Lin's Perspective

I saw this book tag @Dinipandareads, and had to do it. Honestly, I love tags. If I could, I would do them all!!

This tag was originally created by Booktuber Heather @Bookables.

Here are all the questions for your convenience:

1. How many books are you planning to read in 2026?
2. Name 5 books you didn’t get to in 2025 but want to make a priority in 2026.
3. What genre do you want to read more of?
4. Name 3 non-bookish related goals for 2026
5. What’s a book that you’ve had forever that you still need to read?
6. One word that you’re hoping 2026 will be…

Now let’s dive into it!!

1. How many books are you planning to read in 2026

My goal was to read 15 books this year. I decided to aim for a smaller number to take the pressure off and not be too concerned about it. What I noticed is that when I push myself to read more, the exact opposite result occurs. So, for now, setting a goal is more of a formality than a goal really. Hope this makes sense, because in my head it does haha. To each their own, I guess 🙂

2. Name 5 books you didn’t get to in 2025 but want to make a priority in 2026

Ohhh, this one is easy, thankfully, because I know what I am in the mood for these days, but I have so many books I wish I had read last year and not only!

So here are my 5 books in no particular order:

• The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
• Pearl by Siân Hughes
• Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldre
• Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
• Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer: I don’t usually read horror, and I don’t know what it is about this book in particular that draws me in, but I am willing to sacrifice some of my scaredy-cat lives to find out LOL

3. What genre do you want to read more of

As you may know already, I have decided to read more romance this year, but I also want to read more historical fiction and poetry. Poetry is one genre that I want to learn more about, and recently, I read a very thought-provoking poetry collection that sparked that hunger in me for this genre. The historical fiction genre has always been calling for me, but I never answered… Now that I am much older, I feel that I have an itch that can’t be ignored anymore 😀

Additionally, I also want to mention non-fiction books, especially the ones related to nature.

4. Name 3 non-bookish related goals for 2026

Ahhh, this one is the difficult question for me. To be honest, I have no idea. There are so many things that I wish I could do and commit to, but what I am realising is that things never go as planned and having a goal for me personally feels like a sentence, rather than a motivation.

However, instead of goals, I would like to take my spin on this question and say Aspirations, and I hope this doesn’t come off as presumptuous or corny:

• Be more present: this is vast, but to me it means fewer distractions and enjoying the moment.
• Be more creative: I really would like to aspire to be more creative when it comes to my painting and playing with my kid. There are so many interesting and educational creative ideas for kids. It is also therapeutic for me.
• Be more positive: towards everything, the way I see the world, towards the people around me, and myself.

5. What’s a book that you’ve had forever that you still need to read

Oh, boy… but there are SOOO MANYYYY!! Ok, if I had to choose one, it would be Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel:

5. One word that you’re hoping 2026 will be

Healing: My word of choice is Healing. I think the whole world could benefit from healing right now, with everything that is going on. Here in my country and all around the world. I think we are living in times where people are becoming more distant, more evil, more apathetic and desensitised to everything and everyone around them. We need to heal so we can bring more love and kindness… I pray we all do.

I tag anyone who wants to join in. Please link back to me so I can see what you answered!