What are you excited to read in 2026?
I’ve never set reading goals for myself being more of a ‘what I feel like’ kind of reader however, I’ve decided to switch things up this year. The reason I’ve set myself a challenge is twofold.
I discovered a favourite book called Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had been a past winner of the Booker Prize in 1975. Combine this with the fact that a new favourite, Orbital by Samantha Harvey was a 2024 Booker Prize winner and I found I’d stumbled on the beginnings of a challenge.
I want to focus on reading to improve my writing but this means I actually need to READ and not scroll. If I set myself a challenge then hopefully I can avoid the time-wasting that being on my phone causes.
I read an ABC article recently about the ‘performative’ nature of reading goals and how such goals can lead to reading becoming a chore. To avoid this possibility, the article quotes Dr Julian Novitz from Swinburne University in Melbourne who argues that:
When done right, … reading goals can be handy for dedicating space and time for reading…[and] suggests setting targets that are more around the experience of reading, rather than quantity.
Which led me to my challenge.
What is the challenge?
In 2026, my aim is to read all the Booker Prize winning novels.
Given the first prize winner was announced in 1969 and has included joint winners and an extra award called the ‘Lost Man’, this is quite a list of books to get through. Luckily I have already read many of the Booker Prize winning novels which helps with the nearly 1 x book per week schedule I’d otherwise set for myself. I will read these books again but it will be more of a skim through to remind myself of the details rather than a deep dive which new reads require. Quite a task…
I’m up for it though!
Are you?
Follow along for my hopefully many updates as I make my through this extensive list of books, and share my thoughts on them (the first two reviews can be found below).
Updates from the laptop of Jacqui
Today’s newsletter contains and will contain in future editions:
Booker Prize winner reviews
A New Zealand reading guide
Writing update
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Booker Prize Winner Reading Challenge
These reviews won’t be in the order they were awarded their prize as I’m having trouble sourcing some of the books. Instead, I’ll review them as I read them.
Booker Prize winner review #1 & #2:
HEAT & DUST by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Separated by nearly 40 years, both these books have a timeless quality. Although very different in subject matter and approach, they are both incredible examples of fine writing and elevated narrative structures.
Heat & Dust
1975 Booker Prize winner
A ‘must read’ for everyone. One of my favourite books. This is the story of two women, an aunt and her great niece, who never meet but are united in their love for India and the people and life they find there. The story is a dual narrative focusing on Olivia (the aunt) and the narrator (present day). The inner life of Olivia is revealed through letters which helps answer the narrator’s question about the choice Olivia made to ‘run off’ with the local Indian Raj, a decision that causes ‘scandal’ and ricochets through the generations. Set against this gripping story is the background of the British Raj and the ongoing effects of colonialism.
Orbital
2024 Booker Prize winner
A ‘must read’ for everyone. This beautiful story takes place in a space station orbiting earth in the course of one 24 hour period through which we glimpse images of earth through the prism of those onboard the space station. I adored this book. I wept for the beauty of the earth, its fragility, its vulnerability and its incredible raw power all viewed from a perspective rarely seen. A poignant and remarkable elegy to the sphere we call home.
Feature Story
New Zealand reading guide
I’ve just returned from a fabulous two week holiday exploring the north island of New Zealand which set me thinking about New Zealand authors and books.
Which New Zealand authors have you read?
To give me some inkling of the wider context in which New Zealand (and Australia) sit, I read Paul Theroux’s ‘The Happy Isles of Oceania’. While not a specifically New Zealand book it was helpful in giving me insight into the people and cultures of the Pacific. I wouldn’t recommend the book exactly as I found Theroux’s writing to be quite dismissive of many of the people he encounters — perhaps coloured by his marriage breakdown which frames the story. However it was useful to give me some background into these worlds as many Islanders call New Zealand home.
Here are some other wonderful books to read that may cause hurt to your bank balance as you book those tickets to the land of the long white cloud…
The Luminares by Eleanor Catton. The winner of the 2013 Booker Prize, this historical fiction novel set in and around the rugged west coast of New Zealand’s south island in the late 1860s. The story centres around Walter Moody who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery. The plot sounds grim but from this premise springs a work of great complexity and luminescence and depicts the harsh realities of the early gold rush days.
Ten Thousand Aftershocks by Michelle Tom. A brilliant book with a fractured, shattered structure which so fits this heart wrenching tale of the Christchurch earthquake and the aftermath of a woman’s fractured relationship with her family.
There are also books by Janet Frame (for instance, To the Is-Land, An Angel at My Table, and The Envoy from Mirror City and for younger readers, The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera.
For more great reads, have a look at The Conversation’s recommendations in the link below.
Feel free to add your own book ideas in the comments below
WRITING UPDATE
Before…
Competitions
A slow month. It’s understandable given Christmas, Summer and a wonderful 2 weeks’ holiday in New Zealand but I’m struggling with a way back into a good writing routine. Luckily, I came across this wonderful article on organising 2026 writing goals. I’m going to try and put this advice into practice!
Writing room
Now that we’ve had some time to settle into our new home, I’m excited to set up a dedicated writing space.
I was inspired by a vision board I saw on the Weta Workshop in Auckland where the special effects production company behind the Lord of the Rings films demonstrated their storyboarding, concept development and production schedules.
As I’m aiming to write a novel this year, this inspiration was exactly what I was looking for. I’ll post some pictures here and on my Instagram page so you can follow my progress.
Until next time,