Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Todayās topic is Bookish Goals for 2026
I have to admit that I wasn’t the most intentional reader in 2025. I read a lot of amazing books, happily, but I feel like I was very checked out and going on automatic for most of the year. I joined too many buddy reads, went along with what other people wanted to read most of the time, rushed through reading deadlines, and was not intentional at all with my reading life.
The pro is that I did discover a lot of really good books from other readers, but the con is that I felt rushed and constantly chasing deadlines, and ended up putting a lot of my own TBRs and reading goals aside. I feel like I need to find the right balance so that I can enjoy the best of both worlds, so I’m going back to some of my basic goals this year.
Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2026
- Read more non-fiction ā This is a repeat of my bookish goals from a couple of years ago because I didn’t do well with this last year. I do often read and enjoy non-fiction, but I’ve had some specific titles on my TBR for ages that I haven’t gotten to because they require me to pay more attention and I haven’t been very focused lately.
- Read more physical books – In the last couple of years, I’ve been reading a lot more books on digital and audio format, which is completely fine and valid, and very helpful for when I have to do chores but still want to read! But I miss physical books sometimes, being able to flip through them especially with fantasy books that have maps and character lists and so on. I’ve also neglected a lot of the physical books I already have on my shelves, so this is part of my next goal as well.
- Prioritize the older books from my TBR – I get very easily distracted by all the shiny new books that everyone else recommends, but I have a few books featured on my TBR lists since I started my blog that I still haven’t read yet and it’s getting embarrassing! I’m not going to pretend that I won’t get distracted by new books, but I want to at least try to read some books that have been on my TBR the longest.
- Finish series I start ā If I start a series that I like and there are multiple books out already, I’d like to read them all back to back if possible so that I don’t forget and have to reread again. Obviously, I still have unfinished series from before that I’m going to try prioritize the ones that already have all their books out.
- DNF books more decisively ā In relation to the above, I also need to make a decision after reading the first book in the series if it’s good enough for me to continue reading the rest of them. I have such a backlog because I can’t decide. I also need to be able to DNF standalone books sooner.
- Keep a book journal – Not an aesthetic book journal, I tried that before and couldn’t keep up. I bought a cheap daily planner that I’m not planning on decorating at all, and I plan to write very messy, spoiler-y notes about the books I read as I’m reading them.
- Stay on top of my book reviews – The reviews themselves don’t take a lot of time individually, but I tend to accumulate a whole bunch of them because I procrastinate about writing them, and then they add up and get overwhelming and I procrastinate some more. I feel like if I just write them as I finish each book, it would be much easier!
- Be more present with my book blog – For most of 2025, I’ve felt disconnected with my blogging and like I’m constantly rushing and catching up with everything. I really want to change that and go back to feeling the fun and enjoyment I had when I first started blogging. This relates with other non-bookish goals and how I want to reorganize other parts of my life so that I have more time and energy for things I love.
- Participate more in the book community – There have been so many bloghops, booktags, other fun stuff I’ve been wanting to participate in, people whose blogs I love reading and connecting with, and I’m hoping that I can do more of them this year!
- Reactivate my bookstagram account – This is not a priority and I don’t intend to do this immediately. I feel like I’m already not keeping up well enough with my blog so I definitely don’t need a bookstagram account to keep up with too. I’m only doing this if I feel like I can manage both, and my goal is to possibly get there before the end of the year.
I’m very hopeful for a more active presence on the blog in 2026! What are your bookish goals this year?
I’ve seen a version of reading more from our respective shelves on a few lists and it’d something I always want to work on too! Maybe this will be our year. Happy 2026 goals! š
Getting distracted by new books is a constant problem for many of us!
We share a few goals this year, notably reading more nonfiction and staying on top of reviews.
Thanks for sharing your #TTT and good luck with your goals
Absolutely! Thank you and good luck with yours too!
Good luck with these! I currently read most of my books on audiobook because I can often get six or seven hours of reading done at work and I don’t have that much time to read at home, but I do like reading physical books.
I know exactly what you mean! The audiobooks have certainly increased the amount of books I’m able to read, but yes, I need to give some attention to the physical books on my shelves. š
The way I leave writing book reviews off longer than I should too š. I hope we’ll both write them quicker this year. I agree about DNFing; I never do it, but I’m going to try if I really don’t like what I’m reading. I hope you achieve all your goals š.
If you’d like to visit, here’s my TTT: https://thebooklorefairyreads.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/top-ten-tuesday-goals-for-2026/
Book reviews are such a bane for me! The more I read, the more reviews I need to write, but the more I procrastinate, the more I read and the more reviews I need to write! š
My bookstagram account is primarily for sharing blog posts. I don’t tend to do the fancy pictures that so many others do. I make a graphic in Canva for IG, post it, and tie it back to my blog. What I hate is that I can’t add a clickable link to the captions.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/2026-edition-12-books-i-hope-to-read-in-2026/
Yeah, the lack of clickability is so annoying on IG! One of my non-bookish goals for 2026 is to take more pictures, and I initially meant to take more pictures of myself living; places I go, people I see, etc. but books are such a big part of my life so I thought I might as well!
Good luck with these goals! Hope you find some fun non-fiction to boost that goal! You know I’ll be keeping an eye out for any reviews, hehe.
I should’ve included a goal about interacting more with other bloggers, too, though it’s not a new goal for me. I found an RSS reader that works well with my daily workflow in like… July? So I’ve been slooowly adding blogs I enjoy and trying to comment more often, but I’d like to do more of that. My blog hasn’t felt so actively read in ages, if ever, even though I’m only focusing on reading/commenting on other blogs and not on finding ways to get people to comment on mine. It feels nice and organic (and manageable, instead of going on like three-hour commenting sprees with blogs that may or may not match my interests, just to get visits back).
I love that! That sounds like my dream. I started this bookblog specifically to interact with other bloggers and I’d love more of that connection, otherwise I could’ve just kept track of my reading on GR or a personal notebook or something. But lack of time management has been kicking my butt and I hope I can try to get back some semblance of organization this year!
I feel you. I have constant deadlines! I am trying to not request as much but it doesn’t help when I get sent ebooks because I liked a similar one in the past. It’s nice, but I want to read my own stuff!
Bookstagram. Where to begin. It’s not the same as it was. I have it and post daily, but I feel like I am posting to myself š
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/top-ten-tuesday-goals-for-2026/
I recently posted on IG as admin for my in-person bookclub and I was not happy to see that you can only post five hashtags now. I get it, social media is constantly changing, but it’s hard to keep up!
Yes! It changes all the time. It gets on my nerves.
I love your goal to slow down and be more intentional with your blogging and reading life this year! We could all use that, probably!
Here are my bookish goals for 2026: https://thissideofstoryland.blogspot.com/2026/01/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-goals-for-2026.html
Yes! I know for myself I need to be more intentional in general with everything this year, so hopefully it works!
Iām also hoping to read more nonfiction this year.
Let’s hope we do a great job on this one!
Great goals all thought out really well. I hope you are successful in them and that you get that balance that you want. I find that if I start doing too much blog wise then reading. suffers so I guess it is all about getting that balance.
That’s true, I go back and forth with how to keep things balanced. Why is it so hard? Lol!
DNF-ing books as a goal is so real!! That was my goal for 2025 and it made reading so much easier. I literally read more because I didn’t waste time on books I disliked or didn’t feel like reading at the time. I hope you achieve all of your goals and good luck!
Thank you! DNF-ing is a highly specialized skill and I’m jealous of people who can do it. I need to practice more! š
Yes, getting back to the basics, reading what we want to read, when we want to read it. I love binge reading series and I also plan to do more of that. I have started quite a few series over the years (and have written them all down), so I can track and finish some series this year. I hope you have a great week!
I love binge reading series too! I have so many titles in mind and I want to start more but I’m trying to finish the ones I’ve already started.
These all sound like great goals! I’m always in favor of reading more non-fiction.
Absolutely! There have been so many I’ve been interested in that I really should read sooner.
Bookstagram is a hard code to crack, the algo isn’t kind to us… So no worries if it isn’t your priority.
The backlist, oh the backlist. So relatable!
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2026/01/20/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-goals-for-2026/
Lol! Good luck to the both of us, Laurie!
Good luck! Reading more nonfiction is one of my goals too.
I see that! I hope you learn all you want to!
Actually FINISHING a series would be too lofty a goal for me, but I’m hoping to at least make progress on some of the ones I’ve already started. That should be doable. I also need to not start any new ones…that’s tough for me. Good luck with all your goals!
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
It depends on the series! I don’t think I’ve ever finished a long-running series of 8 or more books, but I’ve finished up to 6-7, and of course, trilogies are much easier and mostly what I’m aiming to finish this year! Not starting a new one is hard for me too! š
Great goals! I really relate to what you’ve said about feeling checked out, not being intentional with your reads, and just feeling numbed out. You’re definitely not alone in that! I hope that it’ll be better for you this year and that you have fun in the process š Good luck with these goals!
I like your goals … especially I agree with wanting to read a bit more nonfiction and read more physical books (as opposed to audio). Audios are fine but i want to read more print or ebooks. Good luck with your goals.
I love the goal of keeping messy physical notes as you read. I am trying to do more of this too. I keep realizing I can’t depend on highlights only to help me remember why certain passages resonated, and there really is something to writing down what thoughts things spur. Good luck with your goals! Mine are here
https://theparteveryoneskips.com/posts/20260120-top-ten-tuesday-goals-for-2026/