Latest / Galaxies and Goddesses: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookcast / Reading Goals Revisited: Our Mid-Year 2026 Book Check-In
Transcript
- Mid-Year Check-in 2026 Andrea: I’m Andrea. Elizabeth: And I'm Elizabeth. Andrea: Join us as we chat about sci-fi and fantasy books and beyond. Elizabeth: Looking for a little escape from reality. So are we. Andrea: Welcome to Galaxies and Goddesses. Elizabeth: On this week's episode, we're doing a check-in on our mid-year stats for 2026. Andrea: We'll be checking in on our New Year's resolutions, reading goals, and some standout reads for the year so far. Elizabeth: Along with a bit of our bingo reading progress. Andrea: Let's get started. Andrea: So at the beginning of the year, we put together a post for our Instagram page that had a few New Year's resolutions, for the podcast and ourselves in general. We've actually checked off a few of these goals for the year, which will be fun to talk about. Andrea: The first one was to: "Read more books that I already own." Andrea: So, do you feel like you're chugging through your backlist of books or books on your shelf at home, Elizabeth? Elizabeth: Yes. I have read a few books from the library, most of the books that I've read are books that I already own. But I think the goal of that resolution is to hopefully maybe thin down the number of books that I own. But what inevitably happens is I think I've brought more books back to my house, and added them to the shelf than I have actually managed to finish reading, and then proceed to pass them on, move them out of the house. Elizabeth: But yeah, I have read a lot of books that I already own. What about you? Andrea: I think I've read a few books that I own, but similarly I have acquired more books than I have passed along. And I've read a few books from the library as well, but I think I've bought a lot of books that have just added to the shelves and have started creating their own new stacks elsewhere, so yeah. Andrea: But, I'm glad we set this goal to keep it in my mind. But honestly I think I'd forgotten this was a goal, and I just get so distracted by shiny new books. Andrea: The second New Year's resolution that we had was read: The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and we both did that! Elizabeth: Yes, we did. We both did that. Andrea: We did that. Elizabeth: We can fully check one off, cross it off the list. Done. Andrea: Next was: Reread a favorite book with a friend, and that was easy for me because we read The Hobbit at the beginning of the year, which was a reread for me. Maybe that was cheating a little bit to put a goal that was in progress but, does that count? Elizabeth: That totally counts. It's an easy target. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: And well, yes not only The Hobbit, but also The Lord of the Rings trilogy was me rereading a favorite book or books. Elizabeth: So yes, once again, we get to check that off the list. Done. Elizabeth: Have you read more diverse authors this year? Andrea: I don't think we have to talk about every single book we read by a author of color or of queer background, but the intent of reading more diverse authors and reading authors from perspectives that are different from our own or aren't necessarily as heard, to try to listen to voices that are not as widely represented, I think that was the goal with that. Andrea: I read, Her Body and Other Parties. It's a compilation of short stories by Carmen Maria Machado, and she is Latina and queer. It was a book club pick. Before the book club I had only read the first two stories. It created a lot of really interesting conversation, so I wanted to go and read the rest of the short stories. A lot of the short stories featured queer or lesbian relationships. Andrea: So I thought it was nice to get exposed to that perspective, in several different short story forms. And they're all really different short stories. Andrea: I would recommend them if you enjoy creepy, dark, strange short stories. It reminded me a little bit of Margaret Atwood's short story compilation called Stone Mattress. And I'm like, "Oh, if you like Stone Mattress, you might like Her Body and Other Parties." Andrea: What about you, Elizabeth? Have you read more diverse authors this year? Elizabeth: It’s hard for me to say if it’s more diverse than before, but yes, I have read lots of books by diverse authors at this point. For example, I've read Asian authors, RF Kuang. I've read Katabasis and also, Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, and The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa. Elizabeth: As far as queer authors V.E. Schwab. I've read Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. Andrea: I've been wanting to read that. That’s on my, my list for 26 in 2026! Elizabeth: Yeah. It is good. I didn't think it was quite as good as The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I thought that one was better, but is still very good. Like, I'd probably give it four stars, whereas Invisible Life of Addie LaRue I'd probably give five stars. Andrea: I have a physical copy of that, and I bought it because she signed all of her first edition copies of that book. So I have a signed copy of the V.E. Schwab Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. And I would love to read it, but I just haven't gotten to it yet. Andrea: It's lesbian vampires. I love vampires. Elizabeth: Totally. Andrea: Toxic lesbian vampires is how she promoted the book. Elizabeth: Yes, absolutely. Toxic lesbian vampires. Elizabeth: Oh don't forget we've also read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. know that Taylor Jenkins Reid herself is queer, but it's a lesbian love story. Andrea: I think she's bi. I think she's out as bi. Elizabeth: Okay, so it goes back to the fundamental question of is this more diverse than I usually read? I don't know. Oh, I've also read some, some Native authors. So I've read There There by Tommy Orange, fantastic, on the New York Times Reader's Choice Best of the 21st Century my favorite list. Elizabeth: We've both also read The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Hopefully by the end of the year, I will have read Braiding Sweetgrass by her as well, which is on my for 26 list which I just haven't read it yet. Would also help as for our first resolution, 'cause it is a book that I own. Elizabeth: Ooh, I also just in the last week read a really good book. It's called Good People by Patmeena Sabit. It was published in February of this year, actually. Not sci-fi or fantasy, but an immigrant story and a whodunit. And it is written in a way that I don't know that it's like any other book that I've read, which is always cool. I totally give it five stars. Raises a lot of interesting questions about community, and culture, and all sorts of ethical questions, and revolves a lot around the question of when people are really concerned about what other people have to say about yourself, uh like the sort of power of gossip and the power of what people say to each other within a community. Anyway, that was really good. Yeah, an immigrant story, so the characters are immigrants from Afghanistan. And the author.. Andrea: Oh. Elizabeth: Is also from Afghanistan originally. Born there, but I think she lives in the US now. Elizabeth: Okay, so it goes back to the fundamental question of is this more diverse than I usually read? I don't know. Cause I read a lot of books by diverse authors, but I don't know if it's more diverse. Andrea: So just to continue reading diverse authors, maybe not more diverse than the past, but just more as in addition to authors that you're already reading. Andrea: And then the last New Year's resolution we had was to read along with the podcast. I haven't read along with any other podcast, but I've read along with our podcast, so that was a freebie for us, I think, and we were hoping that other people would join in and read along with us. Elizabeth: So let us know in the comments if you've been reading along with us. Andrea: That'd be great. Elizabeth: This is our midyear check-in, so how about some stats? How many books have you read in 2026 since the beginning of the year? Andrea: So I just yesterday finished my 20th book of the year. My goal was originally to read 40 books. So I'm exactly halfway through my goal. And staying on track, which I'm pretty happy with. And yeah, so that averages about three a month, and then a couple months where I read more than three. And I also count audiobooks, but I haven't been listening to as many audiobooks recently. Andrea: What about you? Did you set a goal at the beginning of year, for a specific number of books, Elizabeth? Elizabeth: Not a specific number to reach, but a specific threshold to pass. I read 70 books last year, so my goal is to read more than that. Andrea: That's right. Andrea: I remember you saying that now. Elizabeth: At the rate I'm going, I think I'm gonna do it 'cause so far I have read 52 books. Andrea: That's a lot. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: I’m impressed. Elizabeth: As we're recording this, it's not quite July 1st yet, so it's not quite the middle of the year. So at this rate, I will absolutely pass 70 and potentially even pass 100. This is the fourth year that I've been keeping track of the number of books I've read. So, I don't know if I've ever read 100 books in a year. Elizabeth: When I was a Peace Corps volunteer, like 15 years ago, during my time in the Peace Corps, I read more than 100 books, and I was there for about 16 months. I don't remember the exact number that I read in the end, and I don't know if 100 within a year. So that's pretty exciting. Andrea: So do you feel like that's a new goal to reach 100? Elizabeth: Every year? Andrea: No, just this year. Since you said you're already pretty far, are you gonna try to reach 100 this year? Is that like a new goal you're setting midway maybe? Elizabeth: Yeah, yeah. I don't get hung up on this stuff, so if I don't break 100, that’s okay. Andrea: It's okay. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: Even if I don't break 100, it'll probably be in the 90s, and that's pretty good. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: I’ll be stoked. Andrea: I felt like I hadn't been reading that many books this year, and then to hit 20 at the halfway mark, which was actually on track with my goal, I sort of surprised myself. And maybe it's because there are so many books that I wanna read that I was like, "Oh, I'm not reading enough." But no, when I look back at it, like, actually I'm meeting my goal, and I wasn't expecting that, so that was a nice surprise. Andrea: We also made that list of 26 books for 2026. And We've been tracking that, I feel like I've deviated from that list a little bit, and I'm glad we're talking about it so I can revisit it. How many of the 26 in '26 have you read so far, Elizabeth? Elizabeth: I have read 17 of those 26 books. I read a bunch of them within the first two months of the year. I think I read 13 of the books, half of them within the first two months, and I was like, "Oh, this will be easy. finish this list." But then I went world traveling and did not bring any of the books with me, so then there was like a three-month gap where I didn't read a single one of them. In the month of June, I've read another four of them, what about you? How are you doing on your 26 in 26 list? Andrea: Similarly, I felt like at the beginning of the year I was doing really well in checking those books off, but I've read nine of the 26, and I think I got derailed a little bit by other books that were maybe popular and someone recommended it, and I stopped paying attention to my own list of books that I wanted to read. Andrea: Now with Book Bingo out, I'm trying to see, okay, what books from my 26 in 26 align with Book Bingo as a way to refine and narrow down my book reading options. Andrea: What were a few like standouts that you really liked, that you'd recommend? Elizabeth: Lord of the Rings books, of course, are always books. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, that was a really good book I thought. It’s funny my sister didn't like it. But she might be the only person that I've heard that didn't like that book. Andrea: That book has gotten so much hype that maybe it got over-hyped, and if you went into it with little to no expectations, you might enjoy it more. I really liked Project Hail Mary. I feel like it's a book that I constantly recommend to people if they don't necessarily like sci-fi. I think it's just a fun story. Elizabeth: It's just so entertaining. It's got good science and the science fiction part of it, as a person who knows a lot of science I really enjoyed the science of the science fiction. But then it's also just like a really heartwarming story and it's not an underdog story, but like the sort of long shot that, I mean that’s what the title… Project Hail Mary Andrea: That's what a hail mary is. Elizabeth: Hail mary, yeah. The hoping for a long shot. Elizabeth: And for people who don't necessarily know a lot of science, I think it's explained really well. Andrea: Right. Elizabeth: Well, And I don't think it's spoiling anything. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: But there is a, a delightful alien named Rocky, and I think Rocky is the new ET. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: Like the adorable delightful little alien character and that not all aliens are bad, or evil, or trying to defeat us or anything, and to see him working with this alien character. Elizabeth: I loved it. I like Rocky. Elizabeth: Fist my bump! Elizabeth: Another one that really stood out was Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. That's a book that we both have on our 26 in 26 list. Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: I know I have read that one, but Andrea has not yet. Andrea: I’m hoping to read that soon. Andrea: Is it from the perspective of the robot, or the AI? Elizabeth: Yes. From the perspective of the artificial friend, and the very beginning of the book the artificial friend suddenly wakes up, begins its life, a store, watching people walk by on the street and hoping for one of the little kids to come in and buy it. And then a little kid does come in and buy it, then the, the sort of life at home with this little kid. And just the sort of perspective of that, when this artificial friend doesn't know how the world works and doesn't know most things. And so then this sort of innocence or naiveté that comes across from this perspective is really interesting. Elizabeth: I think a lot of Kazuo Ishiguro's books do ask these sort of deeper questions of: what does it mean to think, or to be alive, or what is consciousness, and what is love and what is friendship and yeah, it’s really good. Elizabeth: So if you're not super into science fiction, also one that I think is easily approachable. Andrea: They're turning that into a movie as well. Elizabeth: Oh. Andrea: They’re turning that into a movie with Jenna Ortega as the artificial friend. Elizabeth: Oh. Andrea: That comes out later in 2026. Elizabeth: Yeah, what about you? Andrea: For my standout reads for 2026, of course Lord of the Rings has to be on it, but I'm counting that as one book. Andrea: We'll just say Lord of the Rings trilogy, as a book, by J.R.R. Tolkien. It has been the best that I've read so far this year. Andrea: A close second for me was The Hobbit, because it was really delightful to go back and reread that and talk about it with you for the podcast, and it's just such a fun story that I think just really stands the test of time. Andrea: I really enjoyed reading that again. I read a graphic novel by John Hendrix called The Mythmakers, and it was about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and I think if you like Lord of the Rings and you like The Hobbit, you gotta go and read The Mythmakers because it's just such a delight. It just is heartwarming joy learning about the authors' lives and why they love writing stories. Andrea: I also read The Housemaid by Freida McFadden. Andrea: I could not put it down. It was such a page turner thriller, I did not expect the ending. So even though I knew there would be twists, I did not see it coming. Andrea: I kept expecting something to happen, but I didn't quite know what was gonna happen, and it was just a really exciting, fun read. So those are the ones I really liked from the beginning of the year. Andrea: If I had to pick another one, I would also say in terms of memoirs, the Jennette McCurdy memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died was really good as well, and I wasn't expecting it to be good. The title really threw me off. Andrea: After reading it though, just the way she opens up and tells her story about her childhood and eating disorders and, it's heartbreaking, but it feels very honest. Andrea: I mean she was a childhood star, and you would think that she had a great life, but it was actually really hard for her. Elizabeth: If you go back to that 26 in 2026 list, do you plan to your next book from that list or are you thinking about reading something else? Is something else influencing your next choice? Andrea: I'm gonna try to pick a book from my 26 in 26 to fit into book bingo. I'm doing a couple different book bingos, so there's our Galaxies and Goddesses book bingo, there's the Seattle Public Library book bingo, and I'm also doing a local bookstore's book bingo. Andrea: And if I can get a book that meets all of those, that I also own, then I'm like meeting all the goals and get all the gold stars in a sense. Elizabeth: And hopefully helps narrow things down for you to choose your next book, 'cause there isn’t always… Andrea: Yes. Elizabeth: Going to be a book that fits all of those things. Andrea: I think quite often after I finish a book, I get this analysis paralysis of how do I choose which book to read next? And sometimes I have a little bit of a reading slump in between books because I don't wanna commit to reading something and then knowing that I'm giving up the opportunity to read something else, right? Andrea: So I wanna make sure that whatever I read next is for the right reason and that I enjoy it, because there's only so much time. But I'm trying to put less pressure on reading books. Andrea: I guess on that note, if I start reading a book and I'm not really feeling it, I am giving myself permission to move on, to not feel obligated to finish the book. Andrea: That's a big shift for me 'cause in the past if I started reading a book for book club, I'd be like, "Oh no, I'll finish it. I'll go back and finish it," and I felt like I was obligated to finish the book. But now I'm letting it go. Returning it to the library unread. Andrea: What about you, Elizabeth? Do you ever have that pause between books? Elizabeth: There's no pause. Very rarely is there a pause between books that's long enough to measure. Unless I'm finishing a book, at the very end of the day, like as I'm reading before going to bed or something, then maybe there's a chance that I don't start a book the next day, but there's a book that I start next. It's not necessarily always immediately, like I put the one book down and pick up another book and immediately start reading it. But yeah, no, there's no pause. Andrea: I don't necessarily feel this way all the time, but it has happened where I'll finish a book and then I feel like I owe some amount of respect to, like, the characters to not move on too quickly. Like, It's a book it's not a real person, Elizabeth: No. Andrea: But it's almost like I don't want them to, like, feel disrespected. Andrea: So sometimes I will finish a book and then just start a new one the next day, almost out of respect. I, I feel like that sounds weird, but that's just how I feel. And, and maybe it's more about letting the story simmer, like giving yourself a little bit of time to reflect on the book after you finish it before just diving into something else. Andrea: But yeah, sometimes I do just intentionally not start a book until the next day. Elizabeth: I saw a pretty funny video on Instagram the other day that showed a guy reading a book at the very end of the book, and was clearly like, very moved by this book, was getting emotional, maybe even crying a little bit. Elizabeth: Because then what proceeds to happen is that the guy who's reading, crying a little bit, finishes the very last page, and then just sets the book down, and immediately grabs for another book, and then just starts reading the next book. Like, “Oh, I'm over now. Next." that would be me. Elizabeth: That's yeah, done with the book. Even if it was a really good book and I was really touched or moved, I'm just like, "And next." Elizabeth: I don't get like analysis paralysis with books. But part of it could be that when I read so many books, there isn't as much pressure to make sure that the next book is really good, because when you read 100 books in a year, which hopefully I will this year, inevitably some of those aren't as good as the others. Elizabeth: So, you just read it and keep going, and then maybe the next one will be better. Elizabeth: How do I choose my next book? It is an ever-changing shortlist in my mind of what the next book is gonna be. Or it may not be exactly the next book, but it'll be like, "Oh, I need to read that soon," so that'll be in the next few books. Elizabeth: There are many different reasons why I choose the next book. Sometimes it's a matter of availability. For example Last week I read the debut novel by Patmeena Sabit called Good People. And I read that book purely because I was at my parents' house. My mom had a copy of it, and it was not her book, and she had borrowed it from somebody, and she had already read it, and she really liked it. She said it would probably be a pretty quick read, and she wanted to give it back to her friend. So I said to myself, "Okay, since I'm here for a couple days, I'll read it right now." And so that... I didn't even know about that book until I was talking to my mom, and then she was like, "Here, read it." Elizabeth: So I sat down and started to read it. Elizabeth: I'm always thinking about those book bingos as well our book bingo, and I've started the Bookstore book bingo in Portland, as well as my local library is doing a book bingo too. Andrea: Have you actually gotten any bingos yet? You did right? Elizabeth: I’ve got one bingo! On June 13th, took me less than two weeks to get a bingo. I got the one in the middle straight across, the horizontal one. I'd read a first person point of view, I'd read a book with a one word title, and I'd read a standalone novel, and then I realized that I had a young adult book, The Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Elizabeth: I just had a copy of that and I said to myself, "Oh, I'll just read this right now, and then real quick, like tomorrow maybe, I'll have a bingo." Yeah. Elizabeth: I think very quickly I will have a second bingo, 'cause I think I can move the standalone novel to queer found family. And standalone novel's an easy one to, an easy square to get. Elizabeth: You can read almost any book for almost any book counts as a standalone novel. Andrea: Well, not necessarily in the fantasy and sci-fi world. Elizabeth: In the world of books, most books are stand alone. Andrea: Maybe that favors certain genres, I think. Standalone novel is more likely to lend itself, I think to, like, historical fiction or literary fiction. Elizabeth: Non-fiction. Almost any other genre. They’re mostly standalone novels yeah. What about you? Do you have a bingo yet? Andrea: I've only read four books in the month of June, so I have two and two rows. I need to fill that in. But I think by the end of our bingo I'll have some bingos, just not quite yet. Elizabeth: You got two more months. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: I'm shooting for blackout man. Andrea: That'd be a good goal. Andrea: At one point, we were talking about birds on the cover of books. I was like, what if I could make a bingo card with every single square that has a bird on the cover? But the books that I have read so far, none of them have birds on the cover, so maybe that's not as easy of a goal as I thought. Elizabeth: I thought I was gonna have a book that had a bird on the cover. And this almost never happens. And so I need to, I need to go back and fix this eventually. About a week ago mom had a copy of Katherine Stockett's new book The Calamity Club, and that's got a bird on the cover. And it was only a 14-day loan so I was like, "Mom, do you wanna read this book?" Elizabeth: And, she said she does, and so it was her library book, so I… Andrea: Give it back? Elizabeth: Gave it back to her. Elizabeth: But you were saying earlier about how you're trying to give yourself a little bit of grace, that when you start a book you don't have to finish it. I am the type of person that when I start a book I finish it. Prior to about a week ago, there are only two books that I've ever not finished. One is Ulysses by James Joyce. And that's because I started to read it and I just had no idea what was going on. Elizabeth: It's written in like, stream of consciousness, and it has a lot of like Irish and Dublin references, and I just didn't get it and it's a long book, so I said to myself, "Okay. Since I don't even know what's going on right now, how about I just stop reading this?" It still has a bookmark in it of where I finished. Andrea: Oh wow! Elizabeth: And it's sitting on my shelf and staring at me every day of the year. Elizabeth: Yeah, at some point, do need to go back and start over with Ulysses. Andrea: For those of you that are just tuning in, our Summer Book Bingo is posted on our Instagram page @galaxiesandgoddesses, and runs June 1st through September 1st. Andrea: The intent is to fill each square with a different book, and at the end of the summer, or after you get a bingo, post it and tag us so we can enter you to win a gift card for Bookshop.org. Elizabeth: And for those of our listeners that are just learning about our Book Bingo so you know it's, July now when we're posting this episode but it started June 1st. So if you can go back in time, if you have some sort of app or some way that you keep track, you can go back in time and any books that you have finished since June 1st onwards those count. Elizabeth: So even if you're only just now figuring this out and wanting to join us, you can still go back through the first part of the date range. Andrea: Summer. Elizabeth: Yeah, first part of the summer, and you can add them in. Elizabeth: What about the second half of 2026? Andrea: For the second half of 2026, I want to go back and focus on my original goal for 26 in 26. I wanna try to put on blinders and just chug down that list because I, I made it because I want to read those books, and I keep getting distracted by other things, so I wanna go back to what I enjoy reading. Andrea: And when you're reading a book that you enjoy, I think you read it faster. I think the fact that I've read other books that other people suggest or because it's a book club pick, it slows down my reading pace, and I like the page-turners. I like reading romantasy books or sci-fi books or books about pirates and dragons, so I need to get back into that. Andrea: I miss that. Elizabeth: What book did you just now say you read in three days? Oh the, um, The Housemaid. Andrea: Yes. That was a good suggestion. there was enough people suggesting it that it's okay, I should read this, and I agree. I gave it five stars. I thought it was just like, thriller catnip. Elizabeth: There's something to be said for reading a book in three days also. Even if a book wasn't that great, if I read it really fast, like within a couple of days, the book, even if it's not great, gets a higher rating in my mind because, you get to add another book to your list another book that you've read, and you get to move on to the next one pretty quickly. Elizabeth: It's nice when you don't linger too long. Andrea: Unless you want to linger. Unless you wanna really analyze it, but usually I think reading fast means you're enjoying it. Elizabeth: I also was gonna say, Andrea, that if we're halfway through the year and you've read 20 books and there's only another half of the year and you need to read 17 more books to finish your list, that sounds like most of the books that you should be reading between now and the end of the year. Andrea: I didn't do that little bit of math, but you are completely right. Yeah. Elizabeth: Take your 20 that you read so far plus those 17 and that's 37 books. So yeah, you don't have a lot of wiggle room here. Andrea: Yeah. Andrea: Very good point. Elizabeth: Just to bring reality into this. Elizabeth: For me I've got nine books left on that list, and if I've read 52 books so far this year, I'm pretty confident that I'm gonna finish those nine other books. Andrea: You are on track for 100. If you're at 52 halfway through the year you just keep up that pace. Elizabeth: I am on track. Yeah. Elizabeth: Unfortunately, that concludes this week's episode. We've reached the end of another cosmic journey on Galaxies and Goddesses. Andrea: Don't worry, the adventure never really ends. There are always more stories to explore, and let's be honest, more bookish tangents for us to go on. Elizabeth: But hey, it's part of the fun. If you loved today's episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share the magic. Andrea: Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll be chatting about the final book in the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov, Second Foundation. Elizabeth: In the meantime, keep your mind fueled by the magic of stories. Andrea: And never stop chasing the worlds waiting for you between the pages. Thanks everyone.