It’s that time of year again, when fresh notebooks feel promising, and intentions feel lighter than rules. I always enjoy this pause. Not the pressure-heavy version of goal setting, but the quieter moment where you look at how you actually read and decide what you want more of.
For me, 2026 is about keeping reading enjoyable, flexible, and grounded in the books I already own.
Why 40 is the number
Goal: Read 40 books in 2026.
All formats count. Physical. Ebook. Audio. A book is a book.
Last year, my goal was 35. I didn’t just meet it. I passed it, finishing on 38 reads. A solid year by any measure. But a large chunk of those were audio, which suited that season of life perfectly.
This year will look different.
With a conscious shift towards reading more physical books, my pace is likely to slow. Physical reading asks for longer, quieter stretches of time. Forty gives me room for that. It accounts for longer reads, heavier books, and the inevitable weeks where reading takes a back seat without turning the goal into a write-off.
It’s ambitious, but it’s kind.
I’m already underway. I started the year with The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy, and I’m about 60% through after picking it up on 1 January. I bought it last year… which brings me neatly to my second goal.
26 books I already own
This one matters more to me.
Goal: Read 26 books purchased before 1 January 2026.
If I owned it before the year began, it counts.
I love buying books. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. But my TBR has slowly shifted from something exciting into something slightly intimidating. This goal is about reversing that, or at least bringing more balance to the books-bought/books-read ratio and trusting past-me’s purchasing decisions and letting anticipation turn into reading rather than background guilt.
Reading from my existing shelves also naturally nudges me towards physical formats, which is exactly why the overall number needed breathing room. Fewer quick audio finishes. More time spent sitting with a book.
I’m not banning new purchases completely. That’s a pointless endeavour. I’m just giving priority to the books that have been waiting patiently.
What I’m deliberately not doing
I am not setting:
- Monthly targets
- Genre quotas (last year, all my reads fell under one genre!)
- Series completion rules
- “One in, one out” systems
Those always start organised and end sour. I want reading to feel like escape, not admin. Plus, looking back at last year, I can see that some months I smashed through five books, while other months I barely finished one.
The intention underneath the numbers
The numbers exist to support one thing only: finishing more books I genuinely want to read.
That means stopping when something isn’t working. Letting my taste shift without explanation and choosing books based on curiosity and mood, not on what looks impressive in a year-end graphic.
If I hit 40, great. If I fall a little short but enjoy my reading more and make real progress through my own shelves, that’s still a big win.
I’m starting 2026 exactly how I want to continue: with a book I already own. No stopwatch. Just the story.
