Hi. I’m here. No grand reintroduction, no perfectly thought-out “why I’m back” speech, just me, opening the door a little and letting some fresh air in.

This year, like every year, I set a reading goal and I’ve made some definate headway on it. Here are a few books I’ve read so far in 2026. nothing fancy, no ranking, just the ones that stuck.

Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life by Marta McDowell made me want to romanticize everything a little more. Dirt under my nails, scribbling ideas in the margins, paying attention to the quiet, growing things. It felt gentle and inspiring in that soft, unassuming way. If you like either gardening or Beatrix Potter biographies, you’ll love this.

A Street Cat Named Bob by James Bowen surprised me. I saw it on the shelf in a bookstore on a date with my husband and, in an effort to read more non-fiction, grabbed it. It’s simple, but in a way that sneaks up on you. It reminded me how much small, steady love matters. Also… orange cats are apparently life-changing.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir was my “this is not what I usually read but I’m all in” book. It’s smart and funny and somehow still really human, even when it’s not, technically, only about humans. I didn’t expect to care as much as I did, but here we are. By the way, the movie was excellent.

The next one is a recommendation from my grandma: Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, but if I’m being honest, it was the follow-up, the one about her daughter, that really got me. There’s something about watching strength echo into the next generation that just… stays. It felt heavier in a good way.

And then The Witches’ Orchard, by Archer Sullivan, which felt like a quiet little spell of a book. A little eerie, a little dreamy, not in a rush to explain itself. This is as far spooky as I’ll go, and a favorite kind of story to sink into when the house is finally quiet. Apparently this is going to be a series and I’m here for it.

No big takeaway, no tidy conclusion, just a handful of books I’ve been carrying around with me so far in 2026.

Next on the to-be-read list:

• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
• The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto
• Nightengale by Kristen Hannah
• Jane Austin’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
• The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
• Mailman by Stephen Starring Grant