Open Thread for Readers for February 2026
Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general? Post about it here!
What is everyone reading during the Bomb Cyclone?
We’re not having it here, thank goodness. But mostly I’ve been rereading – first I read two Megan Whalen Turner books, and then I read my favorite portions of Heated Rivalry and The Long Game. I might try patches of Role Model next.
Does anyone else do this? Go back to favorite books but sometimes instead of rereading the entire book, read just your favorite parts?
@Janine: yes! In fact, I rarely reread an entire book. When I want a comfort read, I’ll grab a favorite book and just scroll through until I find my favorite sections and read those.
@Janine ~ Linesman by S.K. Dunstall is a favorite book but when I reread it, I tend to read the chapters that focus on the main character. In the follow on book, I skip chapters that focus on a different character. The third book in the series though, I reread in its entirety.
I’m trying to find readers who have read the e-books by Ryanne Anthony before I invest any more time and money. I’ve read five and liked four of them. I read her Negative Ion series and two from the M series, but I’ve bought the third and it’s the ‘his’ side, which I detest due to it usually being a copy-and-paste read with no originality. I’m going to read it eventually, because I paid for it. Goodreads doesn’t have much and most books have no reviews. Thanks!
@DiscoDollyDeb: I used to do this all the time when I was in my twenties and thirties. Then I took a break from rereading but now I’m getting back into it in a big way. There’s something really satisfying about bingeing on my favorite scenes, one after the other. Since I already know all the “in between” parts, I don’t need to read the set up to enjoy the payoff.
@DiscoDollyDeb: I forgot to ask, have you had a chance to watch Heated Rivalry? Did you like it?
@Kareni: I really need to give that book a try.
@Lashelle Roberson: I have never read this author. Hopefully someone else here has and will be able to post a helpful reply.. Have you looked at Amazon reviews?
I just finished A Case of Mice and Murder: The Trials of Gabriel Ward by Sally Smith which I very much enjoyed. It’s a cozy mystery set in the early 1900s about a barrister who reluctantly investigates a murder in the Inner Temple, one of Britain’s legal enclaves. His investigation runs alongside a difficult legal case so the story is as much cozy legal drama as it is cozy mystery.
Sir Gabriel is an introvert with what I interpreted as OCD. Over the course of the story he comes slightly out of his shell and makes some friends. I found the book charming and compulsively readable.
@Janine: “Does anyone else do this? Go back to favorite books but sometimes instead of rereading the entire book, read just your favorite parts?”
I do both depending on what I’m looking for at the time. Sometimes I want to experience the whole story again, and sometimes I just want the emotional highlights.
@MaryK: That sounds interesting. And my library has a copy!
@MaryK: Want! Thank you.
@MaryK: Immediately went to my library’s website to see if the Sally Smith book was available. There must be others who agree with your assessment as all of the library’s copies have been checked out, so I’ve now added it to my On Hold list. Thanks for the recommendation.
@janine Yes, I have and there are some good ratings but they’re mostly exchange reviews or unrated. I’d never heard of her until Thanksgiving when my sister mentioned reading some.