My End-of-Summer 2026 Reading Slump
It is mid-September and I feel like I am in such a reading slump. I listened to 30 books since August 1st and only 1 was a five-star read for me. Eight others I rated 4-stars, but everything else was just blah ~ 3-stars or below. That is over 285 hours of books and not even a third were worth it to me!
I do have to admit there were eight volumes of the Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower in the mix. The higher the volume number got, the lower the stars I gave it. This series started out ok, getting to know the characters and the town, but after awhile I found it quite boring and I really didn’t care what happened. I didn’t want to just give up though, so I read all of them in August.
Maybe I wanted to just rush through them because I saw the author has created more news for the characters in these volumes. Beth Brower’s Substack is a mix of newsletter, scenes and short stories from the fictional town the characters are in: https://bethbrower.substack.com/
If You’re In a Reading Slump, Try This Book
My only five-star read was Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. I didn’t think I was going to like this book since the whole ‘octopus’ thing and how unbelievable it was. But, in the end, it all came together quite well and I did enjoy it. I may go on to watch the movie, but I haven’t watched TV at all since I started reading in April 2026.
I read the book for free on Libby, but if you want to buy on Amazon since they have many different formats, here is my affiliate link [I make a small commission if you decide to purchase from this link]: Remarkably Bright Creatures on Amazon
Need More Book Recommendations?
Try This Post: Favorite Books of 2026 – As of June 15, 2026