Eat_Read_Knit's 75 (and probably more) books in 2026

Every year I join this group. Every year I stop posting somewhere around the end of January. Every year I promise myself that won't happen again this year.

I'm here again. I will probably read lots of books. I will try to post about them. I may or may not succeed.

About me: I'm in my mid/late 40s and from the UK. I've been on LT since 2007 and in the 75ers on and off since 2008. More off than on, in recent years. Last year was the year of huge amounts of fluffy comfort reading while I did a Big Work Thing that required a lot of brainpower.

Most of my fiction reading tends to be fantasy, romance and chick lit, with a bit of classic crime (I currently have a huge stack of unread British Library Crime Classics to work through). Non-fiction tends to be politics, history and popular science, and there's a fair bit of health/nutrition at the moment.

I am hoping that 2026 will see a bit less fluff reading and a bit more reading across different genres.

I'm going to do what I did last year and split my reading list into romance/chick-lit and everything else. Only the noteworthy romance/chicklit (good, bad, weird, wide appeal, etc) will get mentioned in a thread post as well as being added the basic list; pretty much everything else will get mentioned in a proper post. Books numbered in reading order, across both lists.

My aim this year is to read a wider range of books than I have been reading for the last couple of years, and to read more thoughtfully. (But I'm still me, so there'll still be brain candy.)

Oh, and all dates are day/month/year.

General Reading: the full list
Most/all of these books are likely to get a post below. Dates are DD/MM/YY.

January
2. Guards, Guards - Terry Pratchett - 5/5, re-read (2/1/26) Fantasy
5. Carl's Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman - 5/5 (11/1/26) LitRPG

February
22. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook - Matt Dinniman - 4.5/5 (15/2/26) LitRPG
25. Nine Goblins - T Kingfisher - 4.5/5 (16/2/26) Fantasy novella

March
35. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett - 5/5 (re-read, 6/3/26) fantasy
36. Swordheart - T Kingfisher - 4.5/5, 8/3/26 - fantasy romance/adventure

Romance and Chick lit: the full list
Very few of these books are likely to get a post below. Dates are DD/MM/YY.

January
1. Overdue - Stephanie Perkins - rated 4.5/5, completed 1/1/26 - chick lit with strong character development
3. All Superheroes need PR - Elizabeth Stephens - rated 3.5/5, completed 4/1/26 - scifi romance
4. Breathe With Me - Becka Mack - rated 5/5, completed 6/1/26 - contemporary romance/sports romance
6. Power Play - Chelsea Curto - 2.5/5, 12/1/26 - contemporary/sports romance
7. Tusk Love - Thea Guanzon - 4/5, 15/1/26 - fantasy romance (Critical Role spinoff)
8. Sexting the Coach - Mia Mara - 2.3/5, 16/1/26 - contemporary/sports romance
9. Single Dad Dilemma - Karla Sorensen - 4/5, 17/1/26 - contemporary/sports romance
10. Sway's Peace - Talia Rhea - 3/5, 31/1/26 - sci fi romance

February
11. The Raven Prince - Elizabeth Hoyt - 3.5/5, 4/2/26 - historical romance (re-read, previously read in 2008/9)
12. The Leopard Prince - Elizabeth Hoyt - 3.5/5, 4/2/26 - historical romance (re-read, previously read in 2008/9)
13. The Serpent Prince - Elizabeth Hoyt - 3.5/5, 4/2/26 - historical romance (re-read, previously read in 2008/9)
14. The Wild Card - Stephanie Archer - 4/5, 6/2/26 - contemporary/sports romance
15. All I Wanted Was a Glass of Vino but an Alien Duke Kidnapped Me Instead - Petra Palerno - 2/5, 8/2/26 - sci-fi romance
16. All I Wanted Was to Read Books but I Became a Space Pirate Instead - Petra Palerno - 3.5/5, 9/2/26 - sci-fi romance
17. The Ice Princess - Elizabeth Hoyt - 2/5, 9/2/26 - historical romance (novella)
18. Wed by Proxy - Alice Coldbreath - 4/5, 10/2/2026 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
19. The Unlovely Bride - Alice Coldbreath - 4/5, 12/2/2026 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
20. Up the Ladder - Ana D'Arcy - 4/5, 13/2/2026 - contemporary romance

21. Melt for You - JT Geissinger - 2.5/5, 14/2/2026 - contemporary/sports romance
23. Love vs the Scarecrow - Cassandra Gannon - 4/5, 15/2/26 - horror romance
24. The Consolation Prize - Alice Coldbreath - 4.5/5, 16/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
26. Her Bridegroom Bought and Paid For - Alice Coldbreath - 3/5, 18/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
27. An Inconvenient Vow - Alice Coldbreath - 3/5, 20/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
28. The Favourite - Alice Coldbreath - 4.5/5, 22/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
29. A Most Forgettable Girl - Alice Coldbreath - 4/5 23/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
30. Her Baseborn Bridegroom - Alive Coldbreath - 4.5/5 24/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
31. His Forsaken Bride - Alice Coldbreath - 4/5 25/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance
32. An Ill-Made Match - Alice Coldbreath - 4.5/5 26/2/26 - fantasy (alternate history) historical romance

March
33. Muscles and Monsters - Ashley Bennett - 2/5 2/3/26 - fantasy romance
34. I'm Looking For A Man in Finance - Sabrina Waldorf - 3/5 3/3/26 - contemporary romance
37. From Helsinki With Love - K H Anastasia - 3/5 9/3/26 - contemporary/sports romance
38. Longing For the Alien Lawman - Ursa Dax 4.5/5 9/3/26 Scifi romance
39. Two Can Play - Ali Hazelwood - 4/5 10/3/26 - Contemporary romance
40. Dear Roomie - Kate Meader - 4/5 11/3/26 - Contemporary/sports romance
41. Hot Hex Boyfriend - Carly Bloom - 2.3/5/ 18/3/26 Paranormal romance
42. Work Trip - Chloe Ford - 4.5/5/ 19/3/26 - Contemporary romance/rom com

Welcome back!

Welcome back Katherine. I'll keep posting after February (God willing) to help you stay with us the full course!

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026

>5 PaulCranswick: >6 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, happy new year! Hooray for a successfully completed project :)

>4 drneutron: Thanks Jim

>1 Eat_Read_Knit: I hope you hang with us longer than January this year! Surely we cannot be that bad. . .

>9 alcottacre: Stasia, you are all lovely, I am just incredibly easily distracted :D

Okay, so I know I said most chick lit/romance wouldn't end up with a post, but I think this one is worth mentioning.

I was hoping to finish Overdue by Stephanie Perkins off before the new year, but didn't quite make it. The last 15% or so got finished off with breakfast today and it gets to be the first book completed this year. It gets a 4.5/5.

I am pretty sure this is marketed as romance, and that's certainly the context I found it in. I don't think it is a romance. I would happily call it chick lit, but I also think it falls towards the less fluffy end of the genre. I would call the romance element a strong secondary plot rather than the main focus (and the prominence of this plot strand is probably the thing that makes me call it it chick lit rather than general fiction.) There is a strong coming-of-age element to the story, albeit from younger adulthood to more mature adulthood rather than a literal coming of age.

The main focus is on the personal development of the lead character Ingrid - and yes, part of that is realising that the relationship that she's in at the start of the book is stagnant and that she has some level of attraction to her co-worker, which is the thing the book synopsis focuses on. But a big part of it is also realising that she also feels stagnant in her work life, and that she has dreams and aspirations and other things she wants out of life that she's not getting. That there are things she is now realising she doesn't want. That her own vision for the future doesn't match the expectations some of the people around her have.

The catalyst for all this change is Ingrid's sister's engagement, which prompts Ingrid and her partner of 11 years to ask themselves how they feel about making a similar commitment, and realise that they are not at a point where they want to do that. The suggestion by her boss that she should apply for a development opportunity prompts a similar reassessment of how she feels about her work. And the increasing awareness of imminently turning 30 also prompts a wider reassessment of her life in general.

Definitely recommended for the strong character development.

2. Guards Guards - Terry Pratchett
5/5
Completed 2/1/2026
Series: Discworld
Subseries: Guards (number 1)
Reread

I decided that if I was going to try to join in with this year's Pratchett group read, then I needed to start as soon as I decided to join in. If I actively plan to read something soon (rather than starting it right now), this is essentially the kiss of death to me actually reading it anytime soon; starting it right now was the only way to avoid getting distracted by other things.

This was my fifth read of Guards Guards - I originally read it in in 2009, and then again in 2011, 2012 and 2018, so while it's one of the Pratchett books I know best, it's actually been a while since I read it. It was a bit like putting old slippers old: comfortable and cosy. But I did groan at a a few puns I'd either completely forgotten or had never spotted before.

Vimes and Sybil are among my favourite Pratchett characters, and I think both of them are incredibly well drawn, well-rounded and real characters.

And Errol the swamp dragon is the goodest boy.

>12 Eat_Read_Knit: I need to get back to that zany series, Katherine. Thanks for the timely reminder.

5. Carl's Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman

SciFi/Fantasy LitRPG
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl, 2 of 7
5/5
Completed 11.1.2026

I really enjoyed Dungeon Crawler Carl when I read it in December 2024, and I have all them queued up to read. My other half is currently listening to the audiobook of that, and he's loving it, which inspired me to pull out number 2 in the series.

This one was also great: Carl and Princess Donut are the same as ever, the peril is greater, and the third floor of the dungeon brings some new developments for the characters (literally in the case of the class choices) and for the overarching plot.

I definitely recommend this series - although it defnitely needs content flags for lots of very strong language and on-page violence, and it's definitely one where you have to start with number 1 of the series and read them in order.

>13 PaulCranswick: You're welcome Paul :D Are you going to join us on the group reads?

7. Tusk Love - Thea Guanzon

Rated 4/5
Completed 15/1/26
Fantasy romance - Critical Role spinoff

I really enjoyed this, but I don't know how it would land for someone unfamiliar with the background and context in which it was written.

The book came out of a running joke/plot thread/thing from a Critical Role D&D campaign. For me, the stereotypes in there (for example, the female lead is a violet-eyed ingenue) were part of the fun - this was part of whole bundle of mild parody, in-jokes and context that all came with it being the actual incarnation of the book the characters were reading in the campaign. But for a reader without that context, taking it purely at face value, I suspect that it could just be... bad.

Also, I really need to get back to watching Critical Role. I am literal years behind at this point.

>15 Eat_Read_Knit: I am always up for a group or a shared read. On the basis that it is something I haven't read recently or isn't out of sync with any series I may be reading, then I will happily join.

So, I am still REALLY struggling with reading anything that is not fluff. Even though I am loving the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, it is somehow still a slog. My partner started the series when I was part way through book 2 back in January, and he's now at least a book ahead of me (he's finished 4, I'm not sure if he's started the fifth or not yet).

But I have finally finished number 3, The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook.

I don't know why it was a slog, but I'm pretty sure it was me and not the book. It was definitely a bit slower in the first half than books 1 and 2, but picked up a lot in the second half. I like how the secondary characters are becoming more involved and alliances are developing. I also liked how the relationships between the crawlers and the npcs develop in this one.

So, number 24 for the year was Nine Goblins by T Kingfisher, a fantasy novella (about 150 pages) that I picked up on a whim in when I was in Waterstones at the weekend. The book was originally self-published in 2013, and has now been re-released through a mainstream publisher.

A small band of goblin soldiers under the command of Sergeant Nessilka are accidentally transported well behind enemy lines when some battlefield magic goes wrong.

And not only are the woods they land in full of natural hazards, there are some very unnatural hazards there too...

The author's note at the end explains that the book was inspired by her love of Terry Pratchett and James Herriott, and I can absolutely see both those influences coming through. In particular, the fluffy fantasy exterior coating a strong critique of expansionism/imperialism is very Pratchettesque.

I gave it 4.5/5, but honestly my main gripe is that I'd have liked more of it, both in terms of length and depth/complexity. It was a very, very good novella, but it felt like it could have been an even better novel.

Note to self of March plans, because I need somewhere to put this where I won't lose it or forget about it.
- Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett
- Swordheart - T Kingfisher
- The Gate of the Feral Gods - Matt Dinniman
- Stone and Sky - Ben Aaronovitch
- How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days - Jessie Sylva

35. Men at Arms - Terry Pratchett

5/5
6/5/26
Re-read (previously read 2009, 2018 twice)

The watch gets bigger, Carrot gets promoted, and Vimes gets married. In between that, there's an exploration of racial tensions and prejudice, and the siren calls of firearms and power.*

*And footnotes. Lots of footnotes. Which clearly also have siren powers that I for one am powerless to resist.