Shore residents recommend good reads for 2026

By Linda Cicoira

The holiday season is coming to a close, with 2026 up fast. So, get ready to settle in for the cold winter months ahead by making your reading selections.

Accomack and Northampton residents devoured dozens of volumes in 2025 and offered their favorites to Shore Daily News via social media.

Chincoteague Mayor Denise Bowden praised the book, Stand by Your Man, the autobiography of Tammy Wynette, the queen of Country Western music, who described going from living in a tarpaper shack in Mississippi to the splendor of a Florida mansion.

“She is second in line to my favorite Loretta Lynn, and I wanted to read her story,” said Bowden. “It was amazing! I felt like I was right on the tour bus with her. What a life she led, and what a life that was tragically cut short.”

Bill Schmidt, of the Painter area, recommended the gothic horror story, Rosemear, by Quinn Noll, who lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her family. “She reminds me of Steven King,” Schmidt said. “I have read all her books, except the new one just out.”

A tobacco plantation in 1859 sets the stage for this title, where a triple homicide occurred in Savannah, Georgia, and a young enslaved woman is accused of committing the crimes for revenge.

Former Accomack County supervisor and famous decoy carver, Grayson Chesser, of Jenkins Bridge, said he thought “the best book I’d read about the Shore was Slave and Free on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, by (the late) Kirk Mariner.”

But now there is an equal to that. Chesser recently read Brooks Miles Barnes’ new historical account, Steam and Steel: The Eastern Shore of Virginia 1870-1884, and gave it a rave review.

Chesser said Barnes’ book “should be required reading for every realtor. They should give a free copy to all who move here. It would save everybody a lot of grief and disappointment, as the Shore is very different than the rest of the country. It would help them understand how we are different and why.”

Amazon describes Mariner’s book as an examination of “the last age of slavery, the antebellum period, between the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the Civil War. Based primarily on the local records of its two rural counties–Accomack and Northampton–it unearths glimpses into that day that will rattle the stereotypes and preconceptions of many in this day.”

BarnesandNoble.com describes Barnes’ book by writing, “The years following the Civil War were fraught with change for the people … War had altered patterns of trade 200 years old and had accelerated change in agriculture and the fisheries … The end of slavery required new economic, social, and political arrangements. As Eastern Shoremen struggled with these challenges, northern capitalists eyed investment opportunities on the conquered peninsula … improved transportation by rail and water, (and) set in motion the Eastern Shore’s economic and cultural colonization by the industrial north.”

Barnes, a native of the area, has a doctorate in history. For many years, he worked for the Eastern Shore Public Library, where he was in charge of the local history collection.

Cecil Bundick, of Parksley, touted How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, by Bill Gates.

“In a conversation about climate change, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed,” said Bundick. “The scale of the problem is vast, the timelines are quickly shifting, and the language often leans toward either panic or paralysis … Gates doesn’t treat climate change as an abstract moral failing or a distant disaster,” Bundick said. “He approaches it as a practical problem that demands practical solutions … He doesn’t pretend … easy fixes or single breakthroughs are waiting just around the corner. He openly acknowledges where technology can help, and the work needed to achieve these objectives.”

Diana Davis, of Jamesville, said her favorite book in 2025 was A Kiss Before You Go, by Danny Gregory. It’s about the death of Gregory’s wife and how he came to terms with it. It is a “great book,” said Davis. “I read it in one sitting,” and “cried and laughed.”

David Replogle, of Belle Haven, said he read The Bible in 2025. There is always at least one participant in our annual survey who mentions the title. Google says The Bible is the best-selling and most widely distributed book of all time. More than five billion copies have been sold, and 88 percent of Americans own a copy.

Jessica Jennestreet Bernard, of Melfa, recommended The Let Them Theory, by Mel Robbins. “It helped me refocus on myself instead of the noise around me, and honestly, it helped me get back to the old Jessica,” she said. “Encouraging, grounding, and exactly what I needed.”

This #1 best seller is a self-help book that teaches readers to stop trying to control others and focus on their own choices, emotions, and goals, using the mantra “Let Them” to free themselves from others’ opinions and drama.

Carol Buckner McGarrity, of Onancock, chose Nobody’s Girl, by Virginia Giuffre. “Ms. Giuffre gave us a rare glimpse of sex-trafficking,” McGarrity said. “The information that she provided confirms in my mind how many prominent people around the world are involved in sustaining and protecting the trafficking industry. No matter how hard she tried not be a victim, the stain stayed in her psyche.”

In 2024, Connie Burford, of Chincoteague, loved Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey, which is based on the actor’s journals from age 14, with life stories, lessons, and philosophy on finding satisfaction by embracing life’s challenges as opportunities.

“I liked it so much, I bought the audiobook and listened to him read it to me while I was driving in my car,” said Burford of 2025. Then she bought McConaughey’s children’s book, Just Because, for her daughter’s kindergarten class.

“He wrote that, too,” Burford said. “Listen to it. It’s really short but funny. Isn’t it catchy? And it has a lot of great points.” She provided a link from The Tonight Show about the book turned to song. Here it is: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTrawzC4Lk

Jan Coulbourne, of Captain’s Cove, said, “I just read Donegal Highlands (by Liam Ronayne and illustrated by Pat Cowley) for a second time. Donegal is the largest county in Ireland, and many would say the most breathtaking … It speaks (of) Irish folk tales, and lore … the history … The beautiful paintings of the … mountains and water … are enlightening (and) stunning. Not much has changed since the writing of the book (in the 1990s), and not many places on earth are lovelier. I recommend it not only to Irish descendants, historians, and painters, but to anyone looking for a positive must-read.”

Danielle Wagner, a Craddockville native, picked Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness. “I actually did the audiobooks and read the series. I did not realize it was an actual series on Netflix. I loved it because it had everything … from magic, mystical creatures, crime, drama, love, humor, historical flair, and more. It was like taking a trip with a mission but experiencing life along the way. This was the first year in a long time that I have been able to read/ listen to so many books and found great books,” Wagner said. With Fanfics and online books included, she read more than 50 volumes in 2025. “It’s nice to scroll and read, but holding a book will always have a certain magic to it,” she added.