Tag: focused reading list

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What I’m Reading – January 2026

What I’m Reading Now

The Cyprian by Mercedes Lackey – Elemental Masters #18 – I have been a fan of hers since she started writing almost 40 years ago and am so thankful she is still writing books!

The Seven Day Switch by Kelly Harms – I am working my way through her backlist, so this one is up next!

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Goblins & Greatcoats by Travis Baldree – Legends & Lattes #0.6 (short story)
  • Get Lucky by Katherine Center
  • The Bright Side of Going Dark by Kelly Harms
  • Wherever the Wind Takes Us by Kelly Harms
  • Catch Us When We Fall by Juliette Fay
  • The Half of It by Juliette Fay
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • Feeling the Fireworks: Starting Over in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #3)
  • The Best Christmas Ever: A Wedding in Devon Novella by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #4)
  • Trouble in Tartan: True Love in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #5)
  • Summer of Sunshine: Missing Devon Novella by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #6)
  • Healing the Heartbreak: Moving on in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #7)
  • Dancing Till Dawn: First Love in Devon by Rebecca Paulinyi (South West #8)

Nonfiction

  • Queer & Christian: Reclaiming the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table by Brandan J. Robertson

What I Added to my TBR

  • An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating by Cecilia Edward
  • This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page
  • The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 179 books on my TBR. Of those, 6 are nonfiction and 173 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I wanted to read by the end of the year. I have completed that list with 24 read and 1 DNF.
  • I read 126 books in 2025 (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal for 2025 was 12, which I achieved.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
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What I’m Reading – November 2025

What I’m Reading Now

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods – I’m still in the early chapters of this novel, but it weaves together the past and the present with a touch of magical realism. I’m enjoying it so far.

What I Recently Finished

  • Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – Paradise #3
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout – Amgash #5
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #1
  • Woodworking by Emily St. James
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #2
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman

What I Added to my TBR

  • The Twilight Garden by Sara Nisha Adams
  • In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams – When in Rome #4
  • A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss
  • Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss
  • Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
  • I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
  • A Secret Garden in Paris by Sophie Beaumont
  • The Night Bus by Tessa Bickers
  • The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
  • The Wedding Setup by Sonali Dev
  • How Simi Got Her Groom Back by Sonali Dev
  • Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
  • Nantucket Second Chances by Pamela Kelley
  • Vanyel and Vixen by Mercedes Lackey
  • Love and War in Woodhouse Hall by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #3
  • Love From Northanger Parks, Katie by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #4
  • Unraveling Carrie Woodhouse by Sara Marks – 21 Century Austen #5
  • Sweeten Up Ginny Darcy by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #6
  • Sheepfarmer’s Daughter by Elizabeth Moon – The Deed of Paksenarrion #1
  • Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
  • Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay
  • The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay
  • A Portrait of Emily Price by Katherine Reay
  • The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
  • The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • 3 Days, 9 Months, 27 Years by John Scalzi
  • The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 179 books on my TBR. Of those, 9 are nonfiction and 170 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 21 of those books.
  • I have read 105 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 10.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
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What I’m Reading – October 2025

What I’m Reading Now

Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand – this is #3 in her Paradise trilogy. It’s not my favorite series but I do want to finish it.

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – I was reading this at the beginning of last month too, and I haven’t made much progress. I am not super invested in it and it is a physical book, both of which make me less likely to pick it up and read.

What I Recently Finished

Fiction

  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #1
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Framed in Death by J.D. Robb – In Death #61
  • Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #2
  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont

Nonfiction

  • Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, from Diagnosis to Young Adulthood by Kate Swenson, Adrian Wood, and Carrie Cariello

What I Added to my TBR

  • This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • Christmas Island by Natalie Normann – Verry Hygge Holiday #2
  • The Life She Could Have Lived by Laura Pearson
  • Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #3

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 160 books on my TBR. Of those, 9 are nonfiction and 151 are fiction.
  • At the end of June, I created a focused reading list of 25 books I would like to read by the end of the year. So far, I have read 15 of those books.
  • I have read 96 books this year (my goal was 75).
  • My nonfiction goal is 1 per month, which I have met so far with a total of 10.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
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Focused Reading List

I really enjoyed the #25in2025 challenge that I completed last month; it was a nice way to make sure I read some of the backlist books I had on my TBR. My TBR has grown quite a bit over the last couple of years, and sometimes picking what to read next can be overwhelming. Since I enjoyed that challenge so much, I decided to make myself a focused reading list for the rest of the year.

My focused reading list has 25 books on it. They are all fiction and are all readily available to me, whether through the library/Libby/Hoopla, already on my Kindle, or as a physical book on my shelf. The publication dates range from 2011-2024. I am not limiting myself to these books if there is something else I really want to read, and I am still planning to read one nonfiction book each month.

Here is the list (alphabetical by author):

  • What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
  • Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldress – Legends & Lattes #0
  • A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
  • The Paris Cooking School by Sophie Beaumont
  • The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
  • Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
  • Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #2
  • Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare – The Infernal Devices #3
  • Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #3
  • The Emma Project by Sonali Dev – The Rajes #4
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – Emily Wilde #1
  • Yoga Pant Nation by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #3
  • Smells Like Tween Spirit by Laurie Gelman – Class Mom #4
  • The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Every Time You Go Away by Beth Harbison
  • Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
  • Funny Story by Emily Henry
  • The Bride Test by Helen Hoang – The Kiss Quotient #2
  • Modern Persuasion by Sara Marks – 21st Century Austen #1
  • Loveless by Alice Oseman
  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout – Amgash #5
  • The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods
  • More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa – Days at the Morisaki Bookshop #2

I am really excited about this list and have already started reading some of the books!