Let’s talk about Reading Goals. 

Note: Tabatha is one of our founders and our most voracious reader. This post was originally posted on tabathashipleybooks.com (Tabatha’s blog) and is cross-posted here with her permission. Make sure you’re following her in both places so you don’t miss any fun content!

I was always a voracious reader, even as a kid. But I didn’t realize how much I read until I started tracking my reading in 2017. I heard Goodreads had the option to set a challenge and then track your books read. I don’t know how I’d missed learning that before that year. But in 2017 I decided 30 books seemed lofty and good. That year I read 50. The following year I set a goal to read 50. I read 101. 2019 was the first year I publicly declared I would read 2 books per week or 104 books, a challenge I would continue through 2024. During those years I read 139, 151, 118, 122, 145, and 152 respectively. Each year I would say that my goal was staying the same, despite meeting it, because 104 was a number I could still be proud of. 

But we already know I’m the kind of person who has OUT LOUD goals and SECRET goals. I kept making the challenge HARDER on myself during these years, but in really weird ways. I think I had it in my head that if meeting the reading goal seemed too easy, even to outsiders, it wasn’t a good goal. 

In 2018 I started accepting review requests through my website. There I would take on 2 books per month that I promised to read and review. 

In 2019 I signed up for NetGalley and started taking on one ARC per month. 

Then in 2020 I had the idea to include 4 extra books onto that list of books I was promising to undertake. I referred to this as the Shield Challenge. Basically I would add the lowest rated, highest rated, and book that had been on my TBR the longest to the month. Then I would add ONE recommendation (either from Goodreads, comments on the videos, or from friends). Add those all up and in 2020 I was reading about 7 books per month that were picked for me. It was EXHAUSTING. There’s something about having the books thrust upon you that can drain your love of what you’re reading. I was leaving no room for vibes or mood reads. I was leaving no room for a reread of something I loved or for something brand new that caught my eye at a store. 

So in 2021 I dropped that and just went back to the 104 book goal with 2 reviews and 1 ARC. Then in 2022 I joined an online book club. Together we agreed to read books in a month and review them. I think it was 2 books per month, honestly I forget. So that added more to the list. The book club sort of fizzled out because of schedules, putting me back at my original 2 reviews and an ARC. That kept up until 2024. But in 2024 when I sat down to look at my reading goal I thought I was ready for another challenge. Even more importantly, when I looked at what was on my TBR and how long it had been there, I knew what it had to be. It would be my hardest reading challenge YET. 

On January 1, 2025 I had 119 books on my TBR. So I set my goal to read all 119 of those books. Not just ANY 119 books … THOSE 119. I have them color coded on a spreadsheet and I’ve been tracking them. In about May I realized the problem I’d created. I was still taking on those 2 reviews and 1 ARC per month but I hadn’t known about those or agreed to those in January, which meant they WEREN’T on the official list of 119 books to read. Now I’d locked myself into a conundrum like I hadn’t seen since the Shield Challenge fiasco of 2020. I had to keep up this crazy pace of reading about 8-10 of the books on the official TBR list per month while ALSO still reading the 2-3 promised books. 

At the time of typing this it is 11:01 AM on December 22. I officially have about 268 hours left in the year. I am currently reading 2 books (77% of the way through one and 58% of the way through the other) and I have 2 books left after that. Possible? Yes, absolutely. Stressful? So completely stressful. 

So, after analyzing all of that, here’s what I learned. 

1. I am the kind of reader who has to leave myself wiggle room for new releases, mood reading, or library trips. 
2. Speaking of library trips, I MISS those! I haven’t really gone to a library in 2025 because the TBR was already set and I knew what I was reading (most of which were already owned, honestly). I miss going to a library and just going CRAZY. 
3. I won’t give up reviewing or ARC reading. I enjoy it! But I have to remember that it exists when I’m making my goals. 
4. I miss audiobooks. Audiobooks were a great way to help me focus my brain on drives or while I was cooking. I love listening to the way a narrator brings a story to life. Because most of that official TBR was not audiobooks, I haven’t listened to one since March. 
5. I don’t like leaving things on my TBR for too long. That is why the shield challenge and the 2025 challenge originally happened. Both times I looked at what was sitting on my TBR and how long it had been there and felt GUILTY for not getting to them. The way I chose to address them was a bit extreme and didn’t really work, but it came from a good place. 
6. I CAN and DO read a lot in a year but preplanning to always be this on top of things is a good way to burn myself out. I have to allow myself to enjoy reading. 

All of that to say I think I’ve made another weird, totally insane choice for my 2026 reading goal (drumroll please)

I’m not setting one. 

Ok, that’s not 100% true. I’m still taking on reviews and ARCs (see point #3) so I’ll probably set my goal on Goodreads at like 24 books. 

But in 2026, I’m not pushing myself. 

As soon as the final books on the official 2025 TBR are done, I’m going to the library. I plan on walking in there without my list and just getting WHATEVER I WANT. I have no self-control in a library, or at least I never did prior to 2025. I’m letting that Tabatha out to play as soon as this list is done. I’m getting whatever I want. The only time I MIGHT pull out my phone or check my TBR is if I’m looking to see what the next book in a particular series might be. 

Then, once that library trip is done and those books are read and returned, I’m keeping that read-whatever-I-want vibe going. I plan to listen to audiobooks, read some things I already own, and just generally go with the vibes all year. I have no idea how many books I’ll read and, honestly, that’s a GREAT feeling. 

In 2017 when I started tracking what I read, I didn’t know what to expect. If you’d asked me on January 1, 2017 how many I thought I read in a year I would’ve shrugged at you. I just read all the time. I had no idea it was going to be 50 books that year. I certainly didn’t know that, years later, I’d be at over 100 per year. Doing the math this morning I learned that I’ve read 1,119 books since that first day in 2017. That’s INSANE to me. I don’t think I’ve ever fully sat and appreciated how wild that number is: 1,119 books in basically 9 years. I think I’ve proved I’m a fast and consistent reader. I’ve proven time and time again that I can set a goal and stick to it. It’s time to just enjoy it again. 

No rules, no stress, just me and some books. 

Q & A

Will I still read?

Obviously, yes. 

Do I plan to only read that goal of 24?

Obviously, no. That’s my way of honoring the review copies I plan to take on by planning for them. I’m already scheduling reviews and ARCs out into April, I think. 

What happens if I stop reading?

I won’t. Trust me. 

Are you using your TBR?

Sort of, maybe, probably. I have a schedule of the review copies, I have a list of things I do want to read, I have a list of things I already own, I have a list of series I’ve started and what number I’m on. I’m fully prepared to help myself through this no rules year with any tools I might need … I just won’t MAKE myself use them, if that makes sense. 

What about the wheel?

If you’ve been following me for a long time you might be wondering why the book wheel wasn’t mentioned in this post so far. Honestly it’s because I do not remember when I used that! Was that 2020? 2021? Gosh, I don’t remember! I did love the book wheel and it MIGHT make a come-back. But no promises because that would defeat the NO RULES rule. If I want it … I’ll use it!

What do I think my end of year count will be?

IDK. I won’t guess because that kind of thinking pushes my inner thoughts to making a secret goal and we’re NOT doing that in 2026. We’ll see where it lands. Feel free to make guesses yourself, though. Your guessing never triggers my inner thoughts, it’s just fun! Maybe I’ll put a poll up on social media and let you all guess. 

Am I still logging my books? 

Absolutely. I have my adorable journal and my Goodreads account (No, I’m not switching. Yes, I’m aware there are issues with Goodreads and there are probably better platforms out there) and I’ll be updating both of those as religiously as I always did. 

I bought your book, does this mean I won’t read it?

Nope. If it’s on my TBR I’ll read it … eventually. This just means I have no idea when I’ll read it. If that bothers you and you really need to know when I’ll read it, email me. I’ll put it on the review schedule and we’ll make sure you have that timeline. 

Alright, that’s it for me and my thinking about reading goals. 

Are you setting a reading goal in 2026? Share it in the comments!