Hello, everyone and welcome to my 2026 Goals and Challenges post. There are so many things I want to accomplish this year with my reading and with my personal life and home life. Last year was pure chaos, as I had predicted it would be at the very start of the year. I’m hoping 2026 will be a tad bit calmer. My thought process for the year, if I try to accomplish everything with a positive vibe, than maybe I’ll get a positive outcome. I have five bookish reading challenges this year and a few goals along with four life and home goals to get through. So let’s get started with my 2026 Goals and Challenges!
2026 Bookish Reading Challenges
Serious About Series Challenge
I’ve enjoyed this challenge in past years so I thought I would bring it back again this year. Last year, I attempted to complete this challenge and although I didn’t complete it, I did make a big dent in the series that I had shared. I have three book series I want to get through this year.
J.R. Ward – Black Dagger Brotherhood Series | Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sEgUFW
The first series I’m mentioning is also the first series I mentioned last year. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward! I read four books in this series last year and I really enjoyed getting lost in this fantastical world of vampires. This year I will be starting this series with Lover Unbound. Did I also forget to mention, I have all the books in physical form so I’ll be clearing my shelves as I go! We’ll get to that challenge soon!
Lorelei James – Rough Riders Series | Kindleunlimited: https://amzn.to/4bySis0
The Second series I want to read and finish this year is the Rough Riders Series by Lorelei James! I read the first five books in this series so I will be starting this series with Branded As Trouble! Let it be known, if you love EXTREMELY sexy reads revolving around cowboys/ranchers definitely pick up this series and give it a read!
Lorelei James – Blacktop Cowboys Series | Amazon: https://amzn.to/4qTmsKY
I try not to have repeat authors in my serious about series challenge, but…. I have a feeling this is going to be a cowboy/rancher reading year for me. I couldn’t decide which series I wanted to read more so I’m reading them both. The only difference, I’ll be reading this series in paperback form! EEK! I can’t wait to start this series.
100 Books Reading Challenge:
I’m doing things a little bit different this year with my 100 books reading challenge, I decided to do this challenge in tiers to try to help me stay on the mission. My initial goal is to still read 100 books, but I’ll be doing it in mini challenges as a way to encourage myself to read more.
Platinum Tier – 100 Books
Gold Tier – 75 Books
Silver Tier – 50 Books
Bronze Tier – 25 Books
Clearing The Shelves Challenge:
My BIG reading goal for 2026 is to read at least half of the unread books on my bookshelf. So I decided to challenge myself to read 20 unread books on my bookshelf. I’m excited to officially start this challenge. I love reading physical books right before bedtime.
A few physical books I plan on reading as soon as I have free time are:
Meghan Quinn – How My Neighbor Stole Christmas | kindleunlimited: https://amzn.to/4jvBRyz
Meghan Quinn – Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal | kindleunlimited: https://amzn.to/49vQ6Pr
Rebecca Yarros – Beyond What Is Given | kindleunlimited: https://amzn.to/4qTrK9g
Rebecca Yarros – Hallowed Ground | kindleunlimited: https://amzn.to/4qoHBgo
New To Me Author Challenge:
I’m challenging myself to read 15 new to me authors this year. I found this challenge to be extremely difficult last year. However, this year I have made a list of authors that I haven’t yet read and I want to read! I’m excited to experience some of the worlds these authors have created! A few authors on my list consist of:
Sarah J. Maas, Brooke Blaine, Laura Pavlov
Kristen Proby and Kelly Elliott
Is KindleUnlimited Worth It Challenge:
This is a challenge I set for myself every year. If there ever is a year where the Kindle Unlimited Subscription cost exceeds the amount of books I read within the program it’ll let me know it’s not worth it. Last year I had a few months where I was in the red.. meaning I hadn’t had the chance to read many books within the kindle unlimited program, but at the end of the day my yearly book cost was still above the subscription price, meaning your girl saved some money. so I’ll be continuing on with this challenge and my KU subscription this year!
2026 Reading and Blogging Goals
Reading Goals:
1. The Infamous ‘Do Not Finish’ Goal. Last year I DNF’d more books than I had ever DNF’d in my life. And the world didn’t end!! I’ve come to the conclusion, everybody has different tastes in reading material. Some novels that work for others, aren’t going to work for me. I faced the hard fact, I’m not going to love or even like every novel I pick up. So in conclusion, it’s okay to set a novel down and move on from that particular story. This freed up more time to read books that captured my attention.
2. Last year I read 43 books…. I had initially told myself I was going to set one hour of reading time at night to get some reading done.. but that didn’t happen. This year I’m going to work my reading time in with my fitness time. Maybe a few days I’ll read while getting some cardio in, or maybe I’ll start diving deeper into the wonderful world of audiobooks. There are so many options.
3. I want to read more sub-genres in the romance genre. I really want to read more romantasy novels and more paranormal type reads this year as much as I did last year. I’m making it a goal to push more of those tropes and sub-genres up my tbr shelf. If you have any recommendations, send them my way please!
4. My main goal is to enjoy reading and getting lost in a story once again.
Blogging Goals:
1. Like last year, the number one blogging goal of mine is to be more frequent when posting. I want to be more mindful when it comes to posting and scheduling not only with my blog but with my social media accounts too. I said this last year and the year before last. I need to wake up earlier so I have more hours in my day to do everything I envision doing!
2. I said this last year, and failed to do so. This year I will be bringing back my bookstagram. Even if it’s stories for the first few months. I used to everything that went into bookstagram, but now everything social somewhat frightens me. I need to push that fear to the side and discover everything I loved about photography and books once again!
3. I want to bring more of me to my blog and my socials.
2026 Life & Home Goals:
1. Lifestyle Change Challenge
Last year I began a lifestyle change adventure. A little trip to the doctors office and one blood test later had me realizing I’ve been a bit lazy on my health. In June/July I started my wellness journey. I began eating three healthy protein rich meals a day, thirty minutes of cardio a day, and 1 hour of strength training. In doing all of this, I dropped a significant amount of weight so my main lifestyle change goal for 2026 is keeping my health on the right track physically and mentally. My mini lifestyle change goal is to keep on riding that wave and lose some more weight.
2. Home Renovations
Last year, Mr. Man and I decided to tear down the dividing wall the previous owners had put up and put a permanent wall in its place. In reality, we pulled the paneling down thinking there would be drywall behind it, only to find there was nothing but a few studs holding it together. I’m telling you all, it’s always a fun surprise when renovating an old house. You never know what you’ll find. Hopefully Mr. Man and I will be able to check this project from our goals list this year.
3. Gardening
My garden isn’t going to be as big as the years before. I want to put most of my focus this year into the home renovation. I am planning to plant some cabbage and carrots for dehydrating; Tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers for salads; but most importantly, I want to plant a huge herb garden to replenish the herbs I used in the past couple years. If everything goes well with the crops, I really want to buy some more sweet corn from the farmer down the road. A couple years ago Mr. Man and I decided to try canning corn so we bought a few dozen ears and let me tell you, I can’t eat store bought canned corn anymore. It doesn’t taste right to me! home grown and home canned is the way to go!
4. Relationship Goals
Mr. Man and I live busy but quiet lives. We usually have goals that keep us on a constant move throughout the year. This year, I want to slow down and pencil in time to build the friendships in my life along with the family bonds in my life too. I also want to get to know myself as an adult. 2026 marks 20 years since I graduated from high school, and I feel like in those twenty years I’ve been living a routine. I don’t know who I am anymore, but that all changes this year. I want to travel more, I want to spend countless days tackling sourdough bread just to decide whether I like the taste of it or not. I want to learn how to use the sewing machine my mom handed down to me over ten years ago. The same sewing machine that has moved three times with me and sat on the same exact shelf I put it on. I want to grow my friendships with my brother and sister. I want to learn all the tricks and tips from my mom and Mr. Man’s mom. But most importantly, I want to grow my already strong relationship with Mr. Man even stronger and I want us to be able to give our families the ultimate gift, time.
That was a lot! But I have faith in myself that I can accomplish all my goals and challenges by the end of 2026! Here’s to a bright and happy new year!
Do you have any goals or challenges set in 2026?
Disclaimer: Amazon Affiliate links are used on this page
Peace Love and Happy Reading,
Bookstagram is so dreading, because of the algo. Bookish posts don’t seem to do that well anymore, especially reviews. It’s a tough game out there! My occasional non-bbookish posts attract more interaction than my bookish ones.
Oh no! I had hoped they would have figured out the algorithm issue 😔. It looks like I haven’t been missing out on much.
Your mini challenges for reading are similar to my goals! I think giving yourself an incentive when you hit those goals might help, too, like maybe when you hit 25 books you go out to dinner, 50 books you get to buy something you really wanted, etc. Doesn’t even have to be expensive things/places, either! Good luck with all of your goals!
Thank you! My reward for my clearing the shelves challenge is a shopping spree at my local used book store! 😂