2026 A time to anticipate a blank sheet of a brand new year, and a time to look forward to discovering new books, new adventures, new-to-me-authors, and revisit with older, favorite authors as well.

I don’t do “New Year’s Resolutions”, I’ve found over time that if I do so… I’m guaranteed to fail, spectacularly.  However, I do believe in goals and plans… and I have several of those in mind for the coming year.

My number one priority will always be ARCs, those advanced copies of upcoming titles that publishers and authors have graciously granted me access to.  Those are gifts that I will never take lightly, and I’m always grateful for the trust in me to talk about an upcoming book.

However, my main goal for 2026 is to tackle my TBR pile seriously.  *sigh*  Yes, that leaning tower of books that are sitting in my Kindle or on my shelves just waiting (impatiently) for me actually to read the books I’ve purchased.  You, too?  I cannot be the only person who picks up a book I cannot wait to dive into, only to discover that I’ve got a review due and… put off reading the new one for just a few days (yeah, right).  Time is fleeting, as I’ve realized recently from my own personal health issues (I fell over my cat and broke my tailbone, resulting in a very long time away from family and reading).  Tomorrow, as we know it, is not guaranteed, so since I paid good cash for those books, it’s time that I actually read the stories within them.  That is my main goal after the ARC reviews.

I’ve joined a few “Reading Challenges” for 2026.  Now, this is something I’ve always struggled with, and I’m hoping to do better this year.  One of those “challenges” focuses on the “under $5.00 books, the freebie (usually series starters), the 99¢ bargains that I simply cannot pass up, no matter how hard I try.  Reading those books for that particular challenge will finally get those purchases off of my TBR and into the “I’ve read that” pile.  I’m actually going to make my most recent TBR purchases public in an effort to “shame myself” into not conveniently forgetting about that goal.  Self-accountability can be a good thing. *self-indulgent smile* It will be a way for me to physically see the titles, and cross them off my list of “need to get it read” books.

I need to get Happily Ever After Romance up-to-date on reviews that were lost during that away-from-home period.  During my recovery, I lost two of my websites; I got one back (thankfully), yet I do need to post reviews here that are sitting over on Goodreads.  (Thankfully, I subscribe to my own newsletter, so I have those lost reviews available to get posted now)  It’s a time-consuming goal, but a necessary one, if only for my own peace of mind and the satisfaction of seeing a task finished.

I can read Christmas Romances any time of the year.  I plan to expand the one page I now have into something that divides the stories up a bit more, in a way that makes sense to me.  During the holiday reading frenzy, I often find new-to-me authors, and several of those series/stories were in Kindle Unlimited, so that list of “I want to read” titles will also be part of that expansion.

So.  I have goals/plans for 2026.  We shall see how they play out.  I wish you a safe and happy new year… full of amazing stories.