What I read in July 2026

July didn’t differ from June in the sense that I spent a lot of it feeling overheated and sad. Unlike in June, though, I didn’t do anything particularly creative (unless book reviews count). I did, however, read 13 books of varying lengths and see an excellent showcase of plays by disabled writers.

Children of Radium, by Joe Dunthorne - 4*

The Last Gifts of the Universe, by Riley August - 4*

A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher - 4.5*

A Rebel’s History of Mars, by Nadia Afifi - 4*

Lost in the Archives, by E. Saxey - 5*

A Fugitive’s History of the Known Universe, by Nadia Afifi - 4.5*

The Impossible Thing, by Belinda Bauer - 4*

Homebound, by Portia Elan - 4*

Wasteland Girls, by Anna Bailey - 4.5*

Hookland Fragments Volume 1: Remembering Differently, by David Southwell - how had I not heard of the 1977 Southern Television broadcast interruption before now?! 4.5*

The Story Trap, by Masha du Toit - 4*

Ghost Notes, by Doug Johnstone - 4*

Desolation: The Hollow Drum, by D. Harrigon - 4*

Looking ahead…

My T. Kingfisher journey continues: I’ve already started The Seventh Bride, and it’s a delight. I picked up a couple of her other books yesterday, as well as The Sourdough Compendium, by A. G. Slatter, which I plan to start this month, even if I don’t finish it quickly, as it’s three short story collections in one, and therefore huge.

The Driftborn, by Simon Bullock, is just one of the books I’ll be reviewing this month (a couple of others appear above – I’ve got the “reading” part done but need to write the posts!), and looks like just my sort of thing.