New Year, new books? Or how to read more in 2026, if that’s your goal.

Whether or not you’re a fan of New Year's resolutions, reading more is a great goal anyone can achieve. Whether that’s reading five books a year or 50 will be entirely up to you, but here are some tips to fit more reading into your life if that’s your aim.

But before we start, I want to say: read because you want to, not because you feel like you should. 

 

Why is reading so hard? 

It’s not just you. Our attention spans are getting shorter, and it quite literally IS harder to focus and read a book these days. But it’s a skill that can be relearned. Attention is a muscle that can be rebuilt, like any - and you don’t have to set foot in a gym to do it. 

It just takes a bit of time and dedication. If you wanted to learn to run a 5k, you would’t jump in without training. Likewise, training our focus can start with as little as five minutes a day, choosing to stop doom scrolling or multitasking, and focusing on one thing (it doesn’t even have to be reading, any mindful task would work).

 

If reading more is your New Years resolution 

Set clear goals.

Reading goals are optional, but a specific, achievable goal can be a great motivator to pick up your book instead of your phone.

For the last few years I’ve wanted to ‘read more non-fiction’, but what does that actually mean? In 2024 I read no non-fiction, so technically I achieved my goal by reading three non-fiction books in 2025. But everyone knows that clear, specific goals are the most effective, so this year I’ve set my goal to read one non-fiction book a month, and I’m tracking my progress in my reading journal to see if I’m staying on top of it or not. I’ve also learned that I much prefer reading non-fiction books than listening to them as audiobooks, so I have that knowledge to help me achieve my goal too. 

If you read three books in 2025, don’t set a goal to suddenly achieve 52 in 2026. Aim for 10, or maybe one a month if you know how and when you’ll fit that extra reading in. But don’t forget even one book finished is more than many achieve, and is worth celebrating! 

 

Tips to read more:

• Read for just 10 minutes. It can be overwhelming to finish an entire book, but just one chapter, or 10 minutes a day can lead to huge progress. In fact, 10 minutes a day would equal finishing roughly 12 books a year! 

 

• Re-read an old favourite. There’s nothing wrong with re-reading a book from your childhood, or reading alongside a younger family member. Seeing their love of reading might just re-spark your own.

 

• Try a new genre, or author. Ask your local librarian for recommendations - I guarantee you’ll make their day.

 

• Explore other book formats, such as ebooks on your phone when waiting at the doctors office, or audiobooks while doing the supermarket shopping or jobs around the house (and please ignore anyone who says audiobooks aren’t reading, they are, and science has proven it). There’s no point being a diehard physical book lover, if you never find yourself with the time to actually read them. 

 

• Buddy read a book with a friend. Book clubs are also great motivators, but can be intimidating to start, so why not read a book with a friend instead? There are even online buddy reads you can join on websites such as The Storygraph, to have that accountability and social aspect.

 

• DNF (did not finish) if you’re not enjoying the story! Not every book has to be finished, and it’s ok to stop reading if it’s not working for you. I’m a mood reader, so I often find myself putting a book down if I’m not enjoying it - I can always pick it back up later if I get the urge. But not forcing myself to continue when I’m not enjoying it, has lead to reading more, and avoiding reading slumps.

 

• Don’t compare yourself to others. I’ll be completely honest here, I read a ridiculous number of books in 2025. However, I have the unique situation of books quite literally being my job, as well as chronic illness/disability that means I spend a lot of time reading and not being able to do much else a lot of the time. Comparing your reading to another persons is pointless, as we all have different lives and priorities, and what constitutes “a lot” for one person, will be completely different for another. 

More than anything, remember that reading should be fun. Yes, we can read to learn, or to walk in another person’s shoes, but it, like any other hobby should be enjoyable first and foremost. If all you have energy for at the moment is escapism, then that’s ok. This isn’t university, and you won’t be asked to write an essay at the end. 

 

Suggestions for reading tracking: 

Tracking your reading is a great way to see the progress on your (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) goals, and there are plenty of options now to do so. 

My personal favourite is the website/app The Storygraph. It’s free, and is a great way to keep track what you’re reading throughout the year, as well as keep a log of your TBR (to be read) books. The stats and graphs are fun to see how many books you read each month, and can help you learn about yourself as reader (such as learning what “moods” or types of books you tend to read, or discovering how long it takes you to complete a book on average). 

Other options include:

• Goodreads (please note Goodreads is owned by Amazon, if you prefer to avoid that ecosystem as much as possible)
• Fable
• Bookmory
• A note of finished book titles on your phone
• The old fashioned pen and paper. There’s a whole world of pretty DIY reading journals out there, but you can also find ready made reading journals (including at Kmart) 

 

Whatever your goal, I hope you enjoy your reading this year. And if you ever need book recommendations, don’t forget you can ask us too!