Recent reads 2026.

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green- I kept seeing this book pop up and thought I'd give it a whirl at something different than what I usually read. It's about the history of tuberculosis; I enjoyed hearing his personal stories of people affected by it and it was interesting how it was and is shaped in other ways like socioeconomic status and access to treatment. He is passionate about spreading awareness about how deadly and rampant tuberculosis still is, yet treatable and preventable. It wasn't a favorite read, but interesting enough to finish.

Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney- This book begins with author Grady Green receiving the news that his book made the NY Times bestseller list and calls his wife. While on the phone, he hears her say she sees something in the road and stops the car, and then the phone goes silent and she disappears. A year later, Grady goes to a remote Scottish island to work on a book, and sees a woman there who looks exactly like his wife. Details come out about both of their pasts and their marriage together and how it wasn't what it seemed. Everything coming together in the end and the ending itself was completely nuts to me and I ended the book confused, annoyed, and in shock. It was interesting enough for me to finish to find out what happened, but then I was mad and sad about how it ended? I still don't know how I fully feel about it and can't say I'd recommend it.

The Way of the Wildflower: Gospel Meditations to Unburden Your Anxious Soul by Ruth Chou Simons- This was so good! It's broken into thirty devotions about the five ways of the wildflower- dependency, freedom, resilience, unhurriedness, and belovedness. Each of the thirty days are paired with a wildflower and how the traits of that flower connect with the principal, and such good truths and Scripture are woven into each one too. 

Tired of Being Tired: Receive God's Realistic Rest for Your Soul-Deep Exhaustion by Jess Connolly- This was a really good guide for examining how and why you are so tired, what type of tired you are experiencing, and ways to try to overcome. I liked how she talked about physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual tiredness and what they mean and how they can present. Jesus came to provide rest for our weary souls, and she shares about new rhythms we can try to implement to live the abundant life God intends. This was a great topic to dive into and learn more about!

That's A Great Question, I'd Love To Tell You by Elyse Myers- I have enjoyed following Elyse's instagram page and was eager to read her book. She shared lots of different stories from her life and I love how she's not afraid to talk about things like neurodivergence, body image, and her inner voice and how weird that can be sometimes but is funny and relatable to listen to! I loved how she talked about getting together with her husband Jonas at the end and their deep love for each other. It was a bit different of a book than I was expecting, but I also don't really know what I was expecting, if that makes sense, but it was a mostly enjoyable listen!