Books 2026 + Something New

2027-01-01

The books I have read in 2026.

As an avid reader, I have a problem.

A big problem I wager most avid readers share.

It’s called - a term I coined but is yet to catch - compulsive book buying syndrome with early onset hoarding tendencies.

Just kidding.

But no, seriously, I have a problem. Every year I buy dozens of books and never end up reading some of them. I put them in my shelves thinking I will read them but then maybe another book catches my eye or someone might recommend a new book. Maybe I’m just not in the mood for that type of book and pick up something else.

All in all, this “problem” is actually a good thing. Many of the best books I have read have been ones I bought a long time ago and randomly picked up.

For example, one of my recent reads and probably favourite books, Lonesome Dove had just been randomly sitting deep down inside my Kindle library (I do this digitally too!) without me knowing how long ago I bought it or who even recommended it.

But many of these I haven’t picked up yet.

The shelves have become fully packed and the books keep piling up. I am filling every nook and cranny that could serve the purpose with books.

I am also spending a considerable amount of money each year on books and I probably will need to buy another bookshelf for 2026.

Plus, writers keep writing and publishers will keep publishing. Every time I walk into a bookstore I walk out with at least one book. It’s a never-ending cycle.

So, for 2026, I have grabbed many of the books already in my library that I have yet to read and will use them as my reading list.

(To be clear, I haven’t said I won’t buy any new books this year. There is a zero percent chance I can achieve that. There is little fantasy or sci-fi in the list, which for me is a must. But I will try my best to stick to this list and complete it!)

Here’s the list (in no particular order):

1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (5/5)
2. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell
4. Why I Write by George Orwell
5. The Agony and The Ecstasy by Irving Stone
6. Las lanzas coloradas by Arturo Uslar Pietri
7. Macbeth by Willian Shakespeare
8. 1984 by George Orwell
9. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
10. Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
11. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
12. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
13. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
14. Piranesi by Susanna Clark
15. Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
16. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
17. Gulag by Anne Applebaum
18. The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wingrow
19. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
20. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
21. The School of Life by Alain de Botton
22. The Odyssey by Homer
23. The Iliad by Homer
24. Marple by multiple authors
25. Fear by Thich Nhat Hanh
26. Blitzscaling by Reid Hoffman
27. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
28. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
29. La Sombra del Viento by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
30. The Tiger by John Vaillant (K) (*)
31. The Son by Philipp Meyer (K)
32. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (K)
33. Dead Man’s Walk by Larry McMurtry (K)
34. Comanche Moon by Larry McMurtry (K)

(K) Kindle (not pictured)

(*) Currently reading.

Rating system: 1-5 stars.
1 = Did not finish on purpose.
2 = Dislike.
3 = Okay (perhaps good), would not re-read.
4 = Would recommend and possibly re-read.
5 = Would definitely read again. Favourite list.