2026 mid-year books
#285 - Aug.2026
This has become a tradition now. :)
My mid-year checkpoint of book reviews! I started sharing this list back in 2021. This year I've been reading more. I noticed how very small habits can compound over time: 15 mins reading time every morning (+ any spare time, which counts as an extra). Result: 16 books so far!
I know that reading is never about quantity. But just being able to access a bigger variety of books is already a win! Looking into the list of books, most of them got around existential topics and life meanings, with a few classics...a good symptom of the times we are living in! :)
Here's a quick note for each one in case you are interested in jumping into any of them:
- Momentos estelares de la humanidad (Stefan Zweig): This was a carry-over from last year. Stefan Zweig has a gift for telling history stories in a way that grabs your attention, light and insightful.
- Autoliberación interior (Anthony de Mello): Is not an exaggeration to say that this book changed my life. Probably need a dedicated post only for this but this book, a gift from my Mom, is De Mello at his best with profound ideas for spiritual freedom.
- El canto del pájaro (Anthony de Mello): I needed to continue reading De Mello after the previous book. I took this one which is a compilation of small stories which can help as a tool for meditation and prayer.
- Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Gabriel García Márquez): I keep on returning to "Gabo" as an inspiration and reminder of how beautiful is Spanish prose when combined with a unique way of telling stories.
- Siddhartha (Hermann Hesse): Profound. Inspiring. Soul-moving. I cried a few times with this book (yep! is that strong). And it was even more special as I read it during a trip to India, where the story of the book begins.
- Este dolor no es mío (Mark Wolynn): An interesting book combining psychology and spirituality explaining how traumatic experiences can be carried across generations without us even knowing.
- El hombre en busca de sentido (Viktor Frankl): Also a gift from my Mom, following the sequence of Siddhartha. A raw and impactful story of a man living in a concentration camp and how, even in these conditions, he's able to seek meaning and purpose.
- La muerte de Artemio Cruz (Carlos Fuentes): Gabriel García Márquez said that Carlos Fuentes deserved the Nobel prize. I needed to read something from him and decided to go with this book. "Gabo" was right! What a masterpiece.
- Meditaciones (Marco Aurelio): I took this book long ago but didn't finish it. I wanted to give it a new try. After the other spiritual books from this year I got a new perspective re-reading Meditations. Timeless ideas.
- Practical Mysticism (Evelyn Underhill): I found this book through serendipity. Liked the title. And Evelyn did a great job demystifying mysticism, explaining it in simple words and taking it into daily practice.
- The Little Book of Hygge (Meik Wiking): This year I visited Copenhagen and came back inspired by the 'Hygge' feeling. This book gives a good overview of what Hygge means and how it goes beyond candles and hot chocolate.
- El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (Gabriel García Márquez): Yes. Another from Gabo. I don't get tired. Especially if you take what Gabo considered as his best book.
- Odisea (Homero): I was preparing for the movie ;). Jokes aside, I started (re-reading) this book without knowing about Christopher Nolan's 2026 movie, but it was a good coincidence. A classic. Not much to add other than how crazy it is to think that it is actually a poem with immortal verses.
- Magnífica Humanitas (Pope Leo XIV): I was very happy to read the latest book from Pope Leo XIV, very well grounded in a modern topic like AI through a different lens of humanity and faith.
- Ideias para Adiar o Fim do Mundo (Ailton Krenak): I ordered this and the book below from Brazil. Ailton Krenak is one of the most influential indigenous leaders from Brazil, part of many important social movements towards land and culture protection. In this short book, he challenges our concept of humanity separated from nature.
- A Cabeça do Santo (Socorro Acioli): Small secret: this book is related to "Gabo" :). It was a surprise to know that Socorro started this book after a workshop with Gabriel García Márquez. And by reading the story you understand why Gabo encouraged her to write it.
Happy Reading!
¡Saludos!
