Books On My Winter 2025-2026 TBR

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

Books On My Winter 2025-2026 TBR

I cannot believe this year is almost done and that we're already on the 2025-2026 Winter TBR. Here are ten of the books I would like to read during this season. 

1. Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix

    - A cozy Regency fantasy which I have owned for many years. This list is going to have many cozy fantasy stories. One of the many books on my 26 books to read in 2026 list. 

 

2. Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

    -  I fell in love with Heather's writing style earlier this year with the Emily Wilde series. This is another one of the books on my 26 in 2026 list. I have a physical ARC that I won from Heather Fawcett's newsletter and cannot wait to pick this up. 

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

    - Another classic I would like to read very soon. 

4. The Great Disillusionment of Nick and Jay by Ryan Douglass 

    - This is a YA queer retelling of The Great Gatsby that I am so excited to get to in the winter. I have an ARC of it and will be reading it soon. 

5. This Wretched Beauty: A Dorian Gray Remix by Elle Grenier 

    - I have loved the remixed classic series and have been hoping they would do a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray for years! This book sounds absolutely incredible and I cannot wait to get to it. 

6. Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum 

    -  A contemporary queer fairy tale that sounds like it is going to be so good. 

 

7. The East Wind (The Four Winds #4) by Alexandria Warwick 

   - The final book in The Four Winds series. I cannot wait to finally finish this series and will be doing so soon with my ARC. This is a series I have enjoyed so much over the years. 

8. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith 

   - I have been wanting to read this book for many years and found it at a book sale just recently. It sounds absolutely wonderful and I cannot wait to finally read it. This is another book on my 26 in 2026 list. 

9. S. by J.J. Abrams & Doug Dorst

   -A book I have owned for a long time and plan on finally reading it next year. It is such an interestingly constructed book. Another book that is on my 26 in 2026 list. 

10. Paladin's Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher 

   - Next year, I plan on reading the entire The Saint of Steel series and will definitely read this book sometime in the winter. 

 

2025 The Christmas Songs Book Tag 🎄🎶

 This tag was created by The Artsy Reader Girl on her blog. 

She created this tag in 2015 and does it on her blog every year. I decided to answer these questions based on the books that I read in 2025. You can do this or answer them with any books. Whichever you prefer. 

1. “All I Want for Christmas Is You”: Favorite bookish couple. 

🎄 Benny and Río from When the Tides Held the Moon by Venessa Vida Kelley-  One of my favorite romances of the year. I absolutely adored the relationship between Benny and Río. 

2. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”: Name a book where a character is away from home (school, vacation, etc.).

🎶 Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery- I read this book in November and I absolutely adored it. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series next year. 

 

3. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”: Name your favorite “little” book (children’s book, short story, novella, etc.).

🕯️ Daedalus is Dead by Seamus Sullivan- This book focuses on the aftermath of the myth of Icarus and Daedalus and how it affects on everyone. It is a brilliant retelling. One of my favorite aspects of a retelling is seeing the directions that a writer chooses to take such a well-known story. Seamus Sullivan did a wonderful job breathing new life into a myth I have loved most of my life. Utterly brilliant novella.

4. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town“: What book(s) do you hope Santa brings you this year?

☃️ The Collected Poems of J. R. R. Tolkien Box Set- I have been wanting this box set ever since it first came out last year. It has all of Tolkien's poems that span almost a 70 year time period. 

 

5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”: Which book turned your nose red (made you cry)?

🌟 The South Wind (The Four Winds #3) by Alexandria Warwick- This book had a lot of family trauma in it and made me emotional. I did not expect that it was going to make me cry. 

6. “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”: Your favorite book/kind of book to read during the holidays.

🎅 Hogfather (Discworld #20) by Terry Pratchett- It has become a tradition for me to reread this book each year at Christmastime. Terry's writing always brings me such joy, especially this story. I will be reading this today for my birthday. Cannot wait!

7. “We Three Kings”: Your favorite trilogy/book from a trilogy (or feel free to fudge it and pick a book from a series).

❄️ Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen (Little Thieves #3) - The third and final book in the Little Thieves trilogy came out earlier this year and I adored it. It is one of the best trilogies I have ever read. Vanya became a favorite character of mine from her first introduction in Little Thieves many years ago. It has been a joy to see her growth throughout this trilogy. 

Some of my favorite parts of these books are the little stories Vanja tells throughout and her relationship with Emeric. It was great to see them begrudgingly having to work together in this book. Their banter is my favorite and I will never get enough of it. Emeric is such a sweetheart. Their romance is everything to me. 

I cannot recommend this series enough. It would definitely get six stars out of five from me. Perfect in every single way. Including Margaret's beautiful illustrations and the wonderful narration from Saskia Maarleveld. She has done a wonderful job narrating Vanya's world and her voice. 

8. “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow”: A character you would love to be snowed in with.

🔔 Hoid/Wit from the Cosmere books by Brandon Sanderson- I would love to have Hoid/Wit telling me stories while we are snowed in together. He is my favorite character that I read about this year, just like last year. 

9. “Last Christmas”: A book that seriously let you down.

🎁 Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil by Oliver Darkshire- I went into this book believing I would absolutely adore it, but it just wasn't what I thought it would be. The interesting premise drew me in. Isabella is a protagonist who kept me invested in her story throughout the entire book, along with her grimalkin companion. 

I just wish it would have solely focused on her learning magic instead of the goblin side plot. Also, I did not enjoy reading from the perspective of Mr. Nagg in the slightest. I'm not a fan of reading about men hating their wives so vehemently. He was just terrible to read about. 

10. “White Christmas”: An upcoming release you’re dreaming about.

🦌 Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar- One of the many 2026 releases that I have been dreaming about is Amal El-Mohtar's story collection Seasons of Glass and Iron. I read her novella: The River Has Roots this year and highly enjoyed it. This short story collection sounds like it is going to be perfect.