4 fiction books I read in 2026

Yes, that title is accurate. After I looked over my reading list for 2025, I realized I had not read much fiction last year. I can summarize my year in fiction as follows. I read 2 Warhammer 40,000 omnibus editions, a book from the Horus Heresy series, and one standalone novel. 

Here then is the list: 

 

Iron Warriors Omnibus

 

In terms of fiction, this was the highlight of the year, and I rated it four of out five stars. From my review: "If you are ready to root for the 'bad guy,' this collection is a good option. If you've read the Ultramarines series, and you want to read more about their enemy, this is a good option as well. It makes a nice supplement or companion to the Ultramarines series. However, you can read this book without having read the other series." 
 

 

Ghost Station

 

This was my disappointment for the year in terms of fiction, and in terms of books overall for the year. It sounded so good, and it ended up so bad. This one got a one out of five stars rating from me, and that is rare, which indicates how poorly the book performed. Feel free to read the full review. 

 

Honour Imperialis

 I often enjoy most Warhammer 40,000 omnibus editions and anthologies because they often provide a sampling on a theme, faction, and/or events. This edition focuses on the Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard. The volume features three novels and four short stories by different authors. As often happens in collections, quality can vary. For me, only one of the novels was really good, and one of the short stories was pretty good too. Still, I did appreciate the variety. 

 

Prospero Burns

 

This is book 15 in the Horus Heresy series. I am slowly reading my way through the series, and I do intend to read to the end. However, books like this one do not make it easy. Dan Abnett wrote it, and I feel this is not his best. I've read some of his other stuff, which is better. He is considered one of the better writers for Black Library, but as I said, this book does not exemplify that. This one also earned only one out of five stars for me. Feel free to read the full review. The series has 64 books, so I still got a long way to go. There is a sequel to the original 64 books recently published, but I am not worrying about that now. We'll see when I get to the end of the series. As of this post, I did finish book 16, Age of Darkness, which is a short fiction anthology. I'll have a review of that here soon. 

 

Overall for me I would say this was not a good year for fiction. In addition to these, I dropped at least one other fiction anthology, but that one I still kept in my TBR list. I just did not feel like reading it at the time, so I may go back to it later. Still, I am holding hope for 2026.  As I mentioned, I finished Age of Darkness as the year opened. I am currently reading The Rose at War, a Warhammer 40,000 collection featuring the Adepta Sororitas, also known as the Battle Sisters, and so far the book is good. I also have a couple of other novels on my TBR list I would like to read in 2026. Stay tuned and come back to see what else I read and review in 2026. 

How about folks out there? Any good fiction you read that you want to share and recommend? Have you read any of the books I read on this list? Feel free to comment.  

Next week I will be posting my list of graphic novels, comics, and manga I read in 2026.  

 

 

Media Notes: Roundup for January 2026

 

  

 

Welcome to my somewhat random selection of the movies and series on DVD and/or online I watched during January 2026.

Movies and films (links to IMDB.com for basic information unless noted otherwise). Some of these I watched via TubiTv.com or other online source. The DVDs come from the public library (unless noted otherwise). In addition, I will try to add other trivia notes, such as when a film is based on a book adding the information about the book (at least the WorldCat record if available).

• Battle Royale (2000. Dystopian. Action. Thriller. Japanese). Plot description: "In a dystopian future, a group of students from a Japanese high school are forced by the government to compete in a battle, killing one another until only one is left standing." I have been meaning to watch this for a while now since I did read the manga. I finally decided to do it now. This particular edition has English dub. The movie is seriously intense in terms of the violence, but it is also a very good drama with suspense and action throughout. Once it gets started, you keep on watching until the very end. This is the classic story that other later dystopian works of fiction wish they could be or try to keep up with it. If you have not seen it, worth a watch. Sure, it takes some liberties from the novel, but still worth it. 5 out of 5 stars. Saw it on Tubi 1/3, but went on and got the DVD a bit later. 
• The film is based on the novel of the same title. The novel has also been serialized in a manga, and as noted I did I read the manga some time ago, which I highly recommend. I probably should reread it to review here on the blog down the road. 
• On actors you may have seen elsewhere, Takeshi Kitano, who portrays the teacher/host, is also the protagonist and director of the Outrage yakuza films, which I did watch and review in this blog. He is also the Takeshi of Takeshi's Castle the game show. You may have seen footage of that show in the American spoof game show Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, which I have also watched and commented on in the blog previously. 
• Speaking of similarities between this story and later works, in the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man, the one with Arnold, Richard Dawson is the host. Both films basically employed an actor known as a game show host for their host roles. 
• Execution Squad (1972. Crime. Italian. Drama. Also known as La polizia ringrazia).  Plot description: "An inspector pursues a secret society of former police officers who go beyond the law by killing notorious criminals without trial." If I recall, I saw someone on social media mention this, and I got curious enough to go look. On first impression, it brought to mind Magnum Force, the Dirty Harry film where he has to go after a group of rogue cops who go vigilante and start killing criminals. Magnum Force was released a year later in 1973. The movie does take a bit to get to the main plot of the secret executioners. We get a picture of a corrupt city with rampant crime, the inspector under siege from criminals and a hostile press while investigating a homicide and trying to keep order. It is 40 minutes into the film when the first execution happens. So now, the inspector has to investigate this crime along with the other crimes. After the first execution, the pace picks up as the squad gets to work, so to speak. The inspector soon figures out what is happening but naturally his superiors don't believe, or want to believe, there is a vigilante group out there. The film is a fairly straightforward police drama, but it does have a twist at the end that I admit caught my attention fully as we see how deep the police corruption goes. Good performance from Enrico Maria Salerno as the honest inspector in a corrupt police department and by Mario Adorf as the shady assistant district attorney. Overall it is a pretty good drama that goes dark fast in the last act. I liked it so willing to give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Watched on TubiTv on 1/10. 
• Film is also listed in the Grindhouse Cinema Database.  
• Film is an example of the Poliziotesschi genre. This is the first film in this Italian genre I've seen, and based on it I am curious enough to seek out others. GCBD has a decent list of these films.
• Alienator (1990. Science Fiction. Action). Plot description: "Kol, an alien escapee, lands in American woods. The commander sends The Alienator to terminate him. Kol joins teens and Ward Armstrong, evading The Alienator's relentless hunt." For starters, it does open with a small scrolling text to set up context and somewhat cheesy musical score. Jan-Michael Vincent is in this one as the commander, and he hams it up as the sadistic executioner. Teagan Clive is the Alienator, and I'll say she is easy on the eyes. Sadly she does not get much to do other than walk around being fierce,  mostly silent, and shooting lasers. The alien has the bad luck after landing to get hit by Rick's family RV, and they end up in a ranger station. To be honest, the family are a fairly typical bunch of obnoxious people, the kind you would not mind if they get eliminated sooner rather than later. Overall, it is a somewhat cheesy science fiction movie. A bit slow in some spots, the acting is so so, and as I mentioned, some of the characters like Rick are seriously irritating. This could have been better. It is nowhere near great, but it is watchable. I've seen much worse. As it is it is mostly OK, so 2 out of 5 atars. Via TubiTv. Watched 1/10. 
• You may have seen Clive in films like Armed and Dangerous and Jumpin' Jack Flash.
• Rampant (2018. Horror. Action. Drama. South Korean film). Plot description: "Lee Chung is a Prince of Joseon, but he has been taken hostage to the Qing Dynasty. He enjoys boozing, womanizing and gambling. He is also an excellent swordsman. His older brother Lee Young will succeed to the throne and brings Lee Chung to Joseon. He returns after more than 10 years. Soon, Lee Chung faces monsters that run rampant in the night." A zombie invasion in the Korean feudal era. Just for that I decided to take a chance on this one. I tend to like Asian films, so this seemed a good bet. Film opening is simple yet horrifying as we see how the outbreak begins. If you are expecting a full blown zombie apocalypse style film, this is not quite it. While one of the village of Joseon has fallen to the zombie plague, in the royal palace conspiracies are happening to depose the king as well as get rid of Lee Chung, all the while the zombie danger grows but no one in the royal palace really wants to believe it nor worry about it. Much of the film is more a political intrigue and suspense film with the threat of the zombies hanging over their heads. Things then get complicated when an infected concubine bites the king, just before envoys of the Qing Emperor are due to arrive to collect tribute. Then the horror really breaks out. Overall, the movie is pretty good. It does have some slow moments, but the drama and action are pretty good, and it keeps you watching to the end. Pretty solid if you like a blend of political intrigue, plotting, and some zombies to complicate things. It certainly is better than a lot of the dreck Hollywood puts out these days. I really liked it despite a slow moment here or there.  I'd say 4 out of 5 stars. Watched 1/17. Via TubiTv.
• Some folks compare this to the South Korean film Train to Busan, so I need to check that out sooner rather than later.  

 

Television and other series (basic show information links via Wikipedia unless noted otherwise). Some of these come in DVD from the public library. Others may be via YouTube, which, as noted before, I keep finding all sorts of other old shows in it, often full episodes:

• I finished my current rewatch of  Iron Chef (Japan. 1993-1999) this month and watched the 7th season via TubiTv.  As I have written before, this is a comfort watch for me I enjoy watching every so often. I've commented and reviewed the series previously on this blog.  
• Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (2004-2007. Reality. Cooking). I also did a rewatch of the original  British version of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant rescue show that ran before the U.S. version. Via TubiTv. I do like the original as it does not have the excessive drama the American version adds, and as I have commented before, I do enjoy seeing the different places he visits. 

 

My Top 7 nonfiction books read in 2025

I recently wrote and posted my full reading list for 2025. It was a lean year for me in terms of reading books, but I did manage to read some good books. In the next few weeks I will be writing out and posting my lists of top books I read in various categories. Let's start this week with my top seven in nonfiction. As I mentioned in my reading list, I read 37 nonfiction books, and today I am picking out my top seven. These are books that I rated 4 or 5 stars out of 5 stars, and they are books that stayed with me. This list is in no particular order. Links to my reviews are included. 

 

White Poverty

 

As I wrote in my review: The book "affirms something I believe strongly: if only we could unite against the oligarchs and robber barons, truly unite, we could truly change things." This book also made my list of "recent reads that I rated 5 stars" I wrote back in July of 2025, so even back then I knew this book would be one of my top books for the year. 

 

 

Bad Law

 This is a book I really liked and one that is necessary in the Hard Times we live in. 

 

The Internet Con

 

From my review: "In this small book, the author explains how major Internet companies became the monopolistic behemoths they are now. He also explains how these large companies manage to hold us hostage, making us stay with them even as we hate them and perhaps hate ourselves for staying." Doctorow then goes on to provide advice on how take back control. 

 

This Book is Yours and Free to Keep

 As I wrote in my review: This book is "a powerful document of the human spirit. It is also an important book about the [Appalachian] region and the impact of the prison industrial complex in the region."

 

Why I Love Horror

 From my review: "If you are a horror fan, this is a must-read book. If you are curious about horror, this is a good book to learn about the genre and what motivates some of its current writers to keep on writing it. The book is truly a great sampling of modern voices in contemporary horror." 

 

Burned by Billionaires

 

From my review: "If you want to learn more about how billionaires got where they are now, how they stay there, and what they do to keep their dynasties going, then you need to read this book." 

 

Hekate: Goddess of Witches

 As I note in my review: "If you feel the goddess may be calling you, if you are curious and interested, this can be a book for you." I will add this is a book that has stayed with me. 

 

And this is my nonfiction list. Have you read any of these? Do you have any top nonfiction works you recommend? What are you currently reading in nonfiction? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know. Next week I will be looking at the fiction I read in 2025. 

 

 

 

Reading List for 2025

Welcome to my end of year report and 2025 reading list. Before we get to the book list let me write down some end of year thoughts. 

2025 was a seriously hard year. It made 2024 look like a walk in the park, and 2024 was bad. Even before I did the tally of books read for the year, I already knew I read a lot less than previous years. In the big picture, the Pendejo In Chief and his Party of Stupid regime have been terrible for the United States to the point the rest of the world is basically staying away from this country. Closer to home, some stress from work and changes in the workplace. Last summer we also had to travel out of state for a funeral. Overall there is a constant tense energy in the air. Best I can do is take it a day at a time and make sure I do my best to care for myself and those close to me.  

On social media, these days my two primary places are Bluesky, which during 2025 starting taking some serious turns towards enshittification, and Mastodon; I am on the mas.to server, but you can connect with me there if you are on any of the many Mastodon servers. I am keeping my eye out for other social media options in part in case I need to leave Bluesky and in part because I do like trying out new sites. 

I still keep my presence on Facebook, mainly due to my library's FB page which I help maintain. I know my superiors are leaning to deleting it, but they also still use it for announcements and outreach, and despite low stats, anecdotally I know students still in FB do see our stuff. For now, I am hanging in there and only logging into Facebook when necessary. 

I do have a LinkedIn I have not used in years, but I am afraid I may need to start using it, in part because our college has gone all in on LinkedIn and their learning modules, so I may need to get more active on it in part to access the learning modules and show students how to use them. So far, I have not needed it. We'll see how that may go. 

Overall, I am keeping my social media relatively minimal, mainly Bluesky and Mastodon. Reminder you can always find me here on the blog, at least for now. 

On blogging, this blog remains my primary blog and site.Here you can find book reviews, cartomancy reviews, some book and reading related content, and a few miscellaneous posts. If interested, I usually post here on Fridays, but I may post other days as needed. 

My professional blog, Notes from a Simple Librarian, remains open, but I am not worrying about it much. I may do a post here or there if I find something in librarianship I want to write about or make a note on some LIS reading I may have done, but otherwise it's mostly dormant at this point. While I do continue reading the LIS literature, I don't always have the time to make notes and post them on the blog. I am not reading as much in the LIS literature as I could be reading, but it is what it is. I am doing the best I can in terms of keeping up with the profession. Overall, I've made peace with that. 

My second blogging focus is on Alchemical Thoughts, my cartomancy and commonplace book blog. I continue to enjoy writing about parts of my cartomancy and magic craft journey on the blog. Despite the clusterfuck that was 2025, I still managed to do some writing over there on my cartomancy and magical craft, doing and posting spreads, and other writing and commonplace notes. If interested, I tend to post to this blog on Wednesdays, other days as needed. 

On things I've mentioned previously: 

• My politics/social issues/activist stuff moratorium has softened quite a bit. Given the Hard Times, I feel I cannot completely tune out politics/social issues/activist stuff. I still try to keep tuning into that to a minimum, but I cannot completely tune it out. One way for me to do my part is to keep learning and educating myself, so I am reading more books in those areas. 
• My boycott against the publishers that sued Internet Archive, their imprints, and any other defending those publishers continues strong. I do not foresee ending it any time soon, and while I know I am only one librarian and reader, I am making my displeasure known. On a positive, as I mentioned last year, is that I have discovered many new to me independent publishers putting out some very nice work I want to read. I still have the intention of writing a bit more on how this boycott has worked for me. We'll see if I find the time. 
• A reminder: Want to see what movies and media I watched? Click on the blog tag for "Film and television."  I do brief reviews of movies and media I watch, mostly movies that are new to me, i.e. not brand new (think back list).  

As one year ends and a new one begins, I am grateful to my four readers who support me and keep coming back to read what I write and/or share it with others. Thank you, and I hope you keep coming back. If you can, feel free to bring a friend or two.  

 

So here is the 2025 list. If you see a book title with an asterisk (*), that is a book I reread. If I have written a review for a book, it is on this blog. 

 

January: 

 

• Graham McNeill, The Iron Warriors Omnibus (Warhammer 40,000).
• Elaine C. Kamarck, Lies that kill. 

 

February: 

• Peter Mohrbacher, Angelarium: Oracle of Emanations (kit with card deck and book).

 

March: 

• William J. Barber II, White Poverty.
• Leiji Matsumoto, Captain Harlock the Classic Collection, Volume 3. 
• Jackson Lanzig, Star Trek: Day of Blood.
• Simon Spurrier, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Volume 6: Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon.
• Kieron Guillen, Star Wars, Volume 7: The Ashes of Jedha.
• Michele Santamaria and Nicole Pfannenstiel, Information Literacy and Social Media.
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 
• Pamela Chen and Ashley Cassaday, Steampunk Faerie Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Alana Fairchild, Crystal Mandala Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Charlie Claire Burgess, Radical Tarot.

 

April: 

• Bill J. Leonard, Appalachian Mountain Christianity.
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Lawrence R. Samuel, Literacy in America. 
• Minerva Siegel, Tarot for Self-Care. 
• Mark Ryan, et.al., The Wildwood Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Archie Goodwin, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 3. 
• S.A. Barnes, Ghost Station. 

 

May: 

• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000). 
• Aaron Sigmond, Cigars: a Biography.

 

June: 

• Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin, Easy Lenormand (kit with card deck and book).
• Colette Baron-Reid, The Enchanted Map Oracle (blue edition. Kit with card deck and book).
• Elie Mystal, Bad Law. 
• Dan Abnett, Prospero Burns (Horus Heresy, Book 15). 
• Christian Blauvelt, Be More Vader. 
• Cassandra Snow, ed., Tarot in Other Words. 
• Darkness Prevails with Carman Carrion, Appalachian Folklore Unveiled. 

 

July: 

• Cory Doctorow, The Internet Con.
• Alec Macgillis, Fulfillment. 

 

August: 

• Samantha Rose Hicks, Talking with the Tarot. 
• Jim Davis, Garfield Fat Cat 3-pack, Volume 14.*
• Connie Banta, et.al., This Book is Free and Yours to Keep. 
• Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller.
• Randy Crutcher, Cosmic Cat Wisdom Cards (kit with card deck and book).
• Paul Kepple, Housewives Tarot (kit with card deck and book).
• Tom Gauld, Department of Mind-Blowing Theories. 

 

September: 

• Jack Chanek, Tarot for the Magically Inclined. 

 

October: 

• John O'Conner, The Secret History of Bigfoot. 
• Mara Einstein, Hoodwinked. 
• Becky Siegel Spratford, ed., Why I Love Horror. 

 

November:  

• Garry J. Shaw, Cryptic. 
• Laura and Sandra Caputo, Otherworld Oracle (kit with card deck and book). 
• Chuck Collins, Burned by Billionaires. 
• Adam Szetela, This Book is Dangerous! 
• Bill Parente, et.al., Eerie Archives, Volume 4. 

 

December: 

• Pietro Alligo, Joker Tarot (kit with card deck and book). 
• Courtney Weber, Hekate: Goddess of Witches. 
• Stephen Starring Grant, Mailman.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2025: 50, including 1 re-read.  

 

 

Number of books read in 2024: 83, including one re-read (the 2024 list).

Number of books read in 2023: 80, including 3 re-reads (the 2023 list). 

Number of books read in 2022:  82, including 5 re-reads (the 2022 list).

Number of books reading in 2021: 69, including 3 re-reads (the 2021 list).

Number of books read in 2020: 80, including 5 re-reads (the 2020 list).

Number of books read in 2019: 72   (the 2019 list).

Number of books read in 2018: 74, including 2 re-reads (the 2018 list).
Number of books read in 2017: 84 (the 2017 list).
Number of books read in 2016: 92, including re-reads (the 2016 list).
Number of books read in 2015: 123, including 2 re-reads (the 2015 list).
Number of books read in 2014: 152, including 2 re-reads (the 2014 list).
Number of books read in 2013: 173, including 2 re-reads (the 2013 list).
Number of books read in 2012: 117, with 6 re-reads (the 2012 list).
Number of books read in 2011: 119, with 3 re-reads (the 2011 list). 
Number of books read in 2010:  119, with 6 rereads (the 2010 list).
Number of books read in 2009: 98, with 5 rereads. I believe this is the first time I started to actively track rereads. (the 2009 list).
Number of books read in 2008: 111 (the 2008 list).
Number of books read in 2007: 85 (the 2007 list).
Number of books read in 2006: 106 (the 2006 list).
Number of books read in 2005: 73 

 

Commentary and thoughts on numbers:  

 

As I mentioned, I felt that I read less this year, and sure enough, I read quite a bit less in 2025. One reason is just have to look around at the current clusterfuck. I also did pick up a few omnibus editions and other long books that took me a long time to read. Heck, I am still slowly getting through Alhazred, which is seriously long. I am carrying that one into 2026, and with luck may finish it this year. Yet I've also just been tired between work and the world around me, so felt like reading less, or often just fell asleep at end of day after reading a page or two in a book. It was a rough year for reading, yet I am grateful I did still read the amount of books I did. We'll see how 2026 goes. At this point, I am not making predictions on how many books I may read in 2026. I will just keep reading, and we'll see at the end of 2026. Oh, a positive note: I did complete all of my reading challenges for 2025. As of this writing, I am still deciding which reading challenges, if any, I may do for 2026, so stay tuned. 

 

The numbers: 

 

 

 

Annual reading report elements: 

 

Numbers: 

 

Re-reads: 1, the Garfield book, which was a comfort read. 

 

Best reading month: March with 10 books. 

Worst reading month:  A tie between February and September with 1 book each. September makes sense as it is very busy season in an academic library. February was just not that good last year. and it is also somewhat busy time at work. 

 

Books read in print: 37

E-books reading (includes galleys): 13

Read in audio: 0. 

 

I prefer print, and that preference remained strong in 2025.  

 

Graphic novels (includes comics): 8

Manga: 1

 

I usually read a few more graphic novels, comics, and/or manga, so that is another small sign of how bad 2025 was for the reading mood.  

 

Fiction (not including manga nor graphic novels): 4

Nonfiction:  37

 

I am more a nonfiction reader than fiction, and this year is no exception. For me, I can pick up nonfiction a bit easier because it feels like I can drop it and pick it up again easier if I get interrupted. Fiction tends to require more concentration to follow a plot. However, fiction tends to work better for me when I need some serious escapism. At least two of the fiction books I read were omnibus editions that contain more than one novel, so technically if I had picked up the individual works, my fiction number could've been higher, but that is a small detail. Lately, I've been trying to read short stories to see if I can get into fiction a bit more. So far, not too successful as I pick up a short fiction collection, read a story or two, then can't seem to get back to it. It feels like a symptom of the malaise of the Hard Times. However, I am not ready to give up yet. One bit of fiction I do enjoy is Warhammer 40,000; I tend to stick with those, so there is that. I will just keep trying other fiction a bit at a time. As for nonfiction, I have plenty of choices to read. 

 

Library books: 

 

• Berea branch, Madison County Public Library:1
• Eastside branch, Lexington Public Library: 11
• Hutchins Library, Berea College: 12
• Interlibrary Loan: 0.  

The Lexington Public Library tends to have a larger selection of comics and graphic novels. However, their key feature for me is that they offer unlimited renewals. As long as no one else recalls a book or puts it on hold, I can keep renewing it. As a slow reader I find that feature very helpful. Madison County Public Library needs to get with the program; they still restrict loans to two renewals. For me, even though it is a bit of a drive, it is easier to make the trip to the Eastside branch once a month or so while I also go do the monthly Costco run. I can just stock up on a few books out of Eastside which can last me for a while and not worry about having to rush them back. In addition, in 2025 I started making more of an effort to read some of the books my library gets. Those are more academic, so I balance those with what I borrow from the public library. In addition, reading books from my library allows me to get a better sense of what is coming into the collection, and once in a while it is useful for research consultations when I can recommend to a student a book on their research topic that I have actually read. 

 

In terms of e-book options, I have access to Madison County Public and Lexington Public holdings through Libby. In addition, Madison County Public also has Hoopla. However, I have not felt a need to use Libby nor Hoopla as much given I can find plenty to read in print. So most of my e-book reading is either galleys or a book or two I may own. 

 

Books I own: see my list of reading challenges for 2025. I read 24 books I own last year, which is pretty darn good for me.  

 

Books borrowed from anyone (not family) or recommended by others: 0.

 

Other numbers of interest to me:

 

• Erotica: 0. The Hard Times are just awful when it comes to reading erotica. I may have read a short fiction piece here or there, but nothing worth mentioning. As I wrote at the start of 2025, I have a feeling 2026 will not be better in terms of improving the mood to read erotica. Having said that, an observation, it seems some erotica writing has declined, at least the publishing of anthologies and collections. I am sure plenty of it is being written in forums, Literotica, and similar places but I am just not seeing actual more traditional publications in erotica as I used to see a few years ago. I may out of curiosity look into that, but it is not a priority at this moment. 
• LIS and reference: 3. One of them is an LIS book. The other two are not technically LIS, but their topics are relevant to the field, so they get included here. 
• Tarot and Oracle (includes deck companion books): 16. 
• Other esoterica/pagan/spirituality: 1.
• Netgalley: 2. Netgalley this year implemented Thorium and the associated DRM that goes with it. I tried it out, and to put it charitably, it is a pain in the ass to use. It's so bad I have decided I am no longer requesting anything new out of Netgalley. I will post reviews for some older items, that I may have a copy via a library, but otherwise Netgalley is pretty much dead to me. 
• Edelweiss Plus: 8. This has become the reliable way to get e-book galleys for review. Their system, Adobe, works. I am not a fan of Adobe's DRM, but compared to the clusterfuck that is Netgalley's new system, it works. I pray to the Cosmic Joker Edelweiss does not follow Netgalley's way because at that point they'll be dead to me too. While I enjoy reading newer works as ARCs, it is not an essential thing for me, and I have plenty of books I can borrow to keep reading and doing reviews.   
• On a side note, EBSCO, one of the big library database vendors, just went with Thorium for their e-book DRM. I usually don't read e-books from my library because they are on EBSCO, J-Stor, or some academic publisher, and they are all a pain in the ass to download and read when compared to the ease of using Libby. My electronic resources librarian tells me that very few patrons actually download a full e-book from our holdings. Mostly our patrons may download a chapter here or there for research, but no one is really reading whole e-books from our collection. But that is another story for another day. 
• Other books offered for review, i.e. not Netgalley nor Edelweiss Plus. These books come from a publisher, author, editor, etc. that offered me a book or that I requested. Once in a while a book comes in unsolicited, so I may be on someone's list, which is fine: 1, and it was a duplicate since I got it via Edelweiss Plus for review. Happens sometimes.  
• Books in Spanish: 0. This was not even on my radar in 2025; that's how bad the year was. 
• True crime: 0. This was not on the radar much either. In addition, it seems a good amount of books in this genre are published by publishers on my boycott plan, so they tend to be a bit harder to find for me. 
• Food and drink: 0. Also not on the radar. 
• Poetry: 0. Not even a priority at this point, and to be honest, not sure if I will pick up any poetry in 2026.
• Appalachian and regional: 3. I am adding this category this year. This is not an area that is within my reading profile, but I do make a small effort to read a bit in this area given my place of work and our student population. Three for the year is pretty good. 
• Books that broke the politics/social issues/activist moratorium: 10. As I mentioned above, the moratorium is softening, and I am gradually stepping away from it. In the Hard Times, I do need to be informed, and I need to be able to share what I learn with others.   

 

This time last year I was reading the following books. Links go to the reviews: 

• William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, White Poverty. (As you can see, I started the year breaking moratorium here).
  
• Various authors, Honour Imperialis (Warhammer 40,000. This is an omnibus edition of three novels by different authors plus a few short stories). 
• Xueting Christine Ni, ed., Sinophagia: a Celebration of Chinese Horror. I ended up dropping this one, but I am still keeping it in the TBR list to try again later. 
• Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, Harley's Little Black Book. 
• Barbara Moore, Tarot Spreads. 

 

As we start 2026, I am reading the following books: 

 

• Ellen Datlow, ed., Christmas and Other Horrors: a Winter Solstice Anthology.
• Danie Ware, The Rose at War (Warhammer 40,000. An omnibus with some short stories and novellas featuring the Adepta Sororitas). 
• Hu Anyan, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing. 
• Soma Chaudhuri and Jane Ward, eds., The Witch Studies Reader.  
• Donald Tyson, Alhazred: Author of the Necronomicon. This is a carry over from last year, and I hope I can finish it in 2026.  

 

Finally to wrap up, here are a few bloggers I have found who do end of year reading lists and surveys: 

 

• Counter Craft offers their best books they read in 2025, that were NOT published in 2025.
• Feed Your Fiction Addiction has their end of year book survey. Sadly, they just announced they are closing down their blog after 2025.  
• Based on a True Story has their wrap up. 
• Jessamyn West has her 2025 reading list and commentary. 
• Literary Saloon points out to a few people who still do end of year reading posts.  

 

As I have mentioned before, finding other bloggers doing this is challenging given there are few active blogs out there that provide good writing consistently. It seems every year one or two blogs I follow go extinct. As for me, I will keep on blogging as long as I can. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and stopping by. I wish you all a safe, happy, and prosperous 2026, and may you find many good books to read. 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Diary of a Bookseller

Shaun Bythell, The Diary of a Bookseller. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House, 2018.  ISBN: 9781612197241. 

Genre: diaries, memoirs

Subgenre: bookstores, antiquarian, business, Scotland

Format: hardcover

Source: Eastside Branch, Lexington (KY) Public Library 

 

This book is the diary of a bookshop owner and book trader in a small out of the way Scottish village. The author writes a diary for a year in 2014 where he looks at his business, his customers in person and online, and life in the village of Wigtown. 

The author writes about the business, trips to estates in search of books, his eccentric patrons, and his own quirks. There is at times a charm about small towns and bookstores, and the author captures that well. He also captures the trials and tribulations of running a book business in a small town, a business threatened by the growing online trade and the Amazon behemoth. 

Though some blurbs describe this as outright laugh-out-loud funny, I would not go that far. Is the book amusing? At times it can be amusing and has funny moments, but much of it is just daily routine and even dreariness at times. The book also has some moving moments and descriptions of places that draw you in. The diary as a whole is a very humane experience where we see the ups and downs, the joys and frustrations of the bookseller. If you are expecting a hilarious comedy as some blurbs suggest, you might be disappointed. If you enjoy memoirs and slice of life reading, and you like reading about books and book traders, this may be for you. 

The book is a diary, and the entries are arranged by month from February to February. At the start of each month, the author opens with a quote from George Orwell's "Bookshop Memories" to give a bit of context along with some opening thoughts. The author then writes a commentary to introduce the month and adds any extra thoughts. After that we get the diary entries, which can vary in length. 

The characters we meet vary in attitudes and temperaments. To be honest, I would have fired Nicky, his book shop assistant who more often than not chooses not to follow directions and does what she wants. I am guessing either the worker pool in Wigtown is too bad to replace her, or he is just a wuss. Then there is Mr. Deacon, the regular patron who every so often comes in to order a book. Could he order it online? Yes, but he chooses to to go the store. Then there is the rest of the cast. 

If you enjoy reading about the used book trade, you may like this book. His outings to visit estates, auctions, and other places where old books may be found are interesting. We learn a bit about what books are valuable and which are just good enough for recycling. We also see him struggle with Amazon. On the one hand, he uses the "Fulfilled by Amazon" (FBA) service for some of his business in order to sell books online.  Also, like many antiquarian booksellers, he also uses ABE Books to sell online, which by that time had been bought by Amazon. So he does realize the threat Amazon represents to his business long term, yet to keep his business up, and for customers' convenience, he has to deal with Amazon. The Amazon issue caught my attention after recently reading Fulfillment (link to my review). If you've read that book or you just pay attention to what is going on you know the odds are not in the small business's favor. 

Overall, I liked the book, but it is not a big deal. It is amusing and heartwarming in moments, but it is also slow and a bit dreary at times. Like real life, it is not hilarious all the time, contrary to what some blurb writers claim. This is one to borrow and return. Yet at times it makes you wish you could visit the place. It does have a strong sense of place. 

3 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes:  

The author early on mentions the book Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell. I thought I had read it, but I don't have any notes on it in the blog, so I may need to look it up to read down the road. I may be able to get it via Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

 

On clearing the books from a deceased's estate. In this case, a deceased couple without children; a nephew was clearing the house, and the author was there to see what books he could buy: 

"Dismantling such a book collection seems to be the ultimate act of destruction of their character-- you are responsible for erasing the last piece of evidence of who they were. This woman's book collection was a record of her character: her interests, as close as anything she left to some kind of genetic inheritance. Perhaps that's why her nephew waited so long before asking us to look at the books, in the same way that people who lose a child often can't bear to remove anything from their bedroom for years" (31).

A moving passage. Personally makes me think about the fate of my personal book collection, which will likely be dispersed as I doubt our daughter would keep it intact or at all. I've pondered here or there how my books reflect my character. I probably should write about that down the road. To contrast, in my work I am used to weeding book collections. It makes a difference whether your books are your own or not. 

 

Book mentioned in the book I am listing for possible TBR:  The Intimate Thoughts of John Baxter, Bookseller (1942). This one may be hard to find as it appears to be an antiquarian item. I hope I can find it via ILL. 

 

On why it can be difficult for secondhand traders to buy erotica (as in serious erotica, not the shady guy crap): 

"It is difficult buying erotica, as very little can be sold on Amazon or eBay because they violate the puritanical sensibilities of the prudes in charge of both organizations" (174).

 

And speaking of the shady guy stuff, on why you need to verify details when acquiring a book: 

"While I was repairing a broken shelf in the crime section, I overheard an elderly customer confusing E.L. James and M.R. James while discussing horror fiction with her friend. She is either going to be pleasantly surprised or deeply shocked when she gets home the copy of Fifty Shades of Grey she bought" (191). 

 

Another book mentioned: Jen Campbell's The Bookshop Book. This one I did read and review.