You might have noticed two things. One, the title of this is different from other reading blogs that I have done. Secondly, it’s also later than I usually put the reading blog out. There are some reasons and I’ll share those with you, an update on my reading journey, and what 2026 July reading will look like. So, with this short and sweet intro out of the way, let’s dive into this blog. A heads up, it will be a longer one.
June’s TBR
As you may have guessed from the lack of book reviews last month, I did not get all of my June TBR picks read. I finished the book club pick, as I always do. Then I mostly finished the Sports Romance. What I mean is I read half of it, hated every predictable moment of it, skipped to the last chapter and read that and deemed it done. And with that, I have decided that no matter what ideas from others I use for making future TBR jars, I will never put in romance books again. It’s a genre I tried and the only other time I will give it a chance is if I’m stuck with it as a book club pick. So, June was a bad reading month.
2026 July TBR
I have decided to change a few things. First, I won’t be filming my TBR prompt picks on my stories anymore. I’ll be honest, no one seemed to care. It wasn’t giving me any more engagement, or new followers. Another change – if I haven’t read a book, it goes back on the shelf with a chance to be picked with a new prompt. Leaving them to be hopefuls for finishing my TBR reads of the month is not working. In fact, it’s just a growing list and then reduces the number of books I can pick from my shelves for my TBR prompts. Speaking of prompts, those are getting a slight change too.
Unfinished TBR Prompts
I have decided that prompts that I do not complete will be put back in the jar for me to try again. I will still make it my goal to go through as many as I can for the remainder of the year, but there will be changes coming to the TBR blogs, which I will explain a little later. But, the changes I have just shared with you regarding the TBR unfinished books and prompts are the ones that will be in place for the remainder of the year.
2026 July Book 1
So, this book didn’t actually come from a prompt. It’s a library book that I have signed out more than once, and renewed and then not read. So, to end the cycle of signing books out of the library and then not reading them, I have decided to try and tackle this book first this month. This book was from my June TBR. The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence will be the first book I am tackling. It’s the second book of The Library trilogy. I read the first one last year and had mixed feelings about it. In fact, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue the trilogy, but it would come to mind every so often. So, I’ll read the second and see what happens.
The Book Club Pick
Usually this is the first book that I try to tackle. However, this month the book club is meeting closer to the end of the month, so I don’t have to read it right away. This month, the book that we chose is The Stationary Shop by Marjan Kamali. Unfortunately for me, it’s “A Powerful Love Story”, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sigh. It does appear to also be a historical fiction, so we’ll see. The premise appears to be two people meet at a stationary shop in Tehran, in 1953. They fall in love but before their wedding there’s a violent coup and our main protagonist cannot find him. Eventually she moves away and remarries and is given a chance 60 years later to get answers.
2026 July First Pick
So, the first pick from my TBR Jar was a book that matches the season. There was immediately one book that stood out to me from a past month that I failed to read it. The previous book this prompt had been selected for was a book I would recommend to my parents, and in my case, my mom. Step dad doesn’t read. So, I chose Swan Song by Elin Hilderbrand. She is known for writing books that just feel like summer in Nantucket. Though she does have romance novels, Swan Song seems to focus on a mystery after a $22,000,000 summer home is purchased by a mysterious family. When the house burns down and someone goes missing the whole community is swept up and ready to solve it. Sounds like a good read.
The Second Pick
As soon as I picked this prompt, I knew which book I wanted to read. The prompt was adapted to film. Piece of cake for me. I chose Project Hail Mary. No, I still have not read this or seen the movie. And avoiding spoilers for this movie has been crazy, and not completely avoidable. So, I really want to read this book so I can watch the movie. For those of you who have no idea what this is about, for some reason, it’s a book about a man who wakes up, doesn’t remember who he is or where he is. He finds out he’s in space, millions of miles from home, with two dead people. What happens next? Hopefully I can find out this month.
2026 Reading a Small TBR
I decided to leave it at that. You see, with picking 5 books every month and not getting them done, it’s just too repetitive. Yes, this is 4 books, but technically, I only picked 2 prompts. Honestly, if I finish 3 books this month I will consider that a win. Clearly, my 75 Booked challenge has fallen off the wagon, much to my disappointment. Maybe I’ll restart it next year. This actually leads me into some news I want to share with you. It involves a change to all my reading blogs, and hopefully helps me reach more people in the book community.
An End to Reading Blogs
Yes, you read that correctly. It’s not happening right away, but if all goes according to plan, it will be happening in the next few months. I will be moving all my book content to YouTube. Sometimes just talking about books is easier than writing about them. And I will have the chance to reach other book lovers and connect with other book content creators as well. No, I’m not giving up my blog. YouTube will be strictly for book content. My other blogs, documenting my book journey, if I get back into my fitness journey, and more will be here. The hope is that I can use YouTube to generate a little bit more money for publishing. But I will keep you posted on that.
A Little Frustrated
I do confess that my husband and I are a little frustrated. Every time we think we can start to catch up on something, we are hit with another big expense. But we can’t give up. Bit by bit we will keep clawing towards our goals and keep trying to get things done. It’s going to take grit and determination and above all, discipline. But we can get there. Until then we need to remember that anything can happen if we try.
