Welcome back to Blogmas, where I post with the chaotic confidence of someone who has absolutely no business adding more goals to her plate but does it anyway. Today’s topic?

My 2026 Reading Goals

Yes. A whole new reading era. A renaissance. A “don’t ask how many books I bought vs. how many I actually read” type of year.

2026 is going to be year I fall back in love with reading in a way that feels nourishing, cozy, chaotic, and full of unhinged joy. I want stories that wreck me, heal me, teach me, surprise me, and make me yell “NOOOOOOOOO” into the void at 2 AM.

So here they are. My beautifully ambitious, slightly delusional, absolutely adorable reading goals for 2026.

1. Read (at least ) 52 Books in 52 Weeks

The classic. The blueprint. The “one book a week keeps the burnout away” energy.

I want a steady reading rhythm, the kind where Sunday night rolls around and I’m like, “Yes. I did finish something this week. I am thriving. I am literate. I am unstoppable.”

This goal is less about the number and more about the practice: the comfort of always having a story waiting for me, the grounding routine of ending the week with a new adventure, the tiny dopamine of updating Goodreads and Storygraph like it’s a personal scoreboard. I will NOT be trying to cram 13 novellas into December like a panicked elf on a deadline.

2. Finish 5 Full Series

Sooooo I have a problem.

I start series like I’m paid for it and finish them like I’m allergic to closure.

Not in 2026.

In 2026, I am tying bows. Closing arcs. Facing finales.

I want to finish series I’ve been ghosting since Obama’s first term. Not because I have to, but because finishing is such a unique kind of satisfaction. That “oh no it’s over” ache? That “I’m different now” daze? That moment you just stare at the wall contemplating life?

I want FIVE of those. Minimum.

3. Read 5 Books Over 600 Pages

If I’m not occasionally knocking myself unconscious by dropping a chonky hardcover on my face while reading in bed, what I am doing?

Big books? They scratch a part of my brain that nothing else does. I want to sink into sprawling worlds, complicated magic systems, historical sagas that should probably come with a syllabus…

I love long books. I love the commitment. I love the emotional slow burn and the character arcs that ruin me in the best way.

This is my year of page-heavy drama.

3. Complete a 12-Era Historical Fiction Challenge

Twelve eras. Twelve portals into the past. Twelve opportunities for me to fall in love with a fictional man who probably dies tragically because that’s how historical fiction authors like to hurt me apparently.

I want eras with drama. Eras with flavor. Eras that make me Google things at 3 AM.

This challenge is going to feed both my history nerd heart and my desire for beautifully written trauma. We love versatility.

4. Read 15 Fantasy/Sci-Fi Books by BIPOC Authors

This goal feels like pure joy especially because one day my book will be one of these. The kind of joy that changes you. Expands you.

BIPOC authors in SFF are doing groundbreaking, gorgeous, innovative work, and I want to immerse myself in it.

Give me mythologies not rooted in Europe.

Give me interstellar epics.

Give me ancestral magic.

Give me new worlds built from cultural tapestries I don’t get to explore often enough.

6. Read One Nonfiction Book Every Two Months

Soft self-education era unlocked.

Six nonfiction books – just enough to feel like my brain is absorbing new texture. I want books about creativity, history, cultural movements, psychology – the books that make you feel 10% smarter and also 10% more unhinged with inspiration.

This is the year of learning for pleasure, not pressure.

7. Reread 3 Childhood Favorites

This one is for healing.

For that tender little girl who used to read by nightlight after bedtime, imagining herself as the hero.

Revisiting childhood favorites feels like holding hands with my younger self and saying, “Hey love, we made it.”

Also, I want to see if the books still hit or if I was simply eight years old dramatic.

8. Read 1 Book Set on Every Continent

This is the world tour my budget cannot give me.

Each continent, one book. Fiction, nonfiction, contemporary, historical – whatever moves me. I want to see landscapes, cultures, voices, and stories that stretch my worldview.

And yes, even Antarctica.

9. Annotate 5 Books Fully

The tabs.

The highlighters.

The notes in the margins.

The commentary like “girl please stop trusting this man” and “WHY AM I CRYING ON PAGE 273?”

Annotation isn’t just reading – it’s interacting.

It’s capturing my reactions in real time and leaving fun breadcrumbs for Future Me to find later.

10. Read 3 Books I’ve Owned Forever

We all have those books.

The ones staring us down.

The ones that have moved with us four times.

The ones that whisper, “You bought me in 2015…you coward.”

2026 is the comeback year.

Three of these forgotten girlies will finally be read.

11. Create a Genre Challenge

This year, I want to read a book from one of each of these genres:

• fantasy
• romance
• sci-fi
• mystery
• thriller
• classics
• manga
• memoir
• poetry
• essays
• horror
• contemporary

I want a reading year that has RANGE.

12. Read at Least 25,000 Pages

Because numbers are sexy. As long as someone or something else is counting for me.

This is the goal that will make my inner data nerd giggle with joy.

I want to look back in December and say, “Damn, I did that.”

13. Finish 7 Previously Abandoned/Unfinished Books

Time to clean up my literary skeletons.

These half-read books deserve closure. Some were abandoned because I wasn’t in the right mood. Some because life was hectic. Some because other books seduced me with their shiny covers and tropes.

14. Finish My Book Bingos

Book Bingos are my Roman Empire.

The chaotic joy of filling in these little squares?

I have 10 of them. Some of them have squares like “Read a book with multiple POVs” and some have squares say “Fell Asleep Reading…Oops.”

Trying to finish these will be hilarious and fun.

15. Read 3 Books Out of My Comfort Zone

Growth only happens when you stretch.

So in 2026, I’m choosing at least three books I would normally avoid or ignore.

A genre I never reach for or a book that is entirely WAY too long.

2026 Is My Reading Renaissance

I’m entering 2026 ready to fall in love with stories again.

Ready to lose myself in new worlds.

Ready to annotate, cry, laugh, obsess, rant, gush, and read with intention.

I can’t wait to get started!