Reading What’s New in 2026: My Mid-Year Book Challenge
The other day, I realised I rarely read books released in the current year. In many ways, I’m still playing catch-up with books I either never got around to reading or didn’t know existed at the time. While I love doing that, I also want to keep my ear to the ground when it comes to what’s happening in publishing right now — who’s writing what, which books people are excited about, and what conversations are shaping the literary world. So I thought… why not create a retroactive reading challenge to read at least 12 books released in 2026?
The Challenge: One 2026 release per month
The challenge itself is pretty straightforward: one book published in 2026 for every month of the year. Since it’s currently May, I do need to backdate it slightly because I still want to hit at least 12 books by the end of the year. My goal is to be able to create a ‘my top 10 books published this year‘ list in December — something I really wanted to do last year but couldn’t because I simply hadn’t read enough 2025 releases. Ironically, so many of the books I’ve read this year were actually published last year.
I’m choosing one book per month because it removes unnecessary pressure while still giving me enough flexibility to mood read, keep up with my other reading challenges, and continue tackling my TBR. I usually read at least 10 books a month, so this feels very manageable.
Why?
I’ve become increasingly interested in the publishing world, and I want to know what’s happening in real time — what readers are excited about, which anticipated releases are living up to the hype, which ones are missing the mark, and what conversations are dominating book spaces. It also feels like a great way to discover new authors and support smaller writers who are just getting started.
What I’ve Read So Far
Books Already on my TBR
Books I’m intrigued by…
I actually stumbled across this one while writing this post, so all I really have to go on right now is the synopsis — no reviews, no ratings, and I haven’t even checked Goodreads yet. I’m still undecided on whether I’ll actually read it or add it to my TBR, but it has definitely caught my attention and is firmly on my radar for now.
I spotted this on another blog, and it immediately gave me very P.S. I Love You vibes. It sounds like it could be a really sweet, heartfelt read. I also tend to be drawn to books that explore grief (don’t ask me why), so this is another one I’ll be keeping an eye on.
As always, I’ll share updates in my monthly round ups so you can keep track of what I’ve been reading, and I’ll also post the occasional Novel Thoughts or review to talk about what I’m loving (or not loving) along the way. I’ve also created a Goodreads Shelf where I’ll add the books I’m considering, and I’ll clear it out as I read them.
Well, that’s it for this post and this Mid-Year challenge – do follow along with me if any of these books pique your interest, or if you’ve read them, I would love to know what books you guys are reading!
Thanks as always for being here!
Signed,
