I’m excited to do anything in 2026, to be honest. Three weeks ago, I had cardio-thoracic surgery. No one expected that the solution to my problem would be the easiest that it could possibly be, as far as diagnosis, procedure, and recovery because multiple doctors, who were informed by multiple scans and tests, were unsure what they would find when they went in. I couldn’t envision life beyond the surgery, although I anticipated that one or two more surgeries would be necessary to solve my problem. The problem? It started with a spontaneously collapsed lung in March and was followed by a recurrent collapsed lung in July. Thankfully, when the surgeon went in, he found out exactly what was causing my lung to collapse and fixed things so that it should never happen again (fingers, toes, and eyes crossed). The first collapse happened exactly 10 days after my last post. In combination with a number of other unforeseen events (one of which happened this week), 2025 became quite a memorable year—also a year in which keeping up with this blog was the least of my concerns. I did, however, keep up with my reading better than in recent years. And that’s why we’re here.

I had a simple goal for 2025: to read more than I read in 2024. Granted, I read more in 2024 (29 books) than the year before, but since I only read 21 books in 2023, that’s not saying much. At the end of the day, I own a lot of books, people lend me a lot of books, and I find joy in buying a lot of books, but it’s hard to justify getting more when my TBR list doesn’t change much from year to year. And I want to be very clear: no matter what, I will always want more books. It’s my vice, people. But I did it in 2025—I started the year with the goal of reading 25 novels (nine of them carried forward from 2024), and I read 20 of my goal titles. In fact, I read all but one of the carried-forward-from-2024 books, and number nine is the book I’m currently reading, so take that, 2024 and 2025 lists! I also have a strategic plan, and that is to prioritize the five books I’m bringing from 2025 into 2026 (with one exception—more on that in a sec) before reading the rest of the list or getting sidetracked by other books. (This is where Ron Howard starts narrating my life and says, “She got sidetracked.”)

Sadly, part of why I was able to read more in 2025 is because I didn’t dedicate much time to writing. Even if I don’t write during the rest of the year, I usually participate in National Novel Writing Month in November, but the non-profit NaNoWriMo went down in flames for a number of reasons, including their confusing stance on AI (read: they didn’t require writers to prove that they hadn’t used AI, which turned off most of their supporters). I have mixed feelings about NaNoWriMo shutting down because my first experience with NaNoWriMo in 2013 was exhilarating. Although I never matched that level of success again, NaNoWriMo (and the couple times I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo) helped me feel like I was staying connected to my writer side, especially when work and grad school pushed writing to the side. But when there was no validation process last year, the whole experience felt cheapened, and I honestly breathed a sigh of relief this past November because, for the first time in over a decade, I didn’t feel the internal push to write 50,000 words in 30 days (or, alternatively, the internal guilt for not doing it). I certainly hope I’m not done writing, but that extra time this year allowed me to squeeze in extra titles toward the end. And here they are in chronological order (* indicates books that weren’t on the original list):

1. Rule of Wolves (King of Scars #2) by Leigh Bardugo
2. Dark Age (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
3. Light Bringer (Red Rising Saga #6) by Pierce Brown
4. A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat
5. Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
6. Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
7. Onyx Storm (The Empyrean #3) by Rebecca Yarros*
8. Sunrise on the Reaping (The Hunger Games #0.5) by Suzanne Collins
9. Wild River (The Wild #2) by Rodman Philbrick
10. Solimar: The Sword of Monarchs by Pam Munoz Ryan
11. Took by Mary Downing Hahn*
12. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Expuréry*
13. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla*
14. The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh*
15. The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall*
16. When Sea Becomes Sky by Gillian McDunn*
17. Murtagh (The Inheritance Cycle #5) by Christopher Paolini
18. Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow*
19. The One (Dark Future #1) by John Marrs
20. Olivetti by Allie Millington*
21. The Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike #1) by Robert Galbraith
22. The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike #2) by Robert Galbraith
23. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin*
24. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) by Robert Galbraith
25. Lethal White (Cormoran Strike #4) by Robert Galbraith
26. Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5) by Robert Galbraith
27. The Ink Black Heart (Cormoran Strike #6) by Robert Galbraith
28. The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith
29. The Hallmarked Man (Cormoran Strike #8) by Robert Galbraith
30. The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden*
31. The Rook (The Checquy Files #1) by Daniel O’Malley
32. Stiletto (The Checquy Files #2) by Daniel O’Malley

Not on the above list is the Bible (English Standard Version), which I read in 364 days. This was accompanied by a year-long devotional that a friend gave me last Christmas. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I would do it because I didn’t think I could keep up with the readings (given my track record). But on January first last year, I dove in, and I am very proud of myself for making it to the finish line. I did use the audio version for many of the more difficult readings. (Not sure how to pronounce that jumble of letters? Let the audio guy do it!) I also read a book in relation to (but not required for) my job as a literacy specialist, but given that I only agreed with about half of it, I won’t be recommending it here.

Of the 32 books listed above, my top recommendation is the entirety of the Cormoran Strike series (which Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling has not finished writing yet). This is detective fiction, but if you’re thinking Miss Marple, think again. My husband was a detective for years, and a very good one, but he hasn’t figured whodunit in any of these books yet. Murder mysteries were my first fiction love, way back in 1996. Yes, I read plenty of books before then, but when I discovered Agatha Christie, I officially became book crazy, and I haven’t recovered since. I won’t say that if you love Harry Potter, you’ll love these—do not do J.K. Rowling the disservice of stuffing her into a magical young adult box. She is the most brilliant writer I’ve ever read (just my humble opinion). She grabs you from The Cuckoo’s Calling and builds on the realistic, historically correct British world of Cormoran Strike from there. They’re amazing mysteries, but the writing also reflects a good understanding of people and what makes them tick.

Another one of my loves is kidlit, and my school’s librarian hooked me up, yet again. Every single one of the titles I borrowed was amazing, so I highly recommend them if you have an upper elementary/middle school kid in your life or if you just love to read great books. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn is about an autistic girl (narrated first person), and it got me right in the feels. The Lost Year was a book that all our 6^th Graders had to read, and it addresses the cover up of a devastating famine that happened in Ukraine in the 1930s. Not only is it a great read for historical purposes, but the ending—wow. When Sea Becomes Sky was another gut punch at the end and also a fun sibling adventure. Simon Sort of Says does a fine job of dealing with pre-adolescent PTSD without getting political or hitting you over the head with it. The narrator’s sense of humor provides a much-needed counterpoint to the heaviness of the subject matter. Thomas read it and enjoyed it as much as I did, and now Ian is reading it. Lastly, Olivetti is narrated by… a typewriter. Yep. And deals with how families can be affected by disease. Here’s the thing about good kidlit: done right, it addresses issues that kids can identify with in an authentic way. By this, I mean that kids can read these books without feeling like they’re being taught a moral or that they’re supposed to learn something. Kids enjoy them for their great storytelling, and adults enjoy that aspect, too, while understanding the full impact of the sensitive subject matter handled between those pages.

Thomas and I are fortunate to have friends who love to read as much as we do. One of the reasons I have such an extensive personal library is because I love sharing books that I’ve enjoyed (I may have mentioned that before). I borrowed and read six books from one such friend in 2025, and I want to highlight two in particular, The Dearly Beloved and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. These two deserve a chef’s kiss, and for completely different reasons. Thomas read The Dearly Beloved first and was interested to see what I would think about it. This book is about the intertwined lives of two pastors, but I hesitate to call it a Christian book. Is there Christianity in it? Yes. But at the heart, the more important thing is that this author gets life. Maybe it’s cliché, but this book made me feel heard, validated, whatever you want to call it. There were so many parts that resonated with me. Highly recommend. And A.J. Fikry was an interesting little book with some twists that really surprised me. It’s also a great book for book lovers—the main character owns a bookstore. I had Thomas read it, and he was also pleasantly surprised. And almost as soon as he finished, a different friend lent him Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which is by the same author. Thomas has read it and gives it his stamp of approval. You’ll see it on this year’s book list.

As for The Empyrean series, yes, I got on that bandwagon. Thanks to a friend clueing me in ahead of time, I knew better than to mistake it for YA, even though it shared some young adult themes. Said a different way: I would let my own teenagers read a lot of other adult novels before these. It seems to assume that, for younger adults (if not teenagers) to want to read a book, it must include violence, foul language, and sex. Okay, fine. If they’re all so shallow (which I don’t believe), can’t we dress it up in better prose, style, and literary devices? The nougat center of this story is unique and compelling but enrobed in a layer of casualness around people biting it that is enrobed in an equally casual we-might-die-tomorrow-so-let’s-get-freaky-tonight outer shell. There are no clever turns of phrase, challenging vocabulary, or jaunty witticisms. And some lines are so cringey as to make me mentally gag: “I shatter.” Give me a break. Never has anyone ever shattered. I know it’s metaphorical, but also, who has ever thought, in the heat of the moment, “I shatter”? With that said, I did mention that the story is unique and compelling, didn’t I? I really have no idea where it’s going, so even though I’m not wild about how it’s being told, I am curious enough about what will happen in the next installment that I’ll probably check it out. I reserve the right to read books that I’ve semi-panned.

The one book on my list that is a definite no (and has already been turned in for credit at one of my favorite used bookstores) is The One. It was one of those craft-paper-wrapped, date-with-a-book purchases. And it’s made me shy away from ever buying one of those again (as alluring as the mystery of it may seem). The premise of this book is interesting: what if every person could be genetically matched to “the one,” their soulmate? Some of the writing is humorous, but it’s the first in a series of what seems to be a cautionary tale that I don’t need to be told (I felt the same way about The Circle when I read it years ago).

Lastly, I read The Rook in 2023, another book loan from my friend mentioned above. I knew I wanted to continue the series as soon as I finished it—it’s kind of a mash-up of X-Men and the Ministry of Magic with a Douglas Adams-ian sense of humor. In 2024, I planned to read the sequel, Stiletto, and the threequel, Blitz, but I didn’t acquire either until 2025—whoops. By then, I knew I wouldn’t remember the finer details of The Rook, so I went ahead and bought it, too. I was too deep into rereading Cormoran Strike one through seven, followed by the newly published eighth installment, The Hallmarked Man, to get all three of these books in by the end of the year. And guess what I found out when my planning my 2026 list? The fourth book, Royal Gambit, was recently published, so that’s the one book I’m planning to read early on before I tackle the leftovers from 2025 (or get distracted by something off-list).

If you’re still hanging in there, my 2026 list contains many new books, thanks to contributions and recommendations from a few friends and some last-minute buys. In fact, the only repeat on the list is the Harry Potter series, which I haven’t read since 2019—yikes. A whole pandemic has happened since then. It’s time. You might have noticed a lot of Louise Penny books in my TBR shelf photo and wonder why I’m only listing one title. Penny is a complete unknown—these books were donated by good friends downsizing their library—so I am not going to commit to reading more than one before I know what I’m getting myself into. Maybe I’ll love them, and then—sidetrack. I’m also listing Corrie ten Boom’s autobiography, which belongs to Peter. He read it recently and then placed on my desk for me to read. (Even though I miss reading to little Peter and Ian, I am so happy to be trading with and recommending book to them.) One last minute addition that gives me immense joy is Neal Shusterman’s Break to You. I read Challenger Deep years ago on the recommendation of my cousin-in-law Julie, who became friends with Shusterman through a FAME (Florida Association for Media in Education) Conference. Julie is one of the librarians in the 2025 documentary The Librarians (which has its Florida debut this month), and she is the first person listed in Shusterman’s dedication in Break to You—of course I needed my own copy! Above all others, I will make this title a priority after finishing the books I’m bringing forward from 2025. And if, by some miracle I finish everything else on the list, will read the ancient behemoth Don Quixote. Since that I haven’t gotten through an entire year’s list in I don’t know how long (although it has happened before), I think I’ll be realistic and save it for 2027. (It’s Thomas’s book, anyway—he has to tackle it first.) With all that in mind, here are the books (alpha by author) that I hope to read in 2026:

1. I Loved You in Another Life by David Arnold
2. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
3. The Women by Kristin Hannah
4. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
5. A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas
6. Blitz (The Checquy Files #3) by Daniel O’Malley
7. Royal Gambit (The Checquy Files #4) by Daniel O’Malley
8. Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1) by Louise Penny
9. The Last One at the Wedding by Jason Rekulak
10. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J.K. Rowling
11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter #2) by J.K. Rowling
12. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter #3) by J.K. Rowling
13. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter #4) by J.K. Rowling
14. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5) by J.K. Rowling
15. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter #6) by J.K. Rowling
16. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7) by J.K. Rowling
17. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
18. Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson
19. The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2) by Brandon Sanderson
20. The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson
21. Break to You by Neal Shusterman
22. The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom by Corrie ten Boom
23. The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker
24. All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
25. We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
26. One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon
27. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Time to go—I have some reading to do!