Confession: I love watching strangers online argue about whether graphic novels count toward reading goals. Because the internet knows us best, I’m on the side of social media that is obsessed these last few days of the year with the topic of their reading goals. It’s a bit of a hodgepodge of comments including: Do audiobooks count towards their goal? Do we include children’s books? Are books under 200 pages ok to add? Can I get through my last three books in the next 48 hours? Which tracking system should I use in 2026 (my favorite is always StoryGraph)?

Are there real, exact, universally agreed-upon answers to any of these questions? Not really. We’re all accountable only to ourselves and occasionally each other as an unorganized online reading community.  There are no consequences or rewards for missing or meeting our goals; we invented them. Some of us forgot they existed for 11/12ths of the year. Maybe some of us were diligent, I’m not sure. 

However, I have one real-life reader friend, Erica, who has shared her different goals with me over the years. I love hearing them. Sometimes they include increasing the mix of author backgrounds, allowing herself to not finish books she doesn’t like, researching well before starting a book, etc. I’ve always loved hearing these reading intentions because they’re so true to how intentionally she goes into this life changing hobby. I’m often inspired by her.

As we wrap up a year of reading, remembering the many journeys books have taken us on, I hope we’re also looking forward. What do we want to continue? What might we change? Where do we hope our thoughts, learning, experience, growth, feelings take us next?

And yes, I’ll be sharing my reading wrapped stats on January 1. It’s not bragging, I promise. It’s a glimpse into what has been living in my mind this year. What a gift to entrust to each other!