2026: Setting Reading Goals | My Favorite Apps, Trackers, and More

 

One of my favorite parts of a new year is watching, on all the social media outlets, as everyone announces their freshly reset Goodreads goal. (Does that make me weird? If so, I don't wanna be normal.😋) It genuinely brings me a lot of joy to see everyone's yearly recaps, with all the stats they saved from their favorite reading apps or from their own reading journals. I love hearing about unexpected 5⭐ reads or new favorite authors, last minute New Year's Eve hauls, seeing new spreads on BookTube channels, and planned TBRs for Month #1 goals. 

I know I'm not alone: What's YOUR favorite part of New Year bookish trends?

My 2026 Reading Goals: "Reading My Shelves" and Sweet Intentions

With a baby due in February, I'm approaching 2026 with a different mindset than past years. I don't want to set any of the big objectives I've accomplished in years' previous (multiple Reading Challenges, 100+ books in a year, tracking that I'm reading ___ (#) pages or  ____ (#) minutes a day, blogging reviews of each completed book, etc.). Instead, I'd like to focus on "reading my shelves" and holding onto sweet intentions for reading time with Baby Girl's pending arrival. 

Reading My Shelves looks a lot like, simply put, reading the books I own that I haven't gotten to yet. Seems quite literal and quite obvious (God bless you, Minimalists) but I acknowledge I've collected quite a few books over the years due to: their pretty covers, being an auto-buy author, as a memento on a vacation or new bookstore stop, being a part of a series I promised myself I'd finish... You get the jist.

My physical TBR (to-be-read) feels a bit daunting, I won't lie, as the books are scattered across all my bookshelves and pretty much every room in the house- but I'd love to see a downtick in the space they take up. Even if some of them end up being DNF'd (did-not-finish), it's my own way of hitting back at the over-consumption I tend to lean into when it comes to literature. (I recognize it's a problem. Isn't that the first step?)

Some people label this as Tackling the TBR or set book buying bans for themselves. Maybe they follow a "Rule of Two" where they have to complete two of their owned books for every one new book they purchase. I've seen a lot of Buddy Reads work in this scenario, too, as you're holding each other accountable for reading what you own. I even enjoy those blind TBR trends where influencers wrap their books in paper, label them each with a number, and draw randomly to make it through their stack/shelf. 

What I have a lot of, genre-wise, that I'd like to focus on in '26:

• Historical fiction
• YA fantasy series
• Science and World History nonfiction

I'm not exactly a mood reader but I also kind of am (any other hybrid readers out there...), therefore I do think this would keep me out of reading slumps and ditch a lot of guilt over owning books I haven't picked up yet. If I don't love the novel? Move on and clear the air.

Sweet intentions (to me) means:

• Reading aloud more often to Little Girl (both pre and post delivery). I already do this quite a bit and she tag-team listens to my audiobooks on long drives/when I'm cleaning the house.
• Keeping it spontaneous and utilizing my TBR Jar with random titles. (Maybe a small spark of joy to alight in the "trenches"?)
• Purging books often.
• Updating my Novelly Yours Reading Tracker only as much as my mental-headspace will allow. It should bring HAPPINESS, not additional pressure. I've already completed several pages to kick off the New Year and I'm loving it so far.
• Giving myself some grace this year... I might not be able to knock out as many books are pre-kiddo but that's not the point, is it? The point is:
• Fall back in love with the thrill and escape of reading.

Favorite Reading Apps I'll Be Bringing Into 2026

• Tracking: I've been a faithful Goodreads user for a lot of years (not going to dip into that) but have also fallen in love with both the StoryGraph and Fable apps for reading tracking. So, if you're looking for something outside of Goodreads for mobile tracking - you might give them a look. StoryGraph has the coolest reading stats section and is very user-friendly once you've had a look around; I also really enjoy their yearly wrap-ups, as they go into quite a bit of detail, even with the free version. Fable is just aesthetically a pleasure. I don't typically wander away much from my profile page, as everything I want to see is there, but I do enjoy perusing reviews and Book Club features.
• Reading: Kindle app, Nook app, Libby, Audible, and Hoopla - Let me be immersive, ok? I love having the option to read in a lot of ways: ebook, audio, combo, purchased, borrowed, etc.
• Buying: Thriftbooks, PangoBooks (Pretty much my go-to apps these days for used books.)

Reader Input

What's on your list of reading goals for 2026?

Did you set a numerical goal on Goodreads? Download any Reading Challenge graphics? Start a new reading tracker? 

Do you want to focus on more nonfiction this year? Read the Bible in 365 days?

Or... are you a true pantster and just read what you want to read, when you read it and it's as simple as that?

Tell me all about what 2026 might look like for your reading life in a comment below.

Happy New Year!

-Brianna