Now that June is already behind us, we are officially halfway through 2026. So, it is time to revisit my reading goals and see how things stand.

Pure on feeling, I feel like this hasn’t been such a great reading year yet. I have already given up on more books than ever before, doubted my reading choices more often, and regularly felt like I was struggling through books I didn’t actually feel like reading.

At the same time, I know that feeling doesn’t always correspond with reality. That is why I thought it would be fun to take another look at the numbers. Maybe it turns out to be better than I think. I set myself five reading goals for 2026. Time for an interim evaluation!

Note: The screenshots included are from my personal reading spreadsheet. While I read mostly in English, I use my native language for tracking and notes. Apologies if some parts aren’t readable to you! I think the important bits are explained in the text and the context goes a long way to understanding, but if anything’s unclear… Google is your friend. 😉 or – of course – feel free to ask 😀
P.S. The language is Dutch!

Reading Goal 1: Finish 100 books

For years, I have set my annual reading goal at 100 books. Not because that is a magical or necessary number, but simply because it is a nice round number and has become a fun tradition. It remains a pleasant target, without me losing sleep if I ultimately don’t reach it.

By the middle of the year, that ideally means finishing around fifty books.

With 48 books I’ve finished, I’m just two books short. Close, but no cigar. Still, when I compare the figures to previous years, that’s actually not too bad. For several years now, I’ve been reading at a remarkably consistent speed. This year, too, I’m averaging eight books per month again.

Moreover, it is striking that my average book was one page thicker than last year. So, reading one book less certainly doesn’t mean I’ve read less.

Where 2026 does stand out for now is the number of DNFs. With 10 DNFs, I’m already at more than double the number I was halfway through last year. That might seem negative, but I actually view it very differently than I used to.

I notice that I recognize much faster when a book simply isn’t working for me. In the past, I felt almost obligated to persevere because I had bought the book at some point, or because I was “so far along anyway,” or because it might get better. Today, I dare to admit much sooner that my reading time is too precious to drag myself through a book I don’t enjoy.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I give up after just twenty pages. The 10 DNFs accounted for a total of another 1331 pages read. So, on average, I still read about 133 pages before deciding that a book isn’t going to change my mind anymore.

Perhaps even more striking is that my average rating is actually higher than in previous years. The books I did finish received an average of 3.5 stars, my highest average since 2020. Perhaps stopping sooner with books that don’t work is a good decision after all.

Reading Goal 2a: Read 40% from my own shelves (purchased before 2026)
Reading Goal 2b: Read 10 books purchased before 2021

This reading goal remains one of my most important. Not only do I want to avoid reading exclusively new purchases, but I also want to finally get around to the books that have sometimes been gathering dust for years.

I also count DNFs towards this goal. After all, the ultimate goal is not necessarily to finish every book, but rather to finally discover whether those books still deserve a place on my TBR.

By the middle of the year, I would have had to read about 23 books from my existing collection to reach that 40%.

And that… is exactly where I landed.

In total, I read or tried 23 books that I already owned before 2026. That brings me neatly to the predetermined (rounded) 40%.

It is striking, however, that 8 of those 23 books ultimately became DNFs. In the past, I would probably have considered that a failure. Today, I see it differently. After all, this reading goal is not about every old book having to be great, but rather about finally discovering which books are still right for me and which are not.

The second part of this reading goal is currently going a lot less smoothly. I also wanted to read at least ten books this year that I bought before 2021. So, by the middle of the year, that should be at five books. Currently, however, the count stands at only one book.

So, for now, that is clearly my weakest part of this reading goal. Perhaps I overestimated myself a bit here. Or maybe I simply miscounted when I went through my bookshelves at the beginning of this year. That is also possible.

The nice thing is that that one old book turned out to be an instant hit. So perhaps I can be a little less suspicious of those older purchases after all.

One more small nuance: two of the books I read from my bookshelf were re-reads. I am deliberately not counting those towards this reading goal, because they were already “checked off” once before. Additionally, I read four books that I only bought in 2026, which naturally fall outside this goal as well.

Reading Goal 3: Read (start) 12 books of more than 500 pages

At the beginning of this year, I adjusted this reading goal slightly. Whereas last year I aimed for books of more than 600 pages, I lowered the limit to 500 pages. The reason for this was simple: many first installments in my unread series are just over 500 pages, whereas the really thick tomes are often sequels that I cannot read yet.

So, halfway through the year, I wanted to start at least six books of more than 500 pages.

That clearly turned out not to be a problem. I even started on 9 books of more than 500 pages.

However, three of those eventually turned out to be DNFs. That is part of the experience too.

It is also striking that three of the thick books I did finish were rereads. That actually demonstrates nicely how much less intimidating thick books are once I have already familiarized myself with the world.

Reading Goal 4: Continue, complete, or drop at least 13 ongoing series

This reading goal has been recurring for a few years now, because starting series is virtually inevitable in every genre these days, and it is important to keep track of what you want to continue reading and what you don’t.

At the beginning of 2026, I still had 40 ongoing series. My intention was to manage this more consciously and to continue reading, finish, or consciously let go of at least thirteen of them.

So, by the middle of the year, I had wanted to tick off about six to seven series.

That hasn’t worked out so far. Currently, the count stands at 3 series.

I fully caught up on one, finished one definitively, and ultimately decided that I no longer wanted to continue one series.

Still, this reading goal feels less dramatic than the numbers suggest.

I did, in fact, read in more ongoing series. However, this often involved rereading earlier installments so that I was refreshed to continue on with the sequels. As a result, I made no progress in terms of numbers, but it does feel like I am making strides.

Additionally, my focus this year is mainly on subscription books, and it just so happens that these are often the first installments of new series.

Reading Goal 5: Read (start) 30 subscription books (including DNFs)

Of all my reading goals, this is probably the one I have been most consciously working on this year. I receive quite a few books every month via my various subscriptions and want to avoid them lying unread for years. That is why, by the middle of the year, I wanted to have read or tried at least fifteen subscription books.

I have easily achieved that goal. Currently, the counter is already at 19 subscription books.

That might also explain why I sometimes felt that my reading choices were driven more by my TBR than by my current reading desire.

It is striking, however, that of my ten DNFs, no fewer than seven books came from a subscription. In the past, I would have found that regrettable. Today, I mainly see the advantage in it. I have consciously started keeping track of when a subscription releases a sequel to a series I haven’t read yet. As a result, I try to read the first volume before the release date of the sequel, so that I can make an informed decision about whether I really want to buy that sequel. Just because of that, I was able to save myself the purchase of four sequels this year that I otherwise would have bought purely out of FOMO. That perhaps feels like an even bigger victory than this reading goal itself.

Summary: My Reading Goals for Mid-2026

So, after six months, the board look as such:

1. Read 50 books – ❌ 48 books
2. Read 40% from own bookshelf purchased before 2026 – ✅ 40%
3. Read 5 books purchased before 2021 – ❌ 1 book
4. Read (start) 6 books of more than 500 pages – ✅ 9 books
5. Complete, cross off, or catch up on at least 7 started series – ❌ 3 series
6. Read (start) 15 books from subscriptions – ✅ 19 books

If I look purely at the checkmarks, I am standing nicely at three achieved and three unachieved intermediate goals. That is perfectly balanced.

But actually, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. For me, the biggest change isn’t so much in how many books I read, but in the way I read. I dare to let go of a book sooner when it isn’t working, try to be more mindful of my gigantic TBR, and finally use my subscriptions for what they are intended for: to read books instead of just putting them nicely on the shelf.

Of course, there are still clear areas for improvement. My oldest unread books and my ongoing series, in particular, deserve some extra attention in the coming months. But that is ultimately what reading goals are for: not to tick them off perfectly, but to steer myself back in the right direction every now and then.

I am certainly curious to see what this balance will look like at the end of December.

How is your reading year going so far? Are you on schedule, or have you already had to adjust a few reading plans along the way?

Cheers,
Charlotte