2026 Reading List

2026 - A Year of Reading

It's 1/16/2026 and I started the year pretty rough. I got the flu in Dec. 2025, which was followed by a second flu, which turned into pneumonia. Now that I'm back to 98% health, I thought it time to look at my reading goals for this year. 

My goals are as follows: Read 50 books in 2026 with the goal of listening to no more than 10 of them. Of course, I might listen to more than 10, but anything over that I'm not counting towards the goal. To do this I need to read 4 books per month + 2. 

Once I read a book from my list, I'll underline it. 

 

Books I Plan to Read in 2026

I will live inside this discipline for a year.

Fiction

1. The Moviegoer by Percy Walker, 1961 (Debut Novel, Literary)

2. The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West, 1939 (Novel, Literary, Hollywood)

3. Hunger by Knut Hamsun, 1890 (Novel, Literary, Norwegian, Philosophy, Psychology) 

4. Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky, 1864 (Novel, Literary, Philosophy)

5. The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald, 1872 (Novel, Fantasy) - Grade B+

6. Martyr by Kaveh Akbar, 2024 (Novel, Literary, Iranian Literature)

7. The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz, 1934 (Short Stories, Magic Realism, Polish Literature, Jewish Literature)

8. The Trial by Franz Kafka, 1914, 1915, 1925 (Novel, Literary)

9.  The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy, 1886 (Novella, Russian, Classic)

10.  Fairytales of Hans Christian Anderson, 1874 (Collection, Fairy Tales)

11. Grimms' Fairy Tales, 1812 (Collection, Fairy Tales)

12. Phantastes by George MacDonald, 1858 (Novel, Fantasy, Christian)

13. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, 1979 (Short Story Collection, Fairy Tales)

14. Stoner by John Edward Williams, 1965 (Novel, Literary)

15. Fat City by Leonard Gardner, 1969 (Novel, Literary)

16. The Maniac by Benjamin Labatut, 2023 (Novel, Literary/Upmarket, Philosophy, Science)

17. Where The Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson, 2018 (Novel, Literary, Coming of Age, Native American, Historical Fiction)

18. Island of the Doomed by Stig Dagerman, 1946 (Novel, Horror, Swedish) 

19. The Backslider by Levi Peterson, 1986 (Novel, Literary, Mormon)

20. Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, 1952 (Novel, Southern Gothic, Religion - Reread)

21. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, 1922 (Novel, Literary)

22. The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, 1982 (Novel, Philosophy, Portugal, Literary, Classic)

23. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, 2004 (Novel, Historical Fiction, Religion, Literary)

24. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles, 1948 (Debut Novel, Literary, Travel, Africa, Classics) - Grade C +

25. Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson, 1992 (Short Stories, Literary, American, Drug Addiction - Reread)

26. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, 1940 (Novel, Religion, British, Literary, Classics)

27. The Bear by Andrew Krivak, 2020 (Novel, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Post Apocalyptic)

Nonfiction

28. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, 1558 (Wisdom, Philosophy, Stoicism)

29. Confidence: Finding It and Living It by Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D., 1995 (Psychology, Personal Growth)

30. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl, 1946 (Psychology, Philosophy, Memoir, Personal Growth) - Grade A +

31. This Boy's Life by Tobias Wolf, 1989 (Memoir) - This will be a reread. 

32. The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi, 1986 (History, Holocaust, Memoir, Philosophy)

33. The Writing Habit by David Huddle, 1992 (Writing Advice, Essays)

34. A Confession by Leo Tolstoy, translated by David Patterson, 1882 (Philosophy, Religion)

35. Tao Teh King by Lao Tzu, circa 400 B.C., Interpreted as Nature And Intelligence by Archie J. Bahm (Philosophy, Spirituality, Religion, Poetry)

36. The Courage to Be by Paul Tillich, 1952 (Religion, Philosophy, Christianity)

37. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Stephen Pressfield, 2002 - Grade A

38. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant, 2010 (Narrative Nonfiction, History, Nature, Russia, Science)

39. Night of the Grizzlies by Jack Olsen, 1969 (Narrative Nonfiction, History, Nature)

40. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald, 2014 (Memoir, Nature)

41. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing, 1959 (History, Adventure, Biography)

42. A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck by Sophie Elmhirst, 2025 (Memoir, Travel, History, Adventure) - Grade A

43. Turning Pro by Stephen Pressfield, 2012 (Personal Growth, Writing, Psychology, Productivity)

44. Shop Class as Soul Craft by Michael B. Crawford, 2009 (Philosophy, Education, Psychology)

45. A History of Medieval Christianity: Prophecy and Order by Jeffrey Burton Russel and Douglas W. Lumsden, 2000 (History, Religion, Christianity)

46. Faith Precedes the Miracle by Spencer W. Kimball, 1972 (LDS, Religion, Spirituality)

47. Learning to Listen: Principles for Personal Revelation by Dale G. Renlund, 2025 (LDS, Religion, Spirituality, Revelation)

48. In the Hands of the Lord: The Life of Dallin H. Oaks by Richard E. Turley Jr., 2021 (LDS, Biography, Religion, Spirituality)

49. Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint: Vol. 2: No Unhallowed Hand: 1846-1893 by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2020 (History, LDS, Religion in America)

50. A Disciple's Life: The Biograph of Neal A. Maxwell by Bruce C. Hafen, 2002 (Biography, LDS)

51. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton, 1908 (Christianity, Catholic, Classic)

52. What About the Baby?: Some Thoughts on the Art of Fiction by Alice McDermott, 2021 (Writing, Essays, Craft, Personal Growth) - Grade A +

53. German Autumn by Stig Dagerman, 1946 (Novel, Swedish, WWII, Journalism)

54. The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Ian McGilchrist, 2009, 2018 (Neuroscience, Philosophy, History, Psychology) 

55. Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher R. Browning, 1992 (History, Holocaust, WWII, Psychology, Germany)  

56. Into That Darkness: An Examination of Conscience by Gitta Sereny, 1974 (History, WWII, Biography, Psychology)  

57. Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell, 1972 (True Crime, Biography, Mental Health) 

58. Nibley on the Timely and the Timeless: Classic Essays of Hugh W. Nibley, 1978 (LDS, Christianity, Philosophy)

59. Walking on Alligators: A Book of Meditations for Writers by Susan Shaughnessy, 1993 (Reference, Writing, Inspiration. Personal Growth)

60. America's Destiny: Choosing God's Will or Ours by Tad R. Callister, 2023 (LDS, Religion, History, Constitution) - Grade A

Poetry

• New and Collected Poems: 1931-2001 by Czeslaw Milosz (Polish, Classics)

Stopped Reading  

1. Myths and Legends of Japan by F. Hadland Davis

I am wrestling with this one. The author has a lot of opinions that each tale is filtered through. I kind off want the raw text, much like my collection of the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson. Still, it's got a lot of material, and beautiful black and white reprints. It's probably not a bad starting point, since I don't know a lot about Japanese myths and legends.  

"Myths & Legends of Japan by F. Hadland Davis is a classic collection of Japanese folklore, first published in 1914, that retells myths, legends, and fairy tales about gods, heroes, spirits, and supernatural beings, including creation myths, stories of Amaterasu, Buddha, and figures like Minamoto no Yoshitsune, presented in a romanticized, early 20th-century style with illustrations. The book covers themes like the creation of Japan, deities (Benten, Daikoku), heroes, demons, and the spiritual significance of nature, offering insights into Japanese culture and beliefs through its stories." - AI summary