Welcome to 2026! I hope you all had a great reading year and met your own personal reading goals! Now that we’re over halfway through January and I’ve had a chance to recover from the holidays, I’m excited to share how my 2025 went and what my plans are for 2026!
2025 Recap: Did I Meet My Reading Goal?
Yes! At the start of 2025 I wanted to read 24 books in 12 months, adding onto my previous 2024 goal which was 12 books in 12 months. I’m happy to say that even though I padded the very end of my year by squeezing in two novellas, I finished 24 books in 2025! I know when you’re talking about numbers that is a little weak, considering some people can finish 100+ books a year, but we’re just here for a good time. I’m not about to be the one to contribute to gatekeeping of reading!
Here are a few stats about my 2025 Reading Year:
- 6 five-star ratings
- Highest rated books (five-star reads):
- Rest Stop by Nat Cassidy
- A Mask Of Flies by Matthew Lyons
- A Worthy Opponent by Katee Robert
- Penpal by Dathan Auerbach
- When The Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
- Mile High by Liz Tomforde
- Lowest rated books (three-star reads):
- Where The Dead Wait by Ally Wilkes
- Disappearance at Devil’s Rock by Paul Tremblay
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
- From Below by Darcy Coates
- Most popular genres:
- 1) Romance (11 books)
- 2) Paranormal/Horror (6 books)
- 3) Thriller/Mystery (3 books)
- New genre(s) I read in 2025: Fantasy, Historical/Women’s Fiction
2026 Reading Plans
To be honest, I really had to cram in those last two novellas to meet my goal by December 31st. I still wanted to challenge myself, however, so I’ve decided to up my reading goal to 30 for 2026. 30 books in 12 months! I received a few hardcovers and paperbacks for Christmas as well so I’m hoping to have a good mix of audiobooks and physical books to experience throughout the year. On my immediate TBR are:
- Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid (in progress)
- Kiss & Don’t Tell by Meghan Quinn
- The Right Move by Liz Tomforde
After that my plan is to draw from my TBR Jar and then mix it up with some Fable, Discord, and Book Club books. I’m glad to have such a variety to choose from even though I have been forced to confront the number of books that I’d like to read — including the ones I have saved on Instagram. I’m going to need to read a lot more than 30 books this year to get them all, but one step at a time!
My Changing Check-In Schedule
My final main update for my 2026 Reading Goal related to how I want to keep you all informed of my progress. Instead of reviewing each book as I read it, I think I want to provide weekly updates (similar to my October & Holiday Reading Challenges) or even monthly wrap-ups. I haven’t decided yet but that is going to change as I’m — again — hoping to read more than in prior years. But with that, we’ll catch you later!
