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.