Reading Plans for 2026 and Beyond   

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the majority of my ‘plans’ for 2026 are the same as my ‘plans’ for previous years. I’ll still mention them though as there are often rethinks, wrinkles and lessons from previous years. As always (how could it be otherwise) I’ve also got a few new ideas I want to play with. So... 

Following the Labels   

As usual there are FAR too many labels over on the right that are just not getting the love and attention they deserve. I’m going to see what I can do about that especially focusing on countries that I know FAR too little about. 

The ‘Knowledge Streams’    

I certainly haven’t lost interest in what I call ‘knowledge streams’ (being “Britain Alone”, “World War to Cold War” and “USA:WTF”. My existing planned History reads will be covering those topics over the next few months. Oh, and I have a new ‘sub-stream’ coming online... A ‘tributary’....? More about that soon. 

Rolling the Dice   

I’m still rolling the dice (literally not figuratively) every time I finish a book. So far I’ve added two additional books to my reading schedule. Hopefully more to come. A smidge of randomness pleases me... 

Finishing/Progressing Series   

This is something else I need to re-focus on. I want to at least finish reading the Foundation and Dune books this year – or next. I’ll see if I can at least progress a few others. Wish me luck! 

Classics and Re-Reads   

I’m pleased that I’m making my way through the Penguin Classics boxsets I bought last year for my birthday. Both sets (a 50 & an 80 set) will be taking me multiple years to work through, but I am (slowly) getting there. I’m planning on a few SF re-reads – mostly Cyberpunk I expect – and a few other things might drop into that category too. 

Deep Dives 

I’ve really been enjoying my ‘deep dives’ where I concentrate on a subject for 3, 4 or more books. The two that will almost definitely be happening this year are on the events surround the Dunkirk evacuation and the LONG history of the interaction between cats and humans. No doubt there will be a few more too. 

Ukraine and the Middle East 

Like many people I’d hoped that the war in Ukraine would be LONG over by now. I was hoping to read about it in retrospect and have accumulated around 10-12 books on the subject. Rather than waiting any longer (though I REALLY hope that this particularly pointless conflict ends THIS year) I’ll be starting on that pile soon. Likewise, I’ll be digging into the history of the Middle East to get a better handle on that region. 

BIG Project   

I’m ‘confidently’ scheduling in my BIG project (which should run for 5-6 weeks) for the 2nd half of the year. I’m quite proud of the idea and am pleased with the variety of the books it contains. The overall theme should be VERY quickly apparent, but I still think it's a fun one. 

Coupling and more 

As I have a ridiculously large TBR it’s always a challenge what exactly to read next. But with SO many books to choose from it does allow me to match books together based on subject, title or more quirky links. I call these ‘couples’ and you’ll be seeing a fair few of those this year (once my 20th century history pile ends in 1983). Another idea I came up with recently was ‘sandwiches’. This is where I put a novel between two non-fiction or vice-versa where they’re connected by subject – for example two history books on the Borgia’s with a novel based in that period in the middle. Sounds like FUN. 

Philosophy & Sci-Fi 

Lastly (for now) I’m feeling the absence, real or imagined, of both Philosophy and Science Fiction from my reading. I’ve always enjoyed reading about and officially studying Philosophy, so you’ll definitely see more of that this year. In particular I’ll be working through my collection of Philosophy & Pop Culture books. You’ll also see a noticeable increase in Sci-Fi books this year, both re-reads and new stuff. That in particular I’m really looking forward to. 

As usual if I actually achieve 50% of my plans (or even start them) I’ll be impressed, but what’s a plan for RIGHT? We’ll see. Onwards!