Read it Wrap...

I'm going to read everyday. I'm going to keep mixing in nonfiction and fiction, stories about people who are different than I am to keep broadening my world view, and things I love and want to escape into.

That was all I put about my 2025 reading goals. Just do it. I did set some numbers on Storygraph, just because I hate a blank and that was 70 books. When the year ends next week I think I will be at 74 so that's good.

Out of those books (so far) it's about a third nonfiction and two thirds fiction. I aim for at least one nonfiction book a month so I'm okay with that break down. My most read category is Fantasy and the next three all tied for second, Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, and Science Fiction. Which then made me go look, contemporary? What makes a book contemporary over any other category? And as far as I can tell just somebody tagged those books that way, like published this year and set in this general time period maybe?

So did I broaden my worldview? I think so. The top books in my nonfiction for that were One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad. I went in already agreeing with what I thought was the premise. And it was, but it was more than that. I actually changed my mind on something due to reading it and that's always great. I absolutely recommend the book, but you have to go in expecting a hard read (emotionally) and with an open mind. You might find your worldview shifts as well. Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond made me so angry I had to put it down and walk away at times. Especially knowing that things are even worse now than they were when he wrote the book. But a good one for seeing things a little differently. The memoirs I read are always good for a perspective shift as well. We only get one life so getting a glimpse into someone else's is always cool.

Best fiction I read this year according to my own 5 star reviews: James by Percival Everett, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix, and My Friends by Fredrik Backman. I had a couple 4.75s as well. But those three got all the points in my personal rankings. For those of you that know me you see two authors that I almost always love so they aren't a surprise. James is a retelling of the Huck Finn story from Jim's perspective. Guys, it's so freaking good.

My five star nonfiction books were the two I mentioned about worldview changing plus On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder, and Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. There was one 4.75 as well, but those four got all the points from me.

According to Storygraph (like Goodreads but not owned by Amazon) my average rating for the year is 3.92. Not a bad year really. For me, 5 means I loved it, wouldn't change a thing. Four means I really enjoyed it. Three means it was fine. Two I finished it but didn't enjoy it. I don't think I gave anything a one star. That would have relegated it to my DNF pile instead of a rating. Storygraph allows for quarter stars as well so that's why I said I had a couple 4.75. They were almost perfect.

So what did I learn or what do I want to keep up with?

Keep reading. I read (ha!) recently that people are not reading books as much as they used to. There is a switch to the audio books for some, but for most reading for pleasure (or listening to books for pleasure) is fading out. We read a lot. Status updates, opinion pieces, fluff bits, listicles, you'll never believe an AI bot wrout thus, but we are reading fewer books. I will continue to do my part to make sure reading books for pleasure doesn't go away.

Honestly, folks, it's such a good way to spend some time. Find an author you really like and dive into their back catalog. Or find a genre that you love and spend time there. Or ask friends for recommendations. Or just spin the wheel and pick at random. There have been days I've regretted reading nothing but social media feeds or news aggregators but I've never regretted a day spent lost in a book.

That's my pitch.

So 2026? Let's see, I think not picking a particularly high over all number is a good idea. Gives me time if Joe Hill or Stephen King release a new tome to read it and not feel like I'm losing pace. (Joe Hill has reached the level of his father where editors aren't telling him no anymore. SO LONG. But I enjoy both of them so it's hard to get too mad about how their writing could be tighter.) So anyway... no stretch number BUT...

I need to get through my owned TBR pile. My challenge is always that those books go on the back burner while I check out new books and read those right away. And there are always new books coming out. And right now as the Best Of lists are hitting my feeds I'm getting tons of new recommendations for books I missed the first time around. BUT! I mean it! I'm going to make an effort to work through some of the books I own before getting distracted by shiny new books.

I think the over all goals will be the same as 2025. Keep reading daily. Keep broadening my worldview. Keep reading things that bring me joy and escape. And under that banner, at least one nonfiction book a month and one book I already own. It may be like when I decided I really needed to read the Discworld books and it took me a few years to get through them all as I sprinkled them in, but starting with at least one a month will start putting a dent in my digital hoard. I hope.

I'm going to keep looking for stories about people who aren't like me, which let's face it, NOBODY is like me so that's not too hard. Ha! I'm going to keep looking for books by authors who give me a new way to see the world. Fiction and nonfiction. I'm going to keep finding joy in reading and also view it as important and not fluff time.

I'm also going to do another book like the Daily Positive one I did (am technically still doing) this year. Instead of just reading the daily post I read them then write a small amount about what that means to me, how I fit that into my world. It's similar to a daily devotional that I used to do when I was in the church, but secular writing instead of biblical. Still a way to focus on positive intentions and growth. I like the moment of positive focus everyday even if it's brief. For 2025 the book was A Year of Positive Thinking, Daily Inspiration, Wisdom and Courage in 2026 it will be A Mindful Year: Daily Meditations: Reduce Stress, Manage Anxiety, and Find Happiness in Everyday Life, so 2026 has already won the title length contest.

The reading goal is always the easiest for me to reach for and it fits in perfectly with my overall "Is what I'm doing good for my heart or my brain?" It's a keeper.