SERIESous’ Reading Plan for 2026

2026 Is About Restarting Good Habits!

It has been 4 YEARS since I did a Reading Plan post. WOW!

It’s amazing how things change over the years: I used to be the one who knew the latest books to read in my friend group; now I rely on coworkers to tell me what books/series are “hot” right now. I used to get up early in the morning to read books before I started my day; now I savour every extra minute of sleep. I’d even go to bed “early” so I could read another 30 minutes of my book; now I can barely get through a chapter most nights. And 10 years ago, reading an audiobook was a challenge; now they make up more than 50% of the books I read in a year!

>> SERIESous Discussion: How I Fell Back in Love With Reading

While I may not have publicized my reading plans for the last few years, I have been actively working on incorporating good reading habits into my every day routines in one way or another. It’s been a slow build these last few years, but my hope for 2026 is to get myself more into a rhythm when it comes to my reading. And here is how I plan to do that:

#1 – Binge Series

As I wrote in my 2022 Reading Plan post:

In 2021, I rediscovered binge reading series again. So while I may not have been reading the newest releases, I found that I enjoyed series more when I read the books closer together and could still remember what happened in the last book because I just read a few days prior (instead of a year ago).

Since 2021, binge reading books (and TV series) has become my main routine. My memory is terrible and when you read as much as I do, it can be hard to keep characters and plots straight between reads. Sure, I still read a few ongoing series (for blog content and when reading with friends or I mistakenly thought the series was finished) but since 2021 at least 50% of the book series I start in a year are finished that same year.

And I feel like I’ve enjoyed the books more–leading to less slumps–because I’m invested in the characters and can remember the plot vs starting from scratch a year later when the next book comes out.

#2 – Go Back to the Series Backlog

I also wrote in 2022:

I have approximately 50 series that were published before 2018 (that’s the year I started keeping track of series I had in the works) that I need to finish and I really want to see that number get smaller by the time 2023 starts.

While I have reduced that pre-2018 number by half, I still have 45 series that I started before 2020 that are my focus for 2026. A lot of these series stay on my list year after year, despite regular purges, because something still grabs my attention when I read the synopsis or see the series name.

>>SERIESous Discussion: How I Became a Two-Timing Book Reader

More than 90% of the books I read in a year are from the library and I find trendy books have extremely long holds list (I’m talking months). But backlist titles are usually “available now” or have a very short waitlist if any. My hope is that the mood reader in me can find something that peeks my immediate interest from these readily available titles and I can dive right in.

#3 – Rereading Books I’ve Read Years Before

The tricky thing with most of these backlogged series is that I either read the only the first book or maybe I didn’t read the very last book. But chances are, I don’t remember the finer details of their plot points. While I have notes for some or I can find summaries for online that help rejog my memory, I found that didn’t really help me with some series when I did that this year. I still feel disconnected – like I didn’t study for a test.

It got me thinking about how, back in the day, I used to reread all the books in the series before I read the finales. Rereading the book got me re-immersed in the world and its characters and it got me excited to read the finale because everything was fresh and building. I got away from doing this because I just didn’t have the time.

However, I’ve done it sporadically over the last 3 years but it’s been successful when I have. That’s why my plan for these pre-2020 series is to restart the whole series.

#4 – Dedicate Time to Read in my Daily Routine

A few years ago, I started a No-TV Tuesdays routine where I wouldn’t watch more than 30 minutes of TV that night. Instead of watching TV, I’d focus on reading or doing things around the house. I’m hoping to restart this habit this year, especially in these cold, dark winter nights in Canada we have right now.

I also want to re-establish my nighttime routine of reading before bed. I’ve tried reading after I wake up in the morning but I’ve learned that is a better time for me to workout instead. One of my 2026 personal resolutions it to work on my bedtime routine so I think this is the perfect time to get reading time worked in.

#5 – Bonus: Better Blogging Notes

When I finish a book, I always mark it on Goodreads but I don’t always add it as a task card in Trello (how I keep track of all my blog reviews).

I usually draft a few blog posts at a time rather than writing my review right after I finish the book series. So I rely on the mini Goodreads review I leave of my initial thoughts to jog my memory. But some of the features of the book, like common tropes; POV; heat rating; etc, I forget.

Trello gives users the ability to add notes so my plan for 2026 is to add those helpful notes to the review card immediately so that I can focus on writing the review rather than gathering those details after the has a feature to draft notes.