What Are You Reading? 2026 > Likes and Comments

New year. New books.

Or some favorite re-reads.

Whatever you're reading, share it here.

I read Precious Ramotswe: A Mysterious Profile by Alexander McCall Smith
It is a summary of how he started writing the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm reading the Damien Seeker series, historical mysteries set in Cromwellian England. Really enjoying it so far. See my 5-star review of the first book: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read The Silent Ones by Anna McPartlin It is a mystery set in 1984 Kerry, Ireland, based on an actual murder. I recommend it. My 4.5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

This is, without a doubt, one of the best memoirs I have ever read!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished My Husband's Wife, the latest suspense / thriller from Alice Feeney. The standout with this book, especially compared to her previous few books, is the intricate plotting. I rated it 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

The Croatian Island Library by Eva Glyn

This contemporary fiction worked for many readers but was just so-so for me. Maybe you'll like it better?
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Dark Chronicles by Karmen Špiljak

I enjoyed this indie speculative fiction collection.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Death and Other Occupational Hazards by Veronika Dapunt

I didn't know what to expect from this speculative dark comedy, but I certainly didn't expect to enjoy it so much!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Read The Rebel Pirate by Donna Thorland. Rated 3 stars. Historical fiction romance.
Link to my very short review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I read Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict It is a pleasant historical fiction book. My 3.5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I just finished The Lost Colony. It is about a reality television show that attempts to recreate the original Jamestown colony. This time, each of the fifteen contestants has a secret past, and some have a murderous agenda. It wasn’t about the Roanoke Lost Colony, which I originally thought. It was a little short on historical accuracy, but it was a heart-wrenching story and a demonstration of the power of the human spirit. It kept me on edge to the very end.

Finished Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad. I found this memoir both moving and inspiring! Rated it 5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I read Commissar: A Novel of Civil War Russia by D.V. Chernov It is historical fiction, set during the Russian Civil war. It is book 1 in a series and I plan to read more. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished Evan Only Knows by Rhys Bowen. Rated 3 stars. #7 Constable Evans. Enjoyable contemporary mystery series set in Wales. No review:)

Finished Kin by Tayari Jones. This was a wonderful, emotionally nuanced read! Rated it 5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Two books that are downloadable(pre approved) on Edelweiss
A False and Fatal Claim: A Lane Winslow Mystery. # 13 by Iona Whishaw The series is set in post WWII BC, Canada.
My review of book 1 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
These books, while better read in order, can be read as stand alones.
The second is April 1917: The Red Wheel, Node IV, Book 1 by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I finished The Tiffany Girls by Shelley Noble. Set in 1899/1900 NYC and Paris.
Fascinating discussion of making Tiffany glass. They won Ribbons at the Paris Exhibition in 1900

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Her first book made me a fan of her writing. This second novel ensures that I wait eagerly for her third. One of the most thought-provoking dystopian books I have read.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am reading The House on the Hill. It is a time slip story between the present and the mid-eighteenth century. The historical chapters tell the heart-wrenching story of an unwed mother, Sophie, and her complete lack of options. In the present, a widowed young woman leases a historic house, haunted by a female ghost, who I am guessing is Sophie. I am hoping for a satisfying ending, but right now I don’t see how. Still, I fell in love with Sophie, and I’m rooting for her.

Read The Virgin in the Ice #6 Brother Cadfael historical mystery by Ellis Peters. Set in 12th century England. Rated 5 stars and on my favorite shelf.
Link to my spoiler free review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

won a free copy of this from another site, I hope it is good Bound for Destiny: When Love and Faith Prevail by James R Trammell

Finished Sharpe's Triumph . Similar plot to book one in the chronological series. Different battle. Predictable. I may try one more of the 26 tales, but get the feeling they are all the same. Just different battles.

Three stars.

Eric wrote: "Finished Sharpe's Triumph . Similar plot to book one in the chronological series. Different battle. Predictable. I may try one more of the 26 tales,..."

The books set in India were published later. I didn't enjoy them as much as the originals set in Spain and Portugal. Sharpe's Rifles is #6 but was actually the first one published in 1988. Has interesting secondary characters. Although I always say to read what you're in the mood for!

Peggyzbooksnmusic wrote: "The books set in India were published later. I didn't enjoy them as much as the originals set in Spain and Portugal. Sharpe's Rifles is #6 but was actually the first one published in 1988. Has interesting secondary characters. Although I always say to read what you're in the mood for!"

Thanks. I received a similar comment from another reader of the Sharpe books. Maybe I'll plod along until book six.

Currently reading 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin. As someone who writes historical fiction, I'm fascinated by economic collapse as a backdrop for human stories — the Panic of 1873 plays a prominent role in my current work in progress. Sorkin's research is a masterclass in how financial crisis reshapes ordinary lives.

I’m reading A Hymn to Life, by Gisele Pelicot. Just came in the mail from Thrift Books and cannot put it down. It’s her story of marriage and its destruction by her husband’s rape and sexual abuse while drugging her and how she gave up her right to anonymity in trial to make it public and expose him and all the men involved. I usually don’t read such stories but was in France when the trial started and admire her bravery and how she turned the shame around that often plagues victims of sexual abuse. Subtitled,” shame has to change sides”.

Melanie wrote: "I’m reading A Hymn to Life, by Gisele Pelicot. Just came in the mail from Thrift Books and cannot put it down. It’s her story of marriage and its destruction by her husband’s rape and sexual abuse ..."

That's one book I want to read as well, even though I am not comfortable with books about sexual abuse. This, and Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, need to be read for their authors.

Finished The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang. In her newest novel, Chang tries her hand at gothic fiction and while it worked well in my opinion, I still prefer her historical novels more. I rated this one 4 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Finished No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J. Fox. I listened to this via audiobook and it was powerful, moving, inspirational. I rated it 5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

I read The Mathews Men: Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler's U-boats by William Geroux
It is a history of the US Merchant Marine who risked all during WWII. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in US WWII maritime history. My 4.5 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber

A good option for those looking for a soothing and emotional read. Perfect for Southern fiction fans.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Saltcrop by Yume Kitasei

Not a perfect dystopian mystery-adventure, but a pretty good one.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan has been a fun discovery for the new year. Fun historical fiction/mystery/fantasy about how a coven of witches could have helped Churchill during WWII.

With the Heart of a Ghost: Stories by Lim Sunwoo

An impressive debut collection of speculative fiction stories. Great translation, universal themes.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard. Rated 3 stars. Historical fiction set in Oak Ridge, Tennessee at the end of WWII.
Link to my spoiler free review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
A more informative read on this horrific event is the excellent non fiction The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan.
Not able to post my review for the Kiernan title.

Finished Purple Hibiscus

My Review www.goodreads.com/review/show/8314815039

I read The Creek, The Crone, and the Crow by Leah Weiss It is literary fiction about the closure of a one room schoolhouse in Western N. Carolina. My 4 star review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Peggy, I read Denise Kiernan’s book about Oakridge, and really liked it. Read like a novel.

Just finished A Hymn to Life:Shame Has to Change Sides, by Gisele Pelicot. It doesn’t just focus on the abuse she endured but her history and her marriage of 50 years before the revelation of drugging and rapes by and set up by her husband with others. What a brave woman, to make the whole affair public to put the shame on the perpetrators and free herself and those supporting women, who have experienced sexual abuse, of the guilt and shame that often embeds itself in the victims.

Melanie wrote: "Peggy, I read Denise Kiernan’s book about Oakridge, and really liked it. Read like a novel."

Want to read her non fiction about the men who signed The Declaration of Independence Signing Their Lives Away.

Finished Everyday Movement by Gigi L. Leung. Set in my birth city of Hong Kong, this is a novel that documents the impact of the 2019 pro-democracy protests. I rated it 3.5 stars. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

Read Scandal Above Stairs #2 Below Stairs historical mystery by Jennifer Ashley. Set in 1880's London, England. Rated 3 stars.
Link to my spoiler free review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Finished The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. This was my IRL book club's March selection and only 2 of us liked the book. It had some problems but overall I enjoyed this novel of interconnected stories set at Birchwood Manor including what really happened there in the summer of 1868?
The opening chapter gave off a Gothic vibe that had me hooked.

Chris wrote: "Finished The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. This was my IRL book club's March selection and only 2 of us liked the book. It had some problems but overall I enjoyed this novel..."

Chris, Good to hear you liked this title. It's on my TBR list. Have enjoyed this author's other titles.

I completed Sharpe's Trafalgar. Four stars. Much better than his earlier books set in India. In fact, I skipped over "Sharpe's Fortress" (book three) to avoid boring. I am trying to read these in chronological order versus publication order.

Women of a Promiscuous Nature by Donna Everhart

Among the best historical fiction books I have read so far in 2026 and possibly among the most disturbing books I have ever read. A must read, but note that it is highly triggering.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Rosh wrote: "A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Her first book made me a fan of her writing. This second novel ensures that ..."

Loved that book. I could practically smell the ripe fruit and feel perspiration from the heat of the setting. Did not see the ending coming.

Colm Tóibín

Pretty good, but ~1/4 in, it feels a little like it's tying up loose ends from Brooklyn, which I finished immediately before starting this one. Having lived through the early 1970s, I don't get a very strong sense so far of being back in that time (aside from passing reference to the Vietnam War.) From a strictly historical perspective, the passages in Brooklyn about the main character's first ocean crossing (early 1950's) were interesting. Makes one appreciate modern air travel. What is harder to appreciate is that a story set ca. 1976 could possibly be considered "historical fiction." But then I realize, in 1976 I certainly could have considered one set in 1926 "historical fiction."

Thomas wrote: "I could practically smell the ripe fruit and feel perspiration from the heat of the setting. Did not see the ending coming."

I know what you mean! The only other author whose book made me feel the Indian setting so strongly was Arundhati Roy with The God of Small Things. :)