Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I was planning to revisit my goals for 2025, but as I looked back at them I realized that I didn’t really accomplish any of them last year other than being excited that we’re getting a TV show made from Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments
. These past few years have included some hard times for me and my family that included death and a few family members who were diagnosed with serious or life-threatening illnesses among other stressors.
While things are steadily improving and I’m quite hopeful 2026 will be much better for us all, I honestly haven’t had a ton of extra time or emotional energy for doing things like joining a book club, visiting new bookstores, or making a ton of new friends.
Therefore, I’m recycling a whole bunch of my goals from last year and hoping to actually accomplish them this year.
1. Read more non-fiction
I’m especially interested in science, medicine, memoirs, and history.
2. Visit one new independent bookstore
Visiting one seems much more do-able than trying to check out multiple places.
3. Take myself on tea or donut dates
Toronto has some incredible coffee shops that I need to visit more often.
4. Strike up conversations about books with strangers or acquaintances when appropriate
Every so often I see someone at the coffee shop or on the subway who is reading a book I really loved. I’m going to try to be less shy and tell folks they’re reading fantastic stories. This might be a way to make some new friends or even just have a nice conversation.
We still need a platonic version of OkCupid for bookish people, though! 😀
5. Practice handwriting five minutes a day
I have always had sloppy handwriting, but I do want to make it slightly more legible this year if I can.
6. Read in the park more often (weather permitting, of course)
I love books and nature, so why not combine them more often than I currently do.
7. Read less young adult fiction
It rarely speaks to me anymore.
I’m sorry you have had a difficult time of late, I hope 2026 is better.
Thanks for sharing your #TTT and good luck with all your goals.
You’re welcome. Thank you for your well wishes.
I should add handwriting to my list too! I’m the same, and have always thought if I tried a little more I could improve the sloppiness. Also, I’m the same; I recycle my goals from year too year! Some I work on every year and others I fail TOTALLY at, but I guess I should be glad about those I do improve on. 🙂 Hope things continue to get better for you and your family. So sorry that stress has been part of life lately. That’s never fun. Thanks for visiting my list!
Thank you for your kind words. I wouldn’t have guessed you also have not-so-great handwriting!
It wasn’t one of my goals last year, but I ended up going to so many independent book stores. It was great! It helps that a couple of new ones opened in my area, but there was one I wanted to visit for years, and I finally did that.
I hope 2026 continues to get better for you and your family.
Thank you very much. That sounds like so much fun.
I hope 2026 will be a better year for you and your family, and that you’ll be able to reach some of your goals!
Thank you!
I do hope this year will go better for you. It’s always difficult when we face health issues among people we love.
I love the idea of talking to people reading books. I shall do that, too.
Thank you. I appreciate that.
I hope you have some nice bookish conversations this year.
I’m sorry that 2025 was such a hard year for you. I really hope 2026 is much more positive and happier. YA is something I hardly ever read anymore too.
Thank you. 🙂
Reading outside always sounds really great, and then there are bugs 🤣 Good luck on your goals!
Ha! I can’t argue with you there. Bugs can be a menace for sure.
I love the goal of visiting more/new indie bookshops!
Thank you.
Great goals, Lydia! I love visiting independent bookstores. Happy Tuesday!
Thanks! They’re great.
I love your goals — and the idea of an OKCupid for booklovers! I really need to work on my handwriting too — I used to have a very nice cursive… and now it’s chicken scratch. Love the idea of checking out new places for donuts, etc and also visiting independent bookstores. Good luck!
Thank you. If only it were easier to improve one’s handwriting!
Such great goals, Lydia. Getting out on dates and reading more outside are wonderful ways to help us feel more part of the world. Good luck with your handwriting practice. Mine is awful despite eight years of penmanship in school. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.
You’re welcome, Cheryl. I was not expecting so many other folks to also have bad penmanship!
Fab goals, especially your tea and donuts one!
Thank you. 🙂
Tea and donut dates sound amazing.
Hope 2026 is a better year.
Thank you!
I can recommend Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn for your history nf! It’s pageturning!
I’m sorry about your difficult year. I experienced that the latter part of 2025 when my mom died. C. S. Lewis has a relatable quote…
“Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything,” from his book A Grief Observed, where he describes the pervasive, all-encompassing feeling of loss after his wife Joy’s death, noting it’s not just a feeling but a constant presence permeating all of life.
Thank you. I’m looking that book up now.
That is such a touching quote, too. I appreciate you sharing it and know what that feeling is like.
I’m so sorry you went through hard times last year. It makes perfect sense that those things would derail your bookish goals. I love what you’ve come up with for this year, especially your goal to take yourself out for tea or read at the park. This sounds like peak self-care. I love it!
Thank you very much. I appreciate that.
“Practice handwriting five minutes a day.”
This is something I should be doing too! Before I retired, I loved seeing my coworkers handwriting – so beautiful. Mine has gotten to the point I can no longer read it.
Many hopes that your 2026 keeps improving.
Thank you. 🙂
These are all great goals! I think I might borrow your “read in a park more” goal, if I can find a local park where I am comfortable sitting alone and distracted. (One downside of living in a big city is needing to find the safer areas for things like reading outside.)
You totally should! Yeah, not every part of my city is a good place for that either.
The YA goal is SO relatable. I still do pick up the ones on my TBR and the occasional new release, but as a 34-year old it feels kind of awkward to read about high schoolers. College is okay-ish, but I’m feeling myself drifting away from those books as well as it’s just another phase of life. Furthermore, these are mostly romances and lately these make me cringe a lot. Not romances in general, but the ones set in college. Unless the characters undergo some massive character development LOL.
I totally get that.
Good luck with your goals. I hope 2026 is a good year for you!
Thank you!
There is nothing I love more than people coming up to me and letting me know if I’m reading something they loved! It’s the only problem with reading ebooks now, I can’t see what other people are reading and they can’t see what I’m reading! 😩 I hope you have much success with this goal!
Aww, I love this story. Thanks for sharing.
We get this little magazine in the mail, once a month, and it has a “new” business section. Two used/Indie bookstores have opened near-ish (one is an hour away) to me and I kept the information so I will *hopefully* visit them soonish. Like you, I have had similar tough things in the family, and lost a dear friend at the end of December, so things have been super rough, and trying to do extra is hard. But, I am hoping that by doing it, it will help my mental health, and if you are able, it will yours as well (not to say our mental health isn’t good). I hope you have a great week and good luck with all your goals.
Thank you for your kind words. I’m sorry life has been rough for you as well.
May 2026 be better for both of us!
Lydia, I’m so sorry to hear about the deaths/illnesses in your family. My maternal grandfather died last spring, so I can definitely empathize with those hard times you mentioned. I hope you’re able to accomplish some of these goals this year!
Thank you so much. I’m sorry for your loss as well.
I hope 2026 treats you and your loved ones better. Losing a family member is absolutely devastating. A platonic OkCupid for bookish people sounds so good. Trying to pick up more non-fiction myself. Hope we both succeed. Wishing you a less stressful 2026.
Thank you. Fingers crossed!
There are a lot of us who are looking forward to a better year than 2025, and I really hope 2026 is better for you! Good luck with all your resolutions!
I moved into a management position at the library I work at a couple of years ago, and my conversations with other people about books dropped precipitously! I do have a few friends who are readers but mostly I get my bookish conversation online with blogger friends.
Thank you. Congrations on your new position.
Death and illnesses will definitely leave little or no inclination for reading goals. I’m sorry. I hope this year is better for you and your family. Bookish OKCupid is an excellent idea!
Thank you very much!
I’m sorry 2025 was so tough for you and your family. I hope things are better in 2026. Oh, and a doughnut date sounds like an excellent idea! I don’t drink tea, but I love me a doughnut 🙂
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Thank you very much! I hope you get to have a donut date this year sometime. 🙂
I actually bought a half dozen doughnuts today because you mentioned doughnuts on your blog and I couldn’t stop thinking about yummy that sounded! LOL. My family says thank you 🙂
Thank you for the update. I love it.
Good luck! Reading more nonfiction is one of my goals too.
Thanks!
Reading in the park sounds amazing. Amazingly, I haven’t done it yet. Taking yourself on a tea date would definitely be fun too. I hope you achieve all your goals 😊. Thanks for visiting my blog!
You’re quite welcome!
Not having the time or emotional energy to engage in things is 1000% relatable. But I am still hopeful that 2026 will be a better, if not at least a slightly less emotionally/mentally taxing, year compared to the last. These are some great goals, Lydia. I especially love the one about taking yourself out on tea or donut dates! It’s inspiring me to do the same 🙂
Thank you very much, Dini! Have fun on your outings.
These are great goals. I like indie bookstores and reading outdoors too. I hope 2026 treats you well.
Thank you. 🙂
I am also sorry to hear of the difficult times. I love these goals! Reading in the park is a particular pleasure of mine, on a blanket in the grass. And I really like the idea of talking to strangers about their books 🙂
Thank you very much!
I added two of your goals to my list. They were too good not to share! Hope that’s ok 🙂
Yes, of course it is! Thanks for letting me know.