Sarah Z. Creates

I have never made a reading goal — except maybe when I was in elementary school and got rewards for meeting it. Although I suspect that, even then, I didn’t get the rewards because I didn’t write down the books I finished (I was too busy reading a new one!).

This year, though, I want to try something new: a guided reading goal. In addition to my regular “read whatever I feel like” plan, each month, I’m going to have a specific kind of book to read. (This is what I’m hoping will work for me; if you’ve tried something similar, I’d love to hear your tips!)

My 2026 Reading Framework:

• One book in my preferred genre (fantasy, of course!)
• One classic book that I somehow missed in my English major career
• One book on writing craft (because my goal is to always be improving!)

The Official January 2026 List:

• “The Strength of the Few” by James Islington (Book 2 of the Hierarchy series). I’ve actually already finished that one (it was a great New Year’s Eve/Day read). I would definitely call this one epic fantasy, and given that I’d already read Book 1, this one was an easy pick.
• “Letters from Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (honestly, I think I’ve read excerpts from this). I was fleshing this list out on MLK Day, and realized that January is the perfect time to revisit and refamiliarize myself with King’s words.
• “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lamott. This is also a re-read for me, but as I recall, it’s engaging and encouraging. And since I’m already pretty far into January, I don’t feel too badly about including some re-reads!

In addition to reading these, I hope to also share my thoughts on them as a finish. That means I should have a post about “The Strength of the Few” coming soon!

Do you have a reading goal for 2026? Or a suggestion for books I can add to these categories? I’d love to hear them!