Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Books I've Read So Far In 2026
19
items I am an avid reader, so here are all the books that I've read so far in 2026. For context, there isn't much rhyme or reason on why I choose to read a book. I have finished almost every single book I've ever started. (I only have one DNF book ever.) I...
Sections
3
Definitely Read
Maybe Read
I Don't Personally Recommend
Definitely Read
These are books that I definitely would recommend to a friend.
This is an absolute must read.
The Handmaid's Tale: A Novel
I recently found a rare hardcover of this book at my thrift store. It's an older title, but has hung around and I think will be considered kind of a classic some day. I have actually never seen the movie - I am a firm believer in book first, movie se...
Practical Magic
This was a random library bookshelf pull for me! As a travel lover, I always enjoy books set in interesting parts of the world. I was excited for this one because there needs to be more historical book set in the Caribbean.....sadly, this one ended u...
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris
I was hesitant to read this book because I wasn't in love with a different book I'd read by this same author. Disclaimer though: I am really picky about my contemporary romance books. I don't mind spice but it has to be believable and not just writte...
This Summer Will Be Different
I almost exclusively read physical books, but I do sometimes grab Amazon First Reads for my iPad. This was one of those choices. I chose it immediately because it's a historical fiction book set in Sardegna, an island I have visited and hold so very ...
The Water Women: A Novel
I have read a LOT of WW2 historical fiction. I tend to look for other things now when I read historical fiction, but the premise of this one sounded interesting and unique to me. I really enjoyed this book. The author set the scenes so beautifully an...
The Venice Sketchbook: A Novel
If you are new to Susanna Kearsley, you're welcome. I was excited for this book to release because I have read quite a few books from this author and have loved them all. Her books are well researched, detailed and beautifully written. I got the turq...
The King's Messenger
I picked this book up at a thrift store and am so glad I did. Alexandra Joel was a new author for me so I was unfamiliar with her work, but the synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy. This was a quick read for me, so a great book to put betwee...
The Royal Correspondent: A Novel
If you've been reading my other book reviews here, you'll see that I like to pick up books at thrift stores - especially authors I'm unfamiliar with. This lets me try them out before making bigger investments into their catalog. This was one of those...
Shanghai Girls: A Novel
Maybe Read
I have read a lot of Kristan Higgins books. I would say she is an author that was kind of a precursor to the Emily Henry type of authors - rom coms with depth and quality humor. However....this book was just ok. Not one of her best. If you're new to ...
Look on the Bright Side
Ok.....this book got a lot of attention, so I've had it on my TBR for a long time and have been excited to read it. The synopsis sounds like something I would normally devour. However......I personally felt like it was really slow? Anyone else? It ju...
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
This book has gotten a lot of attention. I hadn't heard much of the hype when I picked it up for my next read, so I went into it fairly unaware. There were parts of this book I loved and parts of it I really, really did not like. It is a very dark, g...
Alchemised
I am super late to the Freida McFadden party. Mostly because psychological thrillers aren't my genre of choice. But as I said in another review, I am a book first, series/movie second kind of person. And I swear, Netflix is making it harder and harde...
The Housemaid
I picked up this book on Amazon First Reads. If you have an Amazon Prime membership and don't know what that is, its a program where Amazon releases a handful of free Kindle books on the first of each month and you can choose one to download. You can...
The Last Labyrinth
This book *alllllmost* made it on to my definitely read list, so just know that even though it's on Maybe Read, it's higher up there.
If you're new to Emily St. John Mandel's work, she is a beautiful combination of literary fiction, science fiction...
Sea of Tranquility: A novel
I Don't Personally Recommend
I found this book at a thrift store and was excited because I was about to go on a trip to Malta. I also enjoy books about Vatican City conspiracies so I was really looking forward to reading this. Unfortunately, I'm going to put it in the "Don't Per...
The Malta Exchange: Cotton Malone Book 14
Ok, I'll admit. I judged this book by it's cover because I'm a sucker for bright colors and artistic patterns. It pulled me right in. I had never read anything by Janet Evanovich before, but I see her books EVERYWHERE so I figured it would be worth t...
The King's Ransom: A Novel
This was my first Abby Jimenez book. I think maybe I had high expectations for this one, because it just didn't deliver for me. I was expecting a light-hearted rom com....and that's what I got.....for the first part of the book. Then, kind of out of ...
Just for the Summer
Look, I love Emily Henry. She IS my favorite rom-com author. I have read (and keep in my collection) People We Meet On Vacation, Book Lovers, and Happy Place - loved them all. Adored them. This book was not like those, really. Just not the same vibe ...
Great Big Beautiful Life