Less news, more books: A mid-year report.

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In his recent 39 (Or So) Lessons On The Way To 39, author and independent bookstore owner Ryan Holiday had this as one of his lessons learned:

“I think most people should consume less news and read more books. Less news, more books. More history. More poetry. More literature. More philosophy. More myths. Because you know what those stories are about? They’re about what’s happening now!”

I’m right there with him. To help me with that goal, regular readers know that in 2026 I have two reading-related challenges underway (and a third one on the horizon . . . check below the fold, as they say):

• The first is a quest to visit all 29 independent bookshops in the DC region.

• The second is the result of a gift from my friend and Brilliant Reader Margit who slipped a note and a piece of paper into a book she loaned me. The paper had the look and feel of an old library card. Instead of a library card, however, it was a Reading Challenge 2026 list from Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton, MT, near where she visits a family home. I was hooked and immediately accepted the challenge.

At this mid-point in the year, I thought I’d provide an update on my progress!

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INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS VISITED AND REVIEWED

As an update, here are the seven independent bookstores I’ve visited so far in 2026 where I have posted reviews of the shop and the book I purchased there:

• Bonjour Books DC, Kensington (see my review of Things Seen)
• Bridge Street Books, Georgetown (see my review of The Late Monsieur Gallet)
• Busboys and Poets, Multiple locations (see my review of Above Ground: Poems)
• People’s Book, Takoma Park (see my review of Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books)
• Politics & Prose, Multiple locations (see my review of Beezus and Ramona)
• The Lantern, Georgetown (see my review of A Great Deliverance)
• Wonderland Books, Bethesda (see my review of Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero)*

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INDEPENDENT BOOKSHOPS VISITED BUT NOT YET REVIEWED

Here are the nine independent bookstores I’ve visited so far in 2026 where I have purchased a book but still need to post a review.

• Bergstrom Press & Books, Kensington (review of Karl Schlögel’s Ukraine: A Nation on the Borderland to come)
• Bol Coop Bookstore, Brookland (review of Laila Lalami’s Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits to come next Monday)
• Bold Forks Books, Mt. Pleasant (review of Jane Bertch’s The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time; A Memoir to come)
• JF Books, Dupont Circle (review of Yiyun Li’s Things in Nature Merely Grow to come)
• Kensington Row Bookshop, Kensington (review of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s to come)
• Kramers, Dupont Circle (review of Megan Kate Nelson’s The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier to come)
• Laurel Leaf, Takoma Park (review of Charles King’s Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams to come)
• Lost City Books, Adams Morgan (review of Molly Crabapple’s Here Where We Live is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund to come)
• Second Story Books, Dupont Circle (review of Daniel James Brown’s The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics to come)

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BOOKSHOPS THAT REMAIN ON MY TO-BE-VISITED LIST

And here are the thirteen independent bookshops I’ve yet to visit in 2026.

• Bard’s Alley, Vienna
• Capitol Hill Books, Eastern Market
• East City Bookshop, Capitol Hill
• Friends to Lovers Bookstore, Alexandria (scheduled visit in July)
• Little District Books, Barracks Road
• Loyalty Bookstore, Petworth
• Mahogany Books, National Harbor
• Middle East Books, Dupont Circle
• Old Town Books, Alexandria (scheduled visit with a friend in July)
• One More Page Books, Arlington
• Sankofa Books, Georgia Avenue
• Scrawl Books, Reston
• Solid State Books, Shaw

If one of these shops is among your favorites and you’d like to show it to me, reach out and let me know. Lunch or coffee and a bookstore visit with a friend is a great way to spend a day!

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UPDATE ON THE READING CHALLENGE

This is an update on the Chapter One Reading Challenge books read and reviewed to date:

1 – A book you’ve picked based on the cover

• Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America’s First Baseball Hero (2026) by Thomas W. Gilbert 

2 – A book with a screen adaptation

• A Great Deliverance (published in 1988) by Elizabeth George (adapted for the BBC’s Inspector Lynley series)
• The Man Who Died Twice (2021) by Richard Osman (adapted for Netflix)

3 – A book that makes you think, “WTF?”

• Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life (published in 2020) by Lulu Miller

4 – A book about a skill/trade/craft

5 – Wild card/unusual pick

6 – A work in translation

• Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books (published in 2025 for the first English translation) by Hwang Bo-Reum
• The Late Monsieur Gallet (published in French in 1931) by Georges Simenon
• The Paul Street Boys (published in Hungarian in 1907) by Ferenc Molnár
• The Yellow Dog (published in French in 1931) by Georges Simenon
• Things Seen (originally published in French in 2000, published in English in 2010) by Annie Ernaux

7 – A collection of poetry

• Above Ground: Poems (published in 2023) by Clint Smith
• Water, Water: Poems (published in 2024) by Billy Collins

8 – A book published in the year you were born

• Beezus and Ramona (1955) by Beverly Cleary

9 – An essay collection

• Our Fragile Freedoms: Essays (published in 2025) by Eric Foner 
• Ways of Walking: Essays (published in 2022) edited by Ann de Forest

10 – A book recommended by a friend/buddy

• A Great Deliverance (published in 1988) by Elizabeth George
• Clear (published in 2024) by Carys Davies
• The Correspondent: A Novel (published in 2025) by Virginia Evans
• The Ordeal of Thomas Hutchinson (published in 1974; new 250th anniversary edition published in 2026) by Bernard Bailyn
• The Paul Street Boys (1907) by Ferenc Molnár
• Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life (published in 2020) by Lulu Miller

So I’m a little more than halfway home with my independent bookshop visits and I’m four-fifths of the way to completing my Chapter One reading challenge. That pace seems just about right.

Keep reading!

More to come . . .

DJB

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*It just so happens that Wonderland Books—one of our DC area independent bookshops—has a summer reading challenge! Complete all ten and win a great Wonderland tote bag! What’s not to like!?! I’ve already read 8 books in the ten categories, so I’m jumping in on this one as well. I’ll update you after Labor Day.

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Photo of Desperate Literature bookshop sign in Madrid by César Viteri on Unsplash