Recent reads 2026.

I realize that I am way behind the game in taking advantage of this option, but audio books are changing my life this year. I always say I want to read more, and while I love sitting down and holding a book in my hands, my time availability to do that with kids and activities isn't a lot. While I would love to do that more, I am also very content to try to embrace this season, and now I am finally learning to do that while simultaneously increasing my reading desires through audio books.

I have a super long list saved on my phone of the books I hear recommended that I'd like to read, so that's where I go to start my searches for books. While many are wonderful, of course everyone has different opinions on what they enjoy. I am trying to be better at quitting a book that just isn't hitting me right, which is hard because I don't like not finishing something, but life is too short to continue to drag through a book just for the sake of finishing it if you aren't enjoying it. (If you can, obviously homework or something is a different story.) That said, this year I started but did not finish These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey, and The Wedding People by Alison Espach. Good for them (seriously) at writing a book, but in terms of recommendations, I just didn't love them.

Here are a few that I did finish and enjoy!

How To Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told by Harrison Scott Key- He tells the story of the infidelity of his wife in their marriage and it was unlike any other marriage book I've ever read. It was so honest and surprisingly told with sharp wit. It's a powerful and memorable story of devotion, forgiveness, fierceness, and staying together against all odds. 

Erasing Hell: What God Said about Eternity and What We've Made Up by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle- This one actually wasn't on my book list, but I was waiting for other books to be available and needed something to listen to while I was cleaning that was available now, and chose this. It was very interesting and thought provoking! It wasn't written in direct response to Rob Bell's book Love Wins, where he challenges the traditional evangelical view of hell as eternal torment, but they referenced that and counteracted with searching what the Bible says about hell and the reality of it. While it was good, I would say that this would be better to read in actual book format and not via audio- I had trouble grasping all the concepts without really focusing on what was on the page in front of me. It's also a short read- it was about 3.5 hours to listen to.

Kind Is the New Classy: The Power of Living Graciously by Candace Cameron Bure- While I love Candace as DJ from Full House, this was my first time reading one of her books. I enjoyed listening to her voice read this. It was a fun read, practical and encouraging. I enjoyed hearing about her own personal stories and experiences woven through, and she talks about being kind and how that can be revolutionary in our world where kindness is often unexpected and countercultural. Kindness matters and changes the world.

Good Morning, Monster by Catherine Gildiner- Wow, I will be thinking about this book for a long time! This book is almost like five books in one, because it's written by a therapist about five different patients she had and their unbelievable stories of overcoming. I was so moved hearing about what these people endured and their determination to persevere. It was so insightful. 

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Young Doctor by Adam Kay- This is a book of his journals as a doctor. It was incredibly open, funny, and candid about what it was really like- the highs and the lows. I enjoyed it- there were many funny and crazy stories. I personally thought it ended a bit abruptly, with suddenly shifting to how he was no longer a doctor and a call to reform how overworked and underpaid doctors are. Overall, it was a good and interesting read. He is British, so it was fun to listen to his accent and the differences in English terms.