Goals to Get Me to the End of 2026 Book Tag

I got the idea to do this book tag from Emma at Words and Peace who posted her 2026 goals book tag the other day. The creator of the tag is Lost in the Narrative. Emma tweaked things and so did I.

GOAL #1:
Are there any books that you started this year that you need to finish?

Yes, three:

• The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler
• The Daily Jane Austen: Quotes by Devaney Looser
• The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

GOAL #2
Do you have any holiday books you hope to read before year's end?

Possibles:

•  The Bewitching due to its Halloween-ish theme and it is a book on the Goodreads challenge for the fall.  
• Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. I wanted to read it last year for the Christmas season but didn't get to it.

GOAL #3
Is there a new release that you’re still waiting for?

I have three fall releases I hope to get to:

• Partita by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon
• Peck and Peck by Bonnie Garmus

GOALS #4
What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout (Book Prize Shortlist)
• Dèy by Edwidge Danticat(National Book Award finalist, Fiction category)
• Tree of Knowledge by Victoria Chang (National Book Award finalist, Poetry category)

GOAL #5
Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

It might be Partita. I have loved all of Kingsolver's books so it wouldn't surprise me if it took over the number one spot.

GOAL #6

Goals you created in January you still need to finish up before year's end?

Oh boy. It's a lot:

• Read one of the Booker Prize finalists (See above #4)
• Read two of the winners or finalists for the National Book Award (See above #4)
• Read two past winners of the Pulitzer Prize (Unlikely)
• Read two 2026 Printz Honor books (Less likely)
• Read seven books for the Autumn Goodreads Challenge (doubling up is allowed)
• Read and review the remaining four book club books for the two clubs
• Read four more books from the NYT Best Books of the 21 Century list
• Total=22 books. I could read that many books in the remaining time but it is very unlikely that I will finish all these goals. That number, 22, doesn't include the books I want to finish and the new releases I want to get to, either. That total is 29. Gulp. Next year I am paring down my challenge list for sure. My heart is no longer into many of these challenges: Printz and Pulitzer past winners among them. The NYT Times listed books I've read recently I haven't liked so I may remove that personal challenge, too. Who cares if I read the books on that list or not?

GOAL #7
Have you already started making reading plans for 2027?

1. I am only at the mulling over stage of what book I want for my One Big Book Challenge of 2027. I'm considering from: 

• Anna Karenina
• Midnight's Children
• Don Quixode 
• Crime and Punishment

2. I want to read a book published in 1927, making it 100 years old, so I am checking for possible options:

• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolfe
• Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
• The Big Four by Agatha Christie
• Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

Phew. I need to get to work!

-Anne

Book Tag Author: Firsts, Lasts, and Favorites

Book tag:
Author Firsts, Lasts, and Favorites

I saw this tag on Emma’s blog (Words and Peace), who herself saw it on another blog, so I decided to join. I'm super late to the party as this book tag originally circulated back in late 2024. Better late than never! 

Join in? Grab the logo, create a list, link back. (I couldn't figure out who started the tag. If is was you, let me know and I'll credit you!)

“The basic principle is to find some authors you’ve read multiple books from, picking out a favorite, the first book you read, the last book you read, and one still on your TBR“.

Here goes:

John Green
First: Looking for Alaska
Last: Everything is Tuberculosis
Favorite: The Anthropocene Reviewed
TBR: Hollywood Ending (coming Sept. 2026)

Maggie Stiefvater 
First: Shiver
Last: Greywaren
Favorite: The Scorpio Races
TBR: The Listeners

Jane Austen
First: Pride and Prejudice
Last: Northanger Abbey -reread
Favorite: Pride and Prejudice
TBR: Love and Friendship

Barbara Kingsolver
First: Pigs in Heaven
Last: Demon Copperhead
Favorite: The Poisonwood Bible
TBR: Small Wonders

Ann Patchett
First: Run
Last: Bel Canto
Favorite: The Dutch House
TBR: Whistler (coming June 2026)

Amor Towles
First: A Gentleman in Moscow
Last: The Lincoln Highway
Favorite: The Lincoln Highway
TBR: Rules of Civility

Maggie O'Farrell
First: I Am I Am I Am
Last: The Marriage Portrait
Favorite: Hamnet
TBR: Land (coming June 2026)

Terry Pratchett
First: Nation
Last: Small Gods
Favorite: Dodger
TBR: Good Omens or Hogfather

-Anne

A Thanksgiving Feast of Books

Thanksgiving Bookish Tag -- 

Originally created by Becca and Erica @Fangirlscity on Youtube.

I hope you enjoy and have a wonderful day on Thursday!

A Feast of Books. Enjoy.

(I've read all these books. I liked some better than others!)

 1. Bread - What book is purely fluff, and has no real plot line?

Ursula K. Le Guin's Book of Cats
A purrpurri of the literary legend's quirky and winsome cat poems, mediations, and drawings.
(My grandcats, Fred and George, insisted I include this book.)

2. Turkey - What book made you want to fall asleep?

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
It not only made me want to fall asleep, I did fall asleep when we were listening to this tome on a car trip. At 600+ if would have been a long nap. It is a good book but so soporific.

3. Gravy - What book makes the whole series worth reading?

Lirael by Garth Nix, #2 Old Kingdom 
The series has six books dribbled out for publication over 26 years from first to last. I loved them all but this one I loved the best. Could it have something to do with the Disreputable Dog?

4. Stuffing - What book is stuffed full of action scenes?

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
The setting is the Texas-Mexico border. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. The action, disaster, and horror is none-stop.

5. Mashed Potatoes - What book looked good, and then wasn’t?

Christmas Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke.
Bah, Humbug!
My note after I finished it -- "Not my idea of a mystery. The book is good if you want/need new cookie or cupcake recipes. Otherwise, I don't recommend it."

6. Cranberries - What book has the sweetest romance?

Princess Bride by William Golden
Princess Buttercup and Wesley,of course, and a sweet love story alongside a swashbuckling tale all in one.
If you've seen the movie and not read the book, you are are missing a delight. 

7. Corn - What’s the corniest book you’ve ever read?

Three Men In a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
So many groaners and slapstick situations. Corny, very corny.
(We always have Crazy Corn Casserole with our turkey!)

8. Green beans - What book is too long and needs to be shortened?

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 
I love the series but this book is just too long at 898 pages. It needs a good editor to slash some of those pages.

9. Pumpkin Pie - What book do you read to get out of a reading slump?

Any book by John Green
The Anthropocene Reviewed is full of essays, so it would be a good choice to break through a reading slump.

10. Dog/Cat - What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food that you would steal from the table?

Dog here. I vote for turkey and gravy.
I'll even eat a few green beans, if I must.

Have a lovely day wherever you live, even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Just eat good food today and be grateful for all you have.

-Anne

Planet Book Tag

Planet Book Tag: I got the idea for this book tag from @Haylee.reads (Instagram) and A Great Read (Blogger)

All of my answers are books read in 2023 only. There may be better answers from previous years but this way you'll see what I've been reading THIS year and I won't have to search too far back.

Mercury: Best Written

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. Every single book she's written, I've loved. Her writing earned her a Pulitzer Prize this year. (Read in January.)

Venus: Prettiest Cover

These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett. I love the cover, both the front and the back, and the essay about the artist and why Patchett couldn't decide which painting to use, so she used both! (First book completed in 2023.)

Earth: Where I'd Live

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr. The first time I visited Rome in 2012 I told my husband we needed to figure out a way to live here for more than a few weeks. Why not a year or more? I'd love it. (Read in May.)

Mars: Worst Villain

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. The villains in this marvelous story are Nazis! (Need I say more?) [Started Mid-March, finished late-April.]

Jupiter: Longest Read

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. The version I read was 1055 pages long, but many other editions weigh in at over 1200 pages. (Started in January, finished the end of March.)

Saturn: Difficult Read

The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Such a bleak story set in a post-apocalypse world. (Read in February.)

Uranus: Changed My Life

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality by Eliot Schrefer. This book opened my eyes to the varying degrees of sexuality in both animals and humans. It would be widely read but I fear it will be widely banned these days. 😒(Finished July 1st.)

Neptune: Made Me Cry

Starfish by Lisa Fipps. Ellie is fat-shamed by classmates and family members, including her mother. It brought back memories of similar stuff happening to me as a kid and I cried for myself and the character in this book. (Just finished.)

Pluto (dwarf planet): Powerful MC

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai. I interpreted this topic about a powerful MC as the best audiobook narrator I've listened to this year. Quyen Gno narrated this book set in Vietnam. Hearing her narration brought the Vietnamese language/words alive for my ears. It is appropriate that this answer belongs to a dwarf planet since audiobook narrators don't often get the love they deserve. (Listened to in April.)

-Anne