Books I've read / listened to in 2026
January
February
Authority - Jeff VanderMeer [🔊] : I am discovering that I don't care for VanderMeer's writing style. I didn't like any of the new characters. Taking the setting from "expedition to unknown horrors" to "office drama but it's spooky" was not exciting. It answered maybe one question from Annihilation and revealed two new details about Area X. However. The last chapter slapped. THAT'S what I wanted. THAT'S what I'm here for. Hopefully Acceptance carries that momentum bc I loved it.
Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer [🔊] : Even though it was a complete departure structurally from the previous books, I heavily enjoyed it. Really liked the Lighthouse Keeper's and the Director's sections. Didn't care for the weird romantic undertones between Ghostbird and Control. Didn't like Control at all tbh. Whiny baby.
What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher [🔊] : Short and spooky. Was a little apprehensive because I bounced hard off of Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone last year, but I really enjoyed this one! My main gripe is that I feel the aside to explain why sworn solders use ka/kan pronouns was a little clunky. Also could not fucking stand the audiobook narrator's speech pattern. Pauses were too long, words were given odd emphasis. It really put me off and I nearly dnf'ed because of it.
Paladin's Grace - T. Kingfisher [🔊] : this fucked severely. I picked it up because I was fascinated by the concept of a paladin who's god died. The book didn't explore the why of the god's death, but I didn't mind because I was extremely taken by the characters and the plot. I might even continue listening to the series despite it being romance (which I didn't realize when I first picked it up lmao) cause I need to know what's up with the heads.
Absolution - Jeff VanderMeer [🔊] : something in my brain unlocked about 10% in and i was able to suspend my disbelief so hard that it fucked off somewhere unknown. this slapped holy shit. i loved every section. the narration brought it to an 11/10 for me, thank you bronson pinchot. the variety of emotion conveyed through tone. the emotion in all those fucks. sad that the first expedition footage turned out to be a glimpse into another... cycle or whatever of area x. i really wanted to know what was up with those videos in Authority. other than that? fucking phenomenal.
March
Paladin's Strength - T Kingfisher [🔊] : Had a great time with this one! The plot was strong, the characters were great, and I didn't even mind the romance that much lol. I love a big lady that can turn into a grizzly bear ❤️
Paladin's Hope - T Kingfisher [🔊] : Pretty damn good! Was not expecting the critique of police but goddamn if it wasn't well written. Earstripe was my favorite. I hope he gets put in more situations. Could've used more women. I hope we learn more about gnole culture in future books, it seems really deep.
Paladin's Faith - T Kingfisher [🔊] : i enjoyed it 👍 can't wait for wren's book, she was a delight. looking forward to watching the economy shift and evolve in the bg of the next few books because of the salt drying machines lmao. i'm almost more interested in the worldbuilding than the story at this point. almost
Wool - Hugh Howey [🔊] : dnf'ed at 26%. the silo is very cool! but the antagonist is cartoonishly evil and i hate the trope of seeing a character in a horrible situation and then flashing back to how they got there, esp with a villain like bernard. i read the wikipedia plot summary and decided that i don't want to read about fictional government corruption right now. also why did libby tag this as fantasy.
How to Train Your Dragon - Cressida Cowell [🔊] : I read this when I was a kid, but I saw it while I was browsing libby and figured it would be fun to listen to while I waited on my holds. David Tennant did a lovely job and I had a lot of fun.
Red Rising - Pierce Brown [🔊] : didn't get into it until about 50%, but after we got firmly into the institute i was hooked. and to be clear: i enjoyed the war games. the war games were fun. why the hell were there war games. i can't wrap my head around over 50% of the students dying every year and that's just. normal. I KNOW there's something to be said about the society and tradition. i really fucked with that stuff in the first half of the book. i guess the scale of humanity's expansion never really sunk in for me so i'm boggled by 600+ of the best and the brightest dying per year, per school
April
How to Be a Pirate - Cressida Cowell [🔊] : Another quick listen while I wait on holds. I didn't think that I'd read this one as a kid, but as it went on I started to recognize things. It's always fun to catch the little details that made it into the movies.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built - Becky Chambers [🔊] : Mixed feelings. I enjoyed the setting and the world, but overall this book wasn't for me. Like, I know what they were getting at, but the conclusion of "nothing has a purpose" is soundly countered by the book itself. The worms aerate the soil of the forest floor. The wild dogs keep the elk population in check. I don't think Dex ever even heard crickets in the end.
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir [🔊] : annual relistening. (which is apparently a thing i do now) 5th re-read
May
The Shadow of the Gods - John Gwynne [🔊] : dnf'ed. I tried so hard to like it! But it was so so slowww. I think i was at 30 or 40% and the plot hadn't kicked off yet. On top of that, multiple povs is a hard sell for me, and 3 completely seperate ones? I was fighting for my damn life out there.
Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir [🔊] - 4th re-read i think? i'll probably listen to it twice more (at least) before alecto comes out tbh
June
Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir [🔊] : life is too short and love is too long!!! (3rd reread. i understand what's going on now. mostly)
The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang [🔊] : mmm. it was fine. lot of whiplash with the pacing imo. lot of preaching about how channeling gods is bad and dangerous and i'm peeved we didn't get to see more of the impact first hand. hopefully that'll feature in the next book
A Wizard of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin [🔊] : i really liked it! my only issue was the lack of female characters, which suprised me given Le Guin's reputation, though i suppose this is one of her earliest works. and not an issue per say, but it was very very funny whenever i remembered Ged was still a teenager. i guess accidentally summoning a horrible shadow creature that rips up half your face and attaches itself to you like a curse causes one to mature faster.
The Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin [🔊] : hell yeah hell yeah hell yeah. Tenar babygirl you deserve the WORLD. i really loved her emotions, esp while she and Ged were escaping and heading to the ocean. she's just a scared teenager! her whole world got ripped out from under her in about a week! she's staring change in the face and she hates it and is so scared but she must change!
