Reading 2026 - Books 11-16
I am continuing to read but getting behind in my Goodreads Goal of 36 books. I have reached 16 books for the year but should be at 19. I could catch up and read a bunch of short books but I am trying to get through my Bucket List and most Classic Novels are longer than 400 pages. I will be okay if I do not reach my goal, as long as I enjoy the books I am reading.
Terminal Velocity (#11)
Written by M.P. Woodward; published in 2025; 436 pages; BJ Score 2.5 (Good to Great)
I saw the name Tom Clancy on a discount table at Barnes & Noble, so I purchased it. I guess there are a few writers that are continuing the Clancy genre (aka Ryanverse) since his death in 2013. This one follows the exploits of Jack Ryan Jr., the son of the famous lead in many early Clancy books, played on the big screen by Harrison Ford, Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine and John Krasinski. In this book, Jack Ryan is now President of the United States. The story is great but there is too much technical terms for my taste, making the book only a good read. Our government has always loved Acronyms. I thought I left that world when I retired.
The Rise of Endymion (#12)
Written by Dan Simmons; published in 1997; 709 pages; BJ Score 3.5 (Great to Excellent)
This is the fourth and last book in the Hyperion Cantos series. I had read the first three and had to finish the series. I did not realize that the author Simmons had died earlier in 2026. I like the way he wrote and I see there are plenty of other books out there written by him. If you like Science Fiction, I highly recommend this series of four books. I really loved the worlds he created. I own all four books; the first is a hardcover and the other three are paperbacks.
Anne of Green Gables (#13)
Written by L.M. Montgomery; published in 1908; 382 pages; BJ Score 3.0 (Great)
First, I should note that this is not the cover of the edition I read, but it has the correct number of pages. In Goodreads, there are 7,055 different editions and I could not find the one I had borrowed from the library. Goodreads keeps track of the books you read and it also keeps other stats like the number of pages you have read. Hence why I picked this edition.
This is one of the books from my original list of 100 books to read. It was #46. I had heard of it but I had no idea of what it was about. To borrow it from the Melbourne Library, I had to go to the Juvenile section to find it. The lady was very helpful, I hope she did not think I was stalking the children section.
The book is about a 11 year old orphan named Anne Shirley who end up with a Brother and Sister, the Cuthberts, in a small town on Prince Edward Island in Canada. Their home is called Green Gables. Surprisingly, I found it to be a great read. It reminds me that there are many books out there, and I don't have time enough to read them all.
Quantum Physics Simplified (#14)
Written by Unknown; published in 2021; 164 pages; BJ Score 2.0 (Good)
Again, not the cover because there were no editions of this book in Goodreads.
What I learned by reading this book is that Quantum Physics is complicated, even when simplified. I am not a Physicist. It was a good overview, but I think there are too many different theories at this time.
The Eyre Affair (#15)
Written by Jasper Fforge; published in 2002; 374 pages; BJ Score 4.0 (Excellent)
This was a recommendation I found on Goodreads. I borrowed it from Melbourne Library and I was happy I took the plunge into a new book and new author. This is one of those books that you are either going to love or just hate it. Looking at the reviews in Goodreads proves my point. I was one of the ones who loved it because of its strangeness and off the wall story. Luckily, I had read Jane Eyre which helps some in the understanding of this complex story. Thursday Next, the main female character, is interesting in many ways and I found out there are seven more books about her by Fforge, a Welsh writer who has created an interesting alternative world.
The Moon is Down (#16)
Written by John Steinbeck; published in 1942; 117 pages; BJ Score 3.0 (Great)
One of those books that was hidden away on my bookshelf and was found by a reorganization of how I shelf my books. I think I may have inherited it from my dad, and I had never read it. There have been five books by Steinbeck that I have read that were on my list. My understanding is that the book was used as propaganda during the beginning of World War II. It is a great read that took me only two days.
Scoring
0 Bad Book1 Okay Book2 Good Book3 Great Book4 Excellent Book5 Memorable Book
I gave the Eyre Affair a 4.0 and thought that was unusual, so I created a graph of the 357 books I have read and entered into my spreadsheet, It is pretty much every book I have read since 2003. Here are the results:
I guess there were 63 other books I gave a 4.0 to also.
Score 0.0
Guinness Book of World Records Glenday, Craig
I said it had no plot! I actually like this book but needed a placeholder for 0.0.
Score 1.0 (2 books)
Son of a Witch Maguire, Gregory
Falling Man DeLillo, Don
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