I wanted to do a little post to sum up all of the books i’ve read in 2026 so far, but i’m really quite silly; I wrote this post so far in advanced of the ‘6 months’ point that now we’ve surpassed the 6 months and have gone into August! So yes, maybe there should be 8 books on here, but I’ve been writing posts like these for years (on my old blog before this) and I want to keep it consistent.
SO, ANYWAY!
At the end of 2025, I was sooo unmotivated when it came to reading (and to be honest for the whole year in general) and I didn’t even come close to hitting my reading target, but this year, I vowed it won’t be like that! This year, in my journal I have things like the alphabet challenge, book bingo, all things like that have to excited me to read (because nothing excites me more than journalling something) so I have really felt that has been a grand motivation to read.
Before we start, who wants to add me on Goodreads? Let’s be friends! I don’t always update, i’m not a flawless human, but I try my best to use it to track and blog my reading journey.
Now, let’s go! I’ve read a lot more than 6 books so far so here are my top six.
Book 1 – Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguch
This book is a sequel to Before The Coffee Gets Cold and I absolutely adored this first book by Toshikazu Kawaguch – it was a read that I didn’t put down and consumed in one go so I was happy to see there were not one, but many sequels on the horizon. So, this winter, I finally got myself around to reading Tales from the Cafe which I was ecstatically excited about and in my starting sesh I read a healthy 15% (I do wish it could have been more but I was on a journey, in the car, so I couldn’t really choose the distance of where we were going and how long it would take). PS – I only know this stat because I’m a goodreads fiend. I’ve continued reading the book from there and it has been just as captivating, whether i’ve had time for 1% or 20% at a time and all I have felt from the book is a weird kind of joy. No, the topics are not all joyous, not at all, but there is a cosiness I get from the cafe’s setting that makes me feel so safe and it’s almost like if I were there, I would be safe, so I like being engrossed in the tales.
Book 2 – And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
I read this book for Fareham Book Club (set up by The Girls Club – Hampshire), and I could not actually attend the session but I decided to read the month’s book anyway and feed back on the group chat, and it was a really good choice because though I love the classics I’m not generally into crime, so I’ve never read an Agatha Christie before! So it’s a lovely change to get me into something I wouldn’t usually read.
The only kind of crime i’ve ever been interested in is true crime which is of course set up very different, is real life, and is not literature. Christie’s crime therefore was laidout very differently to this, and also very different to how I expected. However I loved the character set up and the detail that went into the back story, before even considering the main plot itself. To me, it kind of felt like playing a game of cluedo but in every moment you learned something new about the characters that you didn’t expect. This story was so well written and it’s made me realise I would love to read more Christie novels, however I would have to have the spoons as it did take a lot of energy to pay attention to each storyline.
Book 3 – The Partition Project by Saadia Faruqi
The Partition Project was an absolutely eye opening book. For a middle grade read, I was highly educated by every word. The India/Pakistan partition was an issue and highly important event in history that is very much overlooked by many in western society, and I can myself say that I had heard of it but was in no way educated about it. All I knew was the two nations split, and I learned that from Doctor Who, but I didn’t know the highly poignant sociopolitical impact it had on both nations. This book cleverly teaches you about theses issues in a way that isn’t just telling you history – living the history first hand means it uses the magic of oral history and spoken word and learning through stories.
It also had the perfect balance of average teen life and friendship to make it that bit more balanced, but I loved how the author kept the cultural importance within that daily life.
Despite the age guidance, I really recommend people of all ages read this book for the gripping fictional storyline and history.
Book 4 – The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
My wife and I buddy read The Safekeep ready for SapphFic Soton’s March meet for their book club and we absolutely LOVED it. I felt like it was a bit of a slow start but that might have been because there was a lot of set up, and also I was expecting queerness and it was very heterosexual-aligned at the beginning, but regardless it was enjoyable so I persevered and got through to the more plot dense area where it got spicy… in terms of the plot ideas being a bit wild and also… your classic literature spice. I won’t give anything away but being set in the 1960s, The Safekeep drew in political issues of the time and also reigning political issues from the prior 30 years in Europe, especially surrounding religion and social class. The novel had us thinking of many issues whilst enjoying the plot of the collective characters’ lives. I really loved this book and would happily read it again, even this year! I wish I could read it again for the first time, having the first reactions and emotions to the book.
Book 5 – Small Boat by Vincent Delecroix
The small boat crisis is something I am passionate about; refugees belong, safely, in this country. I already knew what refugees put themselves through to try and travel to our country but reading about one specific journey, witnessing death in such an intimate way, and feeling so helpless hurt my soul. I knew I needed to do more, I knew when I couldn’t work the jobs to intimately save those individuals I could still make sure that each individual soul was thought about. Every refugee that fails to cross, every refugee that dies, that’s a human life – small boat crossings are so politicised that sometimes people forget about the individual life, but they’re just like you and me – just as worthy. I can’t save they boat, those people first hand, but I can campaign to make small boat crossings safer, to stop the need for small boat crossings, to make this country a safer and more accessible country for refugees, and that’s something I will do. I used to be so loud in my campaigning but being disabled has made it harder as I have many energy-limiting illnesses but I want to be louder once more, even if that means on social platforms rather than at protests – online advocacy is still advocacy, is accessible, and allows for audiences and activists with chronic illnesses to be in your spaces.
Book 6 – Bad Queer by Gayathiri Kamalakanthan
If you’ve never read a novel in verse, this is a great place to start. This beautifully unique story covered what it is like to be queer in a world where even in western states, there are divided opinions; Surya, the non-binary protagonist’s grandparents’ views on gender and sexuality raise concern, and it is clear there are struggles with the attitudes of the older generation. However, this book also shows there are not only difficulties of being young and queer, but those of acceptance, and this book discovers safe spaces for queerness and goes on to discover a layered exploration of identity; It also opens up these explorations in non-westernised settings due to Surya’s personal family dynamic.
This book is raw and powerful yet sensitive and intimate – the poetry like verse sings delicately and makes it an easy read, one I found I got through faster than your average novel and could take in better too.
If I could give this more than 5/5 stars I would, but that’s the maximum I could! so I of course gave it the 100% it deserves.
I feel this is a very important read and would be so beneficial for younger readers (not that it is a younger read) from an educational POV as it would be amazing for them to gain knowledge and it would also make them think of a lot of questions surrounding identity, something I didn’t until later in life and I really wish I had. As a non-binary human and reader, this excited me and did not disappoint – I wish there were more representation of myself so it was refreshing.
BONUS BOOK: Hunger by Roxanne Gay (DNF)
Trigger Warning – ED, Weight mention
I started reading this book as a member of Fat Club as I attended an event for Fat Club Brighton recently and wanted to continue the theme and attend another of their events – their book club. However I very quickly realised this book was not for me. Roxanne Gay is known for being a badass feminist and fat icon and as a fat feminist myself I wanted to read her work and take it back to a room full of other amazing fat people where we can openly discuss fatness and liberate ourselves based on her words. However, this book was full of numbers, weights, BMI talk, all in the first few chapters. I am a fat person in recovery from an eating disorder and I can handle a lot of things, even when people make comments about my own body, I can handle diet talk to an extent (though I prefer it to not be around) but what I absolutely cannot handle is numbers. Numbers are so triggering for me and most people in ED recovery, they’re an easy comparison, they’re something to google, they’re always triggering. I couldn’t get past chapter 5 and I found myself in a spiral of comparison, I found myself seeking scales, craving sums of past and present weights. This book is NOT GOOD if you have an ED or find yourself comparing yourself. This book was a DNF due to the triggers and I want you all to be aware of this if you are recommended it in fat spaces.
Overall
I have read these and some other unlisted books this year so far, but I tried to pick out my favourites/the ones that impacted me the most, in this post. My very favourite book that I’ve read this year is Van Der Wouden’s The Safekeep, yet this year I have been most impacted by Small Boat, for sure – the politics in the latter was loud but the history in the former intrigued me, plus we all love something a little queer.
A bit of joy:
Recently I’ve been enjoying frequenting October Books in Portswood, Southampton. October Books truly aligns with everything I stand for. They “promote voices of oppressed and minority groups including but not limited to those oppressed because of age, disability, gender, race, religion and sexuality”, as well as “promot[ing] books and ideas that challenge the status quo and we promote and support books, groups and organisations that are working towards social, economic and environmental equality and justice.” I’d love to write a full review on October Books sometime because i’ve realised whilst writing this (and typing and deleting my words over and over again) that I have so much to say about the small bookshop on Portswood Road but I didn’t want to flood this book review post with a whooooole style post so an October Books post is incoming! One bonus fact about October Books is that as well as books on activism, the shop sells political merchandise (at a very low price) – my favourite has to be the 25p slogan stickers. I’m obsessed.
October Books is also accessible and neurodivergent friendly which is fabulous news for all our beautiful crip-pals. It is such a safe place and I treasure time there. I cannot wait for another visit every time I leave and know their values create safer spaces for people globally which makes my heart warm.
If I could choose to buy a book from there over amazon, I would anyday.
These mark the most powerful, be it emotionally, narratively or politically, books i’ve read of 2026 – I’ve enjoyed getting back into reading and it makes up for all the time i’ve lost to chronic illness in one way or another. I really, really want to reach my reading goal this year! There is hope. I am optimistic that these will be books that you can enjoy too! Maybe you’ll give at least one a try, even if you don’t put them all on your TBR.
Happy reading, my dear friends!
Love always,
Laur xxx
(And don’t forget to follow the bookstagram! Okay, it’s my normal insta, but I do share about books whether it’s on posts or stories)
@holaurgraphic 
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