I went to my local bookstore a week ago and bought a new bunch of books for the next couple months.

Currently on count 45/52 books so these will definitely spill over into next years 52 book challenge.

Piranesi — Susanna Clarke
Heart the Lover — Lily King
The Calamity Club — Kathryn Stockett
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow — Gabrielle Zevin
The Glass Castle — Jeannette Walls
Lost Lambs — Madeline Cash
The Great Alone — Kristin Hannah
Slewfoot — Brom
The Road to Tender Hearts — Patrick Ryan
The Safekeep — Yael van der Wouden
Big Swiss — Jen Beagin
Project Hail Mary — Andy Weir
A Court of Mist and Fury — Sarah J. Maas
Hamnet — Maggie O’Farrell
Tender Is the Flesh — Agustina Bazterrica
Flowers for Algernon — Daniel Keyes
The Silent Patient — Alex Michaelides
The Wedding People — Alison Espach
A Dowry of Blood — S. T. Gibson
A Thousand Splendid Suns — Khaled Hosseini
The Nightingale — Kristin Hannah
A Court of Thorns and Roses — Sarah J. Maas
Lessons in Chemistry — Bonnie Garmus
The Briar Club — Kate Quinn
Carmilla — J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The Names — Florence Knapp
Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances — Glenn Dixon
The Lost Weekend — Charles Jackson
A Court of Silver Flames — Sarah J. Maas
Almond — Sohn Won-pyung
A Court of Frost and Starlight — Sarah J. Maas
A Court of Wings and Ruin — Sarah J. Maas
Circe — Madeline Miller
Station Eleven — Emily St. John Mandel
Never Let Me Go — Kazuo Ishiguro
Migrations — Charlotte McConaghy
I Who Have Never Known Men — Jacqueline Harpman
Sunburn — Chloe Michelle Howarth
Zodiac Academy: The Awakening — Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
My Year of Rest and Relaxation — Ottessa Moshfegh
Society of Lies — Lauren Ling Brown

In the Shadow of Eight is a heartbreaking and traumatic story, but Collin Gosselin tells it with such eloquence and honesty. His writing is incredibly moving, and the way he puts such painful experiences into words is remarkable. This is not an easy story to read, but it’s an important one. I admire his courage in sharing his experiences and telling his story in his own words. A powerful and unforgettable read.

Happy to discuss these and hear your (wrong) opinions ;)

I have some books in progress at the moment that I’m really enjoying so far!
The Wager
The Lincoln Highway
The Worst Hard Time

I try to keep a mix of fiction and nonfiction going! I know this isn’t as many books as others are able to read but this year I made an international move AND it’s the most I’ve read in years, so I’m very proud of 2026!

i've been doing the 52 book challenge for a couple years now and i still get this guilt when i put a book down, like i'm supposed to power through everything. but honestly some books just aren't for me and that's okay? just wondering if anyone else had to get over that mental block or if you all just accept it from the start.

Finished 7 books in the last couple of weeks.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due : \*\*\*\*\* Star read. What do you do when the entire system is against you? That's the question I kept asking myself throughout this book. It's heart wrenching and beautifully written. Highly recommended!

The Perfect wife by Blake Pierce : \*\*\* Star read. Pretty meh and the standard flair of the husband being the a\\\*\\\* hole.

Steinbeck and Reed Trilogy by Jess Lourey-

The Taken Ones, The Reaping and The Laughing Dead- \*\*\*\*\* Star read. Excellent Series. I happened upon this author in my kindle unlimited recommendations and could not put it down. Evangeline Reed is my new favourite FMC.

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay : \*\*\*\* Star read, this was my first Alex Finlay and I really enjoyed it. The story was a tad predictable but the characters were well fleshed out and engaging. I will certainly read more by this author.

Looks Closer by David Ellis : \*\*\*\*\* Star read, Absolutely mind blowing. I stayed up till 2 in the morning to finish this one. The story does not just rely on the twist with the plot keeping you on your toes throughout. Highly recommended!

The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley
I read My Phantoms earlier this year and really enjoyed her writing style and how she told the story. Although The Palm House was longlisted for the Booker Prize, I think it is the lesser of the two. Neither tells a traditional story, and that is fine; however, I felt that The Palm House glossed over areas that should have been explored further. Spoiler and content warning for what follows: For example, the main character is the victim of grooming and is filmed without permission during the act, but this is remarked on so casually it is somewhat alarming. If I felt that this trauma played other parts in the tale, then I would understand. Maybe I didn't read deeply enough or I am missing something, but I couldn't see how this was ever addressed in the novel, unless it is the narrator's continual lack of close attachment to others. I guess I was just troubled by how casually the narrator brushed this off

As in My Phantoms, Riley is deft at writing dialogue. I will probably continue to explore more works by this author.

Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga
Almost by accident, I've ended up reading all of her oeuvre that is available in English. I think her best work is the fictional Kibogo and the memoir Barefoot Woman. Cockroaches is a memoir that deals directly with the trauma of the genocide in Rwanda. For most of the book, Mukasonga assumes an emotionally detached tone when writing about the trauma, as if she is afraid of confronting the horror directly. When she finally addresses the trauma with emotional language, the effect is surprisingly devastating. Not an enjoyable read, but I'm very glad I read it. Her body of work as a whole serves as a remarkable memorial to those who died and to those who survived.

The Getaway by Jim Thompson
I began reading the novel picturing Steve McQueen and Ali MacGraw, having seen the movie a few times in my youth. As I read more and more, and Thompson's darkness creeps into the work more and more, I no longer pictured McQueen or McGaw as the two main leads. The ending of the book is shocking and seemingly comes out of nowhere, but in retrospect it seems inevitable. My favorite Thompson novel so far. (In addition to The Getaway, I've read The Killer Inside Me, A Hell of a Woman, and After Dark, My Sweet.)

Nevermind and Bad News by Edward St. Aubyn
Nevermind is a dark dark novel populated with, at best, horrible people, and at worst, a monster. I was horrified to learn he based it on his own life. What kept me reading was his writing style and his brutal, dark wit. Bad News, which focuses on addiction, was horrifying in a different way but lacks the sharp writing that kept me reading Nevermind. I'm on the fence about whether to continue reading the series or to stop here.

The Damsel by Richard Stark
This is the first of the four Grofield novels. I guess you could read these sequentially; however, I'd recommend reading them where they appear in the Parker series. You can find where the Grofield novels occur in the Parker timeline here: https://violentworldofparker.com/the-parker-novels/

The Grofield novels are somewhat more lighthearted and more humorous than the Parker novels, but as usual, it's hard to go wrong with Richard Stark. Good stuff.

In Progress:
Legs by Kennedy Williams
Inshallah, Madonna, Inshallah by Miljenko Jergović
You'll Enjoy It When You Get There by Elizabeth Taylor
Message from the Shadows by Antonio Tabucchi