Books Read in 2026

At the end of every month, I share my ‘reviews’ of the books I read in 2026 and where I stand for the year relative to the goal of thirty-three I set for the year. Many of you have written that you enjoy and appreciate my ‘book reviews’ (if you can call them that!), but I always struggle with not giving too much away, and am also cognizant that my likes are not everyone else’s.

I am participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge again this year. Last year, I read twenty-five books, though my goal was thirty-three. But, I’ll be doing quite a bit of travel this year, so hopefully I’ll make my goal!

I’ve also become quite an Audible addict enthusiast. In years past, I devoted myself to listening to all of Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Wharton, Turgenev, Nabokov, and many others, determined to be ‘classics.’ With those behind me, I’ve found my newest Audible crush: Joy Ellis and all of her crime novels set on the Fens of England. And luckily for me, she is quite a prolific writer! I will be devastated when I come to the end of her books, which I’m uncomfortably close to now! 😟

Here is my quick and dirty review of the books I read in 2026, with one to five thumbs-up. I recently added an ‘eye-roll’ emoji 🙄 for any book that doesn’t even deserve one thumbs-up!

And, if you are looking for good podcasts to listen to, here are some of my favorite podcasts.

Some of these links may be Amazon affiliate links and I may earn a small commission from the sale of these products to help defray the costs of operating this site, but the price you are charged is not affected. You can see my full disclosure policy here.

On to the books!

1. I started the year with Stuart Turton’s The 7½ Lives of Evelyn Hardcastle. ⭐⭐⭐.5 Hmmm…I’m not sure what to say about this book. Right off the top of my head, I’d surely give it an A for effort! I’m not opposed to a book that makes me work hard; I think Joyce Carol Oates’ books do that, and I love them. But this one, I can honestly say, I spent half the time not having a clue what was going on, who was speaking, or what they were speaking about. There’s a definite Groundhog Day theme to the book: the main character wakes up in 8 different host bodies over 8 days and has to solve a murder mystery, or else is doomed to keep repeating his Groundhog Day. If you are brave enough to attempt this tome, keep a notepad and pen beside you at all times to keep track of what’s going on.
2. My brain needed a light, sweet dessert after that heavy meal, and this one fit the bill. Listen for the Lie by Amy Tinterra⭐⭐⭐⭐The suspected murderer of her best friend (who has no memory of the time her friend was murdered) and a podcaster team up to find out who actually killed the friend. A rather light-hearted (if a murder mystery can be lighthearted) story with a sassy protagonist.
3. I’m almost finished with Tana French’s Into the Woods, which is the first of her Dublin Murder Squad series. Suffice it to say, I’ll be getting the second book. The story revolves around a murder that happens in the same area where two children went missing years ago and involves one of the current detectives.

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!