2026 Reading List

BOOKS & STORIES I FINISHED READING IN 2026 

9) Bitter Fall (Detective Justice Book 2)

~ by Bruce Robert Coffin

See entry #6 below. Another intriguing murder case, plus a couple side cases. Book 3 comes out in August... not sure I can wait that long!

8) Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman

~ by Brooke Shields

I've been familiar with Brooke Shields' fame for what seems like forever; she is only a couple years younger than I am. Although at times this book seemed repetitive (a "we're great, ladies" message), I did enjoy reading about her life. She mentioned a documentary that was made about her, which I was able to watch on Hulu.

7) Famous Once: A Short Story

~ by Jane Green

Astrid, ex-wife of a rock and roll star, works to mend her relationship with her daughter as they try to piece together the truth about a past tragedy. The story moved fast, and it was indeed short!

6) Crimson Thaw (Detective Justice Book 1)

~ by Bruce Robert Coffin

Bruce graduated from high school the year after I did. It's fun to read books published by a kid you grew up knowing! I believe this is the third series for him as an author (the second solo). Maine State Police Detective Brock Justice gets assigned a new partner, a trainee named Chloe. Their first case? The murder of a man found in the bottom of a pond... handcuffed to a snowmobile. I liked the story, and I'll be reading Book 2 shortly!

5) Can You Solve the Murder?: An Interactive Crime Novel

~ by Antony Johnston

Technically I didn't read this whole book; some sections I didn't get to read because I wasn't directed to them. And... yes... I solved the mystery! It was a fun way to spend a snow day.

4) Waif and Strays

~ by O. Henry

Another collection of short stories by the master of irony, O. Henry.

3) The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories

~ by George MacDonald

A handful of fairy tale stories. Enjoyable.

2) Jesus' Final Warning: Hearing Christ's Voice in the Midst of Chaos

~ by David Jeremiah

This book was written in the lead up to Y2K, so it was interesting to read it over 25 years later! But he easily could have written this recently. God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Scripture, the nature of sinful man... all are still the same.

1) The Book of Purrs: everyday thoughts from your feline friends

~ by Luis Coelho

This is a cute book of one-page comics starring cats. My favorites are those that address the quirkiness of cats and the mutual love between cats and humans. I even learned a couple new terms: smol and blep. Don't know what they mean? Google them yourself, ha ha! 😉