Ian Dawson's Blog - Posts Tagged "reading-fun"
Reading Question of the Week: What Are Your Reading Goals for 2026?
It’s that time of year when most people make New Year’s resolutions that are inevitably broken, but when it comes to reading, that’s one goal that can always be kept throughout the whole year.
I always like to craft a reading goal for myself that’s unique for that particular year, and 2026 is no different. This coming year, I am challenging myself to read as many of the long books I have on my bookshelf as possible. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these tomes can be daunting, but I want to challenge myself to stay focused and get at least 12 done this next year.
What are some other reading goals or challenges you can set for yourself?
Pick and Stick
Pick a genre, an author, or a topic, and only focus on books related to that particular category. You could read as many Stephen King or James Patterson books as you can in 2026. There are plenty to pick from.
Perhaps you are interested in history. You could choose a historical event and read books about it, its key players, and the countries involved.
Maybe you’d like to read books by LGBTQ authors. There are dozens to choose from, and you could craft a reading list based on these authors, topics, and stories related to the LGBTQ community.
Switch-Off
This is my standard reading plan if I can’t decide what else to do. I read one fiction book, followed by a nonfiction book, and go back and forth throughout the year. Sometimes, the nonfiction books are focused on a single topic or era, such as the Golden Age of Hollywood.
This is ideal if you like a lot of variety in your reading but want to be focused on a particular area or genre.
Page Count
I’m doing this one this coming year: reading books with a significant page count. But you could do the opposite and see how many short books you can read over the course of 2026.
The key with reading longer books is to keep the reading goal reasonable, so you aren’t attempting to read 50 books over 600 pages in 12 months. While this might be accomplished through audiobooks, if you are busy and reading, it might cause more stress than needed.
Keep the goal manageable; if you meet it early, you can always add more books later.
How Many Books?
If you are new to reading challenges, keep it simple: one book per month. If you like the challenge of reading lots of books during the year, double or triple that number.
My 2025 reading goal was 25 books. I hit that in early November, so I added some short books to my list and hit 32 in December.
The key is to enjoy the challenge and not create unneeded stress or anxiety for yourself. This should be fun. If you’re not having fun, scale back the number of books or change to a reading challenge that you want to do.
Final Thoughts
Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Adding a reading challenge into the mix and giving yourself a fun goal to hit by the end of the year can make the experience even more rewarding and worthwhile.
Take some time to think about what type of reading challenge you’d like to do in 2026, and see where your reading journey takes you!
Happy Reading, and I’ll see you next time!
I always like to craft a reading goal for myself that’s unique for that particular year, and 2026 is no different. This coming year, I am challenging myself to read as many of the long books I have on my bookshelf as possible. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these tomes can be daunting, but I want to challenge myself to stay focused and get at least 12 done this next year.
What are some other reading goals or challenges you can set for yourself?
Pick and Stick
Pick a genre, an author, or a topic, and only focus on books related to that particular category. You could read as many Stephen King or James Patterson books as you can in 2026. There are plenty to pick from.
Perhaps you are interested in history. You could choose a historical event and read books about it, its key players, and the countries involved.
Maybe you’d like to read books by LGBTQ authors. There are dozens to choose from, and you could craft a reading list based on these authors, topics, and stories related to the LGBTQ community.
Switch-Off
This is my standard reading plan if I can’t decide what else to do. I read one fiction book, followed by a nonfiction book, and go back and forth throughout the year. Sometimes, the nonfiction books are focused on a single topic or era, such as the Golden Age of Hollywood.
This is ideal if you like a lot of variety in your reading but want to be focused on a particular area or genre.
Page Count
I’m doing this one this coming year: reading books with a significant page count. But you could do the opposite and see how many short books you can read over the course of 2026.
The key with reading longer books is to keep the reading goal reasonable, so you aren’t attempting to read 50 books over 600 pages in 12 months. While this might be accomplished through audiobooks, if you are busy and reading, it might cause more stress than needed.
Keep the goal manageable; if you meet it early, you can always add more books later.
How Many Books?
If you are new to reading challenges, keep it simple: one book per month. If you like the challenge of reading lots of books during the year, double or triple that number.
My 2025 reading goal was 25 books. I hit that in early November, so I added some short books to my list and hit 32 in December.
The key is to enjoy the challenge and not create unneeded stress or anxiety for yourself. This should be fun. If you’re not having fun, scale back the number of books or change to a reading challenge that you want to do.
Final Thoughts
Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Adding a reading challenge into the mix and giving yourself a fun goal to hit by the end of the year can make the experience even more rewarding and worthwhile.
Take some time to think about what type of reading challenge you’d like to do in 2026, and see where your reading journey takes you!
Happy Reading, and I’ll see you next time!
