Roots and Wings
Our 2026 Literary Journey
Navigating the passages between books and being
Dear friends,
As I share the Beyond the Bookshelf 2026 reading plan, I'm filled with excitement about the literary adventure ahead. After a transformative year exploring Homer's epic journeys, I've been reflecting on what theme could best serve our mission of navigating the passages between books and being. The answer that emerged feels inevitable and thrilling: "Roots and Wings."
Why "Roots and Wings"?
Great literature is extraordinary. It grounds us in the deepest truths of human experience while lifting us beyond the boundaries of our immediate circumstances. The best books anchor us in wisdom and open infinite possibilities for growth and transformation. They connect us to our shared humanity while expanding our vision of what it means to be human.
This duality of literature mirrors our journey as readers and as people. We need roots—the foundation of understanding who we are, where we come from, and what connects us to the broader human story. But we also need wings—the courage to grow beyond our given circumstances, to imagine new possibilities, and to transform through the power of story.
"Roots and Wings" perfectly captures Beyond the Bookshelf's mission by recognizing that meaningful reading isn't about escape from life but deeper engagement with it. We read to understand our place in the human story while discovering new territories of experience and understanding.
A Year of Literary Growth
I've structured our reading this year around the natural rhythm of seasons, each representing a different stage in the essential human journey from grounding to growth to expansion to integration. My apologies to those in the Southern Hemisphere, as these seasons will be the opposite of your own. However, I hope you can will still join the journey with us.
Winter: "Ancestral Voices" (January-March)
Winter invites us inward, toward contemplation and deep roots. Our focus on "Ancestral Voices" explores how understanding our origins—familial, cultural, and collective—provides the stable ground from which we can later take flight. These books help us hear the voices of those who came before and understand how their experiences live within us. This isn't nostalgia but archaeology, digging deep to understand the bedrock of human experience that shapes our identity.
Spring: "Coming of Age" (April-June)
Spring represents that pivotal moment when deep roots enable upward growth. Coming-of-age stories are perfect here because they show characters using their foundational experiences as launching points for self-discovery. This is where "wings" begin to emerge—characters start to imagine who they might become beyond who they were born to be, while still being shaped by their origins. These are stories of awakening, of first flights that remain grounded.
Summer: "The Long Journey" (July-September)
Summer's energy is perfect for exploring literature that takes us far from the familiar. These are books about transformative movement—physical, spiritual, intellectual, or emotional journeys that fundamentally change the traveler. Characters venture boldly into unknown territories, expanding their understanding of what's possible. This season celebrates the courage to leave the known behind in pursuit of growth and discovery.
Autumn: "Homecoming" (October-December)
Autumn completes the cycle by exploring how the journey changes our relationship to home. Characters return bearing new wisdom, seeing familiar places with transformed eyes. This is where wings and roots finally work in harmony—travelers bring their expanded perspectives back to enrich their communities. These stories explore what we owe to the places and people who formed us, and how our growth serves something larger than ourselves.
Our Literary Companions
Let me introduce you to the twelve books that will guide our journey through 2026:
*You can purchase the books by clicking on the title. These are affiliate links. I receive a small commission, which helps keep this publication afloat.
Winter: "Ancestral Voices"
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin A powerful exploration of how family trauma, religious heritage, and cultural legacy shape identity, weaving personal and collective Black American experience through multiple generations.
"When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago A beautifully crafted memoir examining cultural identity and what we carry from our origins as Santiago navigates between Puerto Rico and New York.
"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett A contemporary novel exploring how family secrets and racial identity pass through generations, showing how ancestral choices echo through time.
These three books establish our foundation by exploring different aspects of cultural inheritance—religious tradition, immigration experience, and family legacy. They represent diverse voices and time periods while unified by their focus on how the past shapes the present.
Spring: "Coming of Age"
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston Janie's masterful journey of self-discovery and finding her voice, showing how personal agency emerges from cultural grounding.
"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie Junior's navigation between reservation life and the outside world, exploring identity formation across cultural boundaries.
"Giovanni's Room" by James Baldwin David's sexual and emotional awakening in Paris, examining identity formation away from family and cultural expectations.
Our spring selections show three different types of awakening—personal agency, cultural bridge-building, and sexual identity—all unified by characters discovering who they are beyond their given circumstances. Notice how we begin our Baldwin thread here, which will weave through the entire year.
Summer: "The Long Journey"
"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho Santiago's symbolic quest to find his "Personal Legend," an accessible exploration of following one's dreams across vast distances.
"Exit West" by Mohsin Hamid A migration story using magical realism to explore the contemporary refugee experience as transformative journey.
"No Name in the Street" by James Baldwin Baldwin's memoir/essay collection about his literal and metaphorical journey from Harlem to Paris to the American South during the civil rights movement.
Summer takes us on three very different but equally powerful transformative journeys: personal quest, contemporary displacement, and political awakening. These books show how leaving the familiar—whether by choice or necessity—can fundamentally change who we become.
Autumn: "Homecoming"
"Going to Meet the Man" by James Baldwin A story collection that includes powerful explorations of returning South and confronting origins with new understanding.
"The Leavers" by Lisa Ko Deming's search for his mother and questions of belonging across cultures, exploring multiple meanings of home and family.
"Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler Lauren's journey to create new forms of community and belonging in a dystopian future, showing how we can build home anew.
Our autumn books complete the cycle by showing different forms of return—confronting the past, seeking family, and creating new communities. They ask: How do we honor our origins while building something better?
The Beauty of the Complete Arc
We have twelve distinct books that could stand alone, but together they create something greater—a complete exploration of human growth and transformation.
The Baldwin Thread: Notice how James Baldwin appears in four seasons, creating a throughline that shows one writer's own journey from inherited religious identity to personal awakening to political transformation to confronting origins with new eyes. Baldwin himself embodies the "roots and wings" journey.
Cultural Diversity: We'll encounter African American, Puerto Rican, Indigenous American, Brazilian, Pakistani, Korean-American, and visionary voices across different eras, showing how the fundamental human story transcends specific circumstances.
The Perfect Progression: We begin with deep grounding in where we come from, move through first flights of self-discovery, venture into transformative journeys that change everything, and return home capable of contributing to something larger than ourselves.
Accessibility: All books are under 300 pages, most much shorter, ensuring our reading remains joyful rather than overwhelming while maintaining depth and richness.
This year will trace the essential human story: We begin grounded in inheritance, start to individuate while connected to that ground, venture boldly into the unknown, and return home transformed, able to contribute to the continuing story of human experience.
The best reading experiences don't just show us new worlds—they help us see our own world with fresh eyes. "Roots and Wings" promises to do both: to ground us more deeply in what it means to be human while expanding our vision of what we might become.
I can't wait to begin this adventure with all of you. Here's to a year of deep roots, bold flights, and the transformative power of great literature.
Here’s to the books that take us beyond the shelf and into deeper waters,
Matthew Long is a writer and retired sailor living in rural western Tennessee.
Beyond the Bookshelf is a reader-supported voyage. If these literary explorations have enriched your journey, I’d be grateful for any support you can offer. Whether it’s the price of a coffee or a book, your contribution keeps wind in our sails and ensures these navigations through literature remain free for all readers. Thank you for being part of this crew.
Affiliate links: You can click on the title of any book mentioned in this article to purchase your own copy. These are affiliate links from Bookshop.org, earning me a very small commission for any purchase you make.
Dear Matthew, This looks very exciting!! I think you've chosen some fascinating selections that should make for good discussion. I was not able to join for Homer last year, so wonder how you actually proceed with discussions. Are there zoom meetings, or is it mainly asynch comments in a threaded discussion, or ??? Do I need to sign up, or just watch for the relevant posts on SS? I suspect these details are forthcoming - just wanted to check in. I do hope to participate! Thank you for offering this opportunity.
Meticulous planning Matthew, you have obviously spent much time and thought on this journey, the title of which is perfect, Roots and Wings... inspiring also.