My March To Be Read Pile – 2026

In 2026, I plan to read at least 52 books, for one per week, and due to some amazing procrasti-reading in January and February, I have only 21 left.

I read 19 books in February, but realistically, I need to dial that back in March and get some work done. Yeah. Like editing. The Ides of March is my deadline for that project. Tick, tick, tick.

I am still adding a lot of books to my TBR pile, but if I buckle down on work, I may not get to all of them and that’s okay. Pushing some of these into April will be just fine. I am going to divide it into tiers again, which worked well for prioritization last month.

So what’s on the Tier One priority list?

I have only five fiction books that I really need to read. (There’s two nonfiction in Tier Two that are pretty important too, but more about them later.) Four of the fiction books are for reading challenges that end on March 31. The other is a book chosen for my fantasy book club in March. Actually the whole tier is pretty fantasy heavy. The thriller drought looms large.

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I don’t think this classic needs much commentary. It is a reread for me. It is on my 26 in 2026 list and I have been meaning to get back to it for a while, because I have a special edition with Marjolein Bastin illustrations (not the one pictured in my graphic below, unfortunately). It fits some reading challenges, including the one with the 3/31 deadline, and I’d really like to reread it and watch some of the film adaptations this year.

• Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

This is an Arthurian retelling from the point of view of the Lady of Shalott. (Maybe I need to read some Tennyson poetry soon too.) It’s got a more feminist bent than some of the earlier retellings (aside from The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which I simply couldn’t get through). This one changes up some aspects of the story and puts it in more of a fantasy world. I picked it because it fits a 3/31 deadline challenge prompt for a retelling. Plus, one side goal for me this year is to read some Arthurian works because my reading journal is Arthurian themed. I am already part of the way through it and didn’t have time to finish it in February, so I can wrap it up in March.

• The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

This is another book for the 3/31 deadline challenge. I picked it specifically because I am trying to dip into romantasy a bit more this year and this sounds pretty whimsical, which appeals to me. It’s actually a fantasy riff on the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail,’ which is delightful.

• We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

Okay. It’s an international bestseller. It’s magical realism about cats. And it hits a prompt for my 3/31 deadline challenge. Plus, I already own the sequel, having bought it thinking it was the original. I have to read this to read that. The clinic in the story helps struggling patients by yes, prescribing them a cat. Oh, and cats as prescriptions? As a retired pharmacist, I love this idea. I am also already part of the way through this one, so finishing it shouldn’t be too difficult.

• Child of Chaos by Glen Dahlgren

This is the book I am taking to my fantasy book club in March, so it is a priority read. I met Glen last year at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference where he was a fellow Dante Rossetti award winner. He was actually the grand prize winner for a later book in this same series. (I won a first place for The Appearance of Power, so I came in right behind him.) I fully expect this earlier book to be amazing as well, and look forward to reading it before this year’s conference next month. Glen is up for awards again for his writing and I don’t want to miss out. It’s been on my TBR for quite a while now and I need to get started.

Here’s the Tier One covers if you want to take a peek.

If I get through all of these books, I move on to Tier Two. If I don’t, the Tier Two books move to April.

• Cried the Raven by Ruth Amanda

This one is a middle grade read that is modeled on Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven.’ (There’s that poetry thing again, and another nod to Poe. I really need to pick up some Poe in October.) I picked this one because it is up for an award at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference I am attending in April, and I know the author. It’s short, so I will have no trouble finishing it.

• The Jøssing Affair by JL Oakley

This is a historical fiction about the Nazi occupation of Norway in WWII. Historical fiction is not one of my usual genres. Long, historically accurate, historical fiction is pretty much out of my comfort zone. But I have heard a lot about this book, because I know the author well. We recently went to the Kauai Writers Conference together. I have had it on my TBR far too long, and it’s finally time to tackle it, even though it’s a bit intimidating at over 500 pages. Oakley is an award winner and I know it will be excellent. I do plan to give myself some grace, though. I think it will be a slower read for me in a less familiar genre with dense historical detail and a higher page count, and I may have to start and/or finish it in April.

• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

In February I dove into a historical fiction about Agatha’s 1926 disappearance AND I read her full life biography. My knowledge of Christie’s fiction is limited to screen adaptations, so it will be interesting to actually read the novels. This one is a biggie and has a movie I can watch also. But it is not high priority, and whenever I can get to this is fine.

• The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

It’s a bestseller. It’s a cozy fantasy / romantasy combination. I’ve planned to read more in both genres this year. And I own the hardback, bought when I attended the Willamette Writers Conference a couple of years ago, so reading it will decrease my physical TBR pile. It’s on my 26 in 2026 list, and I plan to read it soon. Maybe not March for sure. But soon. There’s stolen spell books. There’s quirky characters. There’s food. I can’t wait!

I am also including two nonfiction writing craft/writing business books. I absolutely must start reading these in March, but I am placing them in Tier Two, because it isn’t crucial to finish them in March. I will probably be reading them over the course of the next 2-3 months, to be honest, as it will take some time to absorb the information.

I am getting ready to finally, actually, publish The Appearance of Power, my YA fantasy, and I want more advice on how to do it right from some writers who have been there. I follow these indie authors on YouTube and have gotten a lot of good information already, so I look forward to reading them. I won’t go into detail on the contents, as these are not for a general audience.

• Plan a Profitable Book Launch by Mandi Lynn with Bethany Atazadeh
• My Book Launch Planner by Mandi Lynn

Here’s the graphic with the covers. I don’t think this is the Christie edition I am actually reading, but there’s lots out there.

My final group in the March TBR are the cookbooks, and I will for sure read these instead of pushing them to April, so they aren’t really in a tier. For March, I am tackling four cookbooks. Mostly because there’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I have four Irish cookbooks. It makes sense to look through them all at the same time in a seasonally appropriate month. I set myself the task of reading twelve cookbooks total this year and finding twelve new recipes to make in pursuit of my goal to eat healthier.

When I “read” cookbooks, I am pretty much just looking at each recipe closely enough to see if it’s appealing to eat, fits my family’s diet restrictions, and has ingredients and cooking methods I am comfortable using. It doesn’t take that long, so putting four cookbooks on the list is realistic.

Do I really need to own FOUR Irish cookbooks? We’ll see how much duplication there is in the contents. I can unhaul anything that I won’t use going forward and spread the joy in a little free library. Why do I have FOUR? I have gotten all of them from my Irish subscription box. I enjoy all things Celtic. Did I mention that I took Irish in college? I don’t remember much of the language, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the culture. Not being the most regular cook (thus the cookbook challenge this year), I haven’t really dipped into these before, and I should.

I won’t go into a description of each, but they all have yummy Irish recipes to try. St. Patrick’s Day is looking pretty authentic and tasty this year.

• Essential Irish Farmhouse Cookery
• The Pocket Irish Pub Cookbook
• The Irish Pocket Potato Recipe Cookbook
• Traditional Irish Cooking for Today

Here’s the graphic with those covers.

That’s all I have planned to read in March. And again, I probably won’t read the full list if I can stop my procrasti-reading. I need to stop. Seriously. I have other things to get done. Like editing.

If you have a favorite read to recommend for April, or a favorite book challenge for 2026, be sure to comment!

Thanks for reading!