20 Books of Summer 2026: June Check-In

20 Books of Summer 2026
Annabel from AnnaBookBel carries on the work started by Cathy of 746 Books . You can read her kick-off post here.

I have read 8 of the 20 so far, which is not bad. One of that 8 is the biggest by page count (but probably one of the easiest reads), so I’m feeling pretty good about being able to check this one off the list. Sadly, I’ve written about only…let me check my math here…none of them. That’s not good. I have 80% of a post done for The Devils, but am so busy second-guessing myself that it’s now been 7 days since I meant to post it. Ooops. I think I’ll catch up on those pretty quickly. I hope to, anyway.

Not that it matters, but I’ve also finished one off of my Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Summer 2026 to-Read List (That Aren’t on My 20 Books Challenge) list, too.

This summer, my 20 are:

✔ 1. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
2. Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
3. Eyes of Empire by JCM Berne
4. Cold Iron Task by James Butcher
5. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
✔ 6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
7. Detained: A boy’s journal of survival and resilience by D. Esperanza and Gerardo Iván Morales
✔ 8. What’s Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service by Melissa Fitzgerald and Mary McCormack
9. Killer Vibes by Jack Friday
✔ 10. Manitou by Glen Gabel
✔ 11. Wool by Hugh Howey
✔ 12. Eternal Blades by Vlad V. Imakaev
13. First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston
14. Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
✔ 15. The Shadow Carver by Nadine Matheson
✔ 16. Squeaky Clean by Callum McSorley
17. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
18. Crownfall by Michael Vadney
✔ 19. We Be Dragons by Michael Weitz
20. Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me by Django Wexler

(subject to change, as is allowed, but I’m going to resist the impulse to tweak as much as I can).

What do you think of this list? Any warnings—or anything you think I should be really excited about?

20 Books of Summer '26 Chart June Check-in

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2 Comments

  1. Ursula K. LeGuin’s ‘Left Hand of darkness” is deservedly a classic. Read that next!

    • HCNewton

      The book club I’m reading it for meets at the end of the month, so I’m going to put it off a little longer. But your endorsement makes me anticipate it a bit more. Thanks!

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