Buying books and reading books are two of my favourite things. I buy a lot of books, but I do read most of them. This is not a book blog, no reviews here, this is to keep me up to date on books I am reading this year, some projects and books I think might be interesting to buy in the future of which I am keeping a list.
I also have a fascination with Japanese literature, but no idea why. However, I often wonder if I am missing something by not understanding the culture or language enough and seriously considered giving up, usually when I read a book and end up disappointed. However, I have decided that I am going to learn more about Japan and see if this is the issue. I have some podcasts in mind and also a couple of anthologies of Japanese Literature.
Other genres of interest include anything with trains, gothic horror / weird, early 20th Century female writers and translated fiction.
2026
This year I am planning to continue reading the George Smiley novels in order and also read all of the Romance of the Three Kingdom books (the next reading challenge after Outlaws of the Marsh). I am also going to try again to learn more about Japan and Japanese literature and to reread some books that I remember enjoying.
March 2026
Books planned for March, although I am hopeful that I will read more because I do have a week and a bit off work.
The Untold Railway Stories - Ed. Monisha Rajesh. Started in February and a much anticipated Christmas present.
Brainspotting - A. J. Lees. Started in February and has been sitting on the shelf for a while waiting for me to read it. I found it less interesting than I expected as it mainly seemed to be about the life of the author. Whilst he was a neurologist, I still expected more about the cases he came across and less about him.
The Crooked Cross - Sally Carson. See below - started in late February. A difficult book to read, written in 1934 about 1933 Germany, with the view of history, knowing that it really is not going to end well.
Murder Underground - Mavis Doriel Hay. Another Crime Classic and another book involving a train. This was an OK read, a bit hard to start with (i.e. dull) and I worked it out by about two thirds of the way in (very unusual for me as I am a bit dim).
Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic - Toby Ogundiran. I am back reading short stories, or trying to. This was a present for intellectual husband in the 2024 Book Flood.
The Meaning in the Making - Sean Tucker. A birthday present from last year - I think this is the last one to read. Recommended from a podcast that I listen to. It gets very good reviews - hopefully I will not be disappointed.
If there is any other time left in the month I will go and listen to the books on my shelf and see which one would like to be read next.
I have started Women, Crusading and the Holy Land in Historical Narrative which was a Christmas present. I am a bit concerned it might be a little academic for me.
Books Read in 2026
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy - John le Carre 4/5
The Roman Republic (vsi) - David M Gwynn 4/5
Mystery in White - J. Jefferson Farjeon 3/5
Shadowlands - Matthew Green 3/5
Everything Will Swallow You - Tom Cox 5/5
South Riding - Winifred Holtby 3/5
Ancient Greece (vsi) - Paul Cartledge 2/5
Summit - Ed Conway 4/5
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Vol 1 4/5
Reader on the 6.27 - Jean-Paul Didierlaurent, tr. Ros Schwarz 5/5
The Four Just Men - Edgar Wallace 4/5
Brainspotting - A.J. Lees 3/5
The Crooked Cross - Sally Carson
The Untold Railway Stories - Ed. Monisha Rajesh 4/5
Murder Underground - Muriel Doriel Hay 3/5
The Meaning in the Making - Sean Tucker 5/5
The Samurai of the Red Carnation - Denis Theriault 4/5
February 2026
Books planned for this month include the first in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms - which will probably take most of the month actually.
South Riding - Winifred Holtby. I bought this ages ago and it takes up loads of room on the shelf. I have read one other book by this author and wasn't overly impressed, but later wondered if I had been a bit harsh so, as this is one of her more famous books I bought it second hand and thought I would give her a second chance. It was OK and kept me coming back, but although she had some strong characters in it, she ruined the book for me with the ending and the lamentations of what was a very likeable female character mourning the death of an unrequited love - pish.
Ancient Greece (vsi) - Paul Cartledge (borrowed from M-i-L). I finished this but what a slog. There was a lot to pack in and I think the author chose the wrong way to do it; dividing it by city state. He didn't really enlighten me about any Greek art or culture or architecture, but did give his own opinions and in-jokes a lot. Really disappointing book.
Crooked Cross - Sally Carson. A Persephone birthday present from last year which I thought I would as Persephone has the next book coming out soon
Summit - Ed Conway. All about the Bretton Woods agreement, and characters. I started this last month and it is another big book to get off my shelf. It took quite a while to work through. I enjoyed it, learnt quite a lot about Bretton Woods (not hard as I didn't know anything about it at all), not that much about exchange rates and economics or the gold standard.
Monkey - New Writing from Japan Vol. 5 - Various. Another one that I started last month, but it is my continuation of reading short stories.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Vol 1. Kicking off this year's reading challenge. The start of the book was nothing, if not confusing, with a cast of what seemed like thousands and I wondered how I was going to get through it. But I was loving this by the end, and was a bit sad that it was over.
I decided after the bloodshed and constant wars of the Three Kingdoms that I wanted somethign lighter and so read a recent purchase - The Reader on the 6.27 which I loved not just because it was nice, but also because of the descriptive prose.
And, after a gentle book I went for The Four Just Men, which was short, but an enjoyable read where a member of parliament was threatened with death if he pushed through a bill in parliament that they believed would lead to further bloodshed in many countries. It goes without saying that he did continue and they were successful but it did build the tension quite well and I certainly didn't have a clue how they did it.
January 2026
This month I am planning to make a start on my goals and am going to read Tinker Tailor Solder Spy. I have also started the year reading Shadowlands by Matthew Green which I have had for three years and I am readying The Roman Republic (a very short introduction) and reareading Daventry Past. For a change I haven't actually planned the other books I am going to read this month. After finishing Tinker Tailor I picked up one of my Book Flood presents - Mystery in White. It seemed right to be reading it as it was cold and frosty and it is about a murder on a train caught in the snow. After that I have started Tom Cox's Everything Will Swallow You. I had paid for this through Unbound, which went bust twice and didn't pay it's authors. So I bought it at the local bookshop and it is therefore probably one of the most expensive novels I have bought. I find his writing sort of odd, but not, because other than the actual subject matter, the style is very much like talking to Intellectual Husband. I finished Shadowlands so moved on to reading Summit by Ed Conway about the Bretton Woods agreement, or more precisely the actual summit and the people involved. I quite enjoyed Shadowlands but it wasn't quite what I thought it would be (I will probably never learn to read the blurb properly) and found some chapters a bit repetitive and longer than they needed to be - particularly the last few which were twentieth century abandoned villages.