My stretch reading goal for 2026 is currently 100 books. At 89 completed at the end of July, I will likely need to set a new stretch goal. I’ll decide on that number in the next month or two. August will be busy with some prepublication tasks for The Appearance of Power, but I should still have time for a comfortable amount of reading. I am firmly out of my June slump and back on track. I am excited to see what I can accomplish.
So what’s on the Tier One priority list in August?
- The Measure by Nikki Erlick
This speculative fiction choice is my in-person fantasy book club’s pick for August, so it climbs to the top of the prioritization. It is also literary fiction. As such, I will either love it, or I will dislike it, depending on the writing style. If I dislike it, I reserve the right to DNF the book. There’s not much middle ground for me with the literary fiction genre. In general, I tend to find they are not for me. But there are occasional exceptions if the theme and the characters are compelling enough and there’s enough plot for my taste. The Measure is story about eight people who get the opportunity to find out how long they have to live.
- Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
In this grumpy sunshine cozy fantasy romance, a woman who runs a cat shelter in 1920’s Montreal finds out that her magician landlord is using the shelter as a front for his disreputable magic shop. I actually started this book as a mood read back in April, but didn’t finish it, and found that it fit no May, June, or July prompts in my reading challenges. It does for August, so I get to pick it up again.
- Morlave’s School of Magic by Courtney Denelsbeck
I picked this fantasy up last fall at the book event I attended. I had a chance to meet the author. The story is about a young man who is invited to a magical academy, though he struggles with basic magic. It sounded intriguing when it talked about him uncovering dangerous secrets. This book is on my 26 in 2026 list, so fitting it in now will help me finish the list before the end of the year. Which is approaching way too fast. I am looking forward to this one.
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
This is a science fiction novel about an android security guard with self awareness, a fascinating main character. It fit a couple of reading prompts for me, and science fiction is higher on my radar now, given that it was my dad’s favorite genre. With his recent passing, I am finding it honoring to him to explore it more.
- The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
This cozy mystery is set in a retirement village, where four friends meet to investigate unsolved murders. As you’d expect for a cozy, a murder happens and they’re in the thick of solving their first real case. Cozy mystery isn’t my genre, but it fits some reading prompts for me. I don’t mind a good cozy, as long as it isn’t predictable. They remind me of my mom in the way that sci fi reminds me of my dad. My mom has been gone 6 years this month, so reading a cozy will give me some good memories of talking about books with her.
Here’s the Tier One Graphic.
For Tier Two, I have four books. I’d like to finish as many as I can. Some fit reading prompts and I will fall behind in my overall plan for the year if I can’t read them this month.
- The Claiming by JA Nielsen
I had wanted to read this book earlier this year, but I ran out of time when my father was so ill. The Claiming is a YA fantasy that I picked up after meeting the author at the Chanticleer Authors Conference. I love grabbing books there because I enjoy supporting fellow authors whom I’ve met and because many of the books are award winners, including this one. The Claiming has won first place in both the Dante Rossetti YA fiction awards and the Ozma fantasy fiction awards. A friend has also highly recommended it. It’s about an apprentice mage (one of my favorite character types!) and a faerie princess. The two end up bonded due to a botched spell and only a quest will save them. I am hoping I will have time to fit this one in this month.
- The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White
My reading journal is King Arthur/Holy Grail themed, so I have been trying to fit in a few retellings. That’s why I settled on this one, and I hope it works better for me than the one I tried last month. Obviously, the focus here is on Guinevere in a magical Camelot setting.
- Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson
This is a fantasy about a girl with the power to manipulate memories when people sing. She finds refuge with the owner of an opera house, but when she meets a boy with a unique voice, she sees a possible route to freedom through his memories. The book is a Phantom of the Opera retelling in the YA fantasy realm. As such, it’s exactly what might appeal to me. I did like the original book and I love the musical. Bring it on.
- Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
This is a reread for me. It meets a couple of challenge prompts and I haven’t read it since I was about 15. Since I am reading more science fiction and hitting throwbacks like Dune, this looked like a good classic to revisit. Having also recently finished Fourth Wing, I am eager to compare how the dragons are used in the two societies. In Fourth Wing, the dragons are used for battles against a neighboring country. In Dragonflight, they destroy the threatening thread. In both cases the dragons are telepathic with their riders. My dad loved this series, so it will be sentimental that way also.
Here’s the Tier Two graphic.
Next is my Miscellaneous Tier. I expect to read at least part of each of these, though it’s unlikely I will read all of these cover to cover. I will still count them toward my annual book total. My reading challenge, my rules.
- Cats of the World by Hannah Shaw and Andrew Martilla
Hannah Shaw is better known as Kitten Lady. Andrew Martilla is widely known as The Cat Photographer. In this book they travel and document cat rescue around the world. It works very differently in other countries. Hannah explains it all for each stop. Andrew photographs all the wonderful cats they meet. I got to see them on their book tour, and I have a signed copy. I have sampled the book already, but I am ready for more. There are 31 countries and 31 days in August, so I hope I can read about all of them. This is the main pick in this tier that I wouldn’t mind getting through in its entirety.
- Ancient Aliens: The Official Companion Book from the show producers
Ancient Aliens is my favorite 21st century TV series. I have seen all the shows multiple times. I’ve had this companion book for a long time and have sampled it in the past. I am hoping to read a bit more this month. I doubt I will read every chapter, but it does provide some additional context for the show, so whatever I read will be fun. I love this show because the idea of ancient aliens is a captivating premise and it is hard to prove a negative.
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
This book is a classic. For years it has helped creatives root out problem areas that restrict creative flow. It’s the source of the advice to write morning pages. My writing group sometimes picks a book we think could inform or improve our creativity or writing craft and we study it chapter by chapter each week. This month we are considering reading this one. I will add it to the TBR just in case, and will probably read at least some of it whether we pick it up or not. Either way, I wouldn’t be reading the entire thing. If we do pick it, we’d do a section at a time over several months. I am looking forward to it. Sparking a little creativity with new techniques would be welcome.
- Writing Archetypal Character Arcs by KM Weiland
I love KM Weiland’s books on writing craft, particularly when she focuses on character arc. I didn’t truly understand plot until I read her book on character arcs. Now she has a new book on archetypal character arcs. I don’t know if I will read the entire book (though she could suck me in), but I will at least read about some of the character archetypes that appear in my novel in progress and will be immediately useful to me. This will be a great reference book for years to come.
- Social Media for Writers by Tee Morris and Pip Ballantine
I tried to pick this one up earlier in the year and didn’t have time for it. Given that my book release is much closer, I am hoping to absorb some social media tips that will be useful for launch. I will read whatever is relevant, but again, likely not the entire book unless everything is relevant. I can keep it handy over the coming months until and past my release date.
- Ten Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
I’ve been saying for months I need to read some Poe because I’d picked up a Poe related YA novella and a Poe related middle grade. There are ten Poe short stories here. I doubt I will find time for them all given everything on my list, but at a minimum I will reread The Raven and The Cask of Amontillado. I am counting this one for my poetry pick this month. The Raven is a classic.
- Classic Cooking with Coca Cola by Elizabeth Candler Graham
Every month I am picking up a recipe book on my shelves to either unhaul or use, ideally to find healthy recipes to try. This was a gift from my mom (mostly because I have collected Coca Cola memorabilia off and on over the years) and I have always been meaning to find the time for it. Admittedly, I may not find something healthy here, but I could be surprised. At least I will find out if it’s a keeper or if it’s time to move it on. I have plenty of keepsakes from my mom and plenty of Coca Cola memorabilia, so this cookbook doesn’t have to be one of them if it doesn’t have what I would actually make. That said, the great-great-granddaughter of the founder gives us some insider history and family recipes inside. Maybe there’s a gem or two.
Here’s the Miscellaneous Tier graphic.
Finally, I have some July wrap up. I am still working my way through the rest of JL Oakley’s The Jøssing Affair and The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. Both are wonderful, but they are just taking me more time to read and digest.
It’s another ambitious list, but since I don’t plan to read every word of every book in the Miscellaneous Tier, I may get through most of what’s included.
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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