Happy New Year 2026 Reading Goals

The beginning of a new year is a great excuse to lay out well-meaning reading plans, which I have done already.

Last June, my husband bought me the audio version of The Little House series, read -- performed is more fitting -- by Cherry Jones. And since I get the itch to read The Little House series every two years, I plan to listen to all nine books in 2026. 

I've also been working through a Self-Education Project since summer. My last student graduated in June, and as I am now a retired homeschool mom, I thought, What ever shall I do with myself without homeschooling? Therefore, I pulled out our history spines (TruthQuest History by Michelle Miller) and started from the very beginning of Creation. I have completed the first three books of the series (Beginnings, Greece, and Rome), and now I shall begin jousting into the Middle Ages. I have a list of supplemental history and literature to read and continue reading. 

Now that I am done with The Well-Educated Mind reading list (though I intentionally skipped many of the plays), I long to return to the novels...again. 

I am also working through my Bible, Bible Commentary, and three possible books for the Simply Bible Book Club by Simply_Bible on Instagram. 

And, of course, I always add unread books from my unread shelf, which has slowly reduced to 33 books. I think it is safe to say, however, that I won't be reading 50 books this year; therefore, I am lowering my threshold to 40. 

So here is what my TBR looks like for 2026. (For reference, I completed 62% of my 2025 reading goals.)

THE LITTLE HOUSE SERIES (AUDIBLE)

1. Little House in the Big Woods

2. Farmer Boy

3. Little House on the Prairie

4. On the Banks of Plum Creek

5. By the Shores of Silver Lake

6. The Long Winter

7. Little Town on the Prairie

8. The Happy Golden Years

9. The First Four Years

SELF-EDUCATION PROJECT / MIDDLE AGES (some re-rereads/unreads)

1. TruthQuest History Middle Ages (Miller)

2. The Story of the Middle Ages (Miller)

3. Fire Upon the Earth (Langford)

4. No Other Foundation (Jackson)

5. How Should We Then Live? (Schaeffer)

6. Beowulf (Tolkien) 

7. The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (Pyle)

8. Purgatorio (Dante)

9. Paradiso (Dante) 

WELL-EDUCATED MIND (all re-reads)

1. Don Quixote (Cervantes)

2. The Pilgrim's Progress (Bunyan)

3. Gulliver's Travels (Swift)

4. Pride and Prejudice (Austen)

5. Oliver Twist (Dickens)

6. Jane Eyre (Brontë)

FOCUS ON FAITH

1. Thru the Bible (McGee)

2. Morning and Evening (Spurgeon)

3. Voices of the Martyrs (Foxe)

4. The History of Christianity (Johnson)

SIMPLY BIBLE STUDY BOOK CLUB (re-reads)

1. Mere Christianity (Lewis)

2. Confessions (Augustine)

3. Cost of Discipleship (Bonhoeffer)

MISCELLANEOUS UNREADS

1. Undaunted Courage (Ambrose)

2. Colonel Roosevelt (Morris)

3. Mornings on Horseback (McCullough)

4. Broken Bread (Dillehay)

5. Roots of the American Order (Kirk)

Total projection: 36, with room to add, if possible. And I know that is definitely possible.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 

AND WISHING YOU BEST SUCCESS IN YOUR READING ENDEAVORS!