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 only managed 6 books from the list in July–but as busy as I was, I’ll take it. If you count what I’ve accomplished in August already, I have 5.5 to go. I should finish by the end of the month with some wiggle room. Even better, I’ve written about eight of them. That’s an improvement of eight over last month, so I’ll take it. (the version of this post originally scheduled said nine there, but I had to bail on that, alas, it should be up tomorrow)

Not that it matters, but I’ve also read half 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:

My post about it

✔ 1. The Devils by Joe Abercrombie My post about it.
✔ 2. Trade of Blood by Robert Jackson Bennett
✔ 3. Eyes of Empire by JCM Berne My post about it
4. Cold Iron Task by James Butcher
5. Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
✔ 6. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman My post about it
✔ 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 My post about it
✔ 9. Killer Vibes by Jack Friday My post about it
✔ 10. Manitou by Glen Gabel		 11. Wool by Hugh Howey
✔ 12. Eternal Blades by Vlad V. Imakaev My post about it
✔ 13. First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston My post about it
✔ 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 My post about it
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 July Check-in