The Monstrous & The Holy | favorite books of 2026 pt. 1
Fantasy to Theology.
January to June.
In no particular order, a short list of my favorite reads from the first half of 2026.
A few notes:
- Sorry to the purists out there, but sometimes I listen to audiobooks. However, in my opinion, hearing a new story is better than reading none at all.
- I don’t really keep up with what’s trending in literature. I read what I am interested in or what I’m interested in being challenged by.
- Most of these reads are a result of my trying to either brave the query trenches or escape them. There is no in between at the moment.
The Weight Of Glory - C.S. Lewis
| Essays, Christian Theology, Non-Fiction
Titled after the first of nine entries, this book is a collection of essays, lectures, and sermons written between 1939 and 1956.
Not only is Lewis’ writing style an old familiar comfort, but his examinations are so heady that I almost can’t afford to entertain my own worries while digesting his arguments.
If you are against annotating books, you would hate to see my copy of this, as I have utterly abused its pages not only with pen, but with my own tears.
One afternoon, while wandering through a Barnes & Noble, this title caught my eye. At the time, I had recently finished the first draft of my novel, and even more recently shared it with select friends and family for the very first time. To say I was anxious would be a gross understatement. (I touch a little more on this in another post)
What if it’s not good? What if no one likes it? What if I wasted my time? Surely, this desire for a job well done isn’t wrong? I’m making a fool of myself. I’m going to throw up…
A sticky note now lives inside the cover of my copy that reads:
I decided to take a glance at Mere Christianity while looking over comp titles. But this title caught my eye, and now having read the first essay, I’m not sure any other work, other than the Bible, could have ministered so intently to this season, this wrestling over the work I’ve done and what I’m meant to do with these desires circling like vultures. “If God is satisfied with the work, the work can be satisfied with itself.”
Most notably, the title lect explores the truth that our desires—even if they are to please God—are desires that please us in turn. We ought to be like children, free of pride and deceit, wanting only to be praised by a father, simply because it is the natural desire. However, Lewis assures the reader that he understands how often “this most innocent desire is parodied in our human ambitions.”
It is a beautiful examination of praise and pride, fame vs appreciation, and how this weight directs us back to the Father, where we ought to lay it at his feet anyway.
“Meanwhile the cross comes before the crown and tomorrow is a Monday morning.”
Favorite Quotes:
To please God […] to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in his son—
~~~~~~~
There is the reward which has no natural connection with the things you do to earn it and is quite foreign to the desires that ought to accompany those things. Money is not the natural reward of love; that is why we call a man a mercenary if he marries a woman for the sake of her money. But marriage is the proper reward for a real lover, and he is not mercenary for desiring it. […] The proper rewards are not simply tacked on to the activity for which they are given, but are the activity itself in consummation.
~~~~~~~
In speaking of this desire for our own far-off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both.
~~~~~~~
Perfect humility dispenses with modesty. If God is satisfied with the work, the work may be satisfied with itself.
Monstrous Regiment - Terry Pratchett
| Satirical Military Fantasy
“It begun as a sudden strange fancy…Polly Perks had to become a boy in a hurry. Cutting off her hair and wearing trousers was easy. Learning to fart and belch in public and walk like an ape took more time. And now she’s enlisted in the army and searching for her lost brother.
“But there’s a war on. There’s always a war on. And Polly and her fellow recruits are suddenly in the thick of it, without any training, and the enemy is hunting them. All they have on their side is the most artful sergeant in the army and a vampire with a lust for coffee. Well…they also have the Secret. And as they take the war to the heart of the enemy, they have to use all the resources of…the Monstrous Regiment.”
Description from terrypratchett.com
This was my first introduction to Pratchett’s work, and I have no shortage of praise for this book. The dry humor, coupled with the honesty of awkward relationships, is balanced beautifully by the tension of simply wanting to get the job done and go home. You’re in, right along with the rest of them. You took the shilling and kissed the Duchess. There’s no getting out now.
Polly was smart. She’d planned. And while her only aim is to find her brother, she can’t just pop in and fetch him. She’s got to play the part, follow regulation, even if it is an abomination unto a god who probably doesn’t listen to her prayers.
Pratchett keeps you perfectly entertained with a roving story that travels from scenic landscapes to grimy little towns, all while continuously bumping into the disappointment of learning your army isn’t as well-funded as a new recruit might’ve hoped… They are winning, aren’t they?
Monstrous Regiment first came to my attention while searching for comp titles for my own novel. While it wasn’t a match for my book, it was a match for my taste. My initial “read” was via audiobook. One listen became three, and Katherine Parkinson’s narration of Pratchett’s work is so unbelievable that I purchased a physical copy. I needed to see how a story that audibly flowed so seamlessly looked on paper.
I was shocked to find that this book doesn’t contain a single chapter break. To some, this may seem daunting. To me, it was only a source of frustration since I never wanted to find a “stopping point,” and my sleep schedule suffered as a result. I have since—and this is no exaggeration—listened to the audiobook 7 more times. My library’s staff probably roll their eyes each time my name comes up in their Libby records.
You can sample Katherine Parkinson’s narration here.
Favorite Quotes (no spoilers):
There was something odd about him, although you had to bear in mind he was sitting next to Wazzer, who had enough odd for everybody and was probably contagious…
~~~~~~~
“This is wonderful Plotz,” he said. “Have a look around, so that if you is killed and goes to hell, it won’t come as a shock…”
~~~~~~~
“[…] and since you, Captain, are invading our country by night, under the cover of darkness, and I am a humble civilian, I think there’s no rule to stop me from beating seven kinds of crap out of you until you tell me why you came here and when the rest of your mates are going to arrive. Which may take some time because up until now I’ve only ever discovered five types of crap.” He rolled up his sleeves, hauled up the captain again, and drew back a fist—
~~~~~~~
The change in the man was a whole-body event. He seemed to get smaller, as if every cell had said “oh dear” very quietly to itself.
Room For Good Things To Run Wild - Josh Nadeau
| Christian Theology, Memoir
“After spending too many days staring at the hamster cage of his uninspired life through the bottom of a glass of Scotch, Josh Nadeau knew there were only 2 ways left to go: further down or finally up. Disillusioned by his faith and disenchanted by the world around him, Josh chose up out of a desperation to discover the Jesus who had formed the saints of old.
“Steeped in literature and doctrine, art and raw daily life and accompanied by original illustrations and living liturgy this book will bring you on the journey back to an embodied theology that understands that we know, not just with our minds, but also with our bodies. From Canada, to England, to Ireland and Spain, Josh follows the Jesus Way, teaching you how to be just as honest about the pain of your life as the pleasure of your life.”
Description from Amazon
As this book follows Josh’s journey thus far, you can see the progress of peace even in his sentence structure. Choppy, panicked dissatisfaction shifts to eloquent honesty and a softened spirit. Just as sure as death and taxes are in this life, God’s joy and peace transcend both into eternity. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t meant to experience His goodness during our time on this earth.
I was made aware of this book by way of swordandpencil and Josh’s illustration work there. I patiently awaited the arrival of my paperback before shoving it in my bag and boarding a plane. Right place. Right time. It came home with me, tear-stained. I talk a little more about that in my post explaining why I am presently painting birds.
Favorite Quotes:
Vices hear you. They answer you in the way you want. Immediately. Unlike prayer, which teaches that you need to wait in order to hear.
~~~~~~~
Leaving Rock Bottom was one step, but what about the next thousand? What if I failed? Would anyone even understand what I was trying to do? Or would they all take this, all my thoughts and all my flaws, and treat them as betrayal? Would I become them, no longer an us? Could I endure the disapproval?
~~~~~~~
It’s easy, you know, to go back—to survive the way we always have. That’s why they say “old habits die hard,” because we feed them, forever.
~~~~~~~
It’s why fairytales matter so much, not just for kids who find in them heroes to emulate but for adults who, if they have eyes to see, will envision the cosmos afresh.
Till We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis
| Philosophical Fantasy, Mythology
“Orual was born ugly and even though she’s a princess, she struggles with the death of her mother and the friction between her sisters. There are two lights in Orual’s life. One is her tutor, the Fox, a Greek slave captured through war. The other is her much younger sister Istra, later nicknamed Psyche, born from Orual’s father’s second marriage. Istra is beautiful and sweet and good but far from being jealous of her, Orual loves her as a daughter. When the priest of Ungit says that Psyche’s great beauty is an insult to the goddess and she must be sacrificed, Orual fights to prevent this. When Orual expects to find her sister dead, she finds her well and thriving. But, why can’t Orual see what everyone else sees? Blinded by her jealous love, Orual casts blame on the duplicity of gods. What is the truth? What is real?”
Description from goodreads
This is considered Lewis’ most mature novel, and there is no question about it. I don’t recall how I came across this book. I just remember seeing the cover and thinking, I don’t recognize that one. So I added it to my TBR.
Till We Have Faces is dedicated to Joy Davidman, whom Lewis married first in a civil ceremony so that she and her boys wouldn’t be deported back to the U.S. and “again” later in a Christian ceremony. (If you don’t know anything about their relationship, you should definitely read up on it.)
In addition to providing an alternate perspective to the myth of Cupid and Psyche, this novel explores beauty in its excess, lack, and removal entirely. What interference does beauty bring to affection and achievement? Is it possible for the love of certain individuals to become a greater torment than the individuals themselves? What comes of a person when their perceived ‘calling’ is stripped away?
This idea—if I cannot be desired, I can be useful—I’m sure, is more personal than most would care to admit. I wish that I could say more of what I am thinking, but I’m afraid too much of the story may be revealed.
Favorite Quotes (no spoilers):
Often, remembering that it is sometimes the gods’ way to turn us into beasts, I put a hand up under my veil to see if I could feel cat’s fur, or dog’s muzzle, or hog’s tusks beginning to grow there. Yet with it all I was not afraid, never less. It is strange, yet somehow a quiet and steady thing, to look round on earth and grass and the sky and say in one’s heart to each, “You are all my enemies now. None of you will ever do me good again. I see now only executioners.”
~~~~~~~
“Do you begin to set your wits against mine?” he said almost in a whisper.
“Yes,” said I, no louder than he, but very clearly. I had not known a moment before what I would do or say; that one little word came out of itself.
~~~~~~~
I am too old, and have no time, to begin to write all over again of her beauty. But nothing less would serve, and no words I have would serve even then, to tell you how beautiful she was. It was as though I had never seen her before.
Kenobi - John Jackson Miller
| Sci-Fi Western
“Known to locals only as “Ben,” the bearded and robed offworlder is an enigmatic stranger who keeps to himself, shares nothing of his past, and goes to great pains to remain an outsider. But as tensions escalate between the farmers and a tribe of Sand People led by a ruthless war chief, Ben finds himself drawn into the fight, endangering the very mission that brought him to Tatooine.
“Ben—Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, hero of the Clone Wars, traitor to the Empire, and protector of the galaxy’s last hope—can no more turn his back on evil than he can reject his Jedi training. And when blood is unjustly spilled, innocent lives threatened, and a ruthless opponent unmasked, Ben has no choice but to call on the wisdom of the Jedi—and the formidable power of the Force—in his never-ending fight for justice.”Description from Barnes & Noble
If you don’t enjoy Star Wars or a multi-POV story, this is absolutely not the book for you. Fortunately for me, I do. And it’s why I’m indulging myself with this addition.
As someone who loves an introspective, character-driven story, I always want to know what’s happening in the “in between.” Kenobi picks up after Episode 111, Revenge of the Sith, just as Obi-Wan settles in on Tatooine to keep a distant eye on an infant Luke Skywalker. However, as he begins to meet the locals, he’s pulled into their lives. And suddenly, he can’t stay away from the only store for miles, and the family that owns it.
Who’s right? Who’s wrong? And where do you draw the line in the desert sands when it comes to protecting your own? You’ve made your bed, now lie in it and pray to the suns that no raids come in the night.
Right along with Monstrous Regiment, I listened to the audiobook numerous times, fell in love, and then bought a physical copy.
But let me talk about the audiobook for a moment. Whoever the audio engineers were for this project, I hope their pillows are always cold. This is no mere narration (although Jonathan Davis is phenomenal on his own), but rather an immersive experience. Sure, you could argue that perhaps I might’ve liked the book less without the music and sound effects. But what you fail to consider is that I would have added the music and sound effects in my head anyway. You can’t tell me you would read “blaster fire” on a page and not imagine that iconic shot.
Sample Jonathan Davis’ narration here.
Favorite Quotes (no spoilers):
Kneeling beside her, he spoke, his tones low and measured. “How does this make you feel? Given what the Tuskens did to Dannar. And to your store.”
“Bad.” Annileen closed her eyes, not realizing why she’d answered that way. And then she said it again. “Bad.”
Ben lowered his head. For a moment, she thought she heard him say, “Good.”
~~~~~~~
“Kenobi.”
Annileen rubbed her eyes. “What?”
“Kenobi,” Kallie said, beaming across a cup of blue milk. “That’s his name.”
Have any comments, questions, or book recommendations? Let me know and drop them below!
