On My Shelf: Books Read July 2026

For years—ever since starting university—my reading stats have absolutely tanked over the summer months.

Because I was doing so much intensive reading during the academic year, I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of reading for pleasure. Also, I worked in research positions each summer and they were incredibly time-consuming and didn’t follow a normal Monday-Friday, 9-5 cadence.

Then I had kids and… well, you can figure out why my reading tanked after that! I’m not much of a beach or vacation reader. In fact, I found I was busiest in the summer with full-time parenting (the preschool our kids went to had dramatically reduced hours over the summer).

So I can tell I am no longer a university student OR a young mother when I look at the number of books I read this July (11). As always, this does represent staying up too late on multiple nights. I continue to struggle to turn my brain off without at least some time reading.

Another interesting note about this month’s selections: I read almost double the number of fiction books than non-fiction, which is highly unusual for me!

Okay, let’s talk about what books I read in July!

(January, February, March, April, May, and June.)

NONFICTION READS IN JULY 2026

A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides by Gisèle Pelicot *5 stars

I wouldn’t ordinarily give a personal memoir of this nature a starred review, but I think it was tremendously courageous for Gisèle Pelicot to speak so candidly about the horrific crimes she was subjected to. While her initial desire had been to keep court proceedings behind closed doors and to not publicly announce her name, she ultimately decided it was important to speak out. As she says: Shame has to change sides.

While this book focuses primarily on recent events, she also delves into the traumatic pasts of both herself and her abuser(s). She has become an ambassador for women speaking out about rape and all forms of sexual assault.

In addition to her courage, I thought the book was extremely well-written.

Content warnings. A HUGE ALERT. This book is about a woman who was drugged to unconsciousness and raped hundreds of times over a series of years. I never felt like any details were gratuitous, but the subject matter is incredibly distressing.

Always On Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching, and Rural Living by Marion McKinnon Crook *4 stars

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This was an interesting read, but not as engaging as her first memoir about nursing in rural BC (Always Pack a Candle). She tackles some big topics, but I felt like there were too many loose ends and vignettes that didn’t offer enough continuity.

Content warnings. Frequent discussions of racism and prejudice. Occasional strong language.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot *4 stars

I have a master’s in biology which required passing multiple genetics classes and had never heard of Henrietta Lacks which feels like… a failure! What a crazy story.

The book was a tad long, I think, but the level of research was impressive. The author really got to know the family who will forever be connected to the HeLa cell legacy. And it gave lots of food for thought in terms of medical consent, racism, and for-profit research.

Content warnings. Occasional strong language. Graphic descriptions of medical issues. Discussions of racism and prejudice.

A Thousand Naked Strangers: a Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard *4 stars

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This was a compelling read about a paramedic serving gritty parts of Atlanta. It was eye-opening and heartbreaking and a bit concerning all at once.

My main quibble was the writing style. It’s hard to put my finger on why it didn’t quite land right for me, but it felt… almost a bit like ChatGPT had a hand in the text (which I know it DIDN’T because this book came out in 2016).

Content warnings. Strong language. Graphic descriptions of a range of acute medical issues. Frequent references to substance abuse.

FICTION READS IN JULY 2026

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth *4 stars

This was a great read. It was suspenseful, but definitely not what I would classify as a standard thriller. It reminded me a bit of Thursday Murder Club books although this time, the star character is a convicted murderer! Some of the “twists” I saw coming, but a few I most certainly did not. The book tied up loose ends in satisfying ways. I don’t always love dual timelines, but thought Hepworth did a good job managing that literary technique in Mad Mabel.

Content warnings. Occasional strong language. References to domestic and sexual abuse.

My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney *4 stars

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book felt fairly predictable; it was the equivalent of psychological fluff and I was mostly here for it.

I didn’t love all the twists equally and some plot points felt a bit laboured and clunky, but it held my attention from start to finish and was an enjoyable lazy summer afternoon read. Mileage would certainly vary on this one. I didn’t love the ending, but what are you gonna do?

Content warnings. Strong language. Multiple references to infidelity. Murder. Primarily closed-door references to sexual activity.

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke *5 stars

This is a current “it” book and one that has been polarizing.

At various points throughout, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the book. When I turned the final page, the first thing that popped into my head was: This is 5/5.

I tend to be someone who thinks almost all novels could do with significant trimming. For the most part, I think Yesteryear escapes the issue of being too long.

While there is no likeable character in the book, I still felt emotionally invested in the story. The ending is divisive; I LOVED it and while I had an inkling of the twist, not enough for the reveal to not work well for me.

One little quibble: the word nauseous is used frequently in this book. I found the repetition laughable (it reminded me of “Alas” in Isola.)

Content warnings. A LOT. Strong language throughout. References to infidelity. References to domestic abuse. Primarily closed-door references to sexual activity. Substance abuse.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit *5 stars

This book really made me think. It was almost a DNF in the early stages of reading because the “plot” is hard to follow and I wasn’t sure the story was compelling enough. But the layers Sabit creates with a broad range of voices are phenomenal and I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

Content warnings. Discussions of religious and racial tensions. Occasional strong language. References to honour killings.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston *4 stars

This is yet another books that reminds me a bit of a (non-mystery) version of the Thursday Murder Club. There was a bit too much toilet humour (which started to feel a bit tired in places), but it was a sweet book and I was genuinely rooting for multiple characters.

There’s a little “twist” partway through the book I didn’t see coming. I mostly liked the ending, and I appreciated that the author has drawn from her own experience working in long-term care with patients diagnosed with dementia.

Content warnings. Discussions of addiction (gambling and alcohol). Occasional language. References to miscarriage and loss of a child. Dementia is a prevalent theme.

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy *4 stars

This was a sweet, gentle story that tugs at the heartstrings. My only real complaint was that the ending felt a bit rushed in comparison to the rest of the book. My favourite story arc was her interaction with Dr. Jamal.

Content warnings. Can’t think of any? Maybe some occasional language, but I can’t remember anything notable a few days after finishing the book, so I’m assuming it was minor!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan *4 stars

For my tween son, it was a 5/5—he loved this book.

I read it out loud to him and we both found it fast-paced and exciting. I get frustrated reading books where the names tongue-tie me, but that’s my problem and I muddled through. To be fair, Riordan was mostly using names from Greek mythology, so I’ll cut him some slack (though I tripped over Annabeth all. the. time, and do wish her name had been Annabelle because that is what I kept defaulting to).

My biggest quibble with the book is the sheer degree of overlap with Harry Potter. The parallels are absolutely everywhere and it felt a bit too close to that storyline.

But the book is entertaining and it made for a number of very enjoyable hours spent reading with my son. It’s not a book (or series) I’d read on my own, but I can definitely understand the hype and it was a lot of fun. We plan to read the rest of the books together. And, it feels mildly virtuous since it incorporates Greek mythology, which is an academic topic I know little to nothing about!

Content warnings. Teen peril. Descriptions of fantasy violence (people being turned to stone, swords with magical powers). References to domestic abuse. While the specific material is different, I’d say these books are highly comparable with Harry Potter in terms of content warnings. If your kids aren’t scared by HP, they should be fine with these books. If they find HP dark and unsettling, they’ll likely feel the same about Percy Jackson.

TOP PICKS FOR JULY

• Fiction. Good People by Patmeena Sabit. It was a slow start for me, but it’s the book I’ve kept thinking about in the weeks that followed.
• Non-fiction. A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot. Because of the nature of the book, this is not going to be something suitable for all audiences and would in fact be highly distressing for many people to read. But I thought she was tremendously courageous for taking her story public and I have no doubt many people’s lives will be changed (some laws in France have already been changed!).

Your turn:

• What was your favourite book in July?
• Do you read more (or less) in the summer?