Texas Books and ToB 2026

Time to catch up on some recent reading! I think I either started or finished all of these during my recent work trip to Texas.  

For the first time I can remember, I'm slightly nervous about my reading goal for the year - I need to finish 10 more books before the end of the year.  I still think I'll do it but normally I'm done well before December. Anyway, adding eight more books to the list today, and introducing the tag for the 2026 Tournament of Books, since the longlist is out. 

The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark (by Sabrina Kleckner)

The only YA book on the list, actually! I liked this messy main character, and thought her coming of age story felt realistic and cute. There is some excellent trans rep that was handled subtly but realistically.  I loved that finding her artistic voice was part of her story. Her brother was kind of an asshole to her throughout, though. Overall cute and fine.

The Killer Question (by Janice Hallett) and The Last Devil to Die (by Richard Osman) 

I read these two cozy mysteries back to back and they made an interesting counterpoint to each other.  Killer Question is an epistolary novel set in the world of competitive trivia contests, which I absolutely loved. The twists here are great and genuinely surprising.   The Last Devil to Die is part of the Thursday Murder Club series and has more real emotion and deeper characters, but the mystery wasn't particularly surprising or satisfying. Really, the relationships and emotion carry this one. I enjoyed them both for different reasons. 

In a Glass Grimmly (by Adam Gidwitz) 

Part of a middle grade series that Mina enjoys so this was a read-aloud for us.  Very clever and great dark humor. Kind of what I expected and did not get from Gordon Korman, e.g. a truly funny middle grade book.  I have the third book on our shelf to start on next (and I bought her a new signed Scalzi book for Christmas, since she also enjoyed Agent to the Stars this year.) 

The Shattering Peace (by John Scalzi) 

Did someone say Scalzi?  It's been a minute since I read the Old Man's War series so I was glad of his usual formula, where there's enough context-setting to let the reader catch up.  A solid installment, cleverly written and a fun romp. As usual, my only criticism is that all of his snarky-voiced characters and their banter are interchangeable, but this is easy to look past when all the characters are so fun anyway. 

What We Knew: Terror, Mass Murder, and Everyday Life in Nazi Germany (by Eric Johnson and Karl-Heinz Reuband) and The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter (by John Douglas)

And now for something completely different: nonfiction about dark topics with long subtitles. I'll dispense with the second one first - Douglas is smart but also full of himself, and clearly thrilled to bits there's a TV show about him as he brings it up a lot and even put it in the title. (I still would love a third season though.) Still, he presents some fascinating case studies about interviews with killers and if that's your thing, you'll enjoy it.

What We Knew on the other hand is a scholarly book, an oral history of Germany from 1933-1945, and explores what German Jews and non-Jews knew about the mass murder that started in earnest in 1942.  First there are 40 oral histories and then the authors take a look at large-scale survey data. Absolutely worth a read if this chapter of history is interesting to you. 

Sky Daddy (by Kate Folk) 

My first ToB read, about a woman who is sexually attracted to airplanes and believes her destiny is to marry one by dying in a plane crash.  Audacious and un-put-downable, I hope it makes the shortlist because I'd love to talk about it. (Is the ending a cop out or is it genius? I truly can't decide.)  I haven't read any of the other books on the longlist (although I had a couple on hold already) so I'd better pick the next one fast.