As much as I love and look forward to the fall season, I’m also a little freaked out by how fast it’s come around this year. Part of me feels like I just made this list for last year. And yet here we are again.
My summer reading list was mostly enjoyable. I liked some of my school books more than some of my chosen leisure books. I expected that to happen at some level.
My doctoral reading list is much shorter this time around. Try to guess the theme:
- Excerpts from The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes
- The Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes
- The Big Sea by Langston Hughes
Aside from classwork, here’s what else I’m planning to read before the end of the year:
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
- The Calamities by Chuck Wendig
- The Once and Future Witch Hunt: A Descendant’s Reckoning from Salem to the Present by Alice Markham-Cantor
- Save Me an Orange by Hayley Grace
- Anaphora: New Poems by Scott Cairns
- Morsel by Carter Keane
- Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Ernest Cunningham
- Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men’s Journey to Bethlehem by Brent Landau
I’m going heavy on the seasonal-themed books, plus a few poetry collections.
What are you planning to read these last few months of 2026?
As always, here are some suggestions.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 