Hello. Is anybody out there? I know – things have been rather quiet here. But I am still alive and kicking and thought I’d provide a quick mid-year reading update to prevent the tumbleweeds from completely taking over this blog.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2026
I have clearly been in the mood for quiet stories focusing on characters and their connections without much plot going on. Amazingly, I’ve found no less than three excellent books in this category. The winner of the Women’s Prize, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, was a lovely epistolary novel about an older woman. Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout follows Olive and other inhabitants in a small town, Crosby. Strout’s sense of human nature is second to none and I am thoroughly enjoying slowly working my way through this novel, story by story. But I think my favourite has to be Whistler by Ann Patchett. When Patchett is good, she is really good. The disappointment with Tom Lake is (almost) completely forgotten. If you need a solid feel-good read, please pick up Whistler.

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2026
For this, I’ll select the final instalment in the Michael Brady crime series. Sadly, the author passed away, but impressively his daughter finished the story. Good entertainment in the cosy crime genre without being too cosy or formulaic.

3. New release you haven’t read yet, but want to
At a recent audiobook sale, I downloaded the 2025 release Seascraper by Benjamin Wood, which according to Goodreads, follows shanker Thomas Flett as his quiet life in a small English coastal town is forever changed over the course of one fateful day. It certainly sounds like a book, I should enjoy.

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year
I look forward to Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel based on my positive experiences with Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility. In this upcoming novel, Mandel has chosen a dystopian 2031 setting, but I feel she always manages to engage the reader with her fragmented glimpses into human lives across space and time.

5. Biggest disappointment
Unfortunately, a few titles compete for this dubious honour, including My Friends by Frederik Backman and Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy. However, I have to pick Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. Expectations were high, but in the end I really struggled to get through this prize-winning novel.

6. Biggest surprise
Everything I Never Told You was a random download from the Libby App. I honestly suspected it might end with a DNF, but surprisingly I quite enjoyed it. The novel rotates around the rather dysfuntional Asian/American Lee family. Key themes include family dynamics, racism, fitting in and self-realization (or lack thereof). Especially the parents will end up frustrating the heck out of you, but you fully understand what drives them.

7. Favourite new author (debut or new to you)
I don’t think you can judge an author based on just one book, but the ambiguous Audition has tempted me to pick up more material from Katie Kitamura.

8. Newest fictional crush
Nah, no fictional crushes.

9. Newest favourite character
The headstrong and opinionated Sybil from The Correspondent has to be the clear winner here.

10. Book that made you cry
I don’t think any books made me cry this year (although a couple were so bad, I might have been close to tears).

11. Book that made you happy
Murder on the Rocks is the latest instalment in my favourite cosy crime series about Lady Hardcastle and her ladies maid, Flo. Not my favourite in the series, but it still made me smile.

12. Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received)
I will pass on this, since I only read audiobooks and ebooks.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
For some reason, I always struggle to get through Virginia Woolf’s novels (yet end up loving them). Anyway, I hope 2026 will be the year, I finally read The Waves, which according to Goodreads is The novel that most epitomizes Virginia Woolf’s theories of fiction in the working form. 

That was my mid-year reading update for 2026. I hope you have had a good reading year so far and feel free to put recommendations in the comments section. With less time spent in the blogging community, I don’t get the same amount of bookish inspiration. On the positive side, I’ve joined an in-person book club, which I really enjoy.

Will I get back to blogging regularly? Probably not in the immediate future, although I will try to write the odd post here and there. Maybe next year?