Hannah's Web log

My 2026 new year's resolution (and I'm starting early) is to become someone who reads for fun.

Studies show reading is good for your brain and many other benefits. Better focus, reduced stress, increased empathy, etc. These all sound pretty good to me.

It is to my shame that I never got into the habit of reading. My mind wanders too much. Probably my brain is fried from too much screen time. Reaching the end of a page and realising I didn't take in a single thing is very common unless the book is really immersive. But I really enjoy that feeling of getting absorbed when it happens! So my goal is really to increase the sources of pleasure in my life rather than self-improvement per se, though they kind of go hand-in-hand.

Q&A

Wait, you don't read? Aren't you a librarian?

YES, I KNOW. SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

What kind of books do you want to read?

Anything that grabs me so hard I'm fully engrossed and my mind doesn't wander. I want to look forward to reading, to think about books even when I'm not reading them, etc, the same way I do with shows and movies that I like.

I will probably not be reading high-brow stuff because the aim is not to become "well read". I am trying to separate the feeling of shame and duty from the feeling of actually reading for fun.

In terms of genre, I don't know. I am open to many options but I am probably going for things that have a reputation for being easy or propulsive reads. I will probably like stuff that is weird, darkly funny, exciting, or generally known as a "you won't put this down" kind of book. I probably want to read a mix of fiction and non-fiction.

What steps will you take to achieve this?

• Find my library card, and pop into my local branch to make sure it still works.
• Start actively searching for books I might like and even buying them if I can't borrow them.
• I will NOT be investing in an e-reader at this time because I don't believe in purchasing products in the hope that it changes my behaviour. I may buy one in the future if I know I will use it.

What are your rules?

I hate rules. My things are more like principles:

• Try reading paperbacks before bed
• Try reading audiobooks on the go instead of podcasts
• The main "rule" I'm trying out: If a book doesn't hook me by the end of chapter 2 - mark it DID NOT FINISH and move on. Or at any point really, even if I was enjoying it earlier. The goal is to enjoy reading- and the more reading I do without enjoying it, the further I get from my goal.

Definitely no quotas or targets.

Will you be tracking your progress?

Yes and no. I feel like gamifying and tracking are things you do when activities are not inherently fun. They make it feel like chores, homework, or something you're enduring for self improvement. I want the reading itself to be the motivator, not stats, maintaining streaks etc. But I will be putting books I finish and do not finish into Storygraph, for my own records and for improving my recommendations.

How will you know when you've reached your goal?

A good sign is if by the end of 2026 I've got some new books I consider favourites. An observable increase in reading activity is another indicator. But these things alone don't guarantee anything. Most importantly I'll know based on how I feel about reading. Not by how many books I finish, or how many minutes I read per day, or any other metric that turns reading into a chore. I'll know I've made progress when reading feels like something I naturally want to do.

Discuss on Bluesky

I'm a librarian who barely reads. My goal for 2026 (and I'm starting early) is to fix that. Wish me luck!

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— Hannah Shelley, MLIS (Metadata, Lattes & Impostor Syndrome) (@hannahshelley.bsky.social) November 21, 2025 at 2:00 PM