How has your week been? What have you been reading lately?
What I’m Reading
We went to Aruba on vacation from Thursday and I took Luster, Ravens Leilani, to read with me. I was already almost halfway through and finished it while I was there. This was a book I had sitting on my shelves for more that a year that I meant to read and never got around to. The main character Edie gets into a relationship which is sort of an open marriage … sort of not … and is clearly out of her depth, and has been for a while in her life. The book is a bit dark, the characters are all lonely, depressed, and looking for something – or resigned to dealing with the loss of that thing. Edie is almost drowning and clingy and desperate in many ways. This book is beautifully written although there were some areas that I wished had more depth and I wished it had an epilogue to tie things up more neatly … but then I realized without one, it made me think about the characters after I had finished reading the book.
Since I only took the 1 physical book with me on vacation, after finishing, I looked through unread eBooks on my Kindle (app) and saw the short stories in the Alibis Collection which is part of an Amazon exclusive collection of stories about lies, truth, and deception. It is available FREE to Prime members. I read all 6:
- Death Row, Freida McFadden ★★★
- The Ex-Wives Club, Sally Hempworth ★★★★★
- False Note, David Lagercrantz ★★★+
- The Sky Divers, Chris Bohjalian ★★
- Good Neighbors, Chad Zunker ★★★★
- Small Things, Wanda M. Morris ★★★
Next I’m going to read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen Graham Joyce, since this just came in from the library.
Anticipated Books
I am NOT looking at all the shiny new books this year. … BUT I took just a little peek at A Month-by-Month Peek at 2026’s Most Anticipated Horror and Barnes & Noble’s Most Anticipated Fiction Books of 2026. There are some tempting books coming out by my favorite authors! What is one 2026 new release you’re looking forward to reading?
Favorites & Award Winners
One of my “favorites of the year” lists is Barack Obama’s Favorite Books, Movies, and Music of 2025. From the Summer list, I read and loved King of Ashes, S.A. Crosby – I haven’t read any of the others he mentioned yet. For movies, definitely agree with Sinners and One Battle After Another.
The American Library Association announced their 2026 Youth Media Award winners. My favorite of these awards is the Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences. Surprisingly, I haven’t read any of the selected books, but I will try a few before the year is out.
The 2026 Tournament of Books Shortlist was also selected a few weeks ago. You have until Mar. 6, 2026 to read as many of these as you can so you can participate in the commentariat (i.e. comment on the judges choices).
Operating Principles for Creative Work
“… to avoid slipping into a sea of sameness this year, we’ll have to work harder to think differently and to create with more depth and humanity.”
Taking some cues from My Operating Principles for Creative Work in 2026 – here’s what I plan
- Read more physical books
- Embrace hobbies (follow obsessions) – reading, keeping a “done” book, running and cycling (hopefully)
- Go to more events with friends (find inspiration in the “real World”)
- Call people more instead of texting and group chats (Connections)
- Be a better member of my communities by DOING more (engaging in the “real” World).
How do you find inspiration and express your creativity?
