Books Read 2026

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jkag89
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In reply to FriendlyAg • 6:37p, 7/16/26
FriendlyAg said:
I read In The Heart of the Sea probably when I was in high school 20 years ago. Great book.

Probably been on my "I need to read that" list for that long.

What I've read so far I've really enjoyed. Read the chapter where the whale sinks the Essex last night.
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AGC
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4:04p, 7/17/26
AG
Robinson Crusoe on our road trip.

I had never read it, and don't really know how I'd describe it - it's job, Jonah, and the prodigal son. Sure, he goes on a fateful voyage and is marooned on an island, but it's an exploration of his soul and heavily influenced by his Protestantism. I'd have a hard time recommending this to someone who hasn't rediscovered or lived out a Christian faith, simply because the frequent scriptural references as he reflects on society, his family, and his circumstances are abundant and frame his condition. I'd say something is lost to separate the two.
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Wolfpac 08
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In reply to Wolfpac 08 • 10:10p, 7/17/26
AG
Finished Iron Gold by Pierce Brown. I see why people say it's weak compared to the first three, but I still really enjoyed it. Obviously a set-up novel to set the stage for the new storyline. Jumping right into Dark Age!

Reading is slow-going right now. See y'all in a couple of months.

Books read in 2026:

January
The Runaway Jury - John Grisham
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien

February


March
The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien

April
Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman
Red Rising - Pierce Brown (re-read)
Golden Son - Pierce Brown (re-read)

May
Morning Star - Pierce Brown (re-read)

June


July
Iron Gold - Pierce Brown
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Absolute
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In reply to Wolfpac 08 • 10:23p, 7/17/26
AG
Currently listening to iron gold on my reread. Feel like I like it more this time. I understand more how things will go, makes the iron gold more poignant. Finding myself moved by the conflicts and angst he builds in it.
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The Marksman
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10:14a, 7/18/26
AG
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Completed my yearly re-read of my 2nd favorite book, and it just gets better every time.
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rich1232
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10:23a, 7/18/26
AG
I was in a fairly decent slump and picked up Red Rising. It took me a week to get through chapter 3. Took me another week to finish the trilogy. I'm trying to not pick up Iron Gold until a date is set for Red God.
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lurker76
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4:56p, 7/18/26
Last night I finished Sharpe's Fortress, the third book in the Sharpe series, by Bernard Cornwell, and started Sharpe's Trafalgar, book four. These are nice, easy reading books that entertain and don't require a lot of thought. Perfect to read just for enjoyment.
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13B
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6:46p, 7/18/26
He Who Fights With Monsters (book 9) by Shirtaloon/Travis Deverell -- Entertaining as the rest of the series
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YouBet
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In reply to 13B • 6:50p, 7/18/26
AG
13B said:
He Who Fights With Monsters (book 9) by Shirtaloon/Travis Deverell -- Entertaining as the rest of the series


What in the world is this? Shirtaloon?
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Malachi Constant
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In reply to rich1232 • 8:02p, 7/18/26
AG
rich1232 said:
I was in a fairly decent slump and picked up Red Rising. It took me a week to get through chapter 3. Took me another week to finish the trilogy. I'm trying to not pick up Iron Gold until a date is set for Red God.


The first third of Red Rising is the slowest part of the remaining 5 books. I always tell people this when they pick up the series.
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Absolute
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In reply to Malachi Constant • 8:31p, 7/18/26
AG
Malachi Constant said:
rich1232 said:
I was in a fairly decent slump and picked up Red Rising. It took me a week to get through chapter 3. Took me another week to finish the trilogy. I'm trying to not pick up Iron Gold until a date is set for Red God.


The first third of Red Rising is the slowest part of the remaining 5 books. I always tell people this when they pick up the series.


Originally took me three tries to get into Red Rising. Now arguably my favorite series.
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Eliminatus
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7:14a, 7/19/26
AG
Finished last five books of Sun Eater

Really enjoyed the world building and overall story arc. Prose could get a little eye twitching from time to time but it was worth it. Usually. Until the last book.

Thoughts on that below


Shadows Upon Time fell so damn flat for me. To the point, I finished the last sentence and just breathed out an incredulous, "Really? REALLY?!" That exorbitant prose went 10x it felt like where it seemed like entire fight scenes were essentially dream sequences and I DESPISE dream sequences. I ended up skimming a decent chunk of the last quarter of the book. I also do noy like not having solid resolutions to people and events and when Ruocchio decides to end the story, he just....ends it. Just ties it it all up in like 25 pages or something. All survivors and story arcs. Well, kinda. The rest I guess he leaves up to us to interrupt, another trope I despise.

Just left feeling incredibly unsatisfied after all the crazy in depth stuff we had gone through before. This one book sunk the entire series for me from epic to good in general. I doubt I will ever read this again.



ETA:Good Lord, spoilers REALLY don't like it when you have other bracketed item contained within....took me a minute to figure that out.
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rynning
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In reply to Malachi Constant • 7:58a, 7/19/26
AG
Malachi Constant said:
rich1232 said:
I was in a fairly decent slump and picked up Red Rising. It took me a week to get through chapter 3. Took me another week to finish the trilogy. I'm trying to not pick up Iron Gold until a date is set for Red God.


The first third of Red Rising is the slowest part of the remaining 5 books. I always tell people this when they pick up the series.
At my speed, It took me 6 months for the first half of the first book, and one week for the second half.
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YouBet
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9:23a, 7/19/26
AG
Out Law (The Dresden Files #18.75) - Jim Butcher

A novella that takes place after Twelve Months. Pretty good quick read. I did think the Tripp character was overly ignorant and unaware of basic life in order for Butcher to make his point with this story arc. He seemed almost borderline mentally disabled for an adult man.

And I'll add that you can't really skip these short stories and novellas in this series. They all build on one another. Thankfully, every one of them are good.
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13B
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In reply to YouBet • 10:32a, 7/19/26
YouBet said:
13B said:
He Who Fights With Monsters (book 9) by Shirtaloon/Travis Deverell -- Entertaining as the rest of the series


What in the world is this? Shirtaloon?

I think it was a nomme de plume when he originally started the series and now it just lists both. Outside of that, who knows?!
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13B
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In reply to YouBet • 10:34a, 7/19/26
YouBet said:
Out Law (The Dresden Files #18.75) - Jim Butcher

A novella that takes place after Twelve Months. Pretty good quick read. I did think the Tripp character was overly ignorant and unaware of basic life in order for Butcher to make his point with this story arc. He seemed almost borderline mentally disabled for an adult man.

And I'll add that you can't really skip these short stories and novellas in this series. They all build on one another. Thankfully, every one of them are good.

I think it was yesterday that I realized that this wasn't just a renaming of the novella The Law. I will endeavor to read this one as soon as I can.
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YouBet
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In reply to 13B • 10:37a, 7/19/26
AG
13B said:
YouBet said:
Out Law (The Dresden Files #18.75) - Jim Butcher

A novella that takes place after Twelve Months. Pretty good quick read. I did think the Tripp character was overly ignorant and unaware of basic life in order for Butcher to make his point with this story arc. He seemed almost borderline mentally disabled for an adult man.

And I'll add that you can't really skip these short stories and novellas in this series. They all build on one another. Thankfully, every one of them are good.

I think it was yesterday that I realized that this wasn't just a renaming of the novella The Law. I will endeavor to read this one as soon as I can.


Yes, I was confused at first as well. Basically, Butcher has written two novels this year if you consider Twelve Months and then The Law and Out Law as effectively one book together (the stories are not related). That's a really nice surprise, Clark.
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BenFiasco14
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10:43a, 7/19/26
AG
I finished The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

It was truly excellent, but I did not like it as much as Devils which I think followed depravity to its most brutal conclusion, whereas Karamazov leaves more room for hope and reconciliation.

Very strong first 3/4, I felt the book dragged towards the end but still a 5/5.

ETA both are much stronger than crime and punishment which I feel is more of an introduction to Dostoevsky. He doesn't even deploy most of his best literary devices in Crime.

Next novel up is Dr Faustus by Thomas Mann
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
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Absolute
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3:08p, 7/20/26
AG
Finished Magic and Bullet by Larry Correa second book of the academy of misfits. Similar to the first. Easy light investment. Enjoyable kindle unlimited read.

Also finished The Delivery by Gregg Hurwitz (Orphan x author - the novella isn't orphan x) short novella. Interesting and well done.


Think I might start Lonesome Dove for the rest of the trip.
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TheGifGuy
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In reply to Absolute • 3:44p, 7/20/26
AG
Absolute said:
Think I might start Lonesome Dove for the rest of the trip.


Seriously one of the best books

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FriendlyAg
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9:58p, 7/20/26
Finished True Grit the other day. Nice book. Hard to not hear Rooster's mumbling in your head. Not sure why the 2010 film changed certain things from the book for seemingly no apparent reason? I guess to make Labouef (or however you spell it) and Rooster to seem more controversial. Anyway, I felt like the book did a great job of really making you feel like you're in the setting.

I'm reading Magpie Murders with my wife now, before COMC.
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The Marksman
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11:24a, 7/21/26
AG
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Thought the last 1/3 of the novel was underwhelming compared to how excellent the first 2/3 was, but it was still a very entertaining read.
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Wolfpac 08
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In reply to The Marksman • 12:14p, 7/21/26
AG
You mentioned Crouch, so here's my obligatory suggestion of the Wayward Pines trilogy and Recursion.
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The Marksman
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In reply to Wolfpac 08 • 12:38p, 7/21/26
AG
They're on the list, thanks! I read Dark Matter because I know a lot of the posters on this thread like Crouch.
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13B
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7:03p, 7/21/26
Crossroads of Ravens (The Witcher) by Andrzej Sapkowski -- nice to have another Witcher to read.
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Kaiser von Wilhelm
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In reply to Wolfpac 08 • 7:09p, 7/21/26
Wolfpac 08 said:
You mentioned Crouch, so here's my obligatory suggestion of the Wayward Pines trilogy and Recursion.


This. Wayward Pines is my favorite of his and I wish that Apple would make that into a series instead of milking every drop from Dark Matter by forcing another season without source material.
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Eliminatus
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In reply to lurker76 • 1:09a, 7/22/26
AG
lurker76 said:
Last night I finished Sharpe's Fortress, the third book in the Sharpe series, by Bernard Cornwell, and started Sharpe's Trafalgar, book four. These are nice, easy reading books that entertain and don't require a lot of thought. Perfect to read just for enjoyment.

LOOOOVE Sharpe. One of the greatest tragedies I have suffered in life is losing the entire physical collection I had in a footlocker that fell off my truck on I10 somewhere. No, I did not slap it and say, "She ain't going anywhere". Lesson learned.

You might also like Horatio Hornblower after you finish Sharpe. Same style for the most but the English Navy.

ETA: They each also have a tv series that are older and in Sharpe's case decidedly dated (didn't have a great budget), but still great and even iconic, if you were unaware.
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lurker76
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In reply to Eliminatus • 8:04a, 7/22/26
Thanks. What a shame to have lost your collection. As you said, lesson learned. Undoubtedly, you now always slap the package and say that to ensure it stays in place.

Yesterday at lunch I told my wife that after finishing the Sharpe novels, the Hornblower series would be an interesting read. They have floated around as a possibility all my life, but they never made the reading list. I have seen some of the Sharpe's shows on PBS, but not all of them. They were enjoyable but I didn't make the time to follow up on them. Even though the Hornblower series was around, I never saw any of them.
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Quincey P. Morris
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8:34a, 7/22/26
AG
Finished DCC: Gate of the Feral Gods and now onto DCC: The Butcher's Masquerade.
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CC09LawAg
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8:44a, 7/22/26
Recently finished Augustus by John Williams - really enjoyed it. Finding John Williams to be one of my favorite authors.

Also finished The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway - my first time reading Hemingway as an adult (I think the only other Hemingway I've read was Old Man and the Sea in school).

I have to admit, I did not enjoy it at all. I started it, put it down, started and finished Augustus, and came back to it because I only had about 40 pages left. I am going to read a few more Hemingway books to see if it was just the story.

Just started The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky - took a break from my Russian novelists but diving back in.
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Apache
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9:51a, 7/22/26
AG
About 150 pages into "Needful Things" by King. Went in mostly blind on this one & it's great so far. Building to what seems like all hell going to break loose soon!
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Pac1698
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10:19a, 7/22/26
AG
Finished The Talisman by Stephen King and started Black House (the sequel to the Talisman). I enjoyed the Talisman although it can be confusing with all the "time slips". It was definitely more on the fantasy side of things. Black house is definitely way darker with the serial killer storyline, it's very difficult to read at times when describing the bad things that happened to young kids. I think this might be the last tie in book that I needed to read before jumping back into the Dark Tower series with Song of Susannah.
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YouBet
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In reply to CC09LawAg • 10:45a, 7/22/26
AG
CC09LawAg said:
Recently finished Augustus by John Williams - really enjoyed it. Finding John Williams to be one of my favorite authors.

Also finished The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway - my first time reading Hemingway as an adult (I think the only other Hemingway I've read was Old Man and the Sea in school).

I have to admit, I did not enjoy it at all. I started it, put it down, started and finished Augustus, and came back to it because I only had about 40 pages left. I am going to read a few more Hemingway books to see if it was just the story.

Just started The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky - took a break from my Russian novelists but diving back in.


I read Anthony Everett's Augustus and loved it. His book on Cicero was also really good.
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jkag89
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12:06p, 7/22/26
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick (A-) - A very readable history in which its main strength was going beyond the event itself to draw upon a several academic disciplines in order understand it.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (B+) - The longest of the three books of the "Space Trilogy" is also is its most engrossing which might have to the story being entirely set on Earth with real consequences for us all. The story centers a scientific institute, the National Institute for Co-ordinated Experiments (NICE) which is anything but "nice." The novel has a dystopian feel to it, not surprising since the bulk of it was written during WWII.

I'm about ⅔ of the way through my reread of the Half Blood Prince. About the same with my listen of A Farewell to Arms.

Enjoyed my listening of the Chesterton novels enough that I've started going through his Father Brown short stories, so far on a pace of a couple a week.

Up next beyond continuing the Potter series; non-fiction Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach, fiction back to Arrakis with Children of Dune.

January
1) A Team For America: The Army-Navy Game That Rallied a Nation at War by Randy Roberts (B)
2) Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert (B+)
3) What Christians Believe: Understanding the Nicene Creed by Bishop Robert Barron (A)

February
4) A Gentleman in Moscow by by Amor Towles (A)
5) The Wingmen: The Unlikely, Unusual, Unbreakable Friendship Between John Glenn and Ted Williams by Adam Lazarus (C)

Audiobooks
1) The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien - A mixture of listening and reading the text in an attempt to actually finish the book after many failed attempts in the past. I think listening to the stories comes across as the telling of lore instead of a dry history.
2) Frankenstein (or, The Modern Prometheus) by Mary Shelley (B)

March (Not a good reading month of reading for me)
6) The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins (B-)

Audiobooks
3a) Don Quixote Part 1 by Miguel de Cervantes (A-)

April (All three of these book are rather short, so another not particularly good reading month for me)
7) Daybreaks: Daily Reflections for Lent and Easter by Amy Welborn (B)
8) The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel (C-)
9) Night by Elie Wiese (A)

Audiobooks
4) The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (A)
5) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (C+)
6) All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (A)

May
10) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
11) Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis (C+)
12) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by by J.K. Rowling

Audiobooks
3b) Don Quixote Part 2 by Miguel de Cervantes (B)
7) Hitler's Last Soldier in America by Georg Gaertner, Arnold Krammer (B+)

June
13) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
14) Perelandra by C.S. Lewis (B)
15) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Audiobooks
8) Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain (B)
9) The Colour Out of Space and Others by H.P. Lovecraft (B)

July
16) True Grit by Charles Portis (A-)
17) The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars by Dava Sobel (C)
18) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
19) In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick (A-)
20) That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (B+)

Audiobooks
10) The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton (B)
11) The Napoleon of Notting Hill by G. K. Chesterton (C+)
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CC09LawAg
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In reply to YouBet • 12:27p, 7/22/26
YouBet said:
CC09LawAg said:
Recently finished Augustus by John Williams - really enjoyed it. Finding John Williams to be one of my favorite authors.

Also finished The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway - my first time reading Hemingway as an adult (I think the only other Hemingway I've read was Old Man and the Sea in school).

I have to admit, I did not enjoy it at all. I started it, put it down, started and finished Augustus, and came back to it because I only had about 40 pages left. I am going to read a few more Hemingway books to see if it was just the story.

Just started The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky - took a break from my Russian novelists but diving back in.


I read Anthony Everett's Augustus and loved it. His book on Cicero was also really good.

I will check them out - was actually looking for ideas on other books to read around this time period.

Thanks!
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