2026 - 50 Books a Year Challenge

I loved Lessons in Chemistry too. Have jrecently finished reading Raising Hare which I thought was brilliant. Gave it to a few people for Christmas, and they've all loved it too. Beautifully written I thought.

I have just finished The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. ‘To the Land of Long Lost Friends’ by Alexander McCall Smith. A long series of books about Botswana. While on holiday in
Germany last year, a German man came to our breakfast table and said he had heard us speaking English and wondered if I was interesting in having his book on Nazy Spies! It was so good I ordered the next in the series by Rory Cléments. I am now just starting reading the next in the series called ‘Hitler’s Secretk. Good spy thriller. I can never find this list so have joined in the past but lost it again!

I’ve reached the stage where I prefer lustening to reading, but I love books. Besides audiobooks, I also pay for a subscription to Speechify: it’s expensive, but I do believe it’s the best text-to-speech on the market. It has dozens and dozens of voices, not only British and American and Australian but other accents in English, and male and female voices in almost any language that has sufficient books published in it. You can clone your own speaking voice, and, fascinating, I can get “me” to read a text in a foreign language and it will sound fluent. AND: you can scan pages from a book, so with paperbacks, I’ll typically scan a chapter, click click click, and then I can have it read to me while I’m cooking or preparing for bed. And it’s extremely expressive. If you ever heard the robotic voices on the original Kindle or on VoiceOver, well, it’s a million times better. I frequently forget it’s AI. Even my cloned voice seems to be acting.

Thought that was it? No, it will generate a multiple choice quiz on what it’s just read to you, or summarise it, or present, in some cases, a 2-“person” podcast-type discussion. Scan the cover of a book and it will play a lively discussion all about what’s in the book, maybe about the author, maybe why you really ought to read it…

So rrecently I’ve been absolutely devouring books faster than ever, but I find it harder to just sit still and read, particularly as my sight’s not what it was.

The Names was my book of the year last year and it will never leave my bookshelf.
My favourite author is John Boyne especially his Elements books, fantastic

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

Susieq62

The Names was my book of the year last year and it will never leave my bookshelf.
My favourite author is John Boyne especially his Elements books, fantastic

I love John Boyne, The Heart's Invisible Furies, All the Broken Places and The History of Loneliness are books that have stayed with me.

Welcome back to the '26 thread Alibeeee

I'm going to join in this year. I've just started Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer, something light for the beginning of the year but I really want to read Wolf Hall this year.

i cleared my kindle the other day (i need large print) i do this at the start of each year, i had read 128 books through out 2025. mostly detectives, thrillers and family sagas.

I only read about 12 books per year (I do read lots of current events articles on Substack and journals eg Prospect and Byline Times). But I love a good book and have piles of them around the house, waiting to be read. Will try to contribute but mostly here for the recommendations from the well-read Gransnetters.

I’m with @granfromafar, I started the challenge last year, full of good intentions and I think I lasted to book 5 or 6? I did in fact read / listen to 75 books, but never remember to put them on her. Must try harder!

Hi Terribull, I'm normally more of a lurker on Gransnet apart from the odd post now and again. However, I like to read and I'm just starting a non fiction book called River Kings by Cat Jarman. On the cover it says it's a history of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads but it is talking about the Vikings in and around Repton, Derbyshire. OH gave it to me as I have just finished Why Q Needs U by Danny Bate and I was surprised how much the ancient world has influenced our language and how it has changed over the millenia. I love words and I used to read the dictionary as a child. I'm a bit nerdy tbh. But I'm looking forward to see what everyone else is reading and trying some authors I haven't read before.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Happy New Year all and Pearl30.

Happy reading and listening everybody.

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

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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.

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