for the depths of winter. I can understand why it would divide opinions, there was a bleakness about it. You'll have to let us know your opinion, once you've finished it.

Happy New Year all and Pearl30.

Happy reading and listening everybody.

Well done for starting this thread TerrBull. Some great suggestions, keep them coming.

Thank you for the welcome back, Terribull.

I’ve just downloaded The Land in Winter, as it seemed seasonally apt. A friend isn’t enjoying it but those who like it outnumber her so I’ll give it a go. Lessons in Chemistry was ok, but I felt it was trying to cram too many issues into one story. I liked the dog best of all.

My son has gone off bearing my dh’s copy of The Wager! I hope we get it back, harrumph. It sounds so good.

Greciangirl (fab name!) I swap books with friends and family, there are charity shops to look in or there are a number of online sites where you can get books second hand, often for about £3.50 for a paperback. If you use Amazon, they have specials at 99p, too. You don’t need a Kindle, you can read their books on a phone or tablet by downloading the free app. And the library, too, of course.

I’m in awe of those who manage to read so many books a year. I enjoyed reading Robert Harris books this year, particularly An Officer and a Spy. A surprise enjoyment was Rick Astley’s autobiography - my first audio book.
I do like this challenge - it’s inspiring (thanks Terribull) and learning what others read helps to discover titles and authors that may otherwise have been missed. I look forward to being inspired and hope to post contributions this year.
Happy new year all and happy reading.

Dwmxwg

I enjoy reading and listening to books. Currently have Raven Black by Ann Cleeves on audio. I have only recently started reading her books and have liked them all so far, this one is the first in her Shetland series (never watched on tv). Also reading Together by Julie Cohen, this is my book club read and I am struggling to get into it but must make an effort as next book club meet up is on Monday

I have recently read Raven Black - enjoyed it. I usually set myself a challenge of 52 books on a book site (don't know if I can say the name but it starts with G and ends with S, 2025 I managed 48 recorded. I sometimes forget to record one or two though. Most are from my local library, but I have a large collection bought from various charity shops, and my friend and I will swap books after we have read them as well.
I have sometimes gone way over my challenge but two of those years I had hip replacement operations so was off work for 3 months each time and had plenty of time to read, especially in the first 6 weeks when I couldn't drive.

Hi stewaris, I read The River Kings a couple of years ago, very interesting especially about the extensive Viking trading routes.

AliBeeee

Happy new year everyone and thanks for the new thread TerriBull.
My first of 2026 is The Girls Who Disappeared by Claire Douglas.
Twenty years ago Olivia was driving her 3 friends home on a stormy night when they crashed. When she came round, she was badly injured and trapped, but she was the only one in the car. Her friends had disappeared and were never seen again. Now the 20th anniversary of the accident is approaching and a journalist arrives in the small town to make a podcast about the mystery. Will she be able uncover the truth about what happened to the 3 girls?
This was an okay read, nothing exceptional, but it held my interest and kept me going at this busy time of year. 7/10

I read TGWD a few years back. I remember it was quite an easy enjoyable read. I can't remember the ending but I think it was a bit odd and unexpected. I think 7/10 is about right.