As it's the beginning of 2026, we're talking about how we think about our reading years. What kind of strategies does Jen use? How is Sarah attempting to control the chaos? Which books do we already have on our TBR piles for 2026, and how do we structure our reading year to make ourselves happy and prepare for the podcast? We're also talking about some books by romance novelists who are publishing outside the romance genre this year.

If you want to talk to more people about reading strategies this year, maybe you want to join our Patreon? You get an extra monthly episode from us and access to the incredible readers and brilliant people on the Fated Mates Discord! Support us and learn more at fatedmates.net/patreon.

Our next read along will be Ruby Dixon's Ice Planet Barbarians (you’re welcome). Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, your local indie, libro.fm, or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited

Notes

1. Vaccinations are good, actually. In between recording this episode and when it aired, Caroline Kennedy’s daughter Tatiana Schlossberg, who wrote about her cancer diagnosis in the New Yorker, has sadly died.
2. It will shock no one to learn that Jen learned about immunizations from books. In her childhood, the books The Great Brain by John Dennis Fitzgerald. We also recommend Everything is Tuberculosis by John Greene and On Immunity by Eula Biss.
3. Amazon is forcing AI tools into the kindle books themselves, and it’s all awful. Use your own brain, we don’t know what else to say.

Books

1. Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
2. On Immunity by Eula Biss
3. The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
4. The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren
5. She Fell Away by Lenore Nash
6. As Far as She Knew by Diana Awad
7. The Duke by Anna Cowan
8. Lady X by Molly Fader
9. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 12 Edition
10. Alphabet in Motion by Kelli Anderson

Sponsors

1. Avon Books, publishers of Emma Alban's Like in Love with You, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
2. Lumi Gummies, microdose gummies available nationwide. Use the code FATEDMATES to get 30% off your first order. Learn more at LumiGummies.com.
3. Caroline Linden, author of How to Get Away with Scandal, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Apple Books or wherever you get your books.
4. Allison Bettes, author of Red Flag Warning, available in print, ebook and audio at Amazon or with your monthly subscription to Kindle Unlimited.

The Rest

• For even more info about this episode, and to explore everything Fated Mates has to offer, visit: https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2026/1/12/0817-setting-new-years-reading-resolutions
• If you wish you had six more days in a week of people talking about romance, may we suggest joining our Patreon? Aside from an additional episode every month you get access to our Discord, where other romance readers are talking about books they love (and many other things!) all the time. It’s so fun! Learn more about the Patreon and go join those cool people who love romance as much as you do at patreon.com/fatedmates.
• Beyond your favorite podcast app, you can find us on Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Tumblr, and probably some other places, too, if you look hard enough.
• If you've never listened to our Stop Book Banning episode, there's no better time than now.