Reading Goals
1. Prioritise reading
Prioritising reading is going to be my main goal for 2026. I do have quite a few hobbies, and I don’t mean that I want to avoid doing those. I really enjoy making Booktube content, gaming, exercising, and travelling, among other things. When I say that I want to prioritise reading, I mean I want to reduce my screentime and take advantage of my spare time. I often find myself scrolling on my phone during my lunch breaks, for example, when I can’t really do any gaming but I could read thirty pages of my book. I also want to try to read before bed more often because I find that when I do, I tend to sleep better. Unfortunately the group chats tend to kick off just as I’m about to sit down and read in the evenings, so I feel left out if I put my phone down. I should try to be better about dealing with FOMO!
2. Marathon 1 book series each month
I had always known that I enjoyed marathoning book series, but I really rediscovered my love for this in November when I marathoned the ACOTAR series in one week. I used to read series back to back all the time. I remember reading all six Vampire Academy books in just three days because I couldn’t get enough of them. And I want that feeling back! So in 2026 I would like to choose one series each month to marathon, because I want to get overly invested in these worlds and characters. In my mind, this means brand new to me series rather than finishing off series that I’ve already started (there’s a goal for that coming up later) but I’m not against continuing a series if I really want to marathon it.
Some of the series I have in mind for this challenge are The Band series by Nicholas Eames (coming up in January!), War of Lost Hearts by Carissa Broadbent, Songs of Chaos by Michael R Miller, and Ending Fire by Saara El-Arifi. I have lots on my shelf though so really the sky is the limit!
3. Read 12 non-fiction books
I have been aiming to read more non-fiction books over recent years, and I feel like in 2025 I really hit my stride with it. I didn’t reach 12 books but I came pretty close, so I wanted to make this a specific goal again in 2026 so I remember to focus on it. I think 12 should be pretty achievable this year!
Some of the non-fiction books I have on my TBR are The Indifferent Stars Above, The Wager, Black and British, and The Empire of Pain.
4. Read about places or historical events I’m less familiar with
This is a hard one to give a catchy title, but it’s basically what it says on the tin. I love reading fiction books that teach me something, and in recent years I’ve really been getting into historical fiction, particularly books focused on generational family sagas. I want to read more of those that are set in places or time periods that I don’t know a lot about, or even just more historical fiction in general. I’m still quite burnt out on British WW2 and Tudor fiction because I’ve read so much of it, but that’s not to say that I wouldn’t read about a topic that is lesser known set during those times.
Books I have loved in this category include Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, A History of Burning by Janika Oza, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. I have The Great Divide and Disappearing Earth on my immediate TBR, and I’m hoping to get to many more throughout the year because this is truly my favourite category within the fiction genre.
5. Finish 12 series
I always set a goal to finish off 12 series within the year, and it always tends to go horribly. I’m hoping that this goal and the “marathoning series” goal above will really compliment each other and make this one more achievable. I don’t mind having lots of series on the go, but I do want to finish off some of the series I’ve been enjoying. I think my issue is that I get scared that the ending isn’t going to be up to scruff because I’ve been burned so many times before. That, and I also don’t recap the last books in a series on Recaptains so the motivation is always to move onto another ongoing one.
6. Read 12 indie books
I’ve been awful at prioritising indie and self-published books in years past, but I have been buying lots! This year I would like to read the ones that I have on my shelf and promote them, because I really want to help indie authors reach their audience. With the rise of Booktok more people are discovering self published books, which is great, but I find that the more popular books are either romance or romantasy. I would like to focus more on the epic fantasy and sci-fi side!
Some of the self-published books on my shelf include The Solstice Court by Jade Juniper, Oath Breaker by Aaron Hodges, and Gunmetal Gods by Zamil Akhtar.
7. Review more often on Goodreads, Youtube, Instagram
I’ve been really neglecting actual reviews on all my platforms recently, so I want to focus on this a lot more in the new year. I joined the bookternet in order to talk about the books I’m loving and to help promote them, so it makes sense to be posting dedicated reviews more often. I feel like my reviewing skills are a little rusty, so this may take some time to get back into.
Content Goals
1. Reach 500 followers on Tiktok
I joined Booktok in November (after a false start in 2020) and I’ve really been getting into the short form content. I still much prefer posting long form content, but the short form can be fun as well, particularly when I don’t have much time and I just want to quickly gush about my current read! I don’t really mind if I don’t hit this follower goal, I was more thinking that I’d like to continue growing my little community over on Tiktok.
2. Cross post more often on this blog, Youtube, Tiktok, Instagram
I’ve been so lazy with cross-posting in recent years! I really should make more of an effort to cross-post my content across all my platforms for maximum reach. Not only that, but I should also cross post the reviews that I’m 100% going to write to Amazon, Goodreads, and Waterstones. Maybe this goal should be ‘Stop Being Lazy’.
3. Utilise and be creative with my book journal
I keep wanting to start a book journal because I have found that it really helps to get my thoughts out on paper before I record my wrap ups and reviews. I’m a lot more concise that way, and I don’t miss things that I really wanted to talk about! I do, however, keep forgetting that I have a book journal (or two). I want to get more creative with it this year and start decorating and doodling in it. I’m not the most artsy person though!
Life Goals
1. Run 10K
My goal for 2025 was to run 10K, but life kind of got in the way when my husband broke his leg in April. Unfortunately my running goals had to decrease slightly! But I’m determined for 2026 to be the year that I manage it. The most I’ve ever run in one go before is 7.5K, so I think 10K is a good next step.
2. No sugar January
In January I want to limit my sugar intake by not eating the usual suspects: desserts, chocolatey snacks, treats, etc. My husband and I have done this a few times before and while the first week of January is always quite rough, by the end we’ve always felt very healthy! I might not limit this to January this time, but a month-long challenge is a great start.
3. Continue living room renovation
We’re doing a very slow renovation on our house and to be honest the living room was not top of the list. However, in October we had a water leak in the ceiling and the insurance fixed it and redecorated the room for us, so now we’re quite far ahead of our expected schedule. My goal for 2026 is to get the living room pretty much finished, which will require new flooring and built in bookshelves! The flooring is the most important part for me, but if we can get the shelves done in 2026 too that’ll be a nice bonus.
What are your goals for 2026?
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