How should adults think about reading goals for the coming year—and how do you read more books without letting reading become a burden?

 

In this episode of _Classical Et Cetera_ we talk about reading goals for 2026 and what it takes to build a reading life that lasts. Whether you’re an avid reader, returning after a long break, or feeling overwhelmed by unfinished books, this conversation explores better ways to read with intention and balance. We discuss fiction and nonfiction, reading for work versus pleasure, and why shared reading and conversation matter so much.

 

Comment your reading list for 2026! Book recommendations are always welcome.

 

*Tanya's Stack of Books* 

Sense and Sensibility — Jane Austen 

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating — Elisabeth Tova Bailey 

Absent in the Spring — Agatha Christie 

The Door — Magda Szabo 

Mystery and Manners — Flannery O'Connor 

The Headmaster — John McPhee 

Marce Catlett — Wendell Berry 

  

*Martin's Stack of Books* 

The Giver — Lois Lowry 

Booth Tarkington Biography 

Wonderworks — Angus Fletcher 

The Master and His Emissary — Iain McGilchrist 

Primal Intelligence — Angus Fletcher 

The Digital Delusion — Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath 

The Last of the Mohicans — James Fenimore Cooper 

Quo Vadis — Henryk Sienkiewicz 

Sense and Sensibility — Jane Austen 

The Jungle Book — Rudyard Kipling 

  

*Paul's Stack of Books* 

The Greek Way — Edith Hamilton 

The Biological Farmer — Gary F. Zimmer 

The Liturgy of the Land — Thomas D. Van Horn & Jason M. Craig 

Against the Machine — Paul Kingsnorth 

The Wild Orchid — Sigrid Undset 

The Southern Tradition at Bay — Richard M. Weaver 

The Ministry of Fear — Graham Greene 

  

*Jessica's Stack of Books* 

I Beheld the Mountains — Joseph Payne 

The Modern Proper — Holly Erickson & Natalie Mortimer 

Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt 

Little Women — Louisa May Alcott 

By Her Own Design — Piper Huguley