Reading Challenge 2026

It’s 2026. A new year is here and, while there are a lot of new releases coming out for all of us book lovers, I’m taking on a new reading challenge.

I read a total of 15 books and here are some of the books that I read in 2025:

The Witch Doesn’t Burn In This One (Poetry) – Amanda Lovelace

The Cemetery of Untold Stories – Julia Alvarez

The Testiments – Margaret Atwood

The Other Valley – Scott Alexander Howard

Orange World (Short Story Collection) – Karen Russell

This is How You Lose the Time War – Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone

Death of the Author – Nnedi Okorafor

While it is not the 24 I wanted to read, I’m still happy that I read more books in 2025 than in 2024. I made the choice to prioritize reading and it is something I plan on continuing.

For 2026, I decided to do something different. Recently, Welcome to Derry came on TV. Back in the 90s, I read It and someone told me to read the book again when I was in my 40’s. I thought it would be a good time to do a re-read. Not just with It, but with 9 other books that I read before the age of 25. I’m curious if my perception of the work will change. Also, there are a couple of books that I did not finish reading, so I would try and finish them this time around. I also want to include 3 books that I’ve always wanted to read, but never made time for.

So here is the reading list for 2026:

Reading List for 2026:

(Not in any particular order.)

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen

Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

The Hobbit – J R R Tolkien

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

Mayor of Casterbridge -Thomas Hardy

Invisible Man -Raph Ellison

Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert Heinlein

It – Stephen King

Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood

The Writing Life (Nonfiction) – Annie Dillard

Bonus:

Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie

The Bluest Eye/Beloved – Toni Morrison

Of course, I will also try and read other books too, but I want to have a more targeted reading list this year.

I hope everyone has some great reading ahead in 2026!