Reading Goals for 2026

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

I am starting this thread now because:
1) I need to remember what I am thinking now . . . and
2) Allan's just gonna put it up soon anyway

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Most years, I'm just trying to read

*150 books in the annual GR challenge,

*anything for Hot Off the Presses group that I don't hate the first chapters of

*100 books in the McHalo group's TBR challenge, which makes you read books either that you have, or that you have on a list before the end of the previous year, but you must NEVER have read them before. This includes the list here, because I will have them on a list before the end of this year.

*any books I have to read RIGHT NOW in continuing series (I'm behind for a couple) or in my author worship: John Sandford, J.D. Robb, Lois McMaster Bujold, Jasper Fforde, Lev Grossman, Ilona Andrews, and more recently, T. Kingfisher

HOWEVER, I am going to list certain things this year so I don't forget

I'm reducing the McHalo TBR to 75 because:
1) I have some books I love that I want to reread, but I never do mostly because TMBTLT
+ Fredrik Brown Multipacks for the Orbit Group
and
2) I've got lots of books/series I want to read that I never get around to reading. So far, 2 are cemented in . . .
a) The Laundry Files, which I have brilliantly conned many of you into reading with me, and
b) Bordertown, which is mostly collected short stories plus three novels. I just bought a REAL book of some of the stories as it has never been released as an ebook (so you know I'm cemented in now!)

2) and 3) will count towards the TBR list, but I'm not expecting as many as usual considering number 1) above

Whew!

[Stephen]

I just got a new T. Kingfisher novella from the library, What Stalks the Deep

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Stephen wrote: "I just got a new T. Kingfisher novella from the library, What Stalks the Deep"

There's a buddy read going on right now here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Allan]

Ha, you beat me to the punch! Last time I put it up in early January. My goals won't be all that different, quantity-wise, but I'll have to figure out what series, challenges, etc. I'll want to do.

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

Also, there are some authors that I want to read/catch up but no time.

*Seanan McGuire a/k/a Mira Grant
*Tom Holt whom I have just found out is also K.J. Parker

Others that I cannot think of now.

It just seems that I am often reading stuff and thinking that I want it to be over so I can read something else. I am hoping that with these authors and the series above, I can stop feeling like that

[Allan]

Not too different from my 2025 goals:

Total page count/Total books
35,000 pages, around 110 books; modest increase?

Monthly group books
1) Keep up with the group
2) Try to complete the monthly books I haven't read
3) Read Evolution & New Releases as I can or want to.

Series
1) Finish Harry Potter (Deathly Hallows)
2) Participate in the Group series reads
3) Various series: The Laundry Files,
4) Finish various series: Mars - Robinson; Dorsai - Dickson; Crown of Stars - Elliott; Space - Lewis; World of the Five Gods - Bujold; Alvin Maker - Card; Machineries of Empire - Lee; The Locked Tomb - Muir; others?

Miscellaneous
1) Reach 75% of the H/N list - will need to read about 33 H/N.
2) Read the 6 H/N winners I haven't read yet.
3) Read more collections & anthologies!
4) Read 12 biography, non-fiction or history books.
5) Clear at least 40 physical books from my shelves, net of buys.
6) Worlds Without End challenges as specified on that site.

[Stephen]

I’ll wait a couple more months before addressing this.

[Oleksandr, a.k.a. Acorn]

Stephen wrote: "I’ll wait a couple more months before addressing this."

Me too

[Kalin]

Stephen wrote: "I’ll wait a couple more months before addressing this."

Me three

[Kalin]

Allan wrote: "4) Finish various series: Mars - Robinson; Dorsai - Dickson; Crown of Stars - Elliott; Space - Lewis; World of the Five Gods - Bujold; Alvin Maker - Card; Machineries of Empire - Lee; The Locked Tomb - Muir; others?"

Well let's nominate Mars Trilogy and Machineres of Empire for our series reading! I'd be excited to read both this coming year.

[Allan]

Good idea! I've read the first two of each series, and I know you are in a similar position. I waver about rereading Red and Green Mars, but I probably would reread the Machineries books, as I don't recall those as well.

[Kalin]

Red & Green are too big a commitment for me to reread anytime soon, even though I loved them both. But I would comment in a thread (as much or as little as I usually do anyway...)

I haven't read any Yoon Ha Lee yet, so I'd be reading all three.

[Stephen]

I read the Mars trilogy in 2017 and loved it. However I tried a reread of Red Mars a couple of years ago and found it was too soon, so I probably wouldn’t want to participate. I also read the Yoon Ha Lee books as they came out; not a huge fan though they are fine in their way.

[Allan]

Red Mars made a huge impression on me & really stuck in my memory. Green Mars didn't stick as much but I remember it generally. I'd be content to just read a plot summary to refresh my memory before taking on Blue Mars. I just haven't got there.

One other I left off was The Uplift War. I've read the first two books of the trilogy but like Mars haven't finished it off. Another one that requires a commitment to read.

I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet one year and just devote it to killing off some of the doorstops. Maybe that should be my 2026 goal - the Doorstop Challenge. I have 13 unread H/N books of 600 pages or more. Hey, I'm going to create that in Worlds Without End!

[Kateblue, 2nd star to the right and straight on til morning]

I read the first book of the Uplift War, Sundiver, and started the second, but life intervened. I think. I may have finished it. I remember something that might be it. (view spoiler)[ there was a book where people were chasing somebody across the Mexican desert, maybe? I only have bits and pieces. Could it have been Uplift #2? (hide spoiler)]

I want to read Uplift, but I want to read Heechee more. I really liked the first one, Gateway, when we read it recently. So I will throw that series into the hat.

[Allan]

Kateblue wrote: "I read the first book of the Uplift War, Sundiver, and started the second, but life intervened. I think. I may have finished it. I remember something that might be it. [spoilers remove..."

I'm reading the 2nd book now, [book:Beyond the Blue Event Horizon|373399].