Welcome to the first month of the rest of the year! (I guess you could say that’s true every month, but we’re officially more than halfway through 2026 now.)
This month’s TBR is slightly smaller than previous months since I’m busy with my master’s and also trying to apply to jobs (blegh). That does mean that I’d really like to hold myself to ticking everything off this list and not leaving anything unread.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at my TBR for July 2026!
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The Inn at the Foot of Mount Vengeance by Chiara Bullen
An ambitious young scholar is sent to document the journeys of adventurers to Mount Vengeance, and ends up finding a new home and going on an adventure of his own.
This book comes out on the 7th and I received an eARC so I need to make sure I’ve read it by the release date. I’m currently about 11% in.
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
Mi-ja and Young-sook start diving for food as soon as they’re old enough to join the female collective of haenyeo in their village. Despite their love for each other, though, their differences are impossible to ignore and over many decades, forces outside their control push their friendship to the breaking point.
I started buddy reading this back in May and got to about 10%. I then abandoned it with the chaos of June but I’d like to catch up with my friend and then finish the book this month.
Under the Oak Tree Vol. 3 by Suji Kim
Translated from the hit Korean webnovel about an arranged marriage between the daughter of a powerful Duke and a low-born knight turned war hero.
I read the first two volumes of this back in May and really enjoyed them, so I’m looking forward to reading the final instalment (it came out end of June) and reviewing the series.
So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ
Recently widowed, Ramatoulaye is required to take sole responsibility for the long mourning process of her late husband. A husband she has not seen in over four years – not after he married his second wife. In a letter to her friend, Ramatoulaye recalls their experiences as students impatient to change the world, as wives suffering in the private sphere of marriage, and as mothers witnessing the dangers of Westernisation.
This is the start of my attempts to read more diversely and complete my Storygraph Reads the World reading challenge (see my recent goals update). This month we’re off to Senegal!
In addition to the four books I plan on finishing this month, I also have four additional books that I know I want to make progress in this month (mostly for my thesis, but not entirely).
Journey across the stars of the Imperial Radch universe.
Listen to the words of the Old Gods that ruled The Raven Tower.
Learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls.
This was on last month’s TBR for the Imperial Radch readalong and I didn’t get to it, so I need to catch up before we move on to the next book in September. My goal is just to read the three short stories in the collection that are set in the Imperial Radch universe. I’ll tackle the others another time.
Herself an Author by Grace S. Fong
An examination of late Ming and Qing women’s poetry, travel writing and critical discourse on poetry reveals how women found self-empowerment and community through writing.
Now we’re getting to the reading I know I need to do for my thesis. I’m about 2/3 of the way through a chapter in this book called ‘Authoring Journeys’ and I’d like to finish it.
여성, 오래전 여행을 꿈꾸다 [Women Have Been Dreaming of Travel for a Long Time], ed. Lee Kyeongmi
A collection of travel writing by women from 18th-20th century Korea.
I’ve finished the 50-page essay at the start of this book, but now I need to read the first two of the travel writing records included within as they’re major sources for my thesis!
조선초 후기 여성 지성사 [Intellectual History of Women from the Late Joseon Dynasty] by Lee Hyesun
A look at the philosophical views and ideas of women writers, poets, and scholars from the late Joseon period in Korea (c. 17th-19th century).
There are a couple of chapters in this book about one of the authors of a text in the book above, so I’d like to at least read that. I’ve also flagged another couple of chapters that could be useful if I have time.
Summary
This is a much shorter TBR than some of my recent ones, especially if we only include books that I intend to finish, but I think it’s probably about as much as I can manage with the craziness of thesis writing and job applications.
What books are you planning on reading in July? If you’ve written a TBR, please leave me a comment so I can check it out!
Keira x
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