2026: Hefty/Husky/Slender Reading Schedule

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Here is our Hefty, Husky, and Slender Reading Schedule for 2026.

Hefty:

1. The Arabian Nights by Anonymous January-June
2. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens July-December

Husky:

1. The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky January-March
2. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier April-June
3. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis July-Spetember
4. The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon October-December

Slender:

1. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch January-February
2. Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf March-April
3. The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier May-June
4. The Human Comedy by William Saroyan July-August
5. The House of Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán September-October
6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison November-December

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Hefty Suggestions:

Ulysses by James Joyce I
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand I
The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu III *MODERATOR'S CHOICE FOR 2027
‡Wolf Solent by John Cowper Powys I
‡An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser II
The Water Margin by Shi Nai'an I
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens IIII
The Arabian Nights by Anonymous IIIII I

Husky Suggestions:

Gora by Rabindranath Tagore II
Nana by Émile Zola III *MODERATOR'S CHOICE FOR 2027
The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky IIIII II
The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles I
The Far Country by Nevil Shute I
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis IIII
The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon IIII
The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier IIII
The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary
‡La Regenta by Leopoldo Alas I
‡My Uncle Napoleon by Iraj Pezeshkzad II
‡The Vienna Melody by Ernst Lothar II
The Good Companions by J.B. Priestley

Slender Suggestions:

Passing by Nella Larsen III *SCHEDULED FOR JAN 2027
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene I
The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier IIII
The Human Comedy by William Saroyan IIII
Under the Net by Iris Murdoch IIIII I
Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham I
The House of Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán III
The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi I
Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf IIIII
The Truce by Mario Benedetti II
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley I
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison IIII
The Lusiads by Luís de Camões II
Dr. Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Hefty:

1. The Arabian Nights by Anonymous
2. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Husky:

1. The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky
2. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
3. The Doctor's Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
4. The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

Slender:

1. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
2. The Human Comedy by William Saroyan
3. The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier
4. Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf
5. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
6. The House of Ulloa by Emilia Pardo Bazán

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Piyangie Im thinking you meant read two Hefty's over a six month period and such?

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

No, Lesle. We'll only read 2 heftys, one book for six months. The same with husky where we read 4 books, one for every three months and Slender where we read a book for two months.

[Lesle, Appalachian Bibliophile]

Thank you Piyangie I just didnt read it correctly. Appreciate the clarification.

[Vince]

I support:

Ulysses

The Tale of Genji

The Doctor's Wife

Gora

Babbitt

The Human Comedy

Between the Acts.


For Hefty, I'd like to suggest The Water Margin by Shi Nai'an.

[Rosemarie, Northern Roaming Scholar]

I support The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Human Comedy by William Saroyan.

[Anisha Inkspill]

My slender suggestions are

Faust Parts 1 & 2 Faust: Parts I & II
Frankenstein Frankenstein: The 1818 Text


Husky
Moby Dick Moby-Dick or, The Whale


support Passing - and will have a look at the rest in a day / 2 --- I'm not sure what the deadline on this is, short of time right now

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Anisha, your suggestion for Faust doesn't qualify for slender. Slender category is for books less than 300 pages. Please let me know between Moby-Dick and Faust, which one you suggest for Husky.

I haven't set a dead line yet. But please mark your supports at your earliest convenience.

[Jen]

I support My Uncle Napoleon of course, as it's my nom carried over from last year :)

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Message 2 is updated.

[Kathy]

I support The Doctor's Wife.

[Jen]

I'll nominate Toni Morrison's first book The Bluest Eye for slender, please.

[Lindenblatt]

Jen wrote: "I'll nominate Toni Morrison's first book The Bluest Eye for slender, please."

I support this nomination!

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Updated in msg 2.

[Luís]

I support Under the Net by Iris Murdoch.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Luis. Updated.

[Kathy]

I support The Human Comedy.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Kathy. Updated.

[Melanie]

I support My Uncle Napoleon.

[James]

If permitted, I'd like to nominate Lorna Doone (1869) by R.D. Blackmore for Husky, please.

[James]

I support The House of Ulloa for Slender.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

James wrote: "If permitted, I'd like to nominate Lorna Doone (1869) by R.D. Blackmore for Husky, please."

James, this is already nominated in 2026 Romance Classic Reads. Would you like to support it there? There is a good chance that it'll be selected. Here is the link to the thread. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

All updated.

[Anisha Inkspill]

support Between the Acts


suggest The Lusiads by Luís de Camões. At 288 pages, I'm thinking that's slender

[Lindenblatt]

Another vote for The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

All updated. Please keep your supports coming in. Thanks.

[Pam, Southwest Enchanter]

I support Nana, The Far Country, The Bluest Eye, The Lost Steps, Under the Net, and The Truce.

Thank you for adding a slender category! I like that idea, a lot!

[Luís]

I also suggest 'The Lost Steps' by Alejo Carpentier. Thanks.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Pam wrote: "I support Nana, The Far Country, The Bluest Eye, The Lost Steps, Under the Net, and The Truce.

Thank you for adding a slender category! I like that idea, a lot!"

You're welcome, Pam! :)

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Updated. Thanks, Pam and Luis.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Lindenblatt wrote: "Another vote for The Adolescent by Fyodor Dostoevsky"

Thanks, Lindenblatt.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

The first round of support vote will come to end on 5th October. Please support as many books you like from the list in message 2. Thanks.

[Kathy]

May I suggest something different for Hefty? If so, I’d like to suggest Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope? It’s 825 pages in this edition.

Was there talk of reading either one or both of Trollope’s popular series, Barsetshire or Palliser?

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

We will be reading the Barsetshire and Palliser series as a two year project from next year, Kathy. Given the length of the book, we've decided to do them over two years. We will start with Barsetshire series and will cover the six novels bi-monthly. They won't come under this folder. A separate folder will be set up for that.

Would you still want to nominate Trollope for husky?

[Kathy]

I’ll switch my suggestion to Slender — Dr. Wortle's School by Anthony Trollope which has 222 pages, since I plan to read at least one of the series.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Kathy. Updated.

We have a very poor support for Hefty. Are we losing interest in long reads?

[Kathy]

I withdrew for Hefty because I know we’re reading Trollope’s series and thought adding the hefty would be too much. I’ve not lost interest in books over 800 pages, but suddenly I have lots of books I want to read in other threads. That’s good I think.

If I committed to a Hefty it would be something by Dickens, I think. Our Mutual Friend maybe, which is right at 801 pages. Or Nicholas Nickleby (817p).

I find I like Trollope better than Dickens. I can’t take mean characters as much as I used to! But i still want to read all of Dickens.

[Luís]

I want to support Our Mutual Friend

[Lindenblatt]

Kathy wrote: "If I committed to a Hefty it would be something by Dickens, I think. Our Mutual Friend maybe, which is right at 801 pages. Or Nicholas Nickleby (817p)...."

If that's a suggestion, I would support either one of these two...

I agree with what Kathy has said. I have only the last book of the Barsetshire series left to read in 2026, which is around 816p, and wouldn't mind reading it with this group.

Plus some (also some bigger) books in the other threads and I am beginning to worry about my commitments. So I am hesitating to commit to any long reads in 2026 that are not already on my TBR or are equivalent to books on my TBR (e.g. any novel by Dickens).

[Kathy]

Sure, I can commit to and will suggest Our Mutual Friend

[Lindenblatt]

Kathy wrote: "I can’t take mean characters as much as I used to! But i still want to read all of Dickens..."

Currently reading Martin Chuzzlewit and I know exactly what you mean! 😅

[Luís]

Lindenblatt wrote: "Kathy wrote: "I can’t take mean characters as much as I used to! But i still want to read all of Dickens..."

Currently reading Martin Chuzzlewit and I know exactly what you mean! 😅"

Indeed, it is among the top five great ones.

[Melanie]

Piyangie wrote: "Thanks, Kathy. Updated.

We have a very poor support for Hefty. Are we losing interest in long reads?"

I support Wolf Solent.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Kathy wrote: "I withdrew for Hefty because I know we’re reading Trollope’s series and thought adding the hefty would be too much. I’ve not lost interest in books over 800 pages, but suddenly I have lots of books..."

That indeed is a good enough reason, Kathy. I have the same issue. And like you, I've also become author specific when it comes to long reads. Thanks, for your suggestion. It's a great book, and is my most favourite Dickens novel.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Lindenblatt wrote: "Kathy wrote: "I can’t take mean characters as much as I used to! But i still want to read all of Dickens..."

Currently reading Martin Chuzzlewit and I know exactly what you mean! 😅"

😅 Poor me. I'm dragging myself through Dickens' word jargon in Martin Chuzzlewit.

I agree with Kathy. I also cannot read heftys as I used to. When it comes to over 1000 pages, I've become selective.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Thanks, Kathy, Lindenblatt, Luis, and Melanie. All updated in msg 2.

We're open to suggestions and supports until Oct. 5th.

[Piyangie, Classical Princess]

Would anyone be interested in The Arabian Nights by Anonymous for hefty?

[Melanie]

Piyangie wrote: "Would anyone be interested in The Arabian Nights by Anonymous for hefty?"

Piyangie, I would be interested!