My new stretch reading goal for 2026 is 100 books. At over 70 read so far, I am doing well, even though June was a major reading slump month. I am hoping to regain some momentum in July, but there are a number of pre-publication tasks for my own book that will eat up time also.
So what’s on the Tier One priority list in July? Because I slumped last month, this month I am staying conservative with only four books in my top tier.
- Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
I need to finish this up for my fantasy book club. I am halfway through and having a great time.
- Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maerher
In this grumpy sunshine romantasy, the main character takes a job with an infamous villain to support her ailing family. Her crush on the villain and the people trying to sabotage him just complicate things. It’s not my usual genre, but I have read more romantasy this year than in previous years combined. I’d bought this one a while ago because it sounded fun and is rated at zero spice.
- Spear by Nicola Griffith
My reading journal theme this year is Arthurian/Holy Grail. As a result, I have been trying to fit in a few Arthurian retellings. This is one. It is also an award winner and fits a couple of reading challenge prompts.
- Along Came a Spider by James Patterson
This fits a prompt for a 90’s throwback read for one of my challenges. I was more interested in it than the other options because it is a thriller and because I have read some Patterson already.
Here’s the Tier One Graphic.
For Tier Two, I still have a few books from June to finish up. I have started all of these, so I am going to try to fit them in. If they push into August, so be it. Two of them are quite long.
- Fields of Prosperis by Claudia LeBeouf
It is a Chanticleer Cygnus award winner for 2025. I met the author at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference and got to know her, and she’s lovely. We are going to share a table at the Novel Lattes book festival in Sioux Falls in October. In this book, a space pilot sets out to restore a telepathic adolescent to her clan in defiance of the law.
- Dune by Frank Herbert
Paul Atreides is the heir to a noble family tasked with ruling Arrakis, where “spice” melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness, is found. When his family is betrayed, Paul joins the Fremen and becomes Muad’Dib, fulfilling an epic destiny in this alien world. This is a reread, and I am anxious to see the recent adaptations.
- The Jøssing Affair by JL Oakley
This is a historical fiction about the Nazi occupation of Norway in WWII. It’s a slow read for me, since historical fiction is not one of my most read genres, but it is great so far.
- Nemesis by Isaac Asimov
In this SF novel, a young telepathic girl on a space colony discovers that the new star they’ve gone to is a threat. I’ve chosen this book to fit a reading prompt for a “nemesis.” I’ve not read a lot of Asimov, but his The Positronic Man was one of my favorite SF novels.
I have a few more books slated for Tier Three. I am less confident I will start, let alone finish, this group, but I want to have them lined up just in case.
- Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
I have had this historical fantasy fiction on my TBR for quite a while. It is Holy Grail themed, so it fits my reading journal vibe. I do want to read it this year, but it is long and it is historical, taking place during the siege of Carcassonne, so I am not sure if I can finish it in July, even if I have time to start it. We’ll see.
- Breathless by Amy McCulloch
I hope I have time for this one. It’s a thriller, and I haven’t read enough thrillers lately. A journalist is interviewing a climber and ends up having to evade a killer in the extreme high altitude environment. I enjoy adventure books set in risky environments, so combining this with a thriller is appealing to me.
- Cleopatra’s Vendetta by Avanti Centrae
This is an award winning action thriller from the author who won overall best book at the CIBA’s in 2025 (different book than this one). With a kidnapping and a cabal hiding ancient secrets, this is right in my wheelhouse. I hope I have the opportunity to get to this one.
- The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
This book is a beautiful combination of drawings and essays about the birds the author encountered in her own backyard during a time when she was searching for peace and connection to nature. Bird watching is one of those hobbies I have dabbled in and would like to go a little deeper. I think it will be an inspiring read. I am hoping to at least start this in July, since there’s a lot of birds in my own yard right now.
Tier Four is my miscellaneous tier more than the lowest priority. I probably will get to some of these, because they aren’t intensive reads and a couple of them are category picks for cookbooks and poetry.
- The Gut Friendly Cookbook by Alana Scott
I am choosing a cookbook to review for recipes for each month, either to find healthy ones, or to work through my backlog and either use or unhaul cookbooks I haven’t touched much. This choice is the former. I am struggling with digestive issues right now, but I still need healthy choices. I hope I find some here. I do expect to finish this.
- Cat Tales by Charles Wysocki
This short book is more about the art of Charles Wysocki, who paints whimsical cats, than the words. But accompanying the lovely and detailed illustrations are charming little stories about the depicted cats. I collect cat books, and while I have read the vast majority at the time of acquisition, I don’t want favorite books on my shelves to gather dust. If I am keeping them, it’s because I want to reread them from time to time. This will be a quick read, and I expect I will fit it in, even though I didn’t manage it last month.
- Johnathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
It’s a classic I have heard about since my childhood, but I have never read it. I am using this as my “poetry” pick this month, given its inspirational tone. In it, a seagull breaks from his flock’s conventional ways to pursue his passion, discovering deeper truths through his spiritual journey. It’s fairly short, and I expect to finish it given it’s my poetry pick.
- The Writer’s Garden by Jackie Bennett and Richard Hanson
This is a coffee table book. That’s a category of books I want to be sure to include in my general reading this year, although I haven’t been adding one each month. I have a number on my shelves that I haven’t actually read yet, and I am trying to slowly remedy that. I had slated this one earlier in the year and didn’t have time for it. I hope to fix that this month. It features gardens from famous authors. It’s the kind of book I would have bought as a gift for my mom and we could have read it together. I want to read it and think about her either this month, or next.
It’s an ambitious list overall, but I am hoping that with the conservative numbers in each tier, that I can still read a lot of these picks.
If you have a favorite read to recommend, or a favorite book challenge for 2026, be sure to comment!
Thanks for reading!
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