2026 WRITING CHALLENGE CHECK-IN

June 19, 2026

I need to write the day I start drafting posts because sometimes they just sit there. 

The first book of the year was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Like I mentioned in my Goodreads review, I read it because it checked off several reading challenges. That's how I've been deciding on my next reads: whether they're on my TBR and whether they fulfill any challenges. I liked this book, and it made me cry. Friendship, misogyny, loss, disability, and gaming. The book provided insight into game design, which I know nothing about, and the characters frustrated me at times. I liked the story, but I didn't like the characters, which is wild.

Read a lot of manga, but significantly less than last year. My goal this year was to read more ACTUAL books. 

• Journal with Witch: I picked up after watching two episodes of the anime. I didn't want to wait for the next episode, so I started reading. It is a sweet story about a niece and her aunt overcoming the loss of her mother/estranged sister and learning to live together. It explores love in familial dynamics, adulthood, and mental health. It was a very sweet story, but I dropped the series after 4 volumes because I wasn't super invested.
• Tokyo Babylon: I read most of the series towards the end of 2025, but read the finale in 2026. I read it because X/1999 is unfinished, and I thought reading this series would give me some closure and more backstory. It did not give me any closure; in fact, I was very angry with how abruptly it ended. It's a great series that was really touching and explored topics I haven't encountered in manga, like being a migrant worker in Tokyo. It handled darker topics with compassion that was heart-warming to read. I think haphazardly finishing stories is CLAMP's style, I mean, look at Tsubasa and xxxHOLIC. Love them, but my God, I guess leaving shit on hiatus is better than actually completing a work...
• Colette Decides to Die: I love a shoujo manga. A little Greek Mythology? Oh, Middle School me is living. Cute story. The characters, Colette and the Otter, are adorable! While I think Hades is good-looking, his character design gets worse towards volume 6. Face-on is not his angle!

Hated The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I was listening to the audiobook just to say I read it. Starling House was also difficult for me to invest in. It took a while, and I'm not quite sure what that ending was. Brat by Gabriel Smith was an audiobook suggestion when I had Spotify Premium. I read it going in blind and felt blind after reading. It's an odd story about alternate realities, which was confusing, but I think it was supposed to be. Daughter of the Moon Goddess checks off the makings of a good story: interesting mythology, good world-building, well-paced, humanistic/realistic characters, etc., but it's lackluster. 

"Accidentally" read Dramione fanfic, twice! Truly a coincidence! I didn't seek them out. One was for a Goodreads challenge! The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy was doing too much, but didn't do enough. Tepid bathwater. I think the banter is cute, but I don't understand why the story is a duology. There wasn't enough plot for this to be ONE installment. It's at most Part 1 of a SINGULAR fantasy novel. Alchemised by SenLinYu was long. Dead dove: do not eat. Still gave it 4-stars though... wouldn't read again. 

My Mayor told me to stay home during the winter storm and read Heated Rivalry with the help of our public library system, which I did! It's cute.

Loved reading The Wedding People on the plane, even though doing so (the act of reading on a plane; not the story itself) made me incredibly ill. It was devastating at times, but the unhinged behavior, moments of tenderness, and hope rounded out the story. Listened to Pride and Prejudice for the rest of the flight. Methinks Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine de Bourgh might've made me ill.

The Time Traveler's Wife is a no. The Unworthy is a no, too.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng was a slay of epic proportions. Read this in the dark of rural Fuzhou and was scared shitless. 

The God of the Woods was probably my favorite read of the year. It was long and difficult to get into, but my oh my was it delicious, and I couldn't stop myself from reaching for more. 

When you have a high that high, you need something to take you down: Mate by Ali Hazelwood, From Blood and Ash by JLA (and later on A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire), and Mary by Nat Cassidy.

Yellowface added to the long list of books about unhinged white women. It felt meta and like R.F. Kuang was taking the piss out of herself. 

The Passengers on the Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa, A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa, and The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop by Takuya Asakura are all in the same genre of easy-to-read, heartwarming stories. That being said, The Passengers on the Hankyu Line was the best out of the three. 

More stories about white women doing unhinged things and acting out of pocket: Cruelty Free by Caroline Glenn and Sky Daddy by Kate Folk. If you want some humor, go for the latter, but you're not missing much if you skip both of them. 

Finally read The Love Hypothesis, which was underwhelming. After reading one Ali Hazelwood novel, you've basically read them all. Sure, Olive is sweet. I liked that it talks about the financial struggles of being a student (Love, Theoretically also delves into how the financial struggles in academia continue) and the misogyny you encounter being a woman in STEM. Endearing friendships. Overall, a light, cute, enjoyable read, unlike this next one.

Fox by Joyce Carol Oates... I picked this on a whim from the long books challenge because I recognized Joyce Carol Oates. Read some of her work in high school; I still think about "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" because it left me shaking. Fox will leave you shaking in anger and heaving in disgust. Absolutely awful. This is my Goodreads review. It's a long book, you're stuck with a character you hate narrating for a big chunk of it, and that ending is deeply unsatisfactory and confusing. 

Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito continues my trend of reading unhinged, out-of-pocket protagonists. THE BABY!!!! A murder spree. I read it in my head with a Cockney accent. 

I was a big fan of Elise Kova's Air Awakens series and was a member of her street team. I've read some of her other works, but I stopped following her updates. Saw Arcana Academy on the giveaway page, didn't win, and it was on my TBR ever since. The last tarot-inspired series I read was The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole... now that's some juicy book tea. 

Anyway, it's that series with a little Throne of Glass and Harry Potter (any time a story takes place in a school, that's the first series I think to compare). Well-paced, enjoyable, intriguing magical system that's like Yu-Gi-Oh. If you liked all those things I listed, and you like a little spicy times (I wish there were more... hehehe), definitely worth reading. Now is the time to start because the second installment is coming out on July 21, 2026! Binge-read them back to back! I sincerely hope that it's a short series. Please, keep it Sabrina Carpenter: short, sweet, with some euphemisms or double entendres. 

My Dear You by Rachel Khong is a great selection of short stories. As always, some stories are stronger than others, and some leave you wanting more. I wanted the first story to be built up into a full novel. 

Over halfway into the year, and I'm 80% done towards my challenge to read 50. If only the queues for novels weren't so long, I'd be able to collect all the challenge badges. Comment below your favorite book so far, and if it satisfies a challenge, I will read it!