I finished 24 titles (down 7 from last month), which isn’t great–but a couple of them took longer than anticipated. And, well, I was pretty busy doing the whole blogging thing. I didn’t get a whole lot of the “writing about particular books” thing done–but I posted a whole lot of other things.
And I had a lot of fun. I’m calling it a win.
The Month in Reading
(thanks to Bookmory for the image)
TBR Piles
| Audio | E-book | Physical | Goodreads Want-to-Read |
NetGalley Shelf/ARCs/Review Copies |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2025 |
4 | 89 | 112 | 192 | 11 |
| 1st of the Month |
2 | 96 | 130 | 201 | 7 |
| Added | 1 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 |
| Read/ Listened |
1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Current Total | 2 | 96 | 133 | 204 | 8 |
My TBR Range
(click to embiggen)
Breakdowns:
“Traditionally” Published: 19
Self-/Independent Published: 5
| Genre | This Month | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s | 2 (8%) | 19 (10%) |
| Fantasy | 10 (42%) | 34 (19%) |
| General Fiction/ Literature | 0 (0%) | 16 (9%) |
| Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller | 5 (21%) | 24 (44%) |
| Non-Fiction | 1 (4%) | 15 (8%) |
| Science Fiction | 4 (17%) | 21 (12%) |
| Theology/ Christian Living | 2 (8%) | 16 (9%) |
| Urban Fantasy | 0 (0%) | 13 (7%) |
| “Other” (Horror/ Humor/ Steampunk/ Western) | 0 (0%) | 2 (1%) |
Review-ish Things Posted
Books of the Month
- The Devils by Joe Abercrombie: Sometimes It’s Difficult to Tell Who’s on the Right Side, and Who the Wrong—
- What Can I Possibly Say about Dungeon Crawler Carl That You Haven’t Read Dozens of Times?
- What’s Next by Melissa Fitzgerald & Mary McCormack: An Entirely Too-Brief Love Letter to The West Wing, The People Who Made It, and a Tribute to Public Service
Other Recommended Reads
- Dead Men Don’t Play Fetch by David Rosenfelt: Recovery Programs, Dog Shelters, and Murder—It’s Right Up Andy Carpenter’s Alley
- Just A Couple of Thoughts about Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
- Killer Vibes by Jack Friday: Weird (and Dangerous) Times in a Weird City
- The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow: Prudent, Thoughtful, and Entertaining (naturally)
- The Museum Guide by Nicole Sharp: A Literary Stroll through Lives and a Museum
- We Be Dragons by Michael Weitz: A Nice Bit of 80s Nostalgia
- Manitou by Glen Gabel: It Went Badly
- Eternal Blades by Vlad V. Imakaev: A Tale of Wielders and Watchers
- A Murder Most Fungal by Adrian M. Gibson: Survival Does Not Equate to Freedom
- True Romance: A Noir Anthology edited by Troy Lambert & Vincent Zandri: Love is What Makes Life Worth Living. Or is it
- Eyes of Empire by JCM Berne: Failing the Heck Out of His Whole Noninterference Plan (and others, too)
- First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston: Magic and Mundane Engineering
Other Things I Posted
- 20 Books of Summer 2026: June Check-In
- Highlights from May: Lines Worth Repeating
- Counting My Literary Chickens Before They Hatch: My July TBR
- Captivating Character of June: Vigga Ullasdottr/Vigga-Wolf
- Fantasy with Friends: Should Magic Have a Cost in Fantasy Novels?
- Opening Lines: First Mage on the Moon by Cameron Johnston
- Fantasy with Friends: Discussing Brandon Sanderson and Fast Food Fantasy
- Mid-Year Freak Out 2026 (not completely about Butcher’s Twelve Months)
- Opening Lines: The Daughters’ War by Christopher Buehlman
- Fantasy with Friends: Discussing Witches and Sorceresses in Fantasy
- Opening Lines: Deadly Does It by Abbi Waxman
- Captivating Character of July: Ella Pickering
- Counting My Literary Chickens Before They Hatch: My August TBR
Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week
- Welcome to Self-Published Author’s Appreciation Week 2026!
- SPAAW ’26: Adam Holcombe Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: Z.B. Steele Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published “General” Fiction
- HC Chats with Adam Holcombe about Self-Publishing and some other stuff
- SPAAW ’26: DB Rook Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: Glen Gabel Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: M.K. Felix Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Non-Fiction
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Steampunk
- HC Chats with DB Rook about Self-Publishing and some other stuff
- SPAAW ’26: Shannon Knight Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: A.J. Calvin Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: JCM Berne Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- HC Chats with Michael R. Fletcher about Self-Publishing and some other stuff
- SPAAW ’26: Paul Regnier Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: Nikki McCormack Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: M. D. Presley Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Urban Fantasy
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Children’s & Picture Books (a look in Grandpappy’s Corner)
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Science Fiction
- HC Chats with JCM Berne about Self-Publishing in 2026 and some other stuff
- SPAAW ’26: Irene Hill Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: Troy Lambert Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- SPAAW ’26: E. N. Crane Engages in Shameless OTHER-Promotion
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Fantasy
- The Irresponsible Reader On…Self-Published Crime Fiction
- Looking Back at a Week of OTHER-Promotion (and other SPAAW ’26 thoughts)
Spotlights/Cover Reveals
Music Mondays
- MUSIC MONDAY: “The Body of an American” by Dropkick Murphys
- MUSIC MONDAY: “Atheists Don’t Have No Songs” by Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
- MUSIC MONDAY: “The Luckier You Get” by American Aquarium
- MUSIC MONDAY: “Title Screen” by Pat & Sean
WWW Wednesdays
- WWW Wednesday—July 1, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—July 8, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—July 15, 2026
- WWW Wednesday—July 29, 2026
Saturday Miscellanies
- Saturday Miscellany—7/4/26
- Saturday Miscellany—7/11/26
- Saturday Miscellany—7/18/26
- Saturday Miscellany—7/25/26
Enough about me—how Was Your Month?
Carol
Fabulous month! 🙌