Let's Catch Up

Wow it has been a minute since my last update, sorry to keep everyone waiting. Work has been absolutely insane and while I have still been reading; I haven't had a lot of time to share my thoughts with all of you guys. Can't believe it is already May, so let's dive on into the highs and lows for everything I read in the first third of the year now that is over!

Let's start off with the negatives and get them out of the way.

Here are the worst books that I have read so far in 2026:

• Young World by Soman Chainani

• Songs for Other People's Weddings by David Levithan

Thank the lord that it is only two books so far, funny enough I actually disliked both books for very similar reasons. I would say though if I had to pick a worse one of the two books it would be Young World since I DNF'd it after 104 pages worth of reading. The reason though that I disliked both of these books though is because I felt both main characters have a severe lack of identity. They are both so reliant on other people that I did not get a sense of who they are when reading. The main character of Young World, Benton becomes the President in order to get the attention of a girl that he likes. She thinks that he doesn't have a cause or care about anything, so he sets out to prove her wrong. I think the point that drove it home for me to drop the book was after he got into his new role, he is more preoccupied with getting a text back from this girl then working in his new position.

I was lucky enough to get this as an ARC, I believe the release date will be at the end of this month.

Now that we have gotten the worst out of the way, let's get onto the good stuff. I have read so many good books and I have already talked about one or two of these here at the Nest.

So the BEST BOOKS I have read so far are:

• Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

• Burn Down Master's House by Clay Cane

• Scream with Me by Eleanor Johnson

• The Elsewhere Express by Samantha Sotto Yambao

Now I have already spoken about Culpability here, check out the Who's to Blame post for a more in depth review, but the other three titles were also phenomenal. I am a huge horror fan so I think thats why I thoroughly enjoyed Johnson and Cane's works. One of the most interesting aspects of horror is the social commentary that comes with it. So to see Cane weave this interconnected narrative that were based on the experience of real life slaves was amazing. As for Johnson, seeing how life imitates art and vice versa or in this case how horror movies and feminism within the United States are connected was eye opening. It was definitely my top Nonfiction book for this year so far.

Yambao's work is always whimsical, beautiful, and thought provoking. She has a real mastery of writing with an ability to conjure such vivid imagery that it almost feels dreamlike. In this novel we see a magical train that takes you where you're supposed to be comprised entirely of thoughts whether they are positive or negative. I also enjoyed the common theme of how we process grief as people was very interesting as grief is so common but everyone's process to get through it is different.

I did want to give a quick shout out to two comic series that I have loved reading so far and those are Sorcerer Supreme by Steve Orlando and Power Rangers by Ryan Parrott. I think both of these series are great at putting a new spin on a character or characters that are already previously established and make them their own. Sorcerer Supreme sees Wanda stepping into a new role as Sorcerer Supreme and all of the baggage that comes with it, while Power Rangers follows the original Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers as they become the New Omega Rangers and head out on an interstellar adventure with one of their greatest enemies, turned hopefully ally in tow.

In terms of my reading goals that I talked about in my New Years post I am nearly done with all my books that I purchased in 2025. I have about 10 books left in my existing TBR from 2025 and am looking forward to reading and hopefully enjoying them all. I have quite a few nonfiction titles in my remaining 2025 TBR so I'm looking forward to getting some insight into outside perspectives.

I am happy to be back and cannot wait to get back into the Nest. I have a whole new stack of books for this month hopefully it won't be another month before I post again. Happy reading everyone!!