As we begin October, I’m both delighted to be in my favorite season and startled by how quickly the year has gone by. I’ve written before about checking in on my reading progress (mid-year 2023 and end-of-year 2024, for example), and as we enter Q4 of 2026, I thought I was due for an assessment. Numerical reading goals can be fun, and I set them, but they do not have to be your best measure for how “successful” your reading life has been. As librarians, we’re delighted that anyone is reading. You can determine your own metrics. Have you learned? Have you enjoyed? Have you challenged yourself? Have you found a place of comfort?
There are different ways to challenge yourself. Recently, I indulged in not finishing a book that was letting me down, even though I had given it quite a bit of time and it was part of a series. It’s been ages since I’ve added something to the DNF (did not finish) pile, and it felt liberating. There are also times I need to push myself in other reading directions. Some of my colleagues dwell happily in nonfiction, but it is always a deliberate choice for me to select nonfiction over fiction. For the past few years, I’ve set a goal to read at least twelve nonfiction books a year, or at least one per month. As of October 1, I’ve read ten, which is very satisfying. This was helped along thanks to our newly launched Words in Common book group, for which I read “Knife” by Salman Rushdie. For three sessions, the group focuses on a certain subject or theme; then it explores a new topic for the next trio of meetings. Through the end of 2026, we are reading memoirs, and I hope you’ll join us.
I’m a fast reader, so when I’m in the swing of things I can move through a lot of books quite quickly, but I am also susceptible to reading troughs (let’s not call them slumps). This year has had its share of troughs for sure: February and April, in particular. However, September turned out to be a good reading month, as it was not only my most prolific, but I read a new series I quite enjoyed and re-read a series that became a favorite last year. A place of comfort, indeed! I love to chat with colleagues to share things we’ve recently enjoyed, but let me also recommend exploring Novelist Plus if you haven’t before. Search for your favorites to discover readalikes, or combine “appeal factors” and other story elements to find something that will match your mood. That type of search led me to the Gabriel Ward series last month.
Looking ahead, I’d like to read more books in translation, among other goals. There’s always something to work toward, and I love discovering new favorites and books that surprise me or teach me something new about the world. As the year continues, I’ll keep working on my goals, and you can rest assured that we’ll keep doing our best to keep you connected to reading. Join us for a local author fair on October 17 to discover books written by people in the community. Keep an eye out for details on a winter reading program and our annual Book Flood, where library staff share the books they’ve enjoyed most this year. Whenever you need some reading inspiration, you can submit a PPL BookMatch request to receive a personalized reading list. Whatever a successful reading year looks like for you, let us know how we can help you achieve it.
Photo by Kat von Wood on Unsplash