Let’s talk about my year in books. The original goal I set for 2025 was 120 books. I thought 10 a month was a reasonable goal. Well, then unemployment hit me, and I managed to read 140 books last year. I absolutely do not recommend unemployment, but it definitely helps your reading game. March was my busiest month, May was my slowest. I had Henry’s birthday party to occupy me the first half of the month, but don’t know what happened after that.
In addition to the total books to read, I also joined 2 other challenges: the A to Z Challenge, and the 25 in ‘25 Challenge. The first was to read a book starting with each letter of the alphabet. I missed “V” and “Z”. I have the books, just ran out of time. The second challenge was to read 25 books from my TBR shelves that I just hadn’t gotten around to yet. Missed that one, too – only did 18 of those. Too many good library books out there! I’m trying again with “26 in ‘26”.
I started using StoryGraph in 2025, over Goodreads – I want to rely on Amazon less. Jeff Bezos has enough money. And StoryGraph has a really good chart and graph game – it’s right there in the name! And I loves me a good pie graph!
2025 had me continuing my nonfiction journey. I did read some fiction, but that was a small percentage. And History was my biggest genre. The data also confirms my aversion to audiobooks, and my preference for print vs ebooks.
I had some 5* reads in 2025, and recommend any of the books here.
So what’s my goal for 2026? 120 again. I thought about pushing myself for more, but I hope to be fully employed throughout the year. I’ve grown accustomed again to the regular paydays.
What are your reading goals for the year? Drop me a comment and let me know what you’re reading! 😁
RC Country Life 