Bloggin' 'bout Books: 01/21/26

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama

- Alaska

- Arizona

- Arkansas

- California

- Colorado

- Connecticut

- Delaware

- Florida

- Georgia

- Hawaii

- Idaho

- ~~Illinois~~ (1)

- ~~Indiana~~ (1)

- Iowa

- Kansas

- Kentucky

- Louisiana

- ~~Maine~~ (1)

- Maryland

- Massachusetts

- Michigan

- Minnesota

- Mississippi

- Missouri

- Montana

- Nebraska

- Nevada

- New Hampshire

- New Jersey

- New Mexico

- ~~New York~~ (1)

- North Carolina

- North Dakota

- Ohio

- Oklahoma

- Oregon

- Pennsylvania

- ~~Rhode Island~~ (1)

- South Carolina

- South Dakota

- Tennessee

- Texas

- Utah

- Vermont

- ~~Virginia~~ (1)

- Washington

- West Virginia

- Wisconsin

- Wyoming

- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- England (2)

Top Ten Tuesday: Vague Bookish Goals for 2026

9:57 AM

2026 has barely started and it's already speeding by! I'm still playing catch up after being gone for two weeks over the holidays, so this week's TTT prompt—Top Ten Goals for 2026 (bookish or otherwise)—is going to be a bit difficult as I haven't made any concrete New Year's resolutions yet, not for me personally or for my blog. I have some vague ideas of what I'd like to accomplish here at BBB. We'll see if I hit ten or not.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2026

Read 200 books—This has been my reading goal for the last five years or so. Most years I exceed it with no problem; we'll see what happens this year.
Read more of my own books—My shelves are literally sagging under the weight of all the books I've piled on them. I have hundreds of paper review books and ones I've bought that are waiting to be read as well as a ton of e-ARCs. All my shelves need culling. Desperately.
Post more reviews—I used to post almost every day here on BBB, but those days are loooonnnngggg in the past. These days, I pat myself on the back if I manage to do just a TTT post each week. I would like to post more reviews, maybe even set up a *gulp* schedule so that I publish at least one a week.
Up my NetGalley ratio—This is a losing battle. My current ratio is an abysmal 5%. Even though it's so low, I'm still able to get most of the e-ARCs I want. Still, I feel some guilt about how many I've requested vs. how many I've actually read/reviewed.
Complete all, or at least most, of the reading challenges I've taken on—I do reading challenges because they're fun. If I don't finish them, no biggie, but I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment I get from completing them.
Reorganize my "owned" shelves—When I moved into this house about four years ago, I had purged so many books that I was able to organize all of my remaining volumes on my shelves in a lovely, uncluttered way. Now, I've got books stacked every which way. The genres are all mixed up. Some purging and rearranging is definitely in order.
Listen to more audiobooks—My husband is all gung-ho about going on a cruise in May to see ruins in Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. It's going to involve a lot of hiking, which means I need to get my butt (and the rest of me) in shape before then (and beyond then). My goal is really to exercise consistently, but I generally listen to audiobooks while doing so, so I bookified it to make it seem more doable and fun ;)
Make progress in series that I'm reading—I love deep diving into characters and settings, so series always appeal to me—a little too much! I'm in the middle of a bunch of them, and I would like to move forward in at least some of them. I'm doing a series reading challenge, so that will help.
Read more uplifting books—Mysteries and thrillers are my favorite, but they're always so depressing! I need to balance them out with books that are lighter and happier. I've been reading more cozy mysteries in the past couple years; I could stand to expand my horizons, though. What do you suggest? Who are your go-to authors for books that are mood-boosting, but not cheesy, didactic, or silly? Bonus points if they're well-written mysteries.
Engage more with your blogs—I'm very consistent about visiting all the blogs that participate in TTT, but other than that, I haven't been great about stopping by and visiting all y'all. I'll try to do better in 2026!

There you go, ten reading/blogging goals I have for this new year. What about you? What are your resolutions for 2026? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!