Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope that your week is going well and that you are also doing well. I know, most of us are still shrugging off some of that holiday hangover, although today is the second Tuesday of the first month of 2026. Whoa, time flies fast! Anyway, with the new year also comes new opportunities for us to improve, to turn over a new leaf. The new year also brings new opportunities for reading new books and embarking on new reading adventures. It is also a fresh canvas for a book blogging year, waiting to be painted with new memories.

As it is Tuesday, let me share a Top 5 Tuesday update for the year. Top 5 Tuesday was originally created by Shanah @ the Bionic Bookworm, but is now being hosted by Meeghan @ Meeghan Reads.

This week’s topic: Top 5 bookish resolutions for 2026

Ah. New Year’s resolutions. There is a lot that I want to change or, at least, improve where my reading is concerned. Setting reading resolutions and goals has also become an integral part of my annual tradition. This will be a shorter version as I plan to share a more extensive list of my 2026 reading resolutions and goals. Without more ado, here are five of my 2026 bookish resolutions. Happy reading!

1. READ MORE AND BUY LESS! 

Kicking off this list is a familiar resolution. I guess this resolution will be a constant until I can overturn the reality of buying more books while reading less. Surprise, surprise. I was actually able to pull this off last year. I read a total of 119 books in 2025, while I only acquired a total of 92 new books. I guess I have to give myself a pat on the back. This comes after years of failed attempts at reading more and buying less. Still, I can’t trust myself, so I will still be holding this goal over in 2026. I’ll just have to hold the fort and trust in my constitution again this time and resist the temptation of buying even more books that are bound to collect dust in my (burgeoning) bookshelf anyway. Tsk!

2. FOCUS ON BOOKS I ALREADY OWN

This is in conjunction with my first reading resolution. I have gathered quite a pile of unread books already. They are just gathering dust on my bookshelf, although the Beat the Backlist challenge has been a great help in easing unread books I purchased years back. Now, I want to focus more on the books that I already own.

3. READ AT LEAST FIVE WORKS OF FILIPINO WRITERS

In recent years, I have been putting a conscious effort into reading more works of Filipino writers. It has been my goal to read at least three annually. In 2023, I was able to go one book above my annual goal. In 2025, I was able to read just three works of Philippine literature. It still meets my annual target, but I want to breach my annual goal. As such, I will be upping the ante and setting a target of five books in 2026. It is just unfortunate that I have underexplored my part of the literary world. With this, I am hoping to close the gap. I have so many books by Filipino writers I am looking forward to. I am just hoping I won’t fail this year and that I will get to carry this over in the coming years.

4. READ MORE TRANSLATED WORKS.

One of the things I noted when I was completing my reading statistics was the glaring disparity between works originally written in English and those that were originally written in another language. Over the past few years, I was able to reduce the gap. At one point, works written in English accounted for over 80% of all the books I read. Currently, it is down to 72%. This is mainly driven by my resolve to read more translated works. In 2023 and 2025, I was able to read more translated works than works originally written in English. 2025 was a particular highlight because more than two-thirds of the books I read were originally written in a language other than English. I hope that I get to sustain this in 2026. The ultimate goal is to make translated works account for at least a third of all the books I read by the end of 2027. (Crossing my fingers).

5. TAKE IT ALL IN STRIDES.

After years of reading, it is important to give me space and time and not be driven by the stresses of the various forces that are flowing in from all corners. To reiterate, reading is not about quantity but about quality. It is supposed to be a safe haven, an escape. Slow down if you must. Read at your own pace. What is important is that you appreciate the book in your hand. A gentle reminder to myself and to fellow readers who are hampered by various pressures: drink in the books one page at a time.