Each year, people set themselves a variety of different reading challenges, from hitting a certain number of books or pages to trying out different genres. There really are no limits when it comes to these challenges!

I’ve done a lot of different reading challenges throughout my life, but my favourite has got to be the simple test of reading a certain number of books. After I finished A-Levels, I was in a major reading slump, so I barely read anything at all that year. But once I started reading for my course at university, my total number of books skyrocketed!

My reading goal for 2025 was to read six full books – I know, my expectations were low. In the end, though, I finished 32 books! That aim seemed impossible for me to achieve after my reading slump, but just setting a simple goal meant that once I achieved it, anything extra was a bonus! The more books I read, the better I felt. 

For 2026, I have upped my goal – I’m aiming for 36 books across the year. This is only about three books a month, which, with counting course-related reading, is very achievable for me! I know many people will set their goals much higher or lower than this, but that’s the beauty of reading challenges – they are customisable to your situation. If you’re an avid reader, you could double or triple my aim. But if you’re in a bit of a reading slump, you might set a goal like mine last year. 

Another reading challenge I’m setting myself is to read more books from my physical To Be Read (TBR) list. A lot of readers, myself included, have a habit of buying more books than they can read. Physical TBRs can pile up quickly – I know mine has!

Across 2026, I’m hoping that at least a third of the total books I read are taken from my bookshelf instead of buying new books or being course-related books. I have so many wonderful books already, so I think it’s about time I read some of them. If you’re in a similar situation and own lots of books, you could consider this challenge. 

Whatever your reading challenge is, I hope you achieve it, and I hope you find some amazing books along the way!

Image Credit: Kyla Oakley