#wrap up 2026

[ofliterarynature]

reading challenges • may 2026

26-in-26: The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel by Stephanie Williams, Sas Milledge, & Maggie Stiefvater; Forest Walking by Peter Wohlleben & Jane Billinghurst (DNF); The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang; The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley; Clockwork Boys / The Wonder Engine by T Kingfisher

Owned (other): Emily's Quest by L.M. Montgomery

The Complete Sherlock Holmes: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

Books Acquired: 5 (print: 5)

[ofliterarynature]

READING WRAP UP: May 2026

[ loved liked okay nope dnf reread* (bookclub) ]

Game Changer • Emily's Quest • The Lost Future of Pepperharrow • Wolf Speaker* • Fugitive Telemetry* • Magic for Beginners • A Ghastly Catastrophe • The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes • Emperor Mage* • The Sword of Kaigen • The Realms of the Gods* • (The Raven Tower)* • The Haunted Hotel • Clockwork Boys • The Wonder Engine • The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel • Forest Walking

* * * * *

Game Changer - extremely mediocre. The two halves of the couple make very awkward conversation over the food service counter a few times and then oops! They're having amazing sex and are deeply in love. What do they see in each other? No idea really, there's not much personality to either besides "hot" and "nice." The best thing I can say is that this didn't outright annoy me and they were kind of cute. Still, it's not something that Check, Please fanfic hasn't done dozens of times and also better. Hopefully the following books are better?

Emily's Quest - forget the friendships and hijinks, Emily's been left all alone by her friends and unromanced by the boy she likes, so now we get to explore all of her other romances, good and bad! That's it, that's the book. Sigh. At least everyone ends up with the right person in the end.

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow - I made the mistake of buying this on audiobook before I read the first book, which I ended up disliking, and have been avoiding this one ever since. I finally cracked down and ended up not hating this too much? I almost *did* like it once a certain character had been removed from the story. So. I'd say this series is a failure for me (as much as I wanted to like it), but I'd still be willing to try Natasha Pulley again.

Wolf Speaker/Emperor Mage/The Realms of the Gods - very good rereading, though Realms is still my least favorite of the bunch.

Fugitive Telemetry - reread. Firmly of the belief that this should be read between Exit Strategy and Network Effect both for chronological reasons and because it serves as a nice bridge/interstitial murder-mystery piece between the two larger story arcs.

Magic for Beginners - short story collection, much more successful for me than The Book of Love (which I dnf'd pretty early). VERY strange, I can't say I liked all of the stories, but they were at least always weird and interesting. The first story about the Faery Handbag was my favorite, and the second reminded me very fondly of the book Vassa in the Night, which is at least more comprehensibly strange, and I recommend. Definitely willing to try another of the author's short story collections.

A Ghastly Catastrophe - a new Veronica Speedwell! This time riffing (very openly) on Dracula, it was fun as always, but perhaps a bit convoluted. I will absolutely keep reading these as long as she keeps putting them out - I hope we see more of Lady Julia and her husband in the future, they were delightful but very underused in this one.

The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes - meh? Irritated by both the fact that my audiobook switched narrators at this point, and that Doyle decided to try more writing in third person - which isn't bad, btw, but its far too late to be changing things around. Also devastated to discover that The Sussex Vampire has nothing to do with K Addison's "The Surrey Vampire.' She really missed an opportunity there :(

The Sword of Kaigen - been nervous for this one after disliking Blood Over Bright Haven, but I'd already bought the audiobook. I liked this one more, for sure, but it felt a lot messier. I found Misaki's character arc very compelling (and Mamoru - that ending did great things for Misaki, but I'm not sure it was a satisfying arc for his story after all of the time we spent with him?), but the worldbuilding to me felt very disjointed and the larger narrative/plots hinted at beyond the immediate focus of the village were intriguing but unsatisfactorily explored. I think there's a spark of something great here, so I'll probably give the author another chance if something sounds interesting.

The Raven Tower - reread #3, first time in print. I think I like this more as an audiobook, but the great thing about reading this in print is that you have the ability to really stop and think and puzzle over all of the little details. Which god are they actually speaking to? How is this statement both the truth and a lie? Which version of the story is real? I admit that even as a third time reader that the worldbuilding is complicated and it is hard to get into the story, but it's so very worth it.

The Haunted Hotel - have been feeling a little too intimidated to jump back into classics with a full novel, so started with this shorter Wilkie Collins work that Hoopla had on audiobook and sounded like a neat mystery. Alas, the description was *very* misleading and this was mostly ominous vibes with a dash of the supernatural and a woman being driven mad by guilt. Would not recommend.

Clockwork Boys/The Wonder Engine - the completionist in my brain wouldn't let me start the Saint of Steel series without doing the entire World of the White Rat set in the proper order, so I finally cracked and spent some credits for these on audio. 1) no idea why these were split into two books, it really is just one, 2) so I'm very glad that I'd taken the plunge and gotten both of them so I could read them back-to-back, 3) fun!!!! Absolutely definitely the most fun of all the non-reread books I read this month. Extremely delighted to find a second character with magic sneezes and an endless supply of handkerchiefs.

The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel - a solid adaptation! I missed the beauty of Maggie's writing and the charm of Will Patton's audiobook narration, but as an adaptation overall I'd call this pretty good - definitely a more than decent way to speed-run through the plot of the first book. I could quibble with a few of the design choices, but overall the art was beautifully done and I loved to look at it. TRC isn't my favorite of Maggie's series, so I'll be interested to see how I feel about the adaptations of the rest of the series.

Forest Walking: Discovering the Trees and Woodlands of North America (DNF @ 9%, audio) - an interesting subject, but from what I listened to this is a series of fun-facts strung together as paragraphs and collected into themed chapters. Nothing inherently wrong, but it makes for poor audiobook listening and I couldn't stay focused. I'll hold onto my print copy for now, but will move it over to the non-fiction section and off of my tbr.

[ofliterarynature]

READING WRAP UP: MARCH 2026

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) bookclub* ]

Cosmoknights Vol 1 • Last Soul Among Wolves • Emily Climbs • What Stalks the Deep • (Grave Importance) • Remainders of the Day • Bitter Waters • Sunward • Bad Houses • Why We Swim • Courageous • (Like Real People Do) • (Like You've Nothing Left to Prove) • The Keeper of Lonely Spirits* • Through Gates of Garnet and Gold • Apparently Sir Cameron Needs to Die • (First Test) • Rebent Sinner

* * * * *

Cosmoknights Vol 1 - fun!! Fantastic to look at, lots of excellent queer ladies (*fans self*), the space princesses and rebellion made this a very interesting read/pairing after recently watching She-Ra for the first time. I feel like I waited too long to read this, but ultimately the timing was perfect.

Last Soul Among Wolves - an excellent follow up! I still had a lot of fun even though I'd forgotten most of the finer details from the first. Now that I have a second sample, I do think I can say that while these are fun there's some element missing that keeps them from being truly excellent. It might have something to do with the characters and not seeing them outside of life-or-death situations, but it also feels like the situation with Kem's baby does not pack the punch that the author wants it to. Yes I feel bad saying that. Will still happily check out whatever the author puts out next.

Emily Climbs - second book in the Emily series. Not a favorite by any means but I'm definitely attached at this point.

What Stalks the Deep - Had an ok time. Its definitely been too long since I read the previous books, otherwise I think I might have had a better time? Also can't say I entirely cared for the audiobook narrator this time around, so maybe if I reread I'll do a different format.

Grave Importance - reread. Still fun in some ways, but I can't say this series has held up well for me :/

Remainders of the Day - JUST what I needed!!! I know daily diary entries at a used bookstore are maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but when I time it right I find the audiobooks to be immensely soothing. So sad that this seems to be the last in the series.

Bitter Waters - first of the new entries in the Greta Helsing series. Honestly, not a bad premise! But our familiar protagonists pretty quickly hand off the new mystery to Count Dracula (?!) and the poor kid??? Very traumatic circumstances, but as soon as it's established she was a miserable orphan they kind of handwave it away because well, she seems to be doing okay and is happier here? So frustrated with this entire thing.

Sunward - a neat little story about a spaceship courier who, after some upsetting circumstances, sets off to track her various foster-ai/robot children across the galaxy while trying to find their oldest sibling. The ending was bit abrupt, but I think I liked it overall. Would recommend for fans of Becky Chambers.

Bad Houses - short story collection by the author of My Volcano, so you *know* things are just going to be weird and strange and plant some very bizarre images permanently in your brain. Maybe not a good time, but a memorable one.

Why We Swim - what it says! Less of a science book and more of a cultural examination and exploration. I found the audiobook quite soothing and meditative to listen to, but I do think the author was biased by her own relationship to swimming and it didn't leave much of an impact on me in the end. Would recommend to those who like swimming.

Courageous - Lost Fleet #3. tbh not proving to be particularly memorable. Mostly a lot of "wow, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with reading about even space!war right at this moment." Also John's complete isolation is starting to get wearisome, especially since his relationship withe the Co-Vice President is a bit on the rocks. I'll probably finish off the series eventually, but currently feeling doubtful about continuing on with the spin-offs.

Like Real People Do / Like You've Nothing Left to Prove - why yes, I did just read these both in February! I needed a comfort audiobook to fill up my free time and saw these were on Hoopla. To review them as audiobooks - the narrator has a good voice and did a nice job... it's just that Eli would definitely 100% have an accent, and I'm not sure if it's better or worse that he didn't go for it. They get the job done, if nothing else.

The Keeper of Lonely Spirits* - better in most ways than the author's first book, including audiobook quality. I always appreciate a chance to get ghosts being spooky without going full horror novel, and I did like it somewhat. Still, cozy fantasy is never going to quite be my thing and this definitely stretched my credulity in a number of places. I think it particularly needed a little more resolution for the ending, but certainly would say to go ahead if it sounds like your type of thing.

Through Gates of Garnet and Gold - a new Wayward Children book is always exciting, and to see Nancy again! In all honesty I think this one was Just Fine, but the ending did leave me interested in seeing where Seanan will take us next. Also 100% proved my statement to someone in book club that absolutely no one in this series is as gone as you'd think, even if they're dead.

Apparently Sir Cameron Needs to Die - wasn't convinced that I'd like this one, but had to give it a shot anyway. The first half wasn't entirely working for me but the second half was really quite fun! Ultimately I think this worked for me in a lot of the same ways the sillier and more unhinged variety of D&D podcasts can (Rude Tales of Magic, anyone?), and while this is not going to be a personal favorite by any means, I do look forward to trying some of Greer's future work (not sure if I'll be keeping my print copy though). For something a little less weird, I'd recommend In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

First Test - I needed another comfort read audiobook <3

Rebent Sinner - I think at this point I can just say that I love Ivan Coyote's writing. They made me laugh, made me cry, made me gesture pointedly at a particularly good line. But still, I don't think I'll hold this one as much in my heart as Care Of - the stories and writing in both are a bit rambling and on similar topics, but at least Care Of had a defined structure to it. Maybe there was something I missed with this on audiobook, but I couldn't find any real kind of through-line. I really want to try their fiction now.

[ofliterarynature]

reading challenges • april 2026

26-in-26: Weyward by Emilia Hart; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (dnf); The Thing With Feathers by Noah Strycker (dnf)

Owned (other): Strange New World by Vivian Shaw; The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

The Complete Sherlock Holmes (not pictured): The Return of Sherlock Holmes; The Valley of Fear; His Last Bow

Books Acquired: 24 (print: 22 / ebook: 2)

the book acquisitions got a little out of hand this month (completely eclipsing the rest of the year so far), but what can I say! It was my birthday AND the library sale all in one month.

[ofliterarynature]

2026 Bookish Goals

It's that time of year! I promise that I'll still do a wrap-up for last year, but 2025 isn't going anywhere while 2026 still marches forward. I'd like to get these settled and in writing before I get too far ahead of myself!

26-in-26. I learned my lesson last year, so this list is entirely TBR books I own, from 2025 or earlier - specifically the ones that should be easy to get to (so, graphic novels and audiobooks). Some of them have lingered for much longer than they should, despite my best intentions. (list under read more)

Read the complete Sherlock Holmes. This has been a dream for years and is overdue, given the sheer number of pastiche I've read. I found a great deal on an audiobook copy and I plan to use the method I discovered last year of listening to a story in the gaps between other audiobooks. I'm trying to not be too intimidated.

Keep a daily journal. It doesn't need to be more than a sentence or two, but I've gotten out of practice at writing and sharing things (and my memory is just terrible), and I think having somewhere private to practice is a good first step.

Track how many books I buy. I genuinely have no idea how many books I usually buy in a year and I'm curious (though I did at minimum manage to completely swap out one of my tbr shelves last year. Oof). I'll save the question of how much I spend for another time.*

Go to bookish events! At least one - at the library, hosted by a bookstore, a craft, a talk, anything. I want to be more social, and if I have to drive an hour it won't kill me. A second book club might, but I haven't decided if I want to attempt that yet. (Ohio mutuals hmu if there's anything you'd be interested in meeting up for this year!)

*I do plan on tracking any other owned-tbr books that I read, as well as nonfiction, but I don't have any specific goals for those in mind!

26-in-26: Owned TBR

Matrix by Lauren Groff (February)

The Sharing Knife (series) by Lois McMaster Bujold

Warlock Holmes: A Study in Brimstone by G.S. Denning (July)

Feed by Mira Grant (June)

Weyward by Emilia Hart (April)

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron (February)

Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes (DNF March)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (DNF April)

The Thing With Feathers by Noah Strycker (DNF April)

Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui (March)

Forest Walking by Peter Wohlleben & Jane Billinghurst (DNF May)

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor

The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All Vol 2 & 3 by Sumiko Arai

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (January)

The Raven Boys: The Graphic Novel by Maggie Stiefvater, adapted by Stephanie Williams & Sas Milledge (May)

Shadow Life by Hiromi Goto & Ann Xu

Cosmoknights Vol 1 by Hannah Templer (March)

Bread* by Charles Norris

The Lord of Stariel by A.J. Lancaster (February)

The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley (May)

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang (May)

Tooth & Claw by Jo Walton (February)

Clockwork Boys/The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher (May)

The Lost Painting:The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece* by Jonathan Harr (January)

The West Passage by Jared Pechaček (DNF March)

The Sparrow* by Mary Doria Russell

print copy with audiobook from the library / graphic novel / owned audiobook / also owned in print*

These next two lists are mostly for my reference and are not specific goals:

ReReads project

inspired partially by logarithmicpanda's January rereadathon, but also when trying to get my TBR list down to 26 I found a lot of rereading was needed! A couple of older books that I need to decide whether or not to keep, and a bunch of newer books in series I haven't read for years.

Tales from Watership Down by Richard Adams (first book read in ? 2011)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (last read in ? 2005-06)

Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann (last book read in 2022)

The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill (last read ??? before 2012)

A Choir of Lies by Alexandra Rowland (last book read in 2022)

Fault Tolerance by Valerie Valdes (last books read in 2021)

Bitter Waters/Strange New World by Vivian Shaw (last books read in 2020) (April)

(bonus!) Tithe by Holly Black (last read in 2015)

(just for fun) The Tainted Cup/A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (last read in 2024/2025, respectively) (July)

Series in Progress from 2025:

Jackson Brodie by Kate Atkinson (paused)

Emily Starr by L.M. Montgomery (May)

The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell

Doctrine of Labyrinths by Sarah Monette/Katherine Addison

[ofliterarynature]

READING WRAP UP: JANUARY 2026

[ loved liked okay nope dnf (reread) book club* ]

The Adventure of the Demonic Ox • The Wayfinder • (Strange Practice) • (A Conspiracy of Truths) • A Study in Scarlet • (Plum Duff) • (Balancing Stone) • (The Saint of the Bookstore) • A Little too Familiar • (Dreadful Company) • The Original • The Sign of Four • The Seven Brides-to-Be of Generalissimo Vlad • American Born Chinese • (Watership Down) • (Exit Strategy)* • The Incandescent • A Choir of Lies • The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece

* * * * *

The Adventure of the Demonic Ox - Oh Penric... fun (?) as always, some great (if traumatic) time spent with the kids.

The Wayfinder (DNF @ 13%, audiobook) - Not *uninteresting,* but slow, and not proving to be a good choice for listening to at work. May revisit someday in a different format.

Strange Practice - first time rereading! Still quite fun, though I think I'm not quite as enamored as I was the first time around.

A Conspiracy of Truths - another reread, because it's been so long and I want to finally get around to the second book. I didn't like this much the first time around; this time I can really see the skill that went into writing it, but I just do not! like! Chant! He's the worst. Well done.

A Study in Scarlet - I have technically read this before, but I've decided I'm just starting over with a clean slate. It's ok? I kind of want to reread again now that I'm a bit deeper into the stories. Not the weird diversion into the Mormons that takes up 1/3 of the story. I could do without that.

Plum Duff - reread carried over from December; not my particular favorite of the series, but I look forward to where it's setting up the series to go! Also got in some good giggles when I realized that Jemis named *himself* The Saint of the Bookstore. Oh buddy XD

Balancing Stone/The Saint of the Bookstore - I like these two so much! I think they're among my favorite of Victoria's short stories.

A Little too Familiar - picked up mostly because I saw it recommended as a fun supernatural romance and the ebook was available at the library; was definitely fun if not entirely my thing.

Dreadful Company - book 2! Still having a good time, though at this point the lack of any female characters besides Greta is getting annoying. And the fact that it seems to completely retcon the epilogue from book 1.

The Original - OOOOH. I LIKED THIS ONE A LOT. A very classically gothic set-up that I adored with a much quieter tension than one might expect. Very interesting conversation on the topic of the original vs copies (which I think has a big effect on the tension) that I would love to reread and pay closer attention to. Very close to getting 5 stars from me, I'll have to check out the author's other work!

The Sign of Four - a good mystery, but holy fuck is this one super racist. Wow. Much kudos to Katherine Addison for how she managed to rework this for The Angel of the Crows, she did a fantastic job.

The Seven Brides-to-Be of Generalissimo Vlad - a neat bit-size story for Victoria's foray into sci-fi. A little odd, maybe not her best work, but I liked it! Not related to the Nine Worlds.

American Born Chinese - I think I get what this book was trying to do, but I pretty solidly did not enjoy it :/

Watership Down - first time reading this in about 12 years or so? Fantastic! Still holds up. It definitely moves very slowly, but it's such a classic adventure/quest/journey story, but with bunnies! I loved the worldbuilding and rabbit mythology.

Exit Strategy - reread number (?????) for book club. Not my favorite of the books, but an excellent end to the original arc of the series. I really like Murderbot's heart-to-heart with Mensah. This will probably be our last entry of the series for book club, but I will definitely continue on my own in prep for the new book this year!

The Incandescent - I feel like I'm always asking for slice-of-life fantasy, and this really delivers!!! The pacing was a bit all over and I genuinely had no idea where it was going to go when things started off with such a bang, but ultimately had a lot of fun! I'd be happy to read a lot more books like this.

A Choir of Lies - it's been a few years, but for a while I was seeing this recommended a lot (more so than the first book, A Conspiracy of Truths). I can't say I enjoyed depressed!Ylfing, but at least he was less irritating than Chant. Really I just want to see Mistress Chant find Chant someday and beat the shit out of him.

The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece - I'll be honest, the story of this is very interesting, but my irritation at the author has kind of overwhelmed any positive feelings - the women are referred to by their first names and we spend a lot of time on their (largely irrelevant) romantic relationships; the men are mostly last-named and oh yeah he's got a wife and kids but we're only going to offhandedly mention that once. *sigh.* Would love some recommendations for any better Art nonfiction (I liked The Art Thief!)

[ofliterarynature]

READING WRAP UP: FEBRUARY 2026

[ loved liked okay nope (reread)]

(Like Real People Do) • Like You've Nothing Left to Prove • All Hail the Underdogs • (The Cry of the Icemark) • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes • Free from Falling • Snake-Eater • Matrix • Tales from Watership Down • The Wolf and His King • The Lord of Stariel • Being Heroes, Being Villains • Dewey • Tooth and Claw • The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes • The Hound of the Baskervilles

* * * * *

Like Real People Do - the Heated Rivalry all over my dash has reignited my dormant gay hockey OMGCP heart, so where better to turn? I'll be honest, these first three books are pretty much inseparable from their fanfic origins for me and I can't be particularly objective about them, but they did indeed scratch the itch! Enough people outside of fandom seem to like them though, so I guess they must be okay :)

Like You've Nothing Left to Prove - really just LRPD: Part 2. It can't really stand on its own and I'm pretty irritated by some of the ending (we're like 20 years old and have been dating 6 months, getting engaged is totally romantic and reasonable! NO IT'S NOT). But still totally a good binge.

All Hail the Underdogs - my least favorite, and I'm not just saying that because I'm not a fan of it's original fanfic pairing. It's so hyper-focused on the two main characters and their emotional angst that the rest of the world doesn't exist. Somehow, hockey is barely a passing thought? There's some good bones here, but I don't think it was pulled off as well as it could have been.

The Cry of the Icemark - a favorite as a teen right up there with Tamora Pierce and Graceling. A pretty solid classic fantasy story that, while not too complex, really holds it's own. Very readable! It did make me cry. This was nice to revisit, though I'm not sure that I'll hold onto my copies or continue the series.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - finished the first short story collection! I'm having a good time, though I find I'm not as impressed with Holmes' deductions as I thought I would be, lol. Mostly I'm having fun picking out what bits and pieces Katherine Addison borrowed and recombined in The Angel of the Crows.

Free from Falling - honestly? I think this is the most solid book in the series so far, probably because it's the first fully original work. It felt better balanced, the characters are little bit older, and Matts! It's been great to see him grow from the first book and to learn more about him. Also, Sydney is the coolest <3

Snake-Eater - fine? It was fine. I haven't been as fond of Kingfisher's recent books that are more a blend of fantasy with her horror writing, her more strictly-fantasy works seem to be more my speed (I really need to read the Paladin books). I didn't have a bad time, but not my favorite. (The dog does not die, if you were curious).

Matrix - I don't think I was wrong in thinking that the premise sounded interesting and the most like something I would read out of Groff's work, but I have been very solidly reminded that I Do Not Like literary fiction. Alas, not for me.

Tales from Watership Down - What a bummer! Finding a copy of this at the used bookstore is what prompted me to finally reread Watership Down; I really enjoyed the original stories of El-ahrairah and was looking forward to more. Unfortunately the writing style and general vibe of this collection didn't quite seem to match the original book, and it just didn't hit. I did somewhat enjoy the section on the continued tales of Watership Down, but even that was a bit meh. This one's a pass from me, I probably won't be keeping my copy.

The Wolf and His King - I think this had a strong opening, but I admit that my interest started to peter out in the second half. There were some interesting things going on about identity and leadership and fealty to start with, but I don't think it managed to hold onto a strong through-line for the rest of the book.The writing was quite lovely and lyrical (if not entirely my thing), so I think there's something there that makes this worth reading if you have the right expectations. Please note that this is not a romantasy novel.

The Lord of Stariel - a very solidly decent example of it's genre (gaslamp mystery-romance, with bonus fae), if lacking that spark that would make it truly excellent. I nevertheless had a good time and would be happy to keep reading the series if it weren't mostly Amazon-exclusive :/

Being Heroes, Being Villains - a collection of heroes and villains short stories by our own @ caffeinewitchcraft! If you've been on tumblr for a while you've almost certainly read a number of these stories; it was great having many of them together like this, and I even found a few I'd never come across. If she ever decides to put together another collection I'll definitely put my money down.

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World - Meh. Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting, but this felt much more like a memoir of the life of the author/librarian than it did about the cat. I think I'd have liked something by an outside observer better, and would have been fine with a shorter essay or article. Maybe I'm just allergic to sentimentality.

Tooth and Claw - "regency fantasy of manners, but with dragons" is certainly a novel twist on the genre! I had a good time with this, though I'm not sure there was enough originality to the plot itself (and not just the whole dragons thing) to make it a particular favorite. Would recommend, I'll have to check out some of the author's other work.

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes - still rolling along on these. I wasn't sure what to expect of this collection, as the the stories I was most familiar with were all in the first one, but I got a few surprises! I'm largely reading the stories in comparison with Katherine Addison's The Angel of the Crows, and while the mysteries she used are obvious from their titles, I keep coming across characters and elements in other stories that she borrowed and recombined to add more complexity and it's a delight every time I find one. I do fully understand everyone's upset at the whole Reichenbach/Moriarty thing though, that was sure...something.

The Hound of the Baskervilles - actually very good! Managed to not be too racist, just weird about the phrenology stuff off to one side. Frankly I'm amazed at how much of a 1:1 this is with the AotC version, down to multiple phrasings and lines of dialogue, though I'm glad it made things with the women less weird, and disappointed that Watson didn't get kidnapped. Sorry Dr. Doyle, I guess you've just got the worst luck. I am learning, though, that Addison occasionally forgets small details that make the stories a bit clearer - I never put together that Ms. Stapleton was also in London and is the one who put together the cutout warning letter!

[ofliterarynature]

The Year So Far in Bookish Goals: Jan-April 2026

Time to reflect! I'd meant to do this quarterly, but I'm already a month late so I suppose we'll go with thirds instead.

26-in-26: currently sitting at 14 finished (4 dnfs) with 12 to go. The 12 does include a few series (guess I didn't learn my lesson well enough last year), so it's a good thing I'm ahead right now!

Read the complete Sherlock Holmes: I've finished all of the novellas and am on the last collection - this has been such a fantastic time and I'm going to be very sad when I'm finished, likely by the end of May. I'll have to find another series of short stories (maybe Jeeves and Wooster?) to keep me company, but at least I'll have the go-ahead to read Warlock Holmes soon!

Keep a daily journal: this went really well for about 2 months, and then the depression hit really bad and I haven't touched it since. If I can find my journal maybe some day I'll dig up the motivation to start again. Maybe decorate it to reintroduce myself?

Track how many books I buy: After some trial and error, the best way to keep this up has been just having a list in the notes app on my phone, though I keep ending up in debates with myself about whether or not things like cook books or craft books should count (it does include audiobooks and ebooks). The count at the end of April was 37, twenty four of which were from April alone.

Go to bookish events: mixed results so far! I attended an "adult book fair" (immensely disappointing) and visited a new-to-me bookstore (significantly more fun, but not as good as hoped for). I've got at least two more planned in the coming months, but I'll keep my eye out for a wider variety. I'd really like to find an interesting author talk, as I've already had to miss two.