Meanderer-ing through 2026

Year 3 of retirement. No goals apart from to read/listen to 75 books and to finish Samuel Pepys 1666 diary.

Books I read or listened to in 2026:
1. Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham. Audiobook loan from library.
2. The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien. Audiobook
3. The Mill on the Shore by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook.
4. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie. Audiobook.
5. Why Is Nothing Ever Simple? by Jodi Taylor. Audiobook.
6. Sea Fever by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook.
7. Entitled by Andrew Lownie. Audiobook.
8. Death of an Addict by MC Beaton. Audiobook.
9. The Rising Tide by Anne Cleeves. Audiobook.
10. Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie. Audiobook.
11. No Sleep Till Wonderland by Paul Tremblay. Audiobook.
12. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien. Audiobook.
13. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch. Audiobook.
14. The Wild Life of the Fox by John Lewis-Stemple. Audiobook.
15. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook.
16. Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks. Audiobook.
17. The Death of Remembrance by Denzil Meyrick. Audiobook.
18. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. Audiobook.
19. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
20. The Soaring Life of the Lark by John Lewis-Stemple. Audiobook.
21. The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook.
22. The Crown Jewel Mystery by Charles Veley. Audiobook.
23. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook.
24. The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths. Audiobook.
25. The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook.
26. A Score to Settle by Matthew Costello. Audiobook.
27. The Undead: The First Seven Days by RR Haywood. Ebook.
28. Death of a Scriptwriter by MC Beaton. Audiobook
30. Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook.
31. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
32. Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Omnibus by Skyler Ramirez. Audiobook.
33. Death of a Dustman by MC Beaton. Audiobook.
34. The White Darkness by David Grann. Audiobook.
35. White Night by Jim Butcher. Audiobook.
36. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook.
37. Deadline: Cherringham by Matthew Costello. Audiobook.
38. A Highland Christmas by MC Beaton. Audiobook.
39. The Curious Life of the Cuckoo by John Lewis-Stempel. Audiobook.
40. Bodies from the Library 6 edited by Tony Medawar. Audiobook.
41. Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald. Audiobook.
42. The Devil's Flute Murders by Seisho Yokomizo. Audiobook.
43. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook.
44. The Mysterious Affair Of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood. Audiobook
45. Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook.
46. Abracadaver by Peter Lovesey. Audiobook.
47. A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook.
48. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook.
49. Written in Blood by Caroline Graham. Audiobook.
50. Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook.
51. The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah. Audiobook
52. World War Z by Max Brooks. Audiobook.
53. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook.
54. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers. Ebook
55. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams. Audiobook.
56. The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook.
57. Stranger Times by MC McDonnell. Audiobook.
58. Bodies from the Library 5 edited by Tony Medawar. Audiobook.
59. Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie. Audiobook.
60. When Night Falls: Bunburry by Helena Marchmont. Audiobook.
61. Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook.
62. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. Audiobook.
63. This Charming Man by CK McDonnell. Audiobook.

Welcome back!

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

Thank you both.

1. Death of a Hollow Man by Caroline Graham. Audiobook from library. I thought I'd try another of the Midsomer Murder books. The story is centred on the actors in the Causton theatrical group. It took some time for the murder and the subsequent investigation to get started and, to be perfectly honest, by the time the murder happened I would have quite happily murdered most on the unpleasant characters. An OK listen but I won't go out of my way to read/listen to any more, I much prefer the TV series.

Hi, Tony. I noticed that we have similar thread names, so I decided to stop by. I’m glad I did—we seem to have similar tastes in books..

>6 meanderer: I’m addicted to the Midsomer tv series. We’re currently watching season 13. We find them fascinating, but being from the U.S., we’re constantly making side comments about the scenery, the prevalence of riding, the recurring sound of foxes, etc. I did like the original books very much, especially the first one and The Ghost in the Machine.

Looking forward to following your reading.

>2 meanderer: I read a bunch of Caroline Graham's books years ago. I should probably need to revisit her at some point.

A Belated Happy New Year, Tony!

>8 alcottacre: And a Happy New Year to you, Stasia.

2. The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien. Audiobook. A relisten. As good as ever and brilliantly read by Andy Serkis.

3. The Mill on the Shore by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook loan from library. A solid mystery.

Just stopping by to say hi, and glad that your reading has picked up at least a little bit.

4. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie. Audiobook. A Superintendent Battle mystery. Toffs playing at detectives.

5. Why Is Nothing Ever Simple? by Jodi Taylor. Audiobook. A St Mary's Christmas short story.

>13 meanderer: Hahaha that summed it up nicely.

6. Sea Fever by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook. A George and Molly Palmer-Jones investigation. A decent mystery.

7. Entitled by Andrew Lownie. Audiobook. I am a Republican (in the British meaning of the word not the American) so this book was really preaching to the converted in my case. This is an in-depth look at the lives of the former Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleag (now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor) and his wife Sarah, Duchess of York (now Sarah Ferguson) including their extravegant life-styles at the expense of the British tax payer. I know people who have met Andrew at charity functions, etc and they were advised to keep well clear of him. The only (small) criticism of the audiobook is that Lownie narrated it himself and I think the book would have benefitted from a professional narrator. I'm looking forward to the updated version.

I've just looked at my 2025 year in review. I added 784 books to my library! These were nearly all ebooks or audiobooks and some are doubles, either an ecopy of a physical book or the audio and ebook versions of the same work.

8. Death of an Addict by MC Beaton. Audiobook. In this story Hamish Macbeth is taken out of his Highland home and even travels abroad as part of an investigation into drug smuggling.

9. The Rising Tide by Anne Cleeves. Audiobook. Another outing for Vera, this time on the tidal island of Lindesfarne.

10. Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie. Audiobook. This was a fun listen with a great cast of characters and a decent plot. I managed to guess the culprit towards the end of the book. It's included in the Superintendent Battle series, but since he only appears right at the end, that is hardly the case.

11. No Sleep Till Wonderland by Paul Tremblay. Audiobook. In which we follow a narcoleptic PI as he tries to solve a complex case whilst attending a counselling group, avoiding arrest by the police and keeping awake. The wise-cracking, noir style language goes over the top but this was a fun listen. The narration was also apt for the character who seemed to living on the edge and at a breakneck pace.

12. The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien. Audiobook. On to book 3.

13. Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch. Audiobook. Further urban fantasy adventures with DC Peter Grant.

14. The Wild Life of the Fox by John Lewis-Stemple. Audiobook. A short look at the life of the fox. Its biology and its place in folklore and human culture.

15. The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook. It is always a pleasure to bask in the warm Botswanan sunshine in the company of Mma Ramotswe.

16. Doctor Who and the Dalek Invasion of Earth by Terrance Dicks. Audiobook. An exciting adventure for the first Doctor.

17. The Death of Remembrance by Denzil Meyrick. Audiobook. A great listen. It is always a pleasure to spend time in Kinloch with Daley, Scott, Hamish and company. The book kept me gripped to the end. My only criticism would be that I thought the end was a little rushed. Only two books left in this series.

18. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. Audiobook. I did not enjoy this as much the Hitchhiker's Guide series but I still enjoyed listening to it. It also requred a bit of concentration to keep up with the story.

19. Pyramids by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. A relisten to the story but a new recording.

20. The Soaring Life of the Lark by John Lewis-Stemple. Audiobook. A sort accoun of the place of the lark (mainly the skylark) in British culture and society and its biology and issues facing its survival as a species.

21. The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook. Jimmy Perez relocates to Orkney and murder follows.

22. The Crown Jewel Mystery by Charles Veley. Audiobook. A prequel to a series of stories about Sherlock Holmes and Lucy James. Quite entertaining.

23. The Handsome Man's De Luxe Café by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook. It's nice to spend time with Mma Ramotswe and the familiar cast of characters. The pace is slow and the mystery is simple and not really the focus of the story, but it was still an enjoyable listen. However, this story and others in the series do cover some dark topics.

24. The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths. Audiobook. It's been some time since I have read a Ruth Galloway mystery. It way an engaging story.

25. The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook. Another case for Vera Stanhope.

26. A Score to Settle by Matthew Costello. Audiobook. Back to Cherringham for, in this case, a bit of cosy theft.

27. The Undead: The First Seven Days by RR Haywood. Ebook. My first completed ebook of 2026. I have a few 'mammoth' (as Booktube would describe them) ebooks on the go at the moment as well as some shorter ones alongside them. You can't beat at good zombie apocolypse and this is a good, action-packed zombie apocolypse.

28, Death of a Scriptwriter by MC Beaton. Audiobook. More mystery with Hamish in Sutherland.

I do love the Mma Ramotswe series. They’re so very peaceful.

I’ve read 5 or 6 entries in the Shetland Island series by Anne Cleeves. Not tried any of her other series, though.

Also enjoy the Hamish series by MC Beaton. Soothing reads along the order of the Botswana books, but with more emphasis on humor and less on life lessons.

You’ve been hugging right along on your reading!

29. The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson. Audiobook. I listened to this in one sitting (well one walk tbh). What a way to start a series!

>40 Matke: The UK versions of the No 1 Ladies audiobooks are read by Adjoa Andoh who is the perfect narrator for the series. I really like Anne Cleeves' Vera series. If you like the Shetland books, I would recommend the Lewis series of books by Peter May as well as the standalone Coffin Road. These are also set on Scottish islands, in this case Lewis and Harris. I may be biased though, since I have a very soft spot for Lewis, Harris and Uist.

30. Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves. Audiobook. A solid case for Vera.

31. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. I am embarking on a relisten of the Discworld novels using the new recordings.

32. Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes Omnibus by Skyler Ramirez. Audiobook. This was a fun listen. The first three (quite short) books in the series. In style (and humour), they reminded me of the Stainless Steel Rat, Magic 2.0 and Black Ocean books, so they will not be to everyone's taste.

Some audiobooks I finished whilst on a short break:

33. Death of a Dustman by MC Beaton. Audiobook. Whilst it is nice to be back in Lochdubh with Hamish and the other locals, I did find some of the characters in this book to be quite unpleasant. Also, I get annoyed that Hamish keeps evidence from the police in Strathbane even though he knows that it is the wrong thing to do and will probably get him into trouble.

34. The White Darkness by David Grann. Audiobook. The story of Henry Worsley an explorer who was fascinated by Ernest Shackleton. He was a relative of Frank Worsley, one of Shackleton's Antarctic team. I listened to the audiobook, but also have an ebook version which is full of photos from the original Shackleton expedition and from Henry Worsley's own adventures.

35. White Night by Jim Butcher. Audiobook. Sometimes you just need a bit of urban fantasy in your life.

36. The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook. I first read this many years ago and have now decided to embark on a relisten of the entire series.

37. Deadline: Cherringham by Matthew Costello. Audiobook. Back to the Cotswolds for more Midsomer-esque crime.

38. A Highland Christmas by MC Beaton. Audiobook. Some sadness, some happiness and some social commentary mixed with a bit of petty crime.

39. The Curious Life of the Cuckoo by John Lewis-Stempel. Audiobook. All about the cuckoo; its biology and how it is portrayed in literature, music and folklore.

40. Bodies from the Library 6 edited by Tony Medawar. Audiobook. A collection of Golden Age mysteries, some by still famous authors, some by authors now forgotten.

41. Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald. Audiobook. A mystery written in the 1970s. A journalist under cover investigates drug dealers and a millionaire who wants to be murdered. Enjoyable listen.

42. The Devil's Flute Murders by Seisho Yokomizo. Audiobook. Locked room mystery from Japan set just after WW2. An interesting listen.

43. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook. Really enjoyable.

44. The Mysterious Affair Of Judith Potts by Robert Thorogood. Audiobook. The plot of this one seemed a bit convoluted but it kept me listening and entertained.

45. Shadows in Bronze by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook. I read the paperback version of this years ago. I'm now going through the series once again on audio.

46. Abracadaver by Peter Lovesey. Audiobook. Mystery set in Victorian era music halls.

47. A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook. I am really enjoying this series.

48. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz. Audiobook. Another Hawthorne and Horowitz. As enjoyable as the others.

49. Written in Blood by Caroline Graham. Audiobook. My favourite of the Midsomer books so far. A great cast of characters (some truly awful) and a good central mystery.

50. Venus in Copper by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook. A revisit of the third book in the Falco series.

51. The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah. Audiobook. The first of Sophie Hannah's Poirot mysteries. Enjoyable, but a tad convoluted.

52. World War Z by Max Brooks. Audiobook. A brilliant audio presentation, a perfect format for this book.

53. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett. Audiobook. A relisten of the story but with the new recording. A fun listen.

54. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers. Ebook. Not an audiobook! I had started this earlier this year but got sidetracked and had to restart. As a result it felt like a long novel which it isn't. Overall, I enjoyed the setting, plot and characters.

55. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams. Audiobook. I enjoyed this more than the first Dirk Gently book.

56. The Iron Hand of Mars by Lindsey Davis. Audiobook. Another great adventure for M Didius Falco.

57. Stranger Times by MC McDonnell. Audiobook. I really enjoyed this urban fantasy set in Manchester. A great cast of characters and a wonderful sense of humour including the acknowledgements at the end which were done as future obituaries. The narrator was perfect. There os a podcast by the author which is based on the world of Stranger Times and it's well worth a listen. The stories from the Times which are dotted around the book were a nice added touch.

>69 meanderer: Not familiar with that one, Tony, but Manchester and its erstwhile mayor Andy Burnham are very much in the news aren't they right now?

When I think of Manchester I always think of that rather unpleasant but nontheless funny comment that was made to David Beckham upon the birth of his son Brooklyn. He was asked the reason for the naming of the child and said it was because he had been conceived in New York. Some wag responded that it was a good job that he hadn't been conceived in Manchester or he could have been called Shithole!

A long time away but I am still a Yorkshireman!

>70 PaulCranswick: I come from Leeds but I studied in Manchester, as did my sister, who then settled there, and several cousins brought up in London. Danny is a student there now. Bizarrely, I know 3 people in Tottenham who went to the same school as me, one close to me in age, the others left school before I was born. I also know three other people who live in my little bit of Tottenham who studied there. Oh, and there's my friend from south Manchester who studied in Leeds and laughed at me when I referred to ginnels where we are now. Matt's a little younger than me but he's been moving around this area for more than 20 years.

>70 PaulCranswick: As a proud Loiner, I would have to agree with the wag. Nevertheless, the book is excellent, as is the podcast.

>71 elkiedee: Ginnels were a part of my life back in the 60s/70s. I would go through a ginnel daily to get to school. Where I am now (Huddersfield) they are referred to as snickets, which just isn't the same.

58. Bodies from the Library 5 edited by Tony Medawar. Audiobook. A collection of Golden Age short stories and a novella. A mostly good collection.

59. Miss Marple's Final Cases by Agatha Christie. Audiobook. Miss Marple short stories plus a couple of supernatural tales. A decent listen.

60. When Night Falls: Bunburry by Helena Marchmont. Audiobook. Another in the Bunburry cosy mystery series.

61. Precious and Grace by Alexander McCall Smith. Audiobook. It is always a pleasure to return to Botswana.

62. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay. Audiobook. A great idea, but I thought the book was just OK. I didn't really care about any of the characters to be honest and I didn't really like the ending.

63. This Charming Man by CK McDonnell. Audiobook. Another great instalment in this urban fantasy series.