July 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up

Howdy, y’all! It’s time for my July 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up. I wonder if this will help me reduce the number of books on my TBR. Who am I kidding? I’m a reader; of course, I’ll always add books. In June 2026, I had 597 books. Today, I have 594. Will my July 2026 Goodreads TBR shelf clean-up help bring that number down more?

I saw this Goodreads TBR Clean-Up post at Megan’s Book Stacks and knew I had to try it. Megan found it over at MegaBunnyReads. This month’s clean-up is a bit different than usual. How so? I’m sticking with just the books I have labeled as Christmas. In total, that’s 109 books, including those I’ve read and those I haven’t. This month, I’ll be using a random sorter to help pick the 5 books.

Click the titles to go to Goodreads.

How It Works:

• Go to your Goodreads want-to-read shelf.
• Use a random number generator to pick a number between 1 and however many books are on the list.
• Go to that book and look at the four after it for a total of 5.
• Read the synopses of the books.
• Decide: keep it or delete it?
• Discuss here.

Books To Be Read: 597

Starting Number: 520. It appears that I’m reviewing the books I added in Fall 2025.

Shelf Sorted: Random

Let’s get this July 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up underway!

Silent Bite by David Rosenfelt

Lawyer Andy Carpenter can finally take a breath; he’s back on dry land after a family Caribbean cruise forced on him by his wife, Laurie, to get into the Christmas spirit. Of course, the family’s first stop is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization that has always been Andy’s true passion.

But when Andy arrives, his partner, Willie Miller, needs his help. Willie’s old cellmate, Tony Birch, has been arrested for murder. Andy doesn’t necessarily believe in Tony, but Willie does. And Andy believes in Willie, which is why Andy decides to take the case.

Once again, David Rosenfelt puts readers in the Christmas spirit in a tale that is equal parts mystery and holiday cheer.

My Thoughts

This is part of a series, which I have read one or two other parts of. I was a tad lost because I hadn’t read the earlier books in the series. I do have a copy of this on my physical bookshelf, so maybe I’ll read it?

KEEP

Christmas at the Island Hotel by Jenny Colgan

On the tiny, beautiful, and remote island of Mure, halfway between Scotland and Norway, a new hotel opening is a big event. New mother Flora MacKenzie and her brother Fintan are working themselves half to death to get it ready in time for Christmas. 

The new hotel’s impressive kitchens throw together two unlikely new friends: Isla Gregor is the hardworking young girl who has been a waitress in the island’s cafe, dreaming of a bigger, better life now that she’s at a proper fancy hotel. Konstantin Pederson is working his way up in the hotel’s kitchens too…but he is also, secretly, the only son of the Duke of Utsire. Konstantin has been sent to learn what it is to work hard for a living, before receiving his inheritance. Although he’s initially resentful, the place grows on him; he has never met anyone quite like Isla and her fellow Murians before. 

As the island’s residents and special VIP guests gather for the hotel’s grand opening gala, Christmas is in the air. But so are more than a few small-town secrets…

My Thoughts

I started this series earlier this year. And I enjoy reading Jenny Colgan’s books. Oh, and did I forget to mention, I own a copy of this book?

KEEP

An Almost Perfect Christmas by Nina Stibbe

Every family has its Christmas traditions and memories, and Nina Stibbe’s is no exception. From her kitchen-phobic mother’s annual obsession with roasting the perfect turkey (an elusive dream to this day) to the quest for a perfect teacher gift (memorable for all the wrong reasons); from the tragic Christmas tree (“is it meant to look like that?”) to the acceptable formula for thank-you letters (must include Health Inquiry and Interesting Comment), Nina Stibbe captures all that is magical and maddening about the holidays.

My Thoughts

A collection of memories and traditions? How could I not want to read it?

KEEP

Christmas on the Island by Jenny Colgan

Christmas on the remote Scottish island of Mure is bleak, stark — and incredibly beautiful.

It’s a time for hunkering down, getting cosy in front of whisky barrel wood fires, and enjoying a dram with the people you love — unless, of course, you’re accidentally pregnant to your ex-boss, and don’t know how to tell him. In what should be the season of peace and goodwill on earth, will Joel think Flora is a bearer of glad tidings?

Meanwhile, Saif, the doctor and refugee from war-torn Syria, is trying to enjoy his first Western Christmas with his sons — but without his missing wife. Can the little family possibly find comfort and joy?

My Thoughts

This is the third book in the Mure series, and the one before Christmas at the Island Hotel (which I mentioned earlier). Like that one, I will be keeping this on my TBR.

KEEP

Christmas on Reindeer Road by Debbie Mason

Mallory Maitland knows all too well what it’s like to feel abandoned, which is why she’s sworn never to give up on her two stepsons—her late husband’s children. But when the teens land in hot water, she’s got a whole new problem: how to resist the caring and incredibly hot Chief of Police Gabriel Buchanan. All Mallory wants is to give the boys a magical holiday. She doesn’t need the distraction of wondering what it would be like to kiss Gabriel under the mistletoe.

After his wife died, Gabriel left his job as an adrenaline-chasing New York City homicide detective to focus on raising his three sons. But back in Highland Falls, he doesn’t have to go looking for trouble. It finds him—in the form of a beautiful neighbor and her troublemaking stepchildren. With Gabriel’s mother-in-law looking for any excuse to gain custody of his sons, Gabriel can’t risk getting involved with Mallory, even though she’s the only woman capable of making this Christmas—and all the rest to come—his best ever.

My Thoughts

While I own a copy of this book, I’m not 100% certain I want to read it.

DELETE

That is my July 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up. It appears to have had little effect on my shelf, and I’m keeping four of the books. LOL!

This was fun. I may do it now and then to help keep my shelf realistic. In the past, I had added books without giving them much thought. Will I stop doing that? Of course not! What kind of animal do you think I am?

What do you think? Have you tried something like this to manage your TBR?

Are you looking for some more ideas to read? Check out my monthly reading wrap-ups.