#reading 2026

[oomlanoomla]

Reading East of Eden makes me want to scream some of the parts out so everyone can hear those words

[ruindunburnit]

How to "Steal Like An Artist", Exhibit A:

[fruityrex]

mexican gothic by silvan moreno garcia is an excellent book to illustrate why an anti-colonial approach must necessarily mean an anti-capitalist one. [spoilers ahead]

the doyles build high place and their immortality the backs of women made to squeeze out babies and miners left out to die. this entire system sustains itself because of their endless pursuit of want, above all else. even their family dynamics – especially the francis/florence dynamic – are extractive.

a portion of the discourse I've seen about this book has spoken about howard doyle as a racist villain at the risk of underemphasising how much racism, colonialism and capitalism are intertwined. ofc, racism dictates the logic of who becomes the victim of the doyles' insatiable want. but it's important to understand that the method of ultimately extracting what one wants from others (local workers, women), of mining someone for resources, was economically exploitative. making the doyles mine owners was very on-the-nose in that sense.

i understood noemí's attraction to virgil in this light. yes, it's the enchantments of the house, but the reason he exercises a hold on her is not some freudian death drive. I think garcia is trying to say that the allure of capitalism – the selfish, atomistic pursuit of one's own wants – is a death drive, something which takes root inside of all of us. if the gloom represents mental colonialism, then virgil represents the most seductive part of it. not the transparent evil of howard doyle and his superior and inferior races, but the quiet evil of virgil's amoral pursuit of what he desires. garcia could've portrayed noemí as internally not consenting, but the choice to portray her sexual attraction to virgil is important for this reason.

[relicsofasaint]

I decided to do my reading goal a bit differently in 2026! Instead of fixing a number to reach at the end of the year, im gonna do a reading goal of at least 4 books every month including at least 1 non-fiction. So i am currently one book over my goal for january 💪

The Idiot was another hit for Dostoïevski, i was completely engrossed from start to finish! The excerpts i posted here were just so little of what i loved about it and have too much thoughts about everything to contain here in this one little post <333

La fille de la foudre by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay was very good though uncomfortably #relatable at times and i liked it a lot more than her first book La fille d'elle-même (which i also loved dont get me wrong!), just purely personally speaking. Not surprising since the book touched upon one of my most beloved specific topics -the complicated feelings that arise from being seen as beautiful/the validation found in being made to feel attractive when one's lacking sense of self- among other things. Also alcoholism. Also etc etc, short story, this was a book that i could just hold very close to my heart in general. AND it took place in Hochelaga (my teenage neighbourhood by adoption lol) which was fun to read ❤️

Premier Amour (First love) by Tourgueniev was... alright? I read it in one setting and i did not *love* it but it kept my attention, enough that i should probably give a chance to more of his writings later. Idk maybe i would have liked it more if i had not been preemptively pissed off by the preface that somehow managed to sound way more dated and sexist than the actual novel lmao

On being raped by Raymond M. Douglas (the non-fiction of the month) was good, though i find it a bit weird to even try to rate a book written from such a personal point of view as good or bad. So despite some annoyances i had with it i will just say that i 100% agree with the author's thoughts about the "language" of rape (i strongly share his dislike of "survivor" as a catch all term for example) and the "healing narrative" pushed onto victims when it is sometimes simply not possible. Would def recommended it to anyone who wants to acquaint themself with a "non mainstream" perspective on the subject.

La pianiste by Elfriede Jelinek was not like my vague memory of the movie at all! I remembered the main character's fucked up relationships with her mother and her student of course but basically nothing of their context within the competitive world of classical music, the omnipresence of the sex industry, etc. So much meat to chew on... also the writing was pretty original, i really enjoyed the book on like a technical level.

...

AND NOW up next in february:

Malina by Ingeborg Bachman

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clark OR The Demons by Dostoïevski... i have not chosen which one yet but one of them will be my Long Book of the Month

The Masochistic pleasures of sentimental literature by Marianne Nobles

And something else as of yet undecided! (possibly something by Jane Austen bc i recently thrifted a boxset and have never read any of her books before for some reason)

[selkiestudies]

Update on 26 Books for 2026 - End of May Edition

Faithbreaker - Hannah Kaner

Threads That Bind - Kika Hatzopoulou

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Heartless Hunter - Kristen Ciccaarelli

Peter and the Starcatchers - Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvader

After the Woods - Kell Woods

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree

The Bone Ships - RJ Barker

House of Salt and Sorrows - Erin A Craig

Masters of Death - Olivie Blake

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil - VE Schwab

Sourcery - Terry Pratchett

Damsel - Evelyn Skye

A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

The Mountain in the Sea - Ray Nayler

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

A Darker Shade of Magic - VE Schwab

For the Wolf - Hannah Whitten

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - SA Chakraborty

The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Stories - Oscar Wilde

All the King's Men - Robert Penn Warren

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle - Stuart Turton

The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

Enjoying color coding this! green = finished, orange = currently making progress on, red = started but haven't made progress on, and black = not started yet.

I am at 12 completed books this year including these green ones. Other books I have read include book club books, a few miscellaneous audiobooks, and miscellaneous physical/digital books.

Empire in Black and Gold - Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Housemaid - Freida McFadden

Atmosphere - Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Swimmer - Joakim Zander

A Case of Mice and Murder - Sally Smith

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: The Dance of the Realms - Calliope Glass

Kin - Tayari Jones

Finally, the books I am making progress on right now:

Days of Shattered Faith - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil - VE Schwab (also a book club book)

Dracula Daily - Bram Stoker

Books coming up on my reading schedule for the summer months are:

Scheduled to finish in June:

The Attala County Garden Club - Topher Payne

The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvader

The Other Bennet Sister - Janice Hadlow

Scheduled to finish in July:

The Thirty Names of Night - Zeyn Joukhadar

Peter and the Starcatchers - Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender - Dr Kit Heyam

Heartless Hunter - Kristen Ciccaarelli

+ 1 book club book

Scheduled to finish in August:

House of Salt and Sorrows - Erin A Craig

Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

+ 1 book club book

Naturally, there will be more books and shifting of the timelines because I am a mood reader, but this is what I have so far!

Key: green = finished on list orange = currently making progress on list red = started but haven't made progress on list black = haven't started on list blue = book club books not on list pink = audiobooks not on list purple = physical/digital books not on list

[wolfylady]

I haven't been writing, just can't find the strength or will to. I just haven't felt like what I have to offer is enough, not even for myself. Depression sucks, and it sucks out everything enjoyable.

But I have been reading, keeps the mind busy. Officially read 20 out of the 52 books for the year goal. (I never count Manga or books I DNF otherwise I'm at 30+)

So this might turn into a blog about books I've read until I can write again.

[jiyageoxge]

this year I want to reread books that I loved, books that I said I'd read again, and not just new titles or TBR books.

[relicsofasaint]

Oh nooo i was so excited back in january to write down my little monthly readings but then i totally forgot to do it in february ;_;

No late detailed comments but for the record those were my february books and i did like them all!

Now i am trying to finish reading The King in Yellow (yes thank you True Detective) before midnight bc i love pressuring myself into strict reading deadlines lol but will soon try to actually keep up this month!