2026 Reading Goals

In my profession, I often conduct what is called a readers advisory. This means that I answer questions and provide recommendations to help people find what they want to read. One of the ways I start this conversation is providing a list of what I am reading in a visual form. People see my desk when they first walk into the library which features a list of books that I am actively reading.

Patron facing side of my desk. Pardon the mess under the screen!

To be more well-rounded in my reads this year, I am putting together some goals for myself:

Read Early Childhood Education books for parents and educators.
Read a variety of children’s literature.
Read adult nonfiction topics that interest me and my community.
Read at least 1 book a month just for my pleasure.

These are lofty goals as I am set to graduate with my Masters of Library and Information Sciences this May. But, I am looking forward to adding to my toolbox to better help my readers advisories and own knowledge base.

Goal 1: Early Childhood Education

To be prepared to help both families and educators, one of my goals is to read about different early childhood teaching philosophies and practices. There are 3 common teaching styles that I want to explore:

Waldorf: Rudolf Steiner developed a holistic teaching philosophy that focuses on the “head, heart, and hands.” This focus is through art, practical skills, and imagination. Some key emphasis are focusing on natural materials and developmental stages.
Montessori: Developed by Maria Montessori, this educational approach focuses on independence, hands-on-learning, and self-directed activities in a curated learning environment.
Regio Emilia: Constructed in Reggio Emilia, Italy post World War II by parents and educators, this approach to early childhood education views children as capable and curious learners. The learning environment is co-created with the children, parents, and educators. It emphasizes exploration, beauty, and the environment as an extra teacher.

To prepare for this exploration of learning, I searched for fundamental readings in these educational approaches.

Waldorf

My base knowledge of Waldorf is limited. All I really know about it is the first hand experience videos of adults who went through this style of education. In these videos, they talk about how their imagination flourished but they lacked basic mathematical and scientific foundations. I am curious to see what the texts say as I wonder if there is a gap between theory and practice that lead to these gaps.

In my base research for foundational readings, I found 7 books that you can find in the gallery above. They include:

I would also like to find some books of actual practitioners to see real world experiences. I am also curious of common critiques and evaluations of the practices.

Montessori

I have a little more knowledge of the Montessori method as it was adopted into the school district I worked for back in 2018. While I was not a Montessori teacher, many of my friends were, were training to be one, or had their children in the specialty public school. I am interested to see the theory behind it instead of just relying on anecdotal stories.

I searched for base readings and found a wealth of literature. I chose 8 titles that I want to explore:

Regio Emilia

I have heard nothing but praise for the Regio Emilia approach to early childhood education. From what I have heard it combines the best of Waldorf and Montessori. However, I am starting with limited knowledge on the practice.

In my search for core readings, I found:

I am very interested in diving deep into these works to find out if the TikTok influencers are onto something!

Goal 2: Children’s Literature

While learning Early Childhood Education philosophies are helpful for my own practice and guiding families, it is also important that I keep a pulse on children’s literature. To me this includes everything from picture to chapter books. I want to become a true children’s readers advisory pro! That means reading what the kids are reading. Here are some lists that I am pulling my selections from:

While these are lists curated by adults, I am also going to look at my circulation data to read the most circulated books of 2025.

Goal 3: Adult Nonfiction

Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber was recommended to me by my boyfriends father. I started reading it the day after he suggested it and am hooked! I love a good history overview combined with riveting writing. Now I am on a quest to find more!

I want to expand my knowledge beyond parenting, education, and children’s lit. While I love my fiction books, it is time to diversify my book shelf! I am pulling from these sources when choosing my non-fiction reads:

I am also accepting recommendations. I am not interested in self-help or pop science. It will be interesting to see what I can find!

Goal 4: Books for Fun!

Between work, school, and the quest for knowledge, I am afraid I will lose my ability to escape into the pages of a book. To prevent this, I want to make sure I devote one book per month just for my pleasure. I love a good adult fiction mystery, romance… really anything! Here are some lists I am looking to pull from in addition to the recommendations I receive:

2026 Ready. Set. Go!

I have some lofty reading goals for 2026 but I fully believe that I can read at least 1 a week. Hopefully, I am able to learn more about early childhood education, become a children’s reader advisory pro, diversify my book shelf, and have fun while doing it. I will keep a log on my Goodreads account but also might write some blog posts along the way.

Library Aims

2026 Reading Goals