2026 - The Annual "Track the Books You Read" Thread (please sticky, Rev!)

[indianasmith]

n 2018 I read 60 books.
In 2019, I read 46 (in my defense, a couple of them were whoppers of over 600 pages!)
In 2020, I read 43, but there were NO cartoon anthologies on the list this time!
In 2021, I read a total of 46 books - some pretty massive biographies (600+ pages) included.
In 2022, I read 66 books - including reading the Sandman saga TWICE, at least.  Also re-read Colleen McCullough's MASTERS OF ROME series - thick, chunky books, but I love them! And the usual mix of history, biography, and fiction.
In 2023, I read 45 books - lots of chunky biographies in the mix.
In 2024, I read a total of 39 books (it was a busy year)
In 2025, I got back up to speed and read 52 books

January 2026

Jan. 7 - THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER'S WEB by David Lagerkrantz
Jan. 17 - SURVIVOR: BILL CLINTON IN THE WHITE HOUSE by John Harris
Jan. 19 - MOUTH OF MADNESS by Hunter Blaine
Jan. 29 - HITLER'S FURIES: German Women in the Nazi Killing Fields by Wendy Lower

February 2026
Feb. 1 - PENDERGAST: THE BEGINNING by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

[pacman000]

Lad: A Dog

A 1919 fix-up of a dozen or so stories about Albert Payson Tyhune's favorite collie. Could be subtitled "Or Why Leash Laws Exist;" Lad tries to kill someone or something in almost every chapter. What made a good dog 100 years ago is not what makes a good dog today...

Repeats certain key phrases every chapter, since each chapter originally had to stand on its own. Occasionally breaks into essay-like speeches, like "why we shouldn't kill all the dogs in the US save resources for our troops" or "why dog shows are too concerned with how dogs look" or "why people shouldn't assume a panting dog is rabid."

Terhune is careful to note that Lad might not be thinking things thru; the Nature Fakir controversy was still fresh in public memory.

Yes, I'm being a bit harsh; it's still a good book.

[Rev. Powell]

Good lord, I read that wrong at first. I'm so glad you were not reading "Laid: A Dog."