2026 Literary Exploration Society to Expand Reading

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

~ Robert Frost,  Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood

Since we began 52 Books in 52 Weeks in 2009, the variety of 52 books challenges has exploded. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I think it's time for us to slip off the beaten path and take the one less traveled. The first order of business, change the name.  

My husband always comes up with code words or nicknames for things we do. When I narrowed our book reading challenge name down to two options, he went with the first option and immediately added 'to expand reading' and lovingly provided a nick name. Which lead us to today.  Welcome to the: 

Literary Exploration Society To Expand Reading 

or L.E.S.T.E.R for short

The url of read52booksin52weeks.com will remain the same 

L.E.S.T.E.R. will still be the home for the Well Educated Mind reading challenge as well as the perpetual and past challenges linked above from our many reading adventures around the world. 

We will have a variety of weekly, monthly, annual reading quests to aid in our  adventures:

2026 Bingo quest:  25 new categories to inspire with Mile Davis and all those Jazz rabbit holes to David Bowie's Book lists to the quirky and the cozy.

2026 Literary Legends: Explore authors and stories that have endured throughout the years.

2026 Contemporary Authors: From Haruki Murakami to Alan Moore, there is a variety of modern day authors to explore.

2026 A to Z and Back Again in which there are many ways to complete the project and you don't have to stick with authors or titles only. The choices are unlimited.

and /or try one or more of our perpetual challenges:  

Agatha Christie  -- Read her books in chronological order as listed, group by detective or collection, or randomly if you choose. 

Mind Voyages - A science fiction / fantasy challenge through the decades, exploring the Hugo and Nebula winners and nominees, Philip K. Dick, and Robert Heinlein. 

Well Educated Mind --  Continue to explore the classics in 6 categories: Fiction, Autobiography, History/Politics, Drama, Poetry and Science. 

Dip into past challenges such as Brit Tripping, Dusty and Chunky, Feed Your Muse, Inspiration, Nobel Prize Winners or Sounds of Silence.

The goal is to set your own goal and how you get there is up to you. Ask yourself these questions:  Are you a promiscuous reader or prefer to inhale one book a time?  Do you like to follow a plan, or be spontaneous? Do you like to read fiction or nonfiction? Do you like to read from your own shelves, buy books, or get them from the library? Do you like to read widely and broadly or do a focused study of something new or old?  Do you like to reread stories time and again?  Do you like to delve into your favorite author's backlist to the exclusion of all else or sip them slowly through the years. Do you need more time to dive into that chunky or dusty book that's been languishing on the shelf? Do you like to explore new to you authors, genres, spaces and places?    Do you like to follow connections, take side trips, or dive into rabbit holes? Let your books be your guide and see where they take you.

Reading is as necessary as breathing so my answer is yes to all these questions since all that matters is the reading. To our current readers, I appreciate you and look forward to next year. If you like to lurk, wave hello. And if you just found us, please join us to play along or chart your own path. 

The challenge runs January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026

Our book weeks begin on Sunday, except for week one which begins on Thursday, January 1st and runs through January 10th. 

Participants may join at any time. 

All forms of books are acceptable including e-books, audio books, etc. 

Re-reads are acceptable as long as they are read after January 1, 2025

Books may overlap other challenges. 

The link widget will be added to the bottom of each weekly post to link to your book reviews, and closes at the end of each book week. 

BW49: December, December!

I Heard a Bird Sing

by

Oliver Herford

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

A magical thing

And sweet to remember.

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,”

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December. 

Happy Sunday!  December is a time of crisp air, snow, rain, warm winter coats, smoky fireplaces, Christmas shopping, sleigh rides, singing carols, sorting through all your lists and checking them twice, making plans for the end of the year and the beginning of the year.  And reading of course. 

Booker Prize: best wintry reads from the Booker Library, chosen by you  Including Dickensian tales which are also one of our 52 Books Bingo Categories.

Keeping Up With The Penguins: 7 Dickensian Novels

Wreninkpaper:  All the (Dickensian) Year Round

Story Graph: Books with December in the title 

Goodreads Favorite Christmas Stories 

Goodreads December Reading Lists

Happy Reading! 

BW48: Eek! It's December

 

Happy Sunday! December is upon us which means Winter is coming, plus many important celebrations including St. Nicholas Day, Christmas, Hannukah, kwanzaa, Boxing day, Las Posadas, and for the rest of us, Festivus.  It's also Art and Architecture Month, Human Rights Month, Write a Friend Month, and National Fruitcake Month.  Raise a virtual hand if you've never eaten fruit cake. Plus National Read a Book Month which isn't hard for us at all. *grin*

If you've been playing along with our Dragon Bookology spelling and reading challenge, our December dragon of the month is Kalessin from Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea Series.  Earthsee coincidently begins with E which is our letter of the week. 

E stands for Ergodic or Epistolary which are two of our bingo categories. E also stands for ebooks, elves, English, Egyptian, or European literature, essay, earth, and epic. I'm currently reading the epic Les Miserables which I plan on finishing by the end of the year.   

It's time to start writing our Christmas lists, get creative, wrap up our reading challenges, and figure out plans for the new year. 

Happy reading! 

BW47: Happy Thanksgiving

 

Happy Sunday! This week we give thanks for faith, family and friends as well as fiction, favorites, fantasy, fables, fashion, field guides, food, folklore, fractured fairy tales, French lit, and futuristic books. As you've probably guessed, this week's letter is F. Fancy that! 

Thanksgiving Observance

by an unknown author

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;

Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes;

Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;

Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean;

Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth;

Count on God instead of yourself.

I'm am thankful for each and every one of you! Happy Thanksgiving!

BW46: Big G, little g, what begins with G?

 

Happy Sunday! Gosh, golly, gee whiz. I'm stuck in G land so let's go with genres that start with G.

Gastronomy: Since I had my gall bladder removed, I've been in the mood for something different to cook and eat instead of the same old, same old, so reading lots of cookbooks and experimenting with food. Blissfully surprised so far. 

Gardening:  My garden and I assume yours as well needs a make over so let's see what we can do with them.  Why do I want to plant during rainy winters? 

Gemstones:  Also in the mood for a gemstone of a book, a one of a kind.  While I clear my shelves of old books, keeping those that are friends, making room for the new, I'm also in the mood for a gemstone of a book, one of a kind.  I'm also sure there are some interesting books about a jewelry heist or two. 

Glaciers:  I don't know why I'm drawn to books about glaciers, the Antarctic the freezing cold frozen tundra. Although I'd never get caught in such a place, I live vicariously through the characters experiences. 

Golden Aged Mysteries: Ah, the queen of the genre, Agatha Christie is a good go too as well as many other authors. And one of our 52 Books Bingo categories. Dive in!

Gritty Books:  So much fun whether a hardened detective, dystopian, or a hardened western. 

Gaslamp Fantasies: Jump into a Victorian world of mystery and scary weird science or magic

Geography:  From the america's to the amazon to the Antarctic, explore with real life or fictional characters.

God: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” ― Corrie ten Boom

Graphic Novels: My son's one true love. 

Greece: Fascinating place. 

Grief:  “If you cannot hold me in your arms, then hold my memory in high regard. And if I cannot be in your life, then at least let me live in your heart.”  ― Ranata Suzuki

Go through the gate to play the game of golf, before the goose grabs the gold and gifts your grapes to the guest!!! 

Happy reading! 

BW45: History, Humor, and Help, Oh My!

The Illustrator - Jonathan Wolstenholme

 

Happy Sunday!  The world of non fiction is very broad from art to cookbooks to journals to history to humor to memoirs to spirituality to science.  A bit of something for everyone.  Below is just a small example of the selections available. I prefer non fiction books that read like fiction, drawing me in which emotion and humor and world building.  Although I'm learning to appreciate cookbooks, memoirs and poetry, not to mention writer journals and experiences.  Since November is non fiction month, join me in exploring different genres you may have never tried before. 

Syosset Public Library Humorous Non Fiction

Penguin Random House round up of best selling Psychology Books 

She Reads 12 Science-y nonfiction Books for Non-scientists

Penguin Random House best selling Spiritual Non Fiction

Richland Library Broader Bookshelf 2025: Read an art-focused work of nonfiction

Third Place Books Non-Fiction That Reads Like Fiction: Part 1

and last but not least:   Goodreads Non Fiction round up  because I'm lazy.  LOL!

Happy reading! 

BW44: November Notions

Cross References by Jonathan Wolstenholme

 

Happy Sunday! Welcome to November and our foray into all things non fiction.  Non Fiction falls into 5 different broad categories: Narrative ( one of our bingo categories), Expository (yet another bingo category), Persuasive, and Descriptive. Within those broad categories, there are many different genres, some which blend, overlap, or stand alone. So the choices are unlimited.  

The Complete List of New York Times Nonfiction Best Sellers 

45 Non-Fiction Classics You’ll Want to Pick Up (and Won’t Want to Put Down)

Narrative Nonfiction: Books that read like novels

November also starts our latest dragon of the month: Glauring.  He is the father of dragons in J.R.R Tolkien's Middle Earth,  created by Morgoth in The Silmarillion and became the main antagonist in The Children of Hurin. 

Our A to Z and Back Again letter this week is I.  Look for books with titles starting with I  or authors whose names begin with I .  Find a book that is inspirational, idealistic, or full of irony.  Maybe a story that is immense or starts in media res. 

Have a great non fiction November and have fun exploring different genres! 

BW43: October by Robert Frost

 October 

By 

Robert Frost 

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

To-morrow’s wind, if it be wild, 

Should waste them all. 

The crows above the forest call;

To-morrow they may form and go. 

O hushed October morning mild, 

Begin the hours of this day slow,

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know; 

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf; 

One from our trees, one far away;

Retard the sun with gentle mist;

Enchant the land with amethyst. 

Slow, slow! 

For the grapes’ sake, if they were all, 

Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,

Whose clustered fruit must else be lost—

For the grapes’ sake along the wall.

BW42: K is for ...

 

Happy Sunday!  I just finished The Forest of Lost Souls by Dean Koontz which was amazing. I couldn't put it down and kept reading long into the night until I finished it. A psychological thriller about a woman against a megalomaniac and his cohorts.  Wonderfully written characters, descriptions, and images which made sleep lost well worth it.  Every story written by Koontz is unique and charming as well as horrifying. Not blood and guts horrifying, but psychologically, thought provoking, fear producing, scary.  I have read many of his books over the years, starting with By the Light of the Moon, then the Odd Thomas series which are good starting points, if you haven't read any of his books. 

Another author I never thought to approach is Stephen King until I read his non fiction book - On Writing. It fascinated me enough to try reading one of his stories.  I picked out Duma Key and read the back cover, then a few random pages and liked what I read, so decided to get it. Duma Key wasn't so much a horror story as it was a supernatural, psychological thriller.  A man's painting take an eerie turn when he discovers that whatever he paints becomes reality.   The story totally captured my attention and kept me reading long into the night.  Which lead me to reading Under the Dome as well as his Gunslinger series which are good starting points as well.

Books that contain Underground Knowledge or non fiction books that will expand your knowledge

Knock Offs - Books that imitate J.R.R. Tolkien stories

Books about Knitting - Fact or Fiction

Killer espionage novels 

Books with Kiss in the title 

Books with Keyholes and Magic Keys 

Read a book by authors whose names start with K or have a word in the title start with K.

Have fun! 

BW41: Language

 

Happy Sunday!  I enjoy reading stories that play with language, and create fascinating and creative words to fit their world.  I recently finished Neuromancer by William Gibson which reminded me of the Matrix and was filled with invented terminology which had me lost part of the time, but was able to figure out the meaning with the action. A few years back I read the The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall in which he created a world of language where the words on the page created visual images of meaning. Another fascinating story about communication is Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dun in which as the 26 letters of the alphabet fall from a sign, the island residences are forbidden from using them in conversation.   

From Star Trek to Dune to Lord of the Rings to Embassytown to 1984 to The Fifth Season, science fiction and fantasy is riddled with made up language. 

Ten Great Books With Their Own Languages

Novels where the worldview is highly affected by a SF-created language.

20 of our favorite fictional languages from brilliant fantasy worlds

A book with a made-up language.

Happy Reading! 

BW40: October dragon of the month: Furtia Stormcaller

 

Happy Sunday!  Yes, I changed our Dragon of the month to Furtia Stormcaller, a Seiikinese sea dragon from Samantha Shannon's The Priory of the Orange Tree.  Once I started reading Priory of the Orange tree, couldn't put it down. From Tane to Ead to Nicholas to Loth to the dragons to high seas adventures with pirates to court intrigue, Shannon built an interesting and intriguing world which totally sucked me in. 

“To be kin to a dragon, you must not only have a soul of water. You must have the blood of the sea, and the sea is not always pure. It is not any one thing. There is darkness in it, and danger, and cruelty. It can raze great cities with its rage. Its depths are unknowable; they do not see the touch of the sun. To be a Miduchi is not to be pure, Tané. It is to be the living sea. That is why I chose you. You have a dragon’s heart.”

I've always been fascinated by dragons, whether good or bad, considered a god or a means of transportation. Thought I'd leave you with a few quotes about dragons:

“Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.”  ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

“A dragon without its rider is a tragedy. A rider without their dragon is dead.” ~ Rebecca Yarros, Fourth Wing.

“Jason scratched his head. "You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” ~ Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero

Happy Reading! 

BW39: October Spooktacular

 

Happy Sunday! It's that time of year to put together your spooky reading list for our October spooktacular.  The first books that always come to mind are Frankenstein or Dracula which surprisingly defy all expectations from their movie counterparts, so if you've never read them, now would be a good time to do so.  And then there are the reimagined takes on the stories which are just as good.  

 Frankenstein Reimagined   -  Dean Koontz Prodigal son was excellent which lead me to read the whole series. 

 Dracula Reimagined - Dacre Stoker as well as Kim Newman are great go to authors.

Spooky doesn't equal horror.  I have a really hard time with blood and guts horror books or movies. I had to hide my eyes several times during the viewing of the latest series of Alien Earth. LOL! It was scary good, but oh my goodness.  

Stories with emotional, pee in your pants scary, moments filled with tension that make you laugh or cry.  Mind bending stories with devious and conniving characters and lots of twists and turns. Stories that make you think and go whoa, I didn't see that coming. From psychological thrillers that entertain, thrill, or shock to cozy mysteries for the faint of heart, there is a little bit of something for every one. 

Seven Fairytale Retellings Transformed into Horror -  The Book Eaters is currently on my list to read.

Build Your Spooky Season TBR With These New October Releases!

Ghost Themed Cozy Mystery Series

Happy Reading!