We’re already pretty much at the end of January, and yet I still haven’t properly defined my reading goals for 2026. Not because I lack ideas, but because I’ve been searching for the right approach.

When I look back at my two recent reflection posts – one about my 2025 reading goals and one about the accompanying numbers and statistics – it becomes clear that what I really want is to give my reading a bit more direction. Not a rigid framework or a checklist I need to tick off obsessively, but rather a set of focus points. Gentle reminders of what matters to me, of what I want to be more mindful of, and of how I want to subtly steer my reading year. These are not absolute rules, not things I must do, but more like guiding beacons along the way.

Contradictory as it may sound, I also genuinely enjoy having something tangible. A concrete goal, a percentage, a number to work towards and reflect on later.

And honestly, when I write it out like this, I realise I don’t actually need completely new reading goals. The focus points that mattered to me last year still matter to me now. So why reinvent the wheel?

That’s why, in this post – while writing, kind of live, so to speak – I’m revisiting my reading goals from 2025 and reformulating or refining them where necessary for 2026.

Reading Goal 1: the number of books to read

I’m kicking things off with a reading goal I now call “traditional” every single year, and which I’m therefore leaving unchanged for 2026 as well. It remains a fun number to work towards, but at the same time it’s also my least important goal, because it says very little about how I read, what I read, or why I read.

So yes, without pressure or expectation, I’m once again setting this goal traditionally at 100 books for 2026.

Reading Goal 2: the books on my shelves

In 2025, I set myself the goal that at least 40% of the books I read had to come from my own bookshelves, without having been purchased in that same year. In 2026, I want to keep that conscious focus on my existing collection, especially given the steady influx of books.

Last year, I did reach that 40% target, but only once rereads were included. And that’s where I still feel a bit conflicted. Don’t get me wrong: rereading books is wonderful. It’s comfort reading at its finest, returning to a familiar story and a well-known world. But the original intention behind this goal was to bring attention back to the books that have been sitting unread on my shelves for years.

Especially because my taste has changed over time, there’s a certain unease there: are the books I bought more than five years ago still for me today? Or have I simply outgrown them?

That’s why, in 2026, I’m keeping the target at at least 40% of the books I read coming from my existing collection, not purchased in 2026, with one important clarification: they need to be first-time reads.

On top of that, I want to finally make a real effort with my oldest unread books. I went through my shelves and identified 26 titles that I bought before 2021, either standalones or first books in series I never actually started (but often did fully collect). Alongside the general percentage, I’m therefore adding an extra focus: of those books from my own shelves, I want at least 10 titles that were purchased before 2021.

Not to punish myself or impose strict obligations, but to stay honest with myself. Read them, unhaul them, let them go: everything is allowed. I don’t want to give myself any guilt, but truely need to be honest about these oldies on my shelves: what still deserves my time, and what doesn’t?

Reading Goal 3: chunky books

Since 2021, I’ve included a reading goal every year focused on thicker books. Not because I don’t enjoy them – quite the opposite – but because I often mentally block myself from starting them. A five-hundred-page brick (or more) always feels like a huge commitment beforehand, while afterwards I almost always think: why did I wait so long to read this? Strange, really.

In 2025, the focus was on books of more than 600 pages, but when I looked at my shelves again, I realised that this threshold might be just a bit too strict for 2026. Most of the books over 600 pages are sequels in series, while the first instalments (which I still need to start) are often slightly “shorter”, but still comfortably above 500 pages.

So for 2026, I’m slightly reformulating this goal. The focus shifts from over 600 to over 500 pages. Still chunky books, still a clear threshold, but better aligned with what’s actually unread on my shelves.

In 2025, I ended up reading 18 books of more than 500 pages, which made me realise that this is no longer exceptional behaviour, but something that has quietly become part of my reading rhythm. Still, I don’t want this goal to fade into something automatic. It should continue to encourage me to consciously choose those thicker stories, even when they look intimidating.

That’s why I’m setting my 2026 goal at at least 12 books of more than 500 pages. Roughly one chunky book per month: ambitious enough to give direction, flexible enough to avoid pressure.

Reading Goal 4: series

I started 2025 with no fewer than 49 ongoing series and ended the year with 40 series that I’m taking into 2026 and still want to continue. That number alone makes it clear why this goal has been returning year after year.

The risk of reading fantasy – and let’s be honest, of book subscriptions as well – is how easy it is to start new series throughout the year. New worlds, new characters, beautiful editions… before I know it, there’s yet another series on the list. And while that isn’t inherently a bad thing, it often means that previously started series quietly fade into the background. That’s why I want to keep paying conscious attention to ongoing series in 2026 as well.

Of the 40 series I’m taking into this year, there are 25 where published instalments are still unread, and 15 where I’m fully caught up (everything released so far has been read). My main focus lies with that first group, though I’ll of course keep an eye on new releases for the second group as well.

Concretely, I’m setting my 2026 goal at at least 13 ongoing series continued, completed, or consciously dropped. This number isn’t arbitrary. With 25 series I’m behind on, I’m aiming for just over half.

As in previous years, this doesn’t mean every series needs to be finished. “Continuing” can mean several things: reading the next instalment, deciding a series is no longer for me and letting it go, or finally completing a series that’s been half-finished for years. Ultimately, this goal isn’t about reading fewer series, but about being more intentional with the ones I’ve already started, so that my reading list doesn’t just grow endlessly, but regularly gets a bit of breathing room too.

Reading Goal 5: subscription books

In 2025, I set a concrete goal for the first time around the books I receive through my various subscriptions. I aimed to read 25 of them, including DNFs. It turned out to be a great focus point: a nudge to not just collect the boxes, but actually read the books.

For 2026, I took a closer look at my subscriptions. If I skip nothing, I’ll receive 59 books this year. (And literally while I’m writing this, FairyLoot sent out an invitation to sign up for their Epic Fantasy Quarterly box. Nope. No. Absolutely not. Ignoring.) That’s a significant increase compared to 2025, when I ended up receiving 45 new subscription books after skipping a few boxes and starting a new one at the same time.

Last year, I ultimately read 28 subscription books. For 2026, I want to sharpen that focus slightly and set a more ambitious goal: 30 subscription books read. Skipping boxes is still very much a point of attention, but I’m not setting a hard goal around that.

Conclusion: Reading Goals for 2026

After all this reflection, these are my concrete reading goals for 2026:

Reading Goal 1:	Read 100 books
Reading Goal 2a:	Read 40% from my own shelves (purchased before 2026)
Reading Goal 2b:	Read 10 books purchased before 2021
Reading Goal 3:	Read (start) 12 books of more than 500 pages
Reading Goal 4:	Continue, complete, or drop at least 13 ongoing series
Reading Goal 5:	Read (start) 30 subscription books

With these five (and-a-half) goals, I’ve found a balance between tradition, challenge, conscious choice, and pure enjoyment. Enough structure to guide my reading year, without turning it into a restrictive framework. Now all that’s left is to read, discover, and enjoy… and to adjust when needed.

Here’s to a new year filled with books, adventure, and reading joy!

Cheers,
Charlotte