Can you believe we are at the halfway point of the year already? 2026 has been flying by. But here we are with another TBR Jar picks blog. I can’t believe it. And let me tell you, this was the hardest TBR Jar yet. I mean, picking the books for the prompts, other than the book club pick, was really hard because I have so many good choices. It was a process. And let me tell you, this is going to be an incredibly difficult month to get through with some of these books. But, let’s do a debrief and then talk about our 2026 June Picks.
But First – A Recap
So…May. I was so determined to finish all 5 books you guys. But, I didn’t. I finished 3 books in May, but one of them was not from the May TBR. I believe it was from April. But, from our May TBR, we finished Remarkably Bright Creatures and The Bodyguard. I made progress with The Count of Monte Cristo, but I still have so much reading to do with that one. And I was going to try and get through House of Gucci, but I have a confession. I was listening to an audiobook that was not on the TBR and desperately trying to finish it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get that book finished yet as I had to return it and then wait for it. And I just got it back, so I’ll be working on it with my June picks.
2026 June Pick – Book Club
Let’s start, as always, with our book club pick. This month was the first month where we picked 2 books, because we simply could not decide on one. The book that I picked is called All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, by Bryn Greenwood. The other book option had been the newest Carly Fortune book, Our Perfect Storm. Both books are out of my comfort zone but I knew Carly Fortune is a romance writer, and I didn’t want to read another romance. (Joke’s on me) All the Ugly and Wonderful Things is a love story (ha) about two people and their hard won relationship that elevates them above the Midwestern meth-lab backdrop of their lives. So yeah, wish me luck.
Prompt #2
Second prompt, but first from the TBR Jar was a book with no people on the cover. There were actually quite a few options for this on my bookshelf, but I selected 4 top contenders and of these I picked a winner. I went with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. This book is one that I have wanted to get into and it just never came up. Until now that is. In this book, I believe it’s a historical fantasy, we follow Addie. She makes a deal with a stranger, from my understanding, to live forever. The stranger grants this but with a catch. Everyone she meets forgets her instantly! I wonder how she deals with that and gets out of it.
2026 June Picks – Prompt 3
The next prompt was to pick a book with a title that had 2 or less words. Surprisingly I had a few choices, but some of those were instantly out of the running because of where they sat in a series. Again, I picked 4 contenders. I almost picked Atmosphere, but because of my book club book, I didn’t. On the cover it says “a love story”. I didn’t want two love stories so I went with The Nurse by Valerie Keogh. Don’t worry, I butcher the last name too. In this psychological thriller we follow Lissa, a nurse with a hard past. And as she learns about dark secrets from patients, she may just be hiding one herself. It honestly sounds like such a great read, so that is why it was an easy pick.
Prompt # 4
Our next prompt was by far the hardest! You see, the prompt said a book in a series. Now, I have some series on my shelf where I can read the ones I have. And I have some I don’t. But I suspected that I would want to go to the library for this prompt. So basically, I had 4 choices in mind and none of them are on my shelf. I was so stuck that I decided to put out a poll to help me pick. You all were not very helpful, but I guess I didn’t leave you with a lot of time. Just a few hours. So, I went with The Book That Broke the World. I was going to go with The Dragon Republic, but it was signed out, so that made my decision a little easier.
2026 June Picks – Last Prompt
The last prompt….I was not happy with this one. Remember how I said I wouldn’t pick Atmosphere because it said it was a love story and I already had that? Well, the TBR Jar thought it was going to be funny and the prompt I picked was A Sports Romance!!!! Are you kidding me. Next year, no romance prompts. And I believe I mentioned I don’t like spice in books. From what I had heard, all sports romance books contain a level of spice. Luckily, I found a list of clean sports romance books and went with Curvy Girls Can’t Date Quarterbacks. Unfortunately it’s high school, so I’ll probably be annoyed the whole time.
75 Booked Update
So, some of you are probably wondering how my newest reading challenge is going. Well, today (June 1st) is day 15 and I’ve only missed 2 days, so far, of reading. The weekend was a bit busier and I just lost track of time. But, I am back on track today. I do have some more flexibility with the challenge. With nicer weather I am trying to walk more. And I’m using that time for audiobooks. Today I walked to the library and listened to my audiobook that I’m trying to finish. But, I wasn’t drinking water on the walk. That being said, I am trying to be more attentive to how much water I drink and have almost finished my first required cup.
Some Thoughts
I’ve been doing some thinking. What if I started a YouTube channel for all my book content instead of writing about it? I would call it Books With Stephanie and they would be in place of all my book blogs. So, TBR picks, book reviews, reading challenges, etc. It’s just a thought right now. The reason I am considering it is because I do my TBR picks on my Instagram stories, which we know are all short videos. It would be a lot easier to make them into YouTube content. What do you think? Should I seriously consider this, or just stick to the blogs? Or try it for a season and see if it gets any traction? I mean, we know that anything can happen if we try.
