Time to tackle the reading goal for 2026. As mentioned in an earlier post, my goal this year is to read 78 books. That’s not a lot for many people but it is definitely a challenge for me. I do a combination of listening and reading books each month. Based on my statistics from last year where I exceeded my goal by a couple of books, I need to have a few months where I read 6 or more books. For me, that’s a lot. I generally easily tackle about 5 books per month.
Here are the books I read/listened to in January.
This is actually my second time reading this book. I read it the first time when it was released in 2022. I loved it then and this time was no different. I was actually surprised at how much I did and didn’t remember. The book features many interesting characters and lots of moral quandaries.
This is a historical fiction book about the building of the Panama Canal. I read it for one of my bookclubs and there was quite a divide about this book. A group including myself liked the stories and the characters and an equal number did not like the book at all. They felt that the author spent too much time explaining what happened instead of letting the characters do the talking and telling the reader what’s going on and why. I found it enjoyable and was glad that there was not long drawn out chapters describing the actual building of the canal.
This book was scary in how relevant it is today. It deals with AI and what happens when something goes wrong. Is AI to blame or the human? A really good read and quite thought provoking.
I continue on with my trend of reading Harlan Coben books that also have been turned into a Netflix series. In full disclosure, I haven’t watched any of them yet but I do plan to. And, I have to say, I’m not bored by any of the books and they are all very different. They tend to be a bit dark but the suspense is top notch and the endings have been really rewarding.
Here’s another one from Harlan Coben with a Netflix show. This one was really interesting and with an outcome I did not see coming. One of the things that I really like about Harlan Coben books is that the killer is always someone who has been around in the story. It’s not a stranger that shows up out of nowhere.
Goal:78
January: 5 read; 73 remaining to read
As always, if you have suggestions for books either to read or listen, please leave the recommendations in the comments.
