Kat’s 2026 Book List

Fiction

The Widow, by John Grisham. I chose this as my first book of 2026 (after slogging through my final 2025 book for several weeks) because Grisham was one of my mom’s favorite’s, and I often find myself honoring her with my book choices. The Widow was described as Grisham’s first whodunnit (most of his other books are courtroom dramas), but it takes an awfully long time for the “dunnit” to get done. Once the victim dies, the novel curiously seems to go into warp speed as the protagonist is charged with murder – and gets a lot more interesting. I also enjoyed Grisham’s reference to John D. McDonald, my dad’s favorite author (in fact, I don’t recall my dad reading anything but John D. McDonald). As noted, I’ve made many reading homages to my mom, but never to my dad, so I’ve decided to read a John D. McDonald 60s detective novel this year.

Tart, by Slutty Cheff. I chose this selection because my son read it, and it seemed like a fun, relatively short read after what seemed like a lengthy streak of long books. It’s the memoir of a Brit career gal who is bored with corporate life and decides to become a chef. The book is indeed fun and amusing and essentially about food/cooking and sex, both of which “Slutty Cheff” is passionate about. I was surprised by the amount of sex and the casualness of both the sex and substance use, but not deterred from enjoying a nice little diversion from serious reading.

Kin, by Tayari Jones, is the third book I’ve read by Jones, and I’ve enjoyed all of them. This one features two young, motherless black women in the mid-20th century. Both in their own way are in quest of a mother or mother figure. I was completely engaged.

The Long Blue Goodbye, by John D. McDonald. I quickly made good on my vow to pay homage to my dad by reading a John D. McDonald novel. This was the first in his nine Travis McGee series, all with a color in their titles. I can see why my dad liked the books; they’re lively and well-written. Private detective McGee is very popular with the ladies, and I was a little surprised at the amount of sex. The book was written in 1964, and the swinging 60s hadn’t quite come to fruition at that point. McDonald writes about it pretty obliquely, not even approaching soft porn. As I do with many stories of this type, I had trouble visualizing the action scenes. The story revolves around stolen money and the charismatic but nasty guy who hid it inside driveway statuary. The book was perfectly fine, but I don’t feel a need to read anymore McDonald.

Falling Apart and Other Gifts from the Universe, by Catherine Ryan Hyde.