“I don’t know about you, but I am decidedly not bounding into 2026.” I read more books this year than I have in any single year previously, which tells you so much about a) my desperate attempts to find relief from the news and b) my desperate attempts to find relief from our worst growing season ever. The upside, of course, is that I read some truly terrific books (and some truly terrible ones, too). This review post is heavy on the non-fiction, but I cast a wide net this year – poetry, cookbooks, memoir, biography and more. What an immutable joy, to still have so many wondrous books to read when all feels lost.