Sometimes we make choices without really thinking about them. Other times we agonize over a choice or decision, wanting to be sure to make the best one. I wanted to do that with my reading list for the year. So many books and so little time. Yet, almost without realizing it, I made my choices. Some of them I started last year and carried over to finish.  

I wonder if anyone else is like me. I figure probably not. Most people probably just pick up a book and start reading. Oh no. I have to make a production out of it in my head. I mean I can’t just grab a book. What if I grab the wrong one? Then the whole year is off on the wrong foot, and the tone is set. It must be just right, see. The right book can set the tone for the whole year of reading. Anyone with me? No? I was afraid of that.  

Of course, your reading plan can go off the rail at any time. Last year I started with Killing the Witches by Bill O’Reilly. I usually like this series and looked forward to reading this book. I was disappointed. As I was by The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. That ending, really?  Big disappointment there. I was also disappointed by The Housemaid by Frieda McFadden. So much so, I didn’t even finish it. My year was redeemed with other books such as Little Buried Secrets by Cheryl Bradshaw, Soulbound by Bethany Adams, When Birds Fall Silent by Shana Frost, Raven Black by Ann Cleeves and the four books I read by Brandon Sanderson. I’m not going into a review of each of the books, but I enjoyed them and would read another by each of the authors.  

My beginning list contains authors I have never read or heard of before, except for one, I have heard of Robert Whitlow but am not sure I have read any of his books, so it will be fun to read his newest, Witness Protection.   

So, here are my first five selections for the 2026 reading year. 

Death on the Doorstep by Mary Lancaster 

Codex Arcanum 1888 by Tasmin Turner 

Witness Protection by Robert Whitlow 

Super Moon Protocol by J.T. Fluhart 

Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness 

Of course I have already finished Death on the Doorstep, by Mary Lancaster and you can find my review here on All for One. Not on the list is the third Mistborn book by Brandon Sanderson, Hero of the Ages. I started it last year and need to finish.  I usually read a couple of chapters in bed before I turn out the light, which is why it has taken me so long to finish. I am currently reading Codex Arcanum 1888 by Tasmin Turner and Super Moon Protocol by J.T. Fluhart. I am enjoying both books although they are very different in tone and structure and language. I am enjoying one more than the other but more on that later. I will give my review on both when I have finished them.  

How do you select your books? Do you line them out for the year? Or do you wait and see what comes out and go from there? Maybe a mix of the two?  

What makes the grade? Are there any topics or genres that are off limits? What sections do you pass right over in the bookstore?  

I hope all of us say that the one book above all others that is on the list without question is our Bible. May you be blessed as you read the Word of God this year. If you need ideas where to start, there are abundant options online to choose to get you started. The Bible app always has some good reading plans. If you are new to Bible reading, then I hope is the year you start.  

Let me know your choices. I look forward to hearing from you. 

All for One 

Angela