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Reading Challenge 2026 Update and Late Summer Reading Plans

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Late Summer Reading Challengr Reads

Back in January I mapped out an ambitious reading plan for 2026. My goal was to read 66 books—36 library books and 30 from my own shelves. It looked like a great plan on paper.

Then life happened. Between launching this website, updating hundreds of older posts, family time, and everything else, my reading slowed down considerably. That’s okay. Reading has always been about enjoyment, not racing to hit a number. Now that the site is finally live, it’s time to get back to the books.

The website launch consumed far more of my free time than I expected, but it was worth it. Now I’m looking forward to balancing writing about books with actually reading them.

The 2026 Reading Challenge – Libary and TBR Shelves

As previously mentioned the 2026 Reading Challenge is divided into two ctwo challenges : The Libary Book Reading Challenge. and the TBRSheves Challenge. Here’s the Challenge Categories by type and genre. along with my progress.

2026 Library Book Reading Challenge: CategoriesProposed ReadsStatus
No. to ReadNo. Read
Favorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		245
New Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		61
Non-Fiction6
Total366
2026 TBR ShelvesReading Challenge: CategoriesProposed Reads
No. to ReadNo. Read
Sci Fi6
E-Books121
Non-Fiction6
Mystery Series/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		6
Total30
Target Goal667

Books Read Thru July 2026

TitleAuthorReading Challenge Catagory
Little Black DressLoren D EstlemanFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones
The White CrowMichael RobothamFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones
Departure 37Scott CarsonFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones
NenesisGregg HurwitzFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones
Inside Man John McMahonE-Book
Clsosing TimeMichael LedwidgeFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones
The Crossroads C. J. BoxFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones

With the website launch taking up much of my reading time this summer, I’m carrying a few books over into August. That’s fine—reading isn’t a race. These are the five books I hope to spend time with over the next few weeks.

Late Summer Reading Plans

StatusTitleAuthorChallengeCategory% Read
FinishedGoing Rogue -Rise and Shine Twentu-NineJanet EvanovichTBR ChallengeFavorite Mystery/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		100%
FinishedThe Fourth Deadly SinLawrence SandersTBR ChallengeMystery Series/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		100%
Finished Winter HouseCarol O’ConnellTBR ChallengeMystery Series/Thrillers
Series and Standalones		100%
SartedThe Power of BeliefsShawn AchorLibrary ChallengeNon-Fiction17\%
StartedThe Summer of 1876Chris WimmerLibrary Cha;engeNon-Fiction15%

Why These Five?

These aren’t just the next five books I happened to pull off the shelf. Each one has a reason for being here.

  • Going Rogue (Stephanie Plum #29) – I’ve enjoyed Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series for years. After taking a break from the series, it’s time to catch up with Lula, Ranger, Morelli, and one of Stephanie’s latest adventures
  • Winter House – Carol O’Connell is one of my favorite mystery writers, and somehow this novel slipped through the cracks,
  • even though it’s been on my TBR shelves for a long time. Now is the time!
  • The Fourth Deadly Sin – I read one of the novels from Lawrence Sanders’ McNally series last year. When I found this copy at Goodwill, it seemed like the roght time to revisit the streets of NYC with Edward X Delaney. Since the ;ast visit pf sometime in the 70s. When I read The Second Deadly Sin
  • The Summer of 1876 – I’ve always enjoyed books about the American West and western history. As soon as I saw this one at the library, I knew it was coming home with me.
  • The Power of Beliefs – This selection came from conversations with my son-in-law. We often end up talking about motivation, learning, and personal growth, and those discussions convinced me this was a book worth reading.

Trying to Get My Blogging MoJo Back!

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Ok so the last year has been a blur. I had a couple of health problems that upset my life. First, there was a problem with my left eye. When I closed my right eye and only used my left eye, every thing had a gray cast to it, rather than the true colors. That problem sent me to an ophthalmologist who didn’t;t know what the problem was.

So she sent me to a retina specialist who also wasn’t sure what caused the problem. Fearing I had some kind of mini-stroke he sent me to my family doctor for blood work and a cardiologist,The cardiologist was asked to perform an echo cardiogram and the ultrasounds for my carotid arteries. Both were fine no blockages anywhere.

The cardiologist also had me wear a heart monitor for several weeks. At that time I was still running and everything again was good. So it was back to the retina specialist.

From the Retina Specialist to Other Specialists

He was still puzzled and said he’d like me to go see a neuro-ophthalmologist. I did that in December of 2023. His evaluation led to an MRI to make sure the were no masses in my head pressing on the optic nerve. The MRI revealed no mass and according to them an atrophied optic nerve that looked “funky”

His recommendation was to remove my not too bad cataracts. Their thinking was that the removal of the cataracts would improve my vision.

So it was back to the retina specialist. He in turn sent me to a cataract specialist to be evaluated. It didn’t take long for the cataract specialist to long to determine that, yes she could remove the cataracts, but not before I was evaluated for glaucoma!

Finally, an Answer!

I visited the glaucoma specialist this past April and he quickly determined that yes I had glaucoma in that eye. So now I am using eye drops that have lowered my eye pressure greatly.

Now in addition to worry about my eye, I also had problem was my carpal tunnel, which went from a minor annoyance to a major annoyance! /My hands were so bad that I woke up two or more times a night with both hands on fire. I had to shake them and hope they woke up! Anyway that sent me a a hand specialist and cortisone shots and surgery looming.

However.since January my hours are Target have been cut drastically and my hands are pretty good at least I don’t wake up at night and my dexterity has improved!

Don’t Forget Babysitting!

So as if the above was not enough to upset my blogging life,my daughter had a baby in February of 2023. In September my wife and I became full time babysitters for her. We babysat almost everyday from September to June from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. Needless to say it has been hard to find time to blog and/or run during those months.

But how can you not enjoy every day you’re with this little one!

Bottom Line – Let’s Get Writing 

So the bottom line is I have four or five weeks to get back in the groove of blogging. And that means I need to keep reading, listening to great music and running and doing stuff to turn back my biological clock. So I have something to write avout!

Tackling ADHD, Staying Strong with Running and Yoga!

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So based upon my most recent posts, it’s obvious that books and music are a big part of my life. They are truly what keep me going. But to keep my reading and listening going, I need to keep my mind and body in the best shape possible.

Renaissance Granddad Takes On His ADHD

Last year (2020) we all had a lot of time on our hands with no particular place to go (so we parked way out in the Kokomo stop that brain!). Anyway with some of that time I set out to find out more about ADHD. I always joked that I had ADD but never did anything about it. Anyway, during the long days of the Pandemic I found Jessica McCabe and her YouTube How to ADDH.

While the following episode my not be the first video I watched, it was one that helped me decided that “yes” I have many, many of the symptoms of ADHD!

After watch this video the one thing that really has stuck with me is the part about “Now” , and “Not Now” which does correctly mean either never or at least a long time from now.  Which is why for the last with to ten months my main mantra has been “Do It NOW”!!

In addition to constantly repeating that mantra many times per day, I have been using many other strategies to help keep me on track . Things like setting timers, using a bullet journal, and setting schedules have become part of my daily routines.

So while tackling my ADHD has been an important part of keeping my mind in at least semi-good working order, daily exercise has helped me keep my body in equally good condition.

Renaissance Granddad’s Workouts Make Returning to Running Easier

Through most of last year, I was running on a consistent basis. But as is typical, I stopped running during the winter months.

However, I did continue to work out regularly. I exercised almost every day for 30- 60 minutes of dance -cardio , which is actually just an old white man trying to move with the beat of the music. But it gets my heart rate up and burns calories!!

During the workout I also use a variety of weights and  bands like these . Again the movements are done to and with the beat of the music.

Exercising helps me tackling my ADHD and keeps me running strong!0

Typically my workout burns anywhere from 300-500 calories. The end result was when I started to run again this month, rather then starting out 5-10 pounds above my optimal running weight I am starting out at or slightly below that weight!!

Typically, when I start running again, I start by walking first are maybe running at a really, really slow pace. Luckily though I was able to get back to a reasonable fast running pace quickly this time.

If you are interested in starting to run, I included a link to a program from Runner’s World Magazine at the bottom of this post.

Yoga Keeps Me Going Strong, Too

In addition to running and cardio workouts, I also try to do yoga two or three days a week. I usually do the yoga on the days after I run. I have one particular Hatha yoga routine I created that is about 25 long I really enjoy it and it seems to keep me limber. Occasionally, I throw in my favorite Kundalini kriya!

Check out the link below for Yoga Journal. They have lots of good articles on their site. It’s been  while since I’ve visited the site and I think I’ll check it out later!

So in keeping with my plan to write shorter posts and get them finished I think I’ll wrap this post up and publish it.

Links For Further Explorations of..

…ADHD

How to ADHD – Website
How to ADHD – YouTube Channel

….RunnIng

How to start running today: a beginner’s guide

and Yoga…

Yoga Journal

Al Kooper,Mike Bloomfield and StephenStills the Listening Trail Comtinues…

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From Manassas to The Electric Flag: Following the Musical Trail

Originally posted Aug 2013 Revised and Updated July 2026

One of the things I’ve always loved about collecting records and CDs is that one album almost always leads to another.

Last Sunday my listening trail started with Manassas. Chris Hillman and Al Perkins reminded me of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram Parsons, and the whole country-rock movement. But somewhere along the way my musical compass turned toward the blues.

That led me back to one of my favorite albums from the late 1960s…

Nike BLoomfield and Electric Flag

The Electric Flag — A Long Time Comin’

About a year before Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons were forming the Flying Burrito Brothers, guitarist Mike Bloomfield and keyboardist Barry Goldberg headed west with a different vision. Their goal wasn’t country rock—it was to build what they called a great American blues band.

The result was The Electric Flag, and their debut album, A Long Time Comin’, remains one of my favorite discoveries from that era.

More importantly, it introduced me to the incredible guitar playing of Mike Bloomfield.

Al Koopwe Mike Bloomfield Stephen Stills Super Session

The Next Connection: Super Session

Once I started paying attention to Bloomfield, it didn’t take long before another classic appeared in my collection—Super Session.

The first side paired Mike Bloomfield with Al Kooper. When Bloomfield unexpectedly failed to show up for the second day of recording, Kooper called another guitarist who happened to be between bands…

Stephen Stills.

At the time Stills was leaving Buffalo Springfield, and his appearance transformed the second half of the album into something completely different. His versions of “Season of the Witch” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” became classics in their own right.

Why I Love Musical Rabbit Trails

This is exactly why I still enjoy listening the way I do.

I didn’t plan to spend the evening with The Electric Flag, Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper, and Stephen Stills.

I simply followed the trail.

One album reminded me of another, one musician led to another collaborator, and before long I had traveled from Manassas to The Electric Flag, then on to Super Session—all without ever leaving the music of the late 1960s.

That’s one of the joys of being a lifelong music fan. Every record has another story waiting just around the corner.

And to finish the evening, I went back to one of my favorite Electric Flag performances—”Killing Floor.”

Greensky Bluegrass Discovered via “Twang Tuesday” Vibes

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Ok so near the end of work today, I was listening to Rhapsody and I saw a band whose name sounded interesting Greensky Bluegrass labeled as progressive bluegrass so I put on their current release Five Interstates.

As I was working I was noticing that the music that was playing was REALLY GOOD – loved the dobro and mandolin and the vocals sounded great!!

Discovering GreenSky Bluegrass Live at Bell’s

 So I listened to several of the songs and was really impressed so of course I said I’ll try another of the CDs! So I downloaded the album Live at Bells listened to the first track “Bonts Breakdown” and had an Allison Krauss  “new favorite” bluegrass band!

Greensky Bluegrass Live at Bells

So after work,  I went to their website and saw that I was not alone in my admiration for the band as they were winners of the 2006 Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition. The band calls Michigan home and consists of

  • Anders Beck – dobro
  • Michael Arlon Bonts – banjo
  • Dave Bruza – guitar
  • Mike Devol – upright bass
  • Paul Hoffman – mandolin

Since I only listen once to the album, it’s hard to say which tracks are favorites but I do know that “Running the Briars” is definitely high on the list! also the “Road to Nowhere” and “My Sally” and I’m sure many others

So I say go find some Green sky and some Blue grass or is it Blue Sky and Green Grass – oh you know Greensky Bluegrass and enjoy!

As for me I think I’m going to head over to livedownloads.com and pick up All Access Vol.1 – Greensky Bluegrass Vol 1 and listen to lots of Greensky Bluegrass over the next few weeks and hope they come to New Jersey some time!

Links

Post Update: This post was written in the first few months of my blogging career. As I look back on this time I had some pretty good ideas.Twang Tuesday was one of them. It gave me a chance to load up my music player of the day listen to new artists of a specific genre. Discovering Greensky Blue was a real treat. Anyway, when I went started to revise this post I found that the video was missing. Instead of looking for a video I decided to feature a Live from the Archive video from the band. It was recorded i 2012 as close as I could get to the 2010 date when this post wad published