2026 Reading Goals
- Dan
- 21 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Honestly, I don't even know why I'm dreaming up reading goals for 2026. I read maaaaany books in 2025, but I didn't get to many of the ones I planned to read. There are so many great books and so little time to read them all!
Reading Goals
This is an easy one to put on the list, because I'm pretty sure I'm gonna finish it, no problem. It's my current read, after all. Anything by Scalzi is typically somewhere on a scale of very good to great. The best of his Old Man's War books tip the scales at great. The Shattering Peace is no exception, so far. It's the best book in the series I've read since Zoe's Tale (which I absolutely adore, BTW).
If you enjoy an ample dollop of humor in your sci-fi, without sacrificing action or high stakes, this book and the entire series are worth a go.
The Gunslinger novels aren't my favorite books by the King of Horror, but they're still pretty darn good. In fact, the last one I read, Wizard and Glass, was damn great! Easily, the best one in the series thus far. This isn't a series I can binge-read because it's just too dark. Still, I hear the siren's song of Gilead, and I must answer the call.
This series is the ultimate mashup, combining elements of Western, fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres. Often strange and always dark, these books are bucking bronco reads.
The original Dune is still probably my favorite novel of all time, hands down. The G.O.A.T., so to speak. The rest of the series, not so much. I recently read Dune Messiah and enjoyed it far more than I did the first time. I hope to read at least one additional book in the series this year.
Dune is science fiction at its best, IMO. An epic tale with fantastic world-building, an all-time great hero, and villains you love to hate. If you haven't read it before, read it. If you have read it, read it again.
I had my mind blown by Hardwired. Talk about a cyberpunk to the max tale—action and intrigue in a truly dystopian world. I'm not sure if there's one or two more books in the Hardwired Series, but I plan to read them all.
These books will scratch your cyberpunk itch.
I've known about this series for years, but I only just got around to reading the first book. Solid fantasy. Not great, but good enough to keep me interested and continuing the series. I think there are eight or nine books, so the jury is out if I'll read them all.
What Farland does better than just about any other fantasist is create a high-stakes, fast-moving plot with serviceable characters while also providing incredibly detailed and engrossing world-building. Older fantasy fans (15+) will enjoy these books, but they may be too dark for younger fantasy aficionados.
Since reading Between the World and Me, I've become obsessed with reading banned books.
These are books that challenge the status quo.
These are tales that will make you think.
These are yarns that give voice to the voiceless.
Most of all, these stories really, really excel at allowing the reader walk a while in someone else's shoes.
Read the books "the man" says are dangerous. Be a rebel! Read banned books! Think dangerous thoughts!