Wrapping up 6.5 months of 2026

Sophia Considine
Jul 20
4 min read

Reflecting back on work, life, reading, listening, and media

By Sophia Considine

"He closed his eyes and focused on how good it felt to be with Shane, alone in the dark, and tried not to wish it could be the same in the light."

- The Long Game, Rachel Reid

IMAGE VIA SOPHIA CONSIDINE / CANVA / BOOKSHOP.ORG / AMAZON

Work and life

I've gotten a lot more comfortable living in the city over the past six months. I can give tourists directions most of the time, and my work commute is engrained in my memory. It's fun to be walking around and see how cool the city is—it's truly crazy that I'm here.

For one thing, my work life has been up and down all year, though it's finally settling down. In January, my restaurant job cut my hours, so I had to find another job last-minute. I was freaking out at first, but within a week, I found a part-time position at a jewelry store. That was my first retail position, and it was fun. But after four months, I applied for a few bookstore positions, and I actually got an interview! After all my years applying to be a bookseller, this was the first time I earned an interview—and I got the job.

So now, I work three days a week as a bookseller and two days a week as a hostess. My schedule is consistent, I love my coworkers, and I get to indulge the part of my brain that's obsessed with books (a very large part).

My favorite aspect of working at the bookstore is being able to help customers find books and writing staff recommendations. I love the feeling of placing my book rec on the wall and seeing it disappear into another person's hands. It's especially meaningful when I pick a book that we didn't have stocked, but they order it so I can put it up. I love sharing a book with others that they might have never seen.

My current staff recs:

Behind Five Willows by June Hur
Dating and Dragons by Kristy Boyce
Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews
Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft
When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao

Now, with my bookseller position and continued volunteer work with the Young Publishers Association and my literary magazine, the little things, I feel even more confident applying for publishing jobs. I recently applied for an internship and three editorial assistant roles, and even if I don't hear back, I'm still grateful for the confidence and growth I've gained.

As time goes on, I will continue to pursue my dream of being an Editor championing diverse romance, fantasy, science fiction, and magical realism.

Reading recap

I have read so many amazing books so far this year. Usually, I try desperately to read a variety of genres, but 2026 has been a year to embrace romance. Give me all the angst and lovey-dovey cuteness!

The main app I use to keep track of my reading is Fable, and I love their "Reader Summary" feature that updates after every book I finish. Here's my current summary:

Romantic Growth: Reading romance books, you've explored the complexities of new love. Whenever your read these passionate stories, you gift yourself the wellness benefits of reading.

Total books finished: 38

Avg. Rating: 4.5 stars

Highest reading streak: 10 days

NOTE: This would be much higher if Fable counted fanfiction.

Earbuds and speakers kept me company

Music is always a comfort for me. It often influences my own emotions, or the other way around, where the emotions I feel influence which songs I listen to. This became even more prevalent when I began adding artist Alex Warren to my primary rotation.

Alex Warren grew into popularity with his song, Ordinary, written about the love for his wife. I found Ordinary on Instagram as Warren promoted to the bookstagram girlies because come on... look at the lyrics. We all want the love shown from these words and seeing a man this in love when reading—and in real life—gives me butterflies along with the hope for that same love in the future.

I want you layin' me down 'til we're dead and buried / On the edge of your knife, stayin' drunk on your vine / The angels up in the clouds are jealous, knowin' we found / Somethin' so out of the ordinary. - Ordinary, Alex Warren

Besides Alex Warren, I've also been listening to Ateez, Stray Kids, Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, and the Epic: The Musical soundtrack. I was listening to Epic on repeat for the first few months of this year. It's so incredibly good. K-pop is still my primary genre of music, and Ateez is my favorite artist at the moment. I love their hype songs, their emotional songs, their music videos and live performances... everything is so immersive.

Some of my favorite songs right now:

Alex Warren
- Everything
- Heaven Without You
- Save You a Seat
- Fine Place to Die
Ateez
- Adrenaline
- Bad
- Fallin'
- Legacy (YEOSANG)
Stray Kids
- Run It
Olivia Rodrigo
- drop dead
- stupid song
- maggots for brains
- what's wrong with me
- expectations
BTS
- Hooligan
- Merry Go Round
- NORMAL
- they don't know 'bout us
- Into the Sun
Epic: The Musical - Jorge Rivera-Herrans
- Warrior of the Mind
- Ruthlessness
- Monster
- Scylla
- Thunder Bringer
- Get in the Water
- The Challenge
- Hold Them Down
  - I cry so much and feel so uncomfortable, but the VA's voice is one of the best I've ever heard, and it is a very good song musically.
- Odysseus
- Would You Fall in Love with Me Again

Helpful links to get to know me:

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