february through june 2026 reading journey
It's not that I fell off reading so much as blogging. Reading will always be an activity part of my daily routine whether I'm reading a short article online or diving into a long novel. While I have slowed down compared to last year, there have been a few gems (and a lot of total misses) that I want to reflect back on before heading into the second half of the year.
February
1. Sibley's Birding Basics by David Allen Sibley
Very informative book, but I'm glad I read this after Heather Wolf's Find More Birds which felt more like a truly introductory text. This goes into a lot of depth about bird qualities, markings, and behaviors and would be better suited as a reference guide that you return to multiple times over your birding journey rather than being read all the way through like I did.
2. Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson
3. Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
Moominsummer is such a fun read. I love theater so the Moomins moving into one following an immense summer flood is absolutely delightful. Revisiting this had me focusing a lot more on Moominmamma and Misabel. Meanwhile, Midwinter has always been a favorite of mine in the series. It's a book that I feel like I could settle down and read every year on a cold winter evening. I read both of these as part of my Winter Curriculum before dropping the project, which you can read about here.
4. Great Granny Webster by Caroline Blackwood
Blackwood has such an interesting writing style that pulls into the odd psychology of her leading characters. Though this was written quite differently from The Stepdaughter, I still enjoyed falling into the judgmental oddities of this peculiar family. We're introduced to opposing perspectives on what is a life worth living versus a life wasted and the main character often feels like a wall or mirror for other characters to project their views onto, though we get enough in the narration to piece together how she is responding to the stories she is told. Would love to revisit my notes and chew on my thoughts a bit more.
March
1. The Crown Ain't Worth Much by Hanif Abdurraqib
Wow. I've read/listened to some of Abdurraqib's poetry and essays previously, but reading a full volume of them was such a great experience. Lots of standouts in the collection such as "1995. After the Streetlights Drink Whatever Darkness is Left," "I Don't Remember the Whole Summer When 'Do The Right Thing' Dropped," "When I Say that Loving Me is Kind of Like Being a Chicago Bulls Fan," and the title poem.
April
1. Bats of the United States and Canada by Michael J. Harvey, Troy L. Best, and J. Scott Altenbach
One of the long-term projects that I am working on features characters based on animals in my local region. Even though I have not had the pleasure of seeing bats much myself, I have such a fondness for these little pollinators and enjoyed reading about them. The book is very approachable with a solid general overview at the beginning and then a more in-depth consideration of specific species across these two countries. I am so impressed by what they are capable of doing - especially how maternal colonies function and the amount of insects they can consume in their body mass. Fascinating stuff.
2. Unnatural Habitat: The Native and Exotic Wildlife of Los Angeles by Craig Stanford with Maddalena Bearzi
This was another entry to my casual research and I especially enjoyed it because it didn't just focus on the greater Los Angeles area, but also my little slice of the county. It was great to already recognize these animals and plants, but to walk away knowing more about their history. We have a lot of exotics/transplants to the region (from our iconic palm trees to feral parrot flocks) but it was especially moving to read about the native life that conservationists are trying to preserve from little insects to mighty oak trees.
May
1. The Merge by Grace Walker
While this one did require me to substantially suspend my disbelief for the main premise, it did pull me in with its exploration of dementia, memory loss, and personal autonomy. Memory and identity is one of those themes that always gets me so that element of horror really sunk into me early on.
2. The Infamous Gilberts by Angela Tomaski
Checked this out on a whim from my local library and really enjoyed it. The narrator gives us a tour of a dilapidated mansion awaiting renovation to be transformed into a hotel and recounts what happened to the Gilbert family who used to haunt its halls. The writing style might not appeal to everyone: the narrator addresses the reader as "you" throughout the tour where each chapter focuses on an object or room for its nonlinear account of the family's demise.
3. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
A fun standard Christie novel. The initial premise reminded me a lot of Clue, but the solution felt a little convoluted even though I was able to piece together some of the elements.
4. To All the Boys I've Loved Before: The Graphic Novel by Jenny Han and Barbara Perez Marquez
A very sweetly illustrated version of Han's beloved series. There are some changes, and the story might go a tad too quickly for my liking, but I enjoyed revisiting Lara Jean's world again.
**5. Mei Mei the Bunny by Laufey
A simple story about overcoming perfectionism in art. The illustrations are lovely and I appreciate Laufey's efforts to promote literacy. She has collaborated multiple times with local libraries to get more people to sign up for cards.
June
1. *Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare
Though I did enjoy many of the moments throughout the love story, the overall premise of time traveling didn't work for me. It simultaneously explained things too much while also being noncommittal about a few crucial elements.
2. Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
While I do prefer the writing in the Emily Wilde series more, this was still a fun read. It's hard not to love a book that features such affection for cats and I am always appreciate of fantasy stories focusing on women who aren't in their late teens/early 20s. The older I get, the more I want to read about protagonists who are closer to my own age. I'm sure this won't be the last we hear from this world and I would pick up the sequel should it be published.
Did Not Finish
In addition to life getting away from me, I hit a reading slump where I didn't finish a lot of books that I started. While for some it just wasn't the right time or mood, there are quite a few that I will not be going back to.
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton: made it a about a chapter in and decided to return it because the writing style, particularly the exagerrated Britishisms, just weren't for me.
The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien: I actually really loved the philosophical perspective from this book, but it's quite long and I didn't have time to finish it. This is one I will probably revisit and finish.
Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp: Borrowed on a whim because it was reviewed by a few Booktuber's I follow, but when my time ran out I wasn't interested enough to pursue it again.
Hot Girls With Balls by Benedict Nguyen: I really wanted to like this one, but I don't think it's for me.
Hexes of the Deadwood Forest by Agnieszka Szpila: I didn't get far enough into this to form a clear opinion on it before I found something else that I wanted to read more. It's a bit hard for me to get into books like this one right now even if the premise sounds weird but interesting.
Rolls and Rivalry by Kristy Boyce: I was genuinely looking forward to this one because I read the other two books in this romance series and my sister-in-law was a Color Guard kid, but.. I just didn't like the main character and the thought of reading a whole book from her perspective didn't sound fun. I'm sure that she'll grow substantially like the other protagonists, but my first impression just wasn't favorable.
Biography of X by Catherine Lacey: The premise of this book was so intriguing and I took a fair amount of notes for the first quarter of the book. But the worldbuilding gave me a bit of pause and when I read more into it from other people to see if some of my concerns would be addressed, I decided to return it and read something else.
Current TBR
- The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
- Your Body is Not Your Body Edited by Alex Woodroe and Matt Blairstone
- The Dinner Party by Viola Van De Sandt
- Goodnight Punpun by Inio Asano
- Maaaaybe the return of my Animal Ark readathon.
Thank you for reading! Źįµį“„įµŹ
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