For years now, I’ve been setting annual reading intentions for myself. Initially, it started with the simple aim of reading 52 non-work-related books a year. That’s one per week, which seemed manageable. The first time I left the academic world, after a decade of graduate school and teaching, I worked in a bookstore, which was heaven. I rejoiced in the freedom to read whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.
Eventually, I craved some structure. This was around the time The Classics Club started. As much as I enjoyed participating in that group and doing other popular reading challenges, I realized that while I love making lists of books, I don’t often enjoy reading from them.
So instead of goals or lists, I landed on the word ‘intention’ to describe my reading plans. In my mind, the word ‘intention’ falls somewhere between ‘contract’ and ‘lackadaisical.’
So these are my 2026 reading intentions, which do involve at least one list:
- 52 books. Maybe not so much a number to aim for this year as a limit. See #5.
- Read the first 12 books in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell (part of a longer buddy read project with my friend John).
- Research the film adaptation(s) I plan to watch as part of the Book Cougars’ Page-to-Screen reading theme this year. We do quarterly readalongs, and Q1 is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, for which I plan to watch two adaptations.
- Listen to one audiobook a month. I have a Libro membership and want to use it more consistently, rather than letting credits pile up.
- This is an odd reading intention, but I want to rein in my personal reading a bit this year to have more time to work on some professional goals. I generally read for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening, but sometimes spend much more time than that. I suppose I just need to be more consistently mindful about how I spend my time, because there will absolutely be books I want to marathon read — other goals be damned — and I want to have space for that.
Also:
- Participating in Shelleyrae’s 2026 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.
- Will participate in Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer (co-hosted last year by Melinda of A Web of Stories), which is a reading challenge focused on books with 400+ pages. Steven King’s 11/22/63 has been pinging my brain lately, but that could change by May.
- Doing a buddy read of the second book of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time: In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, which just might be one of the worst titles ever. Robin Gustafson got a group together last year, and we read the first, Swann’s Way. We’re on a seven-year plan. I needed a support group for that novel! I’ve heard a rumor that book two is a more pleasant reading experience.
- A couple of other buddy reads that I’m committed to include: Hobomok by Lydia Maria Child with Sigrid; a reread of The Well of Loneliness by Radcliffe Hall with Shawn Breathes Books; and possibly more Edith Wharton with Shawn, Dorian, and James.
Do you make reading intentions, or are you a “free range reader”?
Recently, on the Book Cougars (Episode 252), Emily and I discussed our reading intentions for the year.
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All admirable intentions.
Mine: Cut my “reading” books on GoodReads down from the 32 it indicates. (If I have to return a library book before I’m finished, it stays on the list until I finish it.)
Buddy read of Les Miserablés
Read all the Booktopia books before I get there (well, except Kim’s)
Cut by TBR by reading the ones with the fewest pages.
After finishing Les Miz (roughly June 1) finish the rest of the year by reading A Suitable Boy.
I’ve already making good progress.
I heard from Kate that some Booktopians are reading Les Mis. How exciting! I have not read it yet. Sounds like you’ve created a solid TBR strategy. I have been leaving ‘currently reading’ books up on that Goodreads shelf for a longer time, too. I know there are a few I want to eventually get back to and that helps keep them in my line of vision. Can’t wait to see you at Northshire!
These are all wonderful reading goals! Wishing you all the luck!
This year I aim to read a minimum of 26 books (one every two weeks) with the bulk of those books filling out the StoryGraph Challenge I’m participating in to help clear my TBR list (both physical and audio). I’m dovetailing that challenge with an ABC Challenge based on titles. There is a bit of overlap on the two, but I’m still looking to fill in a few letters and the year is young. All in all, I’m pretty sure I’ll exceed the goal of reading 26 books, but I like how my goals also align with the year 2026. Time will tell 🙂
I’ve gone back and forth with lists and challenges. After a year of very few goals I decided to join a couple of challenges through The StoryGraph – their Genre Challenge and Read the World. I find this helps me to pick up some books I wouldn’t otherwise. But in general I like free range reading! I just wander from one book to the next. Often I just see what’s available from my wish list in the e-library at the moment when I’m ready to start a new book.
I’m with you I don’t do too well on specific lists of books, so this year, I made my reading intentions a little bit more general – read more physical books is my main goal, but also, read unread books on my shelves, read more diverse books (from a certain list) and read some book award winners.
Intentions is a good word, I’ve been making a bit of a plan this year to try and keep myself on track and I think I could call that ‘intentions’! The Well of Loneliness is one of my intentions but it will be a first time read. Have fun!