2026 Reads

2026 Read-A-Thon

Welcome to 2026 and my books. My reading plan is to read outside of my usual comfort zone and to read books I have never read but probably should have.

I am going to list everything I read this year and share a line or two about my thoughts. Here goes….

1. Angels of Death: Exploring the Euthanasia Underground by Roger Magnusson – All I can say about this one is that I couldn’t finish it. 30 years of nursing had made me think I had settled views on this subject. My views have changed.
2. Persuasive Pro-Life: How to talk about a tough issue by Trent Horn – This book cemented for me the views I already had. It was incredibly good.
3. Welcome to Derry by Jordan Clare – I love a good horror and particularly the IT movies so to find a book linked to the series was quite exciting. Sadly, it did not live up to expectations. While some of it was great, wrong actor’s names for the characters they were playing and the fact it seemed to have been written before the finale was shown, changed the rhetoric of the book. It took the edge of it for me.
4. Brutal Truths: Surviving in a world of taboos, lies, and bullshit by Simon Hammond – This crossed my radar via a sale on the bookgrocer website. It looks at the brutal truths of the world. It aims to unsettle the reader by examining how the world has changed and to examine exactly what the ‘brutal truths’ are.
5. You should have known by Jean Korelitz – This one was a ‘must read’ for me having just finished the TV series (The Undoing) that used this book as its core. It was an enjoyable read but a little slow for me in places. It is one where the TV show added in bits that filled some gaps.
6. Behind the Staircase by Michael Peterson – A true crime story of the murder of his wife Kathleen. Another that recently had been on HBO Max and was a great watch. The book went more in depth to the case and his prison life. It changed my opinion on what happened.
7. The Book of Sheen by Charlie Sheen – Charlie has lived a crazy life of rock and roll, movie sets, rehabs, interventions, alcohol, and drugs. But he has come out the other side with a beautiful family and his story to tell. This memoir grabbed me. I had a tough time putting it down—it’s incredibly engaging. It reminded me of Matthew Perry’s. To see Charlie out the other side with his family, is a blessing.
8. The Warren Files volume 1 by Daniel Salcedo Bernier – Paranormal cases, especially Ed and Lorraine’s work who I have followed for some time, are fascinating to me. This book was well written. Straight down the line. The case, the action and anything that needed follow up. Onto volume 2.
9. The Warren Files volume 2 by Daniel Salcedo Bernier – 20 brand new cases. While the cases were great to read and interesting, my criticism is that the pronouns were incorrect at times. He’s and she’s were the wrong way around. Also, some of them could benefit from expanded information. They are so interesting that you want to know more!
10. The Warren Files volume 3 by Daniel Salcedo Bernier – By the time you reach “The Warren Files: Volume 3”, you know what you are stepping into. This is not polished horror fiction, nor is it a sceptical examination of paranormal claims. This volume continues to present cases linked to Ed and Lorraine Warren as lived experiences rather than structured narratives.
11. Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall – Imperfect Women opens with a death, but it isn’t really about murder. It’s about friendship — the kind that begins in girlhood and stretches, reshapes, and occasionally strains under the weight of adult life. There’s something very real about the way these women measure themselves against one another, even while loving each other fiercely. Hall captures that uncomfortable duality beautifully — how you can celebrate a friend while secretly wondering what your own life might have been.
12. Book of Lives, a memoir of sorts by Margaret Atwood – One of the book’s strongest threads is the tension between private woman and public icon. Few authors have watched their work become global political shorthand, yet Atwood writes about fame with dry detachment. https://madhatterpress.cloud/book-of-lives
13. The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes – The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes is a true-crime narrative that reads, at times, like psychological fiction. Keyes turns his attention to the extraordinary case of Billy Milligan — the first person in the United States to be found not guilty by reason of insanity due to what was then called multiple personality disorder. Keyes presents each personality — from the cultured, intellectual Arthur to the aggressive Ragen — as fully formed individuals, complete with accents, skills, and temperaments. This structure gives the narrative an almost novelistic feel, as though we are meeting a cast of characters rather than facets of one man.
14. Inferno by Dan Brown – Inferno is a high-speed intellectual thriller that once again places symbolist Robert Langdon at the centre of a historical puzzle with global consequences. The novel opens with Langdon waking in hospital with no memory of how he got there. What follows is a twisting pursuit through museums, palaces, and hidden passageways, as clues linked to Dante’s Inferno point toward a catastrophic biological threat. Brown’s trademark short chapters and cliffhanger endings keep the pages turning, while his detailed descriptions of Renaissance art and architecture add richness and texture. Not as good as others but highly readable. 
15. Vanity Fair Women on Women by assorted Authors – Vanity Fair’s Women on Women is a fascinating and powerful collection that brings together decades of writing by remarkable women about other remarkable women. Drawn from the archives of Vanity Fair, the anthology celebrates female voices, perspectives, and experiences across politics, entertainment, culture, and literature. What makes this book particularly compelling is the intimacy of its approach. Rather than traditional biographies, these essays feel like conversations between women—observant, insightful, and often deeply personal. The writers do not simply catalogue achievements; they explore the complexities, contradictions, and humanity of their subjects. Vanity Fair’s Women on Women is more than a collection of magazine pieces; it is a portrait of women observing, analysing, and celebrating one another. The result is thoughtful, intelligent, and often quietly inspiring. For readers interested in journalism, biography, and the evolving story of women’s roles in society, it is an engaging and worthwhile read.
16. The Help by Kathryn Stockett – The Help by Kathryn Stockett is a compelling and often confronting novel set in 1960s Mississippi, during a time of deep racial division and social change. Told through the alternating voices of Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny, the book draws the reader into the private lives of women bound together by circumstance, yet divided by race and expectation. What makes the novel particularly effective is its use of first-person narration. Each voice feels distinct and authentic, allowing the reader to experience not only the outward realities of segregation but also the internal lives of the characters. Aibileen’s quiet strength, Minny’s sharp wit, and Skeeter’s gradual awakening create a layered narrative that is both intimate and expansive. Stockett does not shy away from the injustices faced by Black maids working in white households, yet she balances these heavier themes with moments of warmth and humour. Minny, in particular, provides a biting honesty that cuts through the social niceties of the time. The relationships between the women are at the heart of the story, revealing both the fragility and strength of human connection.
17. The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood – This is not a loud dystopia. There are no grand speeches or cinematic rebellion. Instead, we follow Offred, a woman reduced to a role in the Republic of Gilead, where identity is stripped down to function.  https://madhatterpress.cloud/the-handmaids-tale-3
18. Forever in the Sunshine by Gary Morecambe – Forever in the Sunshine is far more than a simple memoir—it is a warm, affectionate tribute to a father, a legacy, and a life lived in laughter. As the son of the legendary Eric Morecambe, Gary offers readers a deeply personal insight into the man behind the public persona, and it is this balance that gives the book its real charm. At its core, the book is about memory—how we hold onto it, shape it, and sometimes revisit it with a mixture of joy and longing. Gary writes with an ease that feels conversational, as though he is sitting across from you, sharing stories over a cup of tea. There is no sense of performance here, which is perhaps fitting given the larger-than-life figure at the centre of it all. Instead, there is honesty, warmth, and a clear desire to present his father not just as a comedy icon, but as a husband and a dad. What stands out most is the tone. It would have been easy for this to become overly sentimental, yet it never quite tips into that. The humour is gentle and natural, woven through the narrative in a way that feels true to Eric’s spirit. At the same time, there is a quiet poignancy that reminds you this is also a story of loss. If anything, the book’s simplicity is its strength. It doesn’t try to be grand or overly reflective; it simply tells a story, and tells it well. Forever in the Sunshineis a heartfelt, easy read—one that leaves you smiling, while perhaps blinking back the odd tear.
19. Flamingos aren’t born pink by Robin Bailey – There are some books that are a great read. There are some that you know you’ll read again. This book hits you right in the emotional centre of your soul. This is a memoir that not only recounts a life lived both personally and professionally, but it also lays bare one of the hardest moments that a woman can face. Becoming a widow. For Robin, this happened twice.This book grabbed me by page 3 of the prologue when Robin said, “Do I blame myself for Tony’s death?” With just that one sentence, I knew this was going to be a book of raw, open, honesty. I knew that this book was going to be truth. This book has an emotional intensity to it, a rawness that has the potential to be incredibly confronting. But it is that raw honesty that makes this book so special. Robin confronts guilt, anger, and the messy, often unspoken realities of grief. Particularly powerful is her exploration of how loss reverberates through a family, with each of her sons processing their grief differently. Robins writing style is refreshingly unguarded. What had the potential to become a heavy narrative is instead something far more nuanced. Bailey does not shy away from the darkness—indeed, she walks straight into it—but she refuses to let it define the entire story. Instead, she carefully threads through it themes of survival, motherhood, and, most strikingly, hope. In the end, Flamingos Aren’t Born Pinkis a deeply human book. It is about breaking, but more importantly, about rebuilding. It speaks to anyone who has loved, lost, and wondered how to keep going.
20. “What Have I Done?” By Ben Elton – If you’re picking up a novel by Ben Elton, you come with expectations. Maybe a dose of wit. Maybe you’re looking for commentary that doesn’t tiptoe but stomps straight through the middle of polite conversation. WithWhat Have I Done? Elton delivers. What stands out most is the pacing. Elton allows the tension to build gradually, layering unease rather than rushing toward it. There is a quiet dread in watching events unfold, a sense that something is going wrong long before it fully reveals itself. It’s less about shock value and more about that sinking feeling of inevitability. Stylistically, the writing is crisp and accessible. He writes as if you are sitting opposite him having a conversation. There is a rhythm to it – natural, sharp, and often laced with a sting. The Ben Elton humour is still there, but it is a more restrained Elton that’s on show. In the end, What Have I Done? is less a question posed by the people in it and more one handed directly to the reader. And it is that shift—from observation to introspection—that gives the novel its real weight. It might just be one of his most thought-provoking yet.
21. Identity crisis by Ben Elton – Identity Crisis by Ben Elton is a sharp, satirical dive into the chaos of modern life, where outrage travels faster than truth and identity is both fiercely defended and dangerously weaponised. . The trademark style is unmistakable—and skewers everything from cancel culture to online virtue signalling, never quite taking a side but instead exposing the extremes on all fronts. What makes this compelling is its uncomfortable relevance. He doesn’t offer easy answers, and at times the book feels overwhelming, mirroring the relentless noise of the digital age it critiques. Some characters verge on caricature, that spoilt it for me. Not everyone will enjoy its relentless pace or its refusal to pick a clear moral stance, but for readers willing to sit in the discomfort, “Identity Crisis” is unsettling—a reflection of a world where everyone is shouting, and no one is truly listening.
22. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans – The Correspondent by Virginia Evans is a quietly powerful debut that proves you don’t need dramatic plot twists to leave a lasting impression—just a voice worth listening to. Told entirely through letters, the novel invites readers into the mind of Sybil Van Antwerp, a sharp, complicated woman in her seventies whose life unfolds not in action, but in reflection. At first, the epistolary format feels almost intrusive, as though we are reading something not meant for us. But that discomfort quickly becomes the book’s greatest strength. Through correspondence with friends, family, institutions, and even strangers, Sybil reveals herself in fragments—witty, blunt, occasionally difficult, but always deeply human. It’s in what she omits as much as what she writes that the real story emerges. Evans handles ageing with rare honesty. This isn’t a sentimental portrait of growing older; it’s layered with regret, stubbornness, loneliness, and flashes of unexpected humour. Sybil is not always likeable, and that’s precisely the point. She feels real—someone shaped by decades of choices, mistakes, and quiet endurance. The novel explores themes of grief, forgiveness, and connection, often indirectly, trusting the reader to piece things together from subtle clues scattered throughout the letters. If there’s a challenge, it lies in the pacing. The narrative unfolds slowly, and the lack of traditional structure may not suit every reader. Yet for those willing to lean into its rhythm, the reward is a deeply intimate reading experience. Ultimately, The Correspondentis less about what happens and more about what lingers—an understated, thoughtful novel about the stories we tell, the ones we hide, and the quiet ways a life is revealed.
23. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. – The Testaments had a lot to live up to, arriving decades after The Handmaid’s Tale, and thankfully, it doesn’t try to simply recreate what made the original so powerful. Instead, Margaret Atwood takes us back into Gilead with a different purpose—less about shock, more about peeling back the layers. Set fifteen years on, the story is told through three women, and it’s Aunt Lydia who steals the show. She’s no longer just the cold, terrifying figure we remember. Here, she’s complicated, calculating, and, at times, uncomfortably relatable. Agnes and Daisy, give us two sides of the same coin—one raised inside Gilead’s rigid rules, the other outside it, completely unaware of what’s really going on. Their stories pull the plot along nicely, even if they don’t quite have the same depth as Lydia. 
24. Britain on the Brink by KM Breakey – You know from the title alone that Britain on the Brink is not going to be a light-hearted romp through the English countryside. K. M. Breakey has written a novel that wears its heart and its concerns on its sleeve, Britain on the Brink
25. The Elephant to Hollywood by Sir Michael Caine. Caine is a natural storyteller, and the pages are filled with encounters, disasters, triumphs and behind-the-scenes moments that film lovers will adore. Spending time in Michael Caine’s company is the real attraction.Beneath the humour there is touching honesty—about aging, missed opportunities, friendships lost and the grounding force of family. The Elephant to Hollywood is not simply a celebrity memoir; it is the reflection of a man who has seen fortune change many times and still managed to remain recognisably human. Funny, nostalgic and immensely likeable, this is Michael Caine at his most companionable.