These are the first set of books I'll read in 2026:

Argonautika is one of the two books this month for #StorySpins
Brave New World, first sci-fi book of the year that I've always been meaning to read #ClassicLSFBC
Hannibal Rising, first book of my Long Reads Workout part of the #3BookChallenge2026
The Chocolate Box, (loved the title) first short story for #26Shorts2026
War Music, along with these is one of the books I am reading for #2026Reads

#2025reads

If I read this this year this would be #AllergicToChunksters, I‘ve had this for a few years but this looked like a difficult read (I knew nothing of Ancient and Imperial China but now know a little more). The story is of civil wars that went on for almost a century at the beginning of the first millennium. ⬇️

I've set this challenge on Storygraph. I came up with Long Reads Workout 2026 to read books that are long and intimidating but want to read.

I'm starting with Hannibal Rising at 350+ pages and working all the way round to Hilary Mantel's A Place of Greater Safety, that is 600+ pages. If you're interested to do this this challenge on Storygraph I put the link below.

Or tag me, @AnishaInkspill, here with #3BookChallenge2026.

@LitsyEvents

Here are the 5 books I'm reading for #AllergicToChunksters as part of my #2026Reads. A couple more may be added but starting with these 5 and seeing how it goes.

Thanks to @julieclair for setting up this challenge, in the wings there are 2 more books that I could not fit into the Long Reads Workout 2026 Challenge I've setup on Storygraph. This workout is one of my #3BookChallenge2026 to (hopefully) make my reading next year go smoother.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

This first line is from the first short story in this collection written by Sylvia Plath. This she wrote when she was 8. The start of this story also feels like a line from a poem and is a couple of paragraphs long with all the story ingredients. It‘s ending is wonderful and amused me.

#2025reads #Pemberlittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow @Crinoline_Laphroaig

Every time I read Pride and prejudice it gets better. The first time, I read this as a romance, the second time I saw more from Mrs Bennet‘s point of view, this time I saw it as Elizabeth saw it. One of my favourite scenes this time is the realization Elizabeth goes through to see how she misjudged Darcy. ⬇️

#majicmonday @Eggs

1 - family stuff, managing a lot better, been a rollercoaster but I'm really, really, really happy to get here.
2 - read some tough books for me, super amazing I enjoyed it and looking forward to next year.
3 - despite it being a tough year, it's been a good one.

#FirstLineFridays #ShyBookOwl #Pemberlittens #2025reads

This is my last Jane Austen read for the year, and it made sense to end with the novel with Pride and Prejudice. Every time I read this it gets better.

I‘ve created a group on Librarything (26 Short Stories for 2026) for the #26Shorts2026 book challenge. If you take a look, you‘ll see that I‘ve done it in a way that wouldn‘t have been easy to do here.

It‘s also here, if you read any short stories just tag me, @AnishaInkspill, with #26Shorts2026. And I'm happy to keep you updated if you're interested.

This challenge is also on Storygraph, where there‘s less interaction but you get the graph.

#Pemberlittens #2025reads

current read, started today on Jane Austen's birthday

#StorySpins #2026reads

@AllDebooks thanks for setting this up. This is a perfect challenge for me, I got into reading mythology by accident, it all started to see if I could read The Iliad. It was tough but I also enjoyed the challenge of reading it and was amazed by how entertaining a story that was around millennia ago could be entertaining. So, I'm looking forward to this challenge and seeing what everyone else is reading. ⬇️

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #2025reads

Reading today, another short by Poe. I‘ve only known a couple of his poems and really like the rhythm that runs through them, I‘m finding this rhythm is also in his shorts. This is the third story I will be reading by Edgar Allan Poe.

#3BookChallenge2026 @AnishaInkspill #26Shorts2026

I‘ve created this card for a 2026 short story challenge I created on Storygraph. If you want to join in or be added to this tag list then let me know.

Or if you read any shorts in 2026 then tag me with #26Shorts2026 / #3BookChallenge2026.

If you want to do this on Storygraph, here‘s the link ⬇️

@Eggs #majicmonday

for me it's winter trees, I also like them in summer but in winter there is much promise of what's to come

#2025Reads #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl -- sorry I forgot to post this last Friday

A retell of Medea and Jason's stories.

I like Natalie Haynes, and her story style that puts women in Greek myth back to the frontline. This is not my favourite book but I liked the first 2/3, the story was rushed through in the last 1/3. Throughout there were many interesting details so I will get my own copy.

#2025 reads

I took a little break from reading a translation of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong and finished reading Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding.

Bridget Jones's Diary is almost a pick. I did find the roundup to the story flat, and thought the romance between Bridget and Mark Darcy comes together better in the movie because of its multi-point-of-view. ⬇️

#majicmonday @Eggs

being creative - not sure how I do it, just happens and sometimes it goes wrong (like not measuring ingredients when I cook, yeah, that can be a disaster 😂)

reading tough books - getting easier but still more hurdles to cross but I think the important thing is just to have fun

dealing with high levels of physical pain without medication - comes easy after living with years of pain not addressed and got used to it I guess.

#TodayILearned #NFN

Confucius was born in toughly 500 BCE and it will take over a couple of centuries before his ideas have impact.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

one of the books that got me started on art, not an easy read but got easier each time

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #2025reads

This week it‘s 2 shorts by Edgar Allan Poe (The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and The Pendulum), I just need a little break from my current read: Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, so this was a nice switch before I get back to it.

#2025reads #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963 #sciencefiction

This is sad, beautiful, funny, warming as it is unsettling. And in the midst of all this there is wonderful imagery like this:

“There were so many things a tree could do: add color, provide shade, drop fruit, or become a children‘s playground, a whole sky universe to climb and hang from; an architecture of food and pleasure, that was a tree.”

quote fr “December 2001 The Green Morning”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #2025reads #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963 #sciencefiction

Short story by Ray Bradbury, a parody of Poe‘s “House of Usher“.

I‘ve finished reading Martian Chronicles for the second time this year, but this time I read “Usher II” separately. It turns out I didn‘t need to, I didn‘t know my eBook had an update, so I updated it and it now includes “April 2036 Usher II” and “May 2034 Wilderness”. ️⬇️

Read 50%. The action moves along fast but I'm just about keeping up, my favourite parts are the range of characters and their stories that are a mix of comedy, drama and lessons to learn. This is challenging but enjoyable read.

In the image is a very very short extract from one of my many favourite scenes, where Xuande (also known as Liu Bei) visits Master Tranquil Water.

This book is one of the 4 reads I've put off to the end of the year.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

I don't have to think about this twice, for me it's Samwise Gamgee & Frodo Baggins 😊

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #2025reads #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963 #sciencefiction

reading this for the second time this year (and making up for all the years this has been on my TBR).

This isn't the opening lines of MC but it is the first line of one of my favourite stories from here. This made me laugh, and is a really nice contrast to the story about Ylla.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #halloween

Almost a pick. A Halloween read. Three acquaintances (a criminal, a crime writer and an ex-cop) go to an exclusive place to eat that is impossible to get to, or escape from.

A dark macabre tale (that is truly gruesome) but lightened with comedy. The characters are stock but the twists and the plot picking pace makes this matter less.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

first line: Empires arise from chaos and empires collapse back into chaos. This we have known since time began.

from my current read, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, translated by Martin Palmer

https://app.thestorygraph.com/reading_challenges/ea4660bf-b3a1-43b3-84be-a7e4f64...
#26shorts2026 #storygraphchallenge

To try and do this differently next year I have set up a short story challenge on storygraph. I‘ve also been wanting to read more short stories to read a variety of styles and authors.

I‘ve also created 2 other challenges to fit in much longer reads, and to keep reading but with less gaps (hopefully).

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #supernatural #2025reads #halloween

reading story no. 4 from https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/41170/pg41170-images.html

4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie was a wonderful warming read with quirky characters, comedy and of course, the Jane Marple.

Current read is collection of shorts from https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/41170, and finally reading something by Margaret Oliphant, Hoffmann and MR James.

#christiescapers #ghost #2025reads

this is how my year in reading looks so far

at the beginning I had my books lined up but there's quite a few I probably won't get round to reading, and I realise 😂 my error of leaving the longer reads to the end, hopefully I'll learn from this next year

on the flip side, my fav part was reading some amazing books, not all were easy but I tried so I am happy about this

#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern

I tend to muddle through, but I love reading screenplays and this would be my go to read.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

I'm going to miss these. In this list, of the books I have read, the one that stands out is David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars, a truly beautiful read, and at the same time troubling and poignant.

#Fiction #2025reads #blackhistorymonth

I like how the story draws a complex picture to attain racial equality, and so many times I felt the pain for the unnamed narrator wanting things to work out for him. When he is unfairly expelled from college, I couldn‘t believe it, this was his dream but it would be nothing to what comes later, then things seem to be looking up when he joins the brotherhood only to realise a very, very harsh truth.

#classicschallenge 2025 @Lunakay #poetry #2025reads

I like text that presents language in unexpected ways. I didn‘t warm to this as much as I wanted to but there were parts that stood out. I could see how daring this was in its own time.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday Thanks @dabbe for another interesting list, where quite a few were new to me and look really interesting.

It's funny seeing this result, having quite a few Shakespeare plays helped boost this number. This year I have lined up to read again a modern adaptation of Shakespeare 's Othello, “New Boy“ by Tracy Chevalier.

#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern

Yes, several+, one of these is Never Let Me Go, I'm so glad I gave that a second chance, what a haunting read.

#sundayfunday @BookmarkTavern

yeah, it's a very, very, (and) very long list, a few are:

War & Peace - Leo Tolstoy
The Waves - Virginia Woolf
The Collected Stories - Grace Paley
L A Confidential - James Ellroy
Jason and the Argonauts - Apollonius of Rhodes, translator Aaron Poochigian

#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

another great list

I really want to read Look Homeward, Angel (Thomas Wolfe) after seeing the movie Genius.

one of these days I will get to The Good Soldier (Ford Madox Ford)

Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison) is my next read, yeyyy

#2025reads #Fiction

This is a beautiful read in how it shows a complicated dynamics between race and personal identity. All the way through I could see something dreadful was ahead, and then it happened and I had to pause, recollect myself before carrying on.

#SundayFunDay @BookmarkTavern

for me it's this (translation by Julia Lovell) and Don Quixote part 1. Both reads I thought would be heavy and dry but what a surprise, especially the comedy.

#2025reads #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963 #sciencefiction

This has been in my Kindle library for a while, this did not disappoint and was an amazing read. This has everything I enjoy in a read, quirky, poignant and thought-provoking. I have so many favourite stories but all of them have moments that stand out. I thought some stories were brave, and its light-hearted style was an invitation to just sit back, absorb and enjoy. And enjoy I did.

#two4tuesday @TheSpineView

1&2 - For me this book covers it, the other close choice was the graphic novel / animation Dilbert, where sometimes things are so absurd that you just have to laugh about it.

#TLT #ThreeListThursday @dabbe

This was fun, there were so many here I have not got around to reading and it was a good reminder, and by sheer coincidence I will soon be reading An of the People, translation by Arthur Miller. I am really excited about this one as I didn't even know I had it and found it in one of my anthologies as I was looking through the content.

#kindledeals #FellowshipOfTolkien #JRRTolkien @Daisey #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963

hi @RamsFan1963 and @Daisey, I saw this deal in Amazon US but being newish to the platform I'm letting you know. I'm not sure if your lists will be interested or if you already know about this and others who would be interested.

I have the physical version and love the illustrations incl, but only open on occasions and read the one I have on Kindle.

#2025reads #poetry #classicschallenge 2025 @Lunakay

A 1912 translation of Chinese poems in the public domain. The poems in this collection are plain and what runs through most of them is stillness or nature. This occurs through a variety of themes, including resignation, loss, love or appreciation. I found some poems to be a poignant read, whilst others charmed or humoured me.

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern

this one, and it's lined up for this year's reads - yeyyyy - and looking forward to it

#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView

brilliant question and a tough one to find the book that fits, for me it's a variety of Japanese prints including those by Hokusai

#SundayFunday @BookmarkTavern #stageplay #2025reads

I found this to be a wonderful, thought-provoking play, which did take me several attempts to see the nuances but I‘m glad I kept trying.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl #ClassicLSFBC @RamsFan1963

I am really looking forward to this one, I've been wanting to read it for ages