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Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read
Some of these books have been on my TBR forever. Some of them are recognizable classics or pop culture books that people talk about all the time and I feel like I should read to understand. All of these are books that I can’t believe I’ve never read, but I do intend to read them eventually!
Top Ten Books I Can’t Believe I’ve Never Read
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison – I got it mixed up with The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, which I read when I was a lot younger, and was very confused when people talked about it and I was like…”wait, what? When did that happen in the book?”
Watership Down by Richard Adams – There is so much praise for this book and I keep meaning to read it but I haven’t yet.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan – I’ve tried reading it many times but haven’t been able to get through it because it hits so close to home. I’m not sure if I should let it go or push through.
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R Tolkien – I actually did try listening to this on audiobook, narrated by Andy Serkis. I loved what I heard thus far, but I couldn’t finish it at the time because I listened to it to sleep and Serkis’ Gollum voice scared me awake! I intend to try it again soon!
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk – Any book by Palahniuk, to be honest. I don’t know why I haven’t read any.
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King – As a self-proclaimed King fan, I am ashamed that I haven’t read this series. In fact, there are still a whole bunch of King books I have never read! The shame!
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – I have used the “catch-22” reference a few times in my life but I have never read the book.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens – I know the basic story and I already love the vibes, but I’ve just never read the book. I think I might have read an abridged children’s version once though.
Beloved by Toni Morrison – One I really want to read but I read some reviews saying it was bleak and a difficult read so I’m a little hesistant.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson – This is another story that’s been told and adapted so many times in pop culture but I’ve never read the original.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
May 2026 Wrap Up
I spent most of May trying my best to get ahead of deadlines so that I can get back to being more present on the blog. It feels like a constant struggle but I’m getting closer to my goals. I’m also trying to read more books on print than on audio, but it’s just easier to read more books on audio when there are chores (and other audiobook compatible activities) to do!
My May 2026 TBR Intentions
I mentioned how excited I was about Book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl coming out in May and that I wanted to reread Books 1 through 7 before diving into it. Well, I couldn’t wait and dove right in the day it released without rereading the other books! I’ll probably reread the whole series again at some point because there were a lot of details I forgot while reading Book 8, but it was totally worth it!
Yesteryear was a big standout, not necessarily because I loved it but rather because it’s still sticking with me. It says a lot about our current social media culture and influencer’s public persona. The story and characters are fictional but I know there are real people like Natalie and her husband out there and that scares me deeply.
The other standout is of course, Book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl, A Parade of Horribles, because I loved it! I love listening to it on audio. I miss the characters, Jeff Hay’s protrayal of all of them, and it still makes me laugh and cry at all the right places. Definitely planning a reread once I have my other reading challenges squared off.
I also read a couple of nonfiction books about running; one is a guide/how-to, Start Where You Are by Sabrina Pace-Humphreys, which was actually quite informative and helpful, specially targeted to women runners, and the other is a memoir, The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal, which was really interesting because he talks about being a guide for blind runners, plus he was present at the Boston Marathon bombing.
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
April 2026 Wrap Up
As expected, April was another busy month and quite disorganized, to be honest. But the good news is that I’m getting more exercise; I’ve been getting up early almost every morning to run and/or go to the gym, and so far it’s sticking! Fingers crossed!
The other good news is that I actually managed to get a lot of books read because of all the exercising, through audiobooks! Out of the 15 books I read this month, 14 were audiobooks! That would be sad except that I know I’d have read significantly fewer books this month if it weren’t for the audiobooks, so you know what? I’ll focus on the good and be grateful for them!
Still, I do miss the printed books and I’ll try to make time for focused reading in May.
My April 2026 TBR Intentions
I played it safe and only listed three, and finished them all! Yay!
The Radium Girls and Educated had me feeling all kinds of feelings. For different reasons, of course. The Radium Girls was devastating on a “where-is-the-humanity?!” level, but Educated touched me on a personal level.
The Hot Zone was very good too, in a scary, horrifying way. I learned more than I wanted to about the terrifying and painful ways we puny humans can die, and I don’t know what to do with this.
I’ve been on such a nonfiction binge though, which is great. There are still so many books on my 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge TBR, and I’m adding more every day!
May 2026 TBR Intentions
Okay soooooooo…. Book 8 of the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, A Parade of Horribles, is coming out on May 12th! I have already pre-ordered it and I am very excited to read it, but not before rereading Books 1 through 7 again… Which means the series is probably going to take up my whole month, or I have to be more patient and space them out while I read other books in between, or I have to forget about rereading the previous books and just read Book 8.
I haven’t decided! But I do have to read the other books below as well, for bookclub obligations and other reasons!
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
Stiff by Mary Roach
Rage Becomes Her by Soraya Chemaly
How was your month in April? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful May with lots of great books!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books About/Set In Places on My Bucket List
I’m in so much trouble! My plan for this week’s list was to list a few books for places on my bucket list, as per instructions, and I had a few different places in mind like, I wanted to visit the Colosseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China, Niagara Falls, and so on… Well, I started with Rome and did my search for books featuring Rome, and ended up with SO MANY NEW BOOKS ON MY TBR!
What’s worse, some of them are series! What’s even worse, some of them are LONG RUNNING SERIES with seven or more books!
So obviously I stopped searching for any other books featuring my other bucket list places because I cannot afford this! You’ll have to make do with just books about Rome!
Top Ten Books Set in Rome
From the Ashes by Melissa Addey – The author has written another series, The Forbidden City, set in China that I’m also interested in and have on my TBR. There are four books in this series.
SPQR by Mary Beard – This is nonfiction and seems to be very highly recommended. I’ve already put in a request for it from my library.
Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr – This is a memoir that I’m interested in because I have another book by the author on my TBR as well, All The Light We Cannot See.
The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough – The author of The Thorn Birds, with such high ratings for these books on Goodreads, and seven books in the series!
Under the Eagle by Simon Scarrow – 25 freaking books in the series! To be fair, I already had this book on my TBR for a while, but I’d forgotten about it and I didn’t know there were 25 books in the series!
Pompeii by Robert Harris – Thank the gods this is a standalone! It might be the only standalone on this list, other than the nonfics!
The Ides of April by Lindsey Davis – 13 books in this series. Not as bad as 25 but still painful on my purse!
Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn – It’s Kate Quinn and I’d been wanting to read more of her books. I didn’t know she wrote historical fiction about Rome, but I am so here for it! Four books in this series.
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff – This is the first of eight books in a series. They were apparently not written as a series but they are categorized as one, so we’ll see.
The Light Bearer by Donna Gillespie – So this is the only book on the list I’ve read and loved. It’s one of my all-time favorite books and I reread it all the time and recommend it to everyone I can because it’s criminally underrated. It’s also a duology but I haven’t read the second book. If you’re a fan of historical fiction set in Rome and haven’t read any of these books, I highly recommend you read this one!
Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of their books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
March 2026 Wrap Up
March was a whirlwind! I was kept busy for most of the month with regular stuff and some spring cleaning. And we also had some friends come to visit during spring break with their family. We spent full days with them doing activities we don’t normally do anymore and we were exhausted but so happy to see them and spend time with them. These are people we love, so even though it was tiring, we would’ve love for them to stay even longer. It also made us realize that we’re too young to feel so old, and they’ve given us the inspiration to get more active. New fitness goals coming up for the new month and beyond!
My March 2026 TBR Intentions
As for books, I only ended up reading two out of four books in my March TBR and a total of five books for the whole month, but one of them is the Sherlock Holmes collection, and as I mentioned in last month’s wrap up post, it is massive at 72 hours or 1796 pages and is technically made up of an equivalent of nine books? So it’s not too bad I guess.
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
Books Read in March 2026
We Met Like This by Kasie West
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle
Replay by Ken Grimwood
Notable Book(s) This Month
Well, obviously most of my time was spent on Sherlock Holmes! I listened to the definitive collection on audio narrated by Stephen Fry, and it was the most wonderful experience. I was always looking forward to getting back to it and was so sad when it was over. I had such a strong urge to restart the book from the beginning once I got to the end. It just feels like such a comforting book, and Stephen Fry is just the best narrator, I really felt completely lost in the Holmes’ world and I loved it!
The other books were good too, I didn’t have a bad read this month, but Sherlock Holmes was obviously the standout.
April 2026 TBR Intentions
I’ve already started rereading Foundryside, the first book in The Founders Trilogy, and my aim is to finally finish the series. I’m actually anticipating another busy month so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to read as much as I want to and I don’t want to disappoint myself but I’m hoping to get to as many of the books on my Spring TBR as possible.
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
Shorefall by Robert Jackson Bennett
Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett
How was your month in March? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful April with lots of great books!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books on My Spring 2026 to-Read List
Some of these books have been on my TBR for years! I’ve featured a couple of them on several TBR lists over the last few years and it’s just embarrassing at this point, but I feel like I’m going to keep featuring them and purposely embarrass myself until I read them, as a motivation for me to finally read them! Hopefully it works? 😅
Top Ten Books on My Spring 2026 TBR
The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich – I’ve become a fan of the author ever since I read The Sentence and I’ve been wanting to read more of her books. This one has been on my TBR since it came out in 2024 but I haven’t gotten around to it for some reason. I’ve borrowed it multiple times from the library but kept returning it unread. I ended up purchasing the audiobook so I could listen at my convenience but I haven’t started it yet. Hopefully sometime soon!
In The Woods by Tana French – I came across it while researching Irish authors for last week’s Top Ten Tuesday and I’m very excited about it because it really sounds like the kind of book I’d love, and if so, there are a whole bunch of other books by the author I’d probably read too!
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett – This would be a reread, but I didn’t finish the series the first time I read it, and my intention is to reread to finish the whole series.
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood – This would aso be a reread. I read this book years ago and loved it, but it’s been a while and I think I’ll get a lot more out of it this time around.
Educated by Tara Westover – This book was overhyped at one point which made me hesitant to read it, but it’s been a while and people are still consistently talking about how good it is. So I’ll give it a try.
Someone You Can Build A Nest In by John Wiswell – This is relatively new on my TBR but it sounds so good and I love a good monster romance!
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan – I have loved all of the author’s books and I have featured him and his books many times on my blog. I’ve also featured this book on many of my TBR lists but just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. This is the one book I hope I will have read by the time the next TBR list feature comes around!
Between Us by Mhairi McFarlane – I don’t understand the holdup for me reading this book either. It’s been on my TBR a long time and I just need to get to it.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – This would be another reread. I loved this book when I read it so many years ago and I’ve just been craving the vibes. I’ve also been meaning to read other books from the author, but somehow just never did.
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Green Book Covers (In honor of St. Patrick’s Day today!)
I wasn’t feeling the green book covers so I decided to feature Irish authors instead in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t pay enough attention to where authors usually come from, or even story settings – something I’d like to remedy – so I was surprised to learn about some of these authors’ roots. The first five books are ones I’ve already read, and the next five are books on my TBR I haven’t read yet. Looking forward to see what everyone else has on their list today! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Top Ten Books by Irish Authors
Normal People by Sally Rooney – I enjoyed this book but didn’t love it. I feel like the author is a “journey, not destination” type of storyteller, which I appreciate sometimes, but maybe I needed a little more with this book. I can recognize the author’s mastery while also acknowledging that I may not be the best audience for her work.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – This is one of my favorite classics. I have read it several times and I always love how creepy and chilling it is. I also really liked the 2009 film adaptation.
P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern – I read this book a long time ago and don’t remember much but I’m pretty sure I ugly cried.
Room by Emma Donoghue – I know I ugly cried with this one. I read it for a book club years ago, and I remember thinking about the book and the discussions we got out of it for a long time after that.
Dracula by Bram Stoker – I only read this book recently but I loved it and now understand why it has such an everlasting hold on popular culture and media. It’s just a really good story with really interesting characters and so much tension.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell – I was very interested in this book but there was so much hype around it that I just kept putting it off. I’m still interested though, and will probably read it eventually.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce – This has been on my TBR forever but I just haven’t gotten around to it. One day, hopefully soon!
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – I was very surprised to find that I haven’t read this book because I remember reading it when I was a child, but I realized that I was reading an adapted, abridged, children’s version, so it’s still on my TBR.
This Charming Man by Marian Keyes – One of my friends spoke very highly of this author, and then I found this book in a little free library some years ago. It’s been on my shelf a while, and I keep meaning to read it soon.
In The Woods by Tana French – I’m familiar with this author’s name but have somehow never read any of her books. I came across this book while researching authors for this list and it sounds like something I’d enjoy so it’s on the TBR now!
Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of their books?
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
February 2026 Wrap Up
February went by too quickly! I completely reorganized my workspace this month and it took up a whole week and a half, which is basically almost half the month! I still have little bits and pieces to clean up but at least I can actually use the space now. It made a short month feel even shorter, but I did manage to read a lot of good books anyway.
My February 2026 TBR Intentions
Yeah, I didn’t do so well reading from my TBR in February because of the mental load of reorganizing, but I did end up reading a lot of good books and even got one single nonfiction in!
The Women Are Not Fine by Hope Reese
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King, and The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth were just pure enjoyment for me this month. It was the storytelling – both books were different to each other, but it was just the way the stories were told. I felt completely immersed and felt all the feelings.
The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan also made a huge impact on me. It’s a reread, but it’s been a while and I’d forgotten everything except the impression it made on me the first time. It hit me harder this time around and I’ll probably talk about it more in a review soon.
And of course, Dare to Lead by Brené Brown makes the list because I love everything she puts out and this is no different. I finished the book in a single sitting, and I’ve restarted the book again because I want to savor it this time around.
March 2026 TBR Intentions
I’m keeping this month’s list short because the Sherlock Holmes collection is massive at 72 hours, or 1796 pages, and two of the other books on the list are nonfiction that require more attention.
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
How was your month in February? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful March with lots of great books!
Welcome to the Monthly Wrap Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight to share our monthly wrap-up posts that summarizes our month in books, our favorite books of the month, what we did on our blogs, and anything noteworthy we want to share.
January 2026 Wrap Up
I had a great reading month in that I felt like I had a good balance between reading from my TBR and for bookclubs and buddy reads, and reading whatever I felt like in the moment. I binge read a bunch of romances that I’ve been sorely missing and it was so healing to my heart!
I think I also did pretty well with keeping up with my book reviews and replying comments. I haven’t finished writing all the reviews or replying all the comments, but I’m trying my best not to let them accumulate too much. It does feel a little challenging at times and I’m hoping this is not a new year’s thing that tapers off, but rather something that I’ll get better with in time!
My January 2026 TBR Intentions
I didn’t do too badly, I think. I’m also trying not to worry too much about reading from the TBR as long as my bookclub commitments get read! I’m keeping it chill. 😂
Firekeeper’s Daughter surprised me because for some reason I thought it was historical fantasy but it turned out to be contemporary fiction, and a really important story at that. I loved how nuanced it was and the story it told about Indigenous culture. It focuses on the current lives of Indigenous people, but it also shows how Indigenous history shapes what’s happening now. It doesn’t shy away from the difficult topics either and I think that’s important.
Everything Is Tuberculosis is another notable book for me this month because I learned a lot about how tuberculosis shaped history, and also a lot of infuriating things about how race, class, and money influence how cures are distributed in the world. I’m not surprised necessarily, just pissed off, but overall glad I read the book.
I’m also really just happy about all the romances I’m bingeing on. I feel like they are just what I need to balance out some difficult reads with some books that make me happy and lift my mood. I need some of that especially with all that’s happening in real life.
February 2026 TBR Intentions
I’m not as concerned with reading from the TBR anymore, but it’s nice to have some books in mind for what’s next. Plus, I do still have bookclub reads and buddy reads that I need to read and some nonfiction I really want to get to.
The Women Are Not Fine by Hope Reese
The Glass Château by Stephen P. Kiernan
The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree
The Mind-Gut Connection by Emeran Mayer, MD
This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
How was your month in January? What were your most memorable bookish moments? I hope you have a wonderful February with lots of great books!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026
All the books I’ve chosen for this topic are by authors I’ve read and loved before and I feel pretty confident that I’ll love these ones too! I’m so excited for them! However, I made a promise to myself that I would prioritize some of the older books on my TBR, so I’m going to pace myself and try to be a good TBR reader.
Top Ten Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026
Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett – Expected publication date: Feb 17, 2026. I loved the Emily Wilde series, and based off of this new title, I think I love it already.
Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman – Expected publication date: Feb 10, 2026. I love the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by the same author, and Book 8 is supposed to be out May 12 but there wasn’t any cover design out yet, so I went with this unrelated book instead and I’ll probably read it too!
All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan – Expected publication date: Feb 17, 2026. The first book in the series, Long Live Evil, surprised me by how much I ended up loving it, so of course I’m reading this second one!
Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher – Expected publication date: Mar 24, 2026. I love so many of Kingfisher’s works, she’s an automatic read for me.
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer – Expected publication date: Apr 7, 2026. I mean, a witch with the power to go into books and interact with the world? It’s my dream!
The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer & Tamara Moss – Expected publication date: Apr 7, 2026. I love a good mystery/thriller, and this one sounds so good.
The Shippers by Katherine Center – Expected publication date: May 19, 2026. Just assume that I’ll read anything Katherine Center writes. I love her books!
Platform Decay by Martha Wells – Expected publication date: May 5, 2026. This is Book 8 in the Murderbot Diaries series, which I love and must continue with!
Whistler by Ann Patchett – Expected publication date: Jun 2, 2026. I loved Bel Canto and I feel like this one will make me feel all the emotions too.
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden – Expected publication date: Jun 2, 2026. Arden’s writing gives me such mystical and magical vibes. I need this.
Are you anticipating any of these books? Have you read any books by these authors? What books are you looking forward to?
