2026 Bookish Goals
Read more physical books
In the past 2-3 years I had been enjoying reading on my phone more than physical books or my Kindle. It's just more compact and convenient. But as my attention span deteriorates and my compulsive opening of Twitter & Instagram apps got worse, I feel like l need a bigger separation between my phone and reading material. Sort of like separating work and leisure space at home, or not bringing work to finish at home. Physical books also force me to read slower.
Read slower and more mindfully
I read too fast, due to several factors. The first was participating in booktwt/bookstagram, which exposed me to more book recommendations than a person can possibly read or go through. I was also exposed to all the new releases with their blurbs, tropes, and marketing pitches, which gave me FOMO (like it or not, I’m not immune to marketing). And seeing other people's monthly wrap-ups. And getting the sense of accomplishment when posting a wrap-up with >5 books in it, or having read and liking/not liking a book du jour.
The second was treating books as “background noise”, almost. Like listening to music on one’s commute just to fill the silence, to blur out thoughts. I have been treating books like that, as something to listen to on my walks (I ended up being too distracted to enjoy either) or when cleaning the house, or as something to consume to fill time like a sitcom or a no-brainer action movie. I developed this nasty habit of checking how many more pages or minutes I have to read to get to the next chapter or to the end of the book. I relentlessly pick and curate my next to-read books. I was impatient to start the next book the entire time I was reading. I didn’t give myself enough time to digest, think, or make connections.
Annotate; write down thoughts and connections
On top of the previous goal of reading slower, I also want to read with more intention and rumination. And I want to have a more tangible takeaway from all my readings, as opposed to the vague memories I have now.
Read more challenging books
A more balanced ratio between entertaining books and classics/non-fiction/literary fiction with challenging topics. Lots of entertaining/popular/marketable books have been such slops lately and I barely have the patience anymore. I just want to read things that don’t explain things like I am an infant or an idiot. And again, challenging books are great choice to support goals #2 and #3.
Read samples before buying/committing
See goal #4 about slop. Also I need to request less ARCs based on their synopses alone. I at least need to see the ratings or be familiar with the author’s other work.