Tag Archives: reading intentions

What I’ve Been Reading Lately & Reading Intentions for 2026

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The new year was off to a promising start at least reading-wise, but not so much sharing-wise as this post is coming towards the end of February! Travel to Spain mid-month put that plan on pause.

In 2026, I look forward to doing another lap around the world. I have tweaked my world map to isolate the Nordic countries from Western Europe. There are now 12 regions and I’ll aim to visit at least one a month. View the 2026 edition of my Read Around the World challenge.

My Nordic Literature Reading Challenge continues slowly since there is no time constraint. This year I aim to read at least one book for each of the Nordic countries to make some more substantial progress.

I was hoping to commit to another reading challenge beyond my regular annual Read Around the World and Nordic literature challenges, but I haven’t had time to make those plans (yet).

Have you read any of the books I read in January?

The Last Party (DC Morgan #1) by Clare Mackintosh (2022) 📖
Narrated by Chloe Angharad Davies 🎧

This small town, slow burn murder mystery took me to the borderlands between England and Wales during present day. A new development of vacation homes has been built along the lake, and the wealthy newcomers have invited the local folk to a lavish new year’s eve party. The next morning the host is found dead in the lake. A local Welsh detective has to collaborate with an English detective in a case where practically all are suspects and secrets abound. I really enjoyed the setting and camaraderie between the detectives, and the story was satisfyingly deep and complex. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (2020)
Narrated by Barrie Kreinik 🎧

I really enjoyed this book and wonder if it might even have been a 5-star read for me if I had read it instead of listened to it. Then I would have picked up on the formatting that was not obvious in the audiobook but affected the listening experience a little (italics and section breaks). It’s subtly set in the very near future when the world is experiencing a climate-driven extinction crisis and most wild animal life has vanished. Franny is on a mission to follow the last Arctic terns on their migration from Greenland to Antarctica. Her mysterious past and what led her to this journey is slowly revealed through jumps back in time. It’s not a thriller but the suspense grew the closer she got to Antarctica.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Water Rituals (The White City Trilogy #2) by Eva García Sáenz (2017)
Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor (2021) 📖

A few years ago, I read the first installment of this trilogy and really liked it. Once again, I was transported to the Basque Country in northern Spain, immersed in a complex investigation centered on ritualistic murders rooted in the area’s history from long ago, both elements that really intrigued me. However, I was turned off by the main character’s romance with his superior and how unrealistically his muteness from an incident in the first book was handled. Over time that did improve as he healed so I finished the book on a positive note in that sense and am openminded to finishing the trilogy. ⭐️⭐

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (2024)
Narrated by the author 🎧

I loved the author’s The Night Tiger (Reading Lately, July 2019) and her latest has been on my radar since it was published. It’s a mystery that takes place in Manchuria in Northeast China in 1908. The storyline alternates between Bao, who is investigating the death of a courtesan found frozen in a doorway, and Snow, a fox in the form of a woman, who is on a quest to avenge the death of her child. Slowly but surely the storylines merge. I really enjoyed this mix of genres with its insight into the East Asian cultures and folklore of the time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What have you been reading lately?

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Related posts:

  1. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (February & March 2025)
  3. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (November & December 2019)

My Reading Intentions for 2022

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There’s no time like a new year to set some intentions, in this case related to reading. 2021 saw many wonderful reading experiences (see my Goodreads list of completed books). Highlights included completing the Kristin Lavransdatter trilogy, listening to the 40-hour-plus The Eighth Life, discovering new Scandinavian authors to return to (in particular Norwegian Ingvild H. Rishøi and Swedes M.T. Edvardsson and Stina Jackson), and reading around the world. In the hopes of having an equally satisfying and fulfilling year in 2022, I’ve set some intentions to help guide my reading. Otherwise, I might find myself in a state of limbo due to indecision.

Continue with my Scandinavian reading 🇳🇴🇸🇪🇩🇰

This is a no brainer intention, one that I’ve had for several years now. For the past 4 years, I’ve done it by creating a Scandinavian Reading Challenge with prompts to complete in no particular order, and I’ve really enjoyed expanding and diversifying my Scandinavian reading that way. This year, however, instead of creating my own prompts, I will be participating in The Book Girls’ Decades Reading Challenge and reading a Scandinavian book, most likely a Norwegian one, that takes place in each of the decades from the 1910s through the 2010s finishing with a book spanning multiple decades – 12 books in total. I’m very excited about the new iteration of my Scandinavian Reading Challenge. You can read more about it on its page, 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge.

Read off my shelf 📚

This year I would really like to make progress on reading books I already have on my shelf. I look forward to doing the research and finding appropriate books for my 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge, but I will prioritize books I already have on my shelf, which includes many in Norwegian. I also have many unread Book of the Month selections waiting patiently and I want to work on reading those as well.

Read from more places in the world 🌍 🌎

I’ve always enjoyed reading from around the world, but I haven’t necessarily kept track of places I’ve visited through books. Last year I discovered and worked on The Book Girls’ Book Voyage: Read Around the World reading challenge. I didn’t follow their timeline, just their map. I read books for every area of the world, many times multiple books for an area, but moving forward I would like to read more from certain areas: Central and South America, Middle East, and Africa. In August, Women in Translation Month returns, a favorite reading event, and I will continue to focus on authors from outside Western Europe for that.

Improve with sharing on Instagram

I enjoy the bookstagram community very much. I have my favorite accounts that I follow. My intention when I set up my account a few years ago was to share my interest and love of Scandinavian books and other books in translation and interact with fellow readers and participate in the community. It hasn’t quite worked out that way so I’ll see how I can improve with that this year.

I am excited about the new reading year ahead, in particular my 2022 Scandinavian Reading Challenge. Have you set any reading intentions for the new year?

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2021) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update 
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (November & December 2019)
  3. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge

My 2020 Reading Intentions & Introducing the 2020 #ScandiReadingChallenge

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Last year I was a bit overwhelmed trying to complete three reading challenges while also reading books for book clubs and books just because I felt like it. It didn’t help that I started a full-time job in the fall and found myself with less reading time/energy. I also have so many unread books on my physical and digital bookshelves that I really want to read, in particular Norwegian books that I’ve received as gifts. Therefore, this year my reading intentions are as follows:

  1. Keep up with my Scandinavian reading with another self-made Scandinavian reading challenge
  2. Participate in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2020 Reading Challenge
  3. Read off my shelf which includes making progress on my Book of the Month selections that I haven’t read yet (#unreadBOTMchallenge)
  4. Read books recommended by friends and work colleagues so we can discuss in real life
  5. Read books just because I feel like it

Last year I was a serious and dedicated participant in the Reading Women Challenge. Working to complete that challenge’s 26 very specific prompts was an interesting and rewarding task (see my completed reads here). However, it was also very time-consuming. If books I read this year happen to fulfill categories for the 2020 Reading Women Challenge, great! Or if I need inspiration, I’ll certainly refer to it. But I won’t sacrifice the above intentions to complete that challenge this year.

With that, I’d like to introduce the 2020 Scandinavian Reading Challenge. It is based on feedback I’ve received from last year’s participants and my own desires for the year.

I hope you’ll consider participating! You do not need to commit to completing all the prompts. My hope is just that you’ll consider Scandinavian/Nordic books for your reading and that we can share reading ideas and thoughts on what we’ve read throughout the year.

For more details and a printable PDF to record your reading, visit 2020 Scandinavian Reading Challenge.

What prompt looks most interesting to you?

Related posts:

  1. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (December 2020) & #ScandiReadingChallenge Update
  2. What I’ve Been Reading Lately (November & December 2019)
  3. Introducing the 2021 #ScandiReadingChallenge