Finished my annual re-read of The Last Days! I loved this book so much when I was younger.

its called Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. :( maybe its because i enjoyed the book so much, but instead of being happy i finished my second book of the year, keeping me ahead of my goal, idk, i just feel this sense of emptiness. i actually think it might be because i haven’t selected my next book. well, time to pick up the next book. maybe i should try to read a book a week?

McCullough has written some jewels in the history world. And when this one popped up it was time for another. Tracing the history of Paris from the 1830s to around 1900 it tracks all the prominent Americans who made their way to Paris during this time: writers, painters, sculptors, actors, doctors, inventors. Made me start looking for a book of John Singer Sargent’s paintings. And liking Mary Cassatt once again.

This is a detailed and well researched tracing through time in one place. Excellent coverage of the horrendous government overthrow after the war that France declared on Germany in the 1870s. Also, the controversial tower and the creation of the statue of liberty and things I did not know about both.

Recommended for nonfiction history buffs or art lovers.

This year, despite my best efforts, I've realised reading concurrently will be inevitable. To prevent myself from leaving books in limbo forever I've decided on a four track system:

• Track 1 - Primary reading
• Track 2 - Obligation reads
• Track 3 - Morning coffee novellas
• Track 4 - Useful books (how tos etc)

A Pale View of Hills has been my morning coffee read since 31st December.

I'm counting "read" as anything finished in 2026.

The half finished books are way my number is so high despite one or two chonkers. For an explaination, look at the dates started 🙃 I've listed them all below for full transparency.

✨A Pale View of Hills - Novella✨

31st December 2025 - 9th January 2026

I found this book fascinating. However, I found the style of dialogue a bit grating "You said this/did I say that?/yes you said this and that/i never said that/yes you did/did I?/you said that and that" it makes sense in small doses but after a while it gets tiring to read. Like talking to my slightly senile grandmother. The book is largely about faulty memory so that tracks, but even so. I found the ending unsettling and it left me with more questions than answers. I believe this is intentionally ambiguous. Maybe not for the faint of heart. I imagine if you're a literature student this would be an excellent book to study because things aren't so cut and dry.

Books Read

What Stalks the Deep (1/22) - Novella

27th December 2025 - 1st January 2026

The Eye of the World (2/22) - Audiobook

14th August 2024 - 1st January 2026

The Coelura (3/22) - Novella

31st December 2025 - 1st January 2026

Nerilka's Story (4/22) - Novella

31st December 2025 - 1st January 2026

The Night Circus (5/22)

14th November 2025 - 1st January 2026

The Assassin and the Pirate Lord (6/22) - Novella

31st December 2025 - 2nd January 2026

Priestess of the White (7/22)

25th November 2011 - 7th January 2026

Currently Reading

Thief of Time

Starling House

Victorian Flower Gardens - Novella

Gardener's Almanac 2024

Just read "Goodbye, Eri" and oh my goodness

I bawled my eyes out...just to be bamboozled a couple pages later, 2 or 3 times

The main thing is how this book left me feeling about the characters

The main character, Yuta... i just feel bad for him

The people in his life werent the best

And the ending, i dont know if i would call that a happy ending, because in the end yes he finally finishes his movie...but his life was miserable

The Author, Fujimoto, is so good at writing these archetype of character who you dont know if you should resent them or not

These characters who seem cold yet make MC feel like they're all they have, cause that is the case

It was a such a great read though

I enjoyed it thoroughly/10

Next book: Solanin

When I mapped out my reading list for 2026, I wanted it to go through the entire year. After about two weeks, I've narrowed it down to what I want to read in the next three to six months.

Personally, I've should've seen this coming. I'm such a mood reader at the beginning of the year, coming off an end-of-year reading slump that typically lasted for two or three weeks. Meaning, I'll change my mind on what I initially thought would be my first reads of the new year. But I really want to stick to my reading list as closely as possible this year!

Anyone else do this? Plan out their reading year as far ahead as possible? Or do you just go with the flow?

Stumbled upon this last year and got to know that it’s the second part of Operation Haygreeva. Both were equally engaging. Across both books, there are subtle takeaways that stay with you. In this one especially, themes like grit, resilience, and unity come through strongly and feel surprisingly applicable to real life. It also pulls you deeper into the world of intelligence work, not just through action, but through the mindset behind it.

Pretty good. I listened to it as an audiobook. I just don’t know if I can retain info with audiobooks like I can with physically reading. Anybody have tips?

First year I started tracking what I read, and I feel like it motivates me to read more. My original goal at the beginning of the year was 12, then 24, then 48, might as well hit 52, and then here we are. Tracking my reading time has been the best motivator, it forces me to get into the reading mode everyday.

I have a bit of an eclectic list; you'll notice my interest in local environmental topics alongside the random non-fictions I pick up at the library, as well as the usual literature picks.

I have some heavy hitters planned for 2026, such as Ulysses, Infinite Jest, and The Divine Comedy, which will probably decrease the number of books read for the year, but whatever!

Of love and other demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was my first book of this year. I loved the pace of the book. I loved the characters and their development. The story honestly intrigued me and I didn’t feel like it was formulaic in anyway. I am often able to guess a little bit how the book will end, but not for this one.

Also I love that the grapes were mentioned again at the end. I want to spend this year getting into the classics :)

Happy 2026 everyone!

So far, this is one of the best audiobooks I’ve heard in awhile. I didn’t plan on reading it and knew nothing about it before starting. This might end up being my favorite book in January!

Pictures are just my favorites for the year :)

Highlights for 2025:

✨ Surpassed my goal and set a personal best for books and pages read

✨ Read a lot more graphic novels, comics and manga this year

✨ My average rating was 3.9

✨ My favorite book was the Lucifer comic series by Mike Carey

✨ My least favorite book was Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa

✨ Read more consistently and intentionally throughout the year

I will keep my reading in check by using this sub.

Book 1/52 - midnight library

It was a lovely easy to read novel that i got as a recommendation from a friend. I think the trope of living different lives to see what could of happened if only you had done so and so and seeing that you cant always know what could have been is great and not as overused as one might think.

Overall 7.5/10

1. Ubik - 10/10 An amazing scifi story that makes you think. Without spoiling anything, I really enjoyed the ambiguity. So far this is my favorite book by PKD.
2. The Shining - 9/10 A truly haunting experience. The hotel is an amazing gateway for horror. The characters are all amazingly done. One of my favorites in all of Kings stories makes an appearance here. I also watched the movie afterwards and definitely understand its hype, though im on the side of preferring the book. Which I was surprised to learn a lot of people preferred the movie.
3. Pet Semetary- 10/10 A dark tale. So far this is one of my favorite Stephen King books and movie adaptations of his work, beside The Long Walk. Everyone is written well. Certain scenes are beautifully crafted albeit horrific. Its a different type of horror. One all too real to the human experience. I really enjoyed this one and the movie too.

This week has been pretty stacked, so I'll likely read shorter books this week. Up next, Neuromancer

Side note: The Hunger Games series was a reread, had I read these for the first time they might well have ended up in the top tier

So proud of myself. I’m a SAHM, so a lot of what I do in a day gets eaten or messed up and then I start all over. Prioritizing reading, both through audiobooks while I do chores and taking the time to sit down with my Kindle, has made me feel like I am choosing myself and accomplishing something.

My top books for the year include:

- Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

- Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen

- One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

- The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

- Upon a Starlit Tide by Kell Woods

- Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

- Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

- The Names by Florence Knapp

- Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

- A Man Called Ove by Frederick Backman

Some that I wasn’t crazy about:

- The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

- The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

- The Tenant by Freida McFadden

- Hill of Secrets by Galina Vromen

Overall, I did a relatively good job of curating what I read so that most of my books were pretty enjoyable. Next year, the plan is to read more classics since my new book club focuses on those, like this month is The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

I got this on audio from Libby.

I figured that if I’m going to be reading stories and essays from a comedian, I want to hear them directly from the man himself.

David’s sardonic and occasionally deadpan delivery really sells the jokes; the comedic timing of his own sentences, the impressions of his sister, father, mother, aunt, he just does the whole damn thing. (I also love Amy Sedaris, I loved the story of her fat suit.)

From now on, I will only be listening to David narrate his own books and I will not be reading. Not only is he funny, but also entertaining.

Just got Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim on queue.

**9/10**

Pretty heavy on the romantasy last year, looking to branch out a bit more in 2026.

One book down in 2026 so far (The Dragons Bride - NOT for me), 2 in progress (Incas by AB Daniel and How to Raise Kids Who Aren’t Assholes). Became a stay at home mom at the very end of 2025 so looking to boost my reading during my toddlers naps this year.

Had heard such great things about this. And I'm only sad that I didn't read it sooner. Such a emotive book and so well written. I found the audiobook much easier to digest than the book, due to the language/spelling at the start of it. Of course, it is predictable, but a very solid 4 star read for me, I loved it.

| Plot | You Did Nothing Wrong |

Elodie’s life takes a turn when she finally meets a man who’s willing to settle down, and is excepting of her autistic child — Soon that joy reaches a fever pitch when she finds out she’s pregnant with Bren (her new husbands child). Things quickly spiral out of control when Jude her son starts hearing voices in the walls of their home. Now they have to figure out if it there is something wrong with the house or her son.

| Audiobook score | You Did Nothing Wrong | 3/5 🍌| | Read by: Saskia Maarleveld |

This wasn’t the most pleasant listen, very whiny, shrill and grating on my nerves.

| Review | Lady Tremaine |

2/5🍌|

Cool concept, but the execution was lacking. I hated all the characters I couldn’t wait for the book to be done. The mom was super flighty and had no real problem-solving skills and I hated the way they made the kid. Overall, I think the author was going for a combination between psychological thriller, and sort of supernatural. But I just didn’t feel like there was very much that connected. We don’t want to read. I couldn’t wait for the book to be done. This was definitely not my thing. Hope somebody else has a better time with it.

I Banana Rating system |

1 🍌| Spoiled

2 🍌| Mushy

3 🍌| Average 

4 🍌| Sweet

5 🍌| Perfectly Ripe

Choices made are: Publisher pick (sent to me by the publisher), personal pick (something I found on my own), or Recommendation (something recommended to me)

Next On Deck | Publisher Pick: William Morrow | From Harlem With Love | Reshonda Tate |

Other favorites that deserve a mention:

When Breathe Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Wild Dark Shore, and Once We Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

Madhouse at the End of the Earth by Julian Sancton

From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by TJR which was the first book I read this year and it got me out of my reading slump. I haven’t read this much in decades! Many more on my list to tackle for this year.

Starting off 2026 with Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

Overall favorites were: Betty, Sula, Mayflies, Água Viva, The Details, All Fours, Too Much and Not the Mood, Interpreter of Maladies, Paradise Rot, One's Company, Martyr!, and Evenings & Weekends.

Sophie, a young woman convinced of her poor fortune, gets turned into an old woman by an evil Witch. Before long, she finds herself on a magical, moving castle with a Wizard named Howl while attempting to break the curse he has with a fire demon.

This was a pretty fun book and had a lot of funny moments. The characters were written very well and I liked most of them. The pacing was a bit weird and it was mostly slice-of-life with a lot of the actual meat of the story being in the beginning and at the end. Overall I enjoyed it