Reading in 2026

Books I'm Reading for Book Clubs

My brother and I have an unofficial book club wherein we give each other books and shame each other until the books are read. We are the only two members, because the rest of the family can't stand us when we're talking about books. We respect their boundaries.

In 2025, I joined several book clubs on Fable. While I don't participate in every single read for each group, I like to dip in, pick one or two, and let that guide my reading.

Also, I started a Fable book club of my own to organize my reading of the Oxford Very Short Introduction series.

Here are all the book club books I'll be starting with this year:

• Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media by Jacob Mchangama
• Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• The American South: A Very Short Introduction by Charles Reagan Wilson

Slow Reads to Continue and Start

I like to keep some slow reads going, so I can jump in and out of something familiar and enjoyable between books. The first book is a carry-over from last year, and the other two books were purchased in 2025.

• Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon
• America's Most Gothic: Haunted History, Stranger than Fiction by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes
• The Anthony Bourdain Reader: new, classic, and rediscovered writing

My 2026 Reading Goals

Last year, I bought a lot of books...a lot. I am, what my partner calls, a book dragon. I collect all the pretties and waller in them! I enjoy reading, but the Tsundoku force is strong over here.

Goal #1: Be a better book dragon. Read my treasures without acquiring new ones. Offerings given to me, the book dragon, will be accepted, but I will not acquire more treasure on my own this year.

Last year, I read 40 books. I didn't aim to read that many. It happened naturally. 40 isn't too far off from my age.

Goal #2: Read 45 books. I turn 44 this year, so I shall endeavor to read 44 books, plus one to grow on. This is what I call a soft goal. It isn't a requirement, but having that number floating out there should keep me engaged in my book clubs.

So that's the plan: fewer acquisitions and more reading. Some books will be read quickly, and others will be enjoyed over months. I'm looking forward to this.

The Very Short Bookclub - https://fable.co/club/a-very-short-bookclub-with-hellothisisshe-318736642559