I wanted to set some reading intentions for 2026. I find Reading Challenges, although fun, quite tricky to stick to, especially set titles as I think my book choice (unless it’s for Book Club) is quite driven by my mood and what I fancy at the time, as well as releases in certain months.
Intentions: ‘A mental commitment to a specific course of action, aim, or purpose, guiding behaviours.’ (Google, ai 2026)
So, here are my no pressure 2026 reading intentions…
Try to read at least 4 books a month.
Try and read at least 2 different genres each month.
Try and read/listen to 1 audiobook each month.
Try and re read at least 3 of my favourite books.
Try and read 3 classics.
Try and read 2 books out of my comfort zone.
Go to some non Book Club, book events.
Try and read at least 30 minutes a day.
What are your book goals or intentions for for 2026?
📚
Whatever you choose, I wish you luck! And a fun and enjoyable year of reading.
I think I will do an update halfway through the year.
Another day, another bookish post! This is my complete 2025 list of booms that I read. So if you are looking for any recommendations, look no further.
I’ve added a little code to sort the books a little and represent the variety of formats I have read in and why I chose certain books.
Colour code:
Green: One of my ’25 books for 2025′
Red: Book Club Books
Blue: Borrowed Library Books
Bold: my favourite book that month
DNF – means ‘did not finish’
I have put either ‘Audible’ or ‘Spotify’ next to my audiobooks, so if you see that its the audio version.
DISCLAIMER: ’25 books for 2025′ was a little challenge I set myself – I almost read half of the books I needed to but, I did trail off a little towards the end of the year keeping up with Book Club Books and my seasonal reads. But 11 isn’t bad.
January
It’s a wonderful life: Illustrated Edition
The Teacher by Freida McFadden
I died on a Tuesday By Jane Corry
This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
Sleep by C L Taylor
This year’s for you and me by Emily Bell DNF
February
The Other Tenant by Lesley Kara
A Company Of Liars by Karen Maitland (Audible) 1/2
Bridget Jones Diary by Helen Fielding (Re-Read)
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks (Re-Read)
Friends Forever by Danielle Steele
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime by Mark Haddon
March
With This Kiss by Carrie Hope Fletcher
A Company Of Liars by Karen Maitland (Audible) 1/2
The Doctors Wife by Daniel Hurst
Ward D by Freida McFadden
The Wake Up Call by Beth O Leary
April
The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden
Someone in the Attic by Andrea Mara
The Girls by Lisa Jewell
I haven’t been entirely honest with you by Miranda Hart (Audible)
The Woman on the Ledge by Ruth Mancini
May
Best Summer Ever by Heidi Swain
The Tenant by Freida McFadden
The Boy Who Lived by David Holmes
(Audible)
An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
Never Lie by Freida McFadden
The Dallergut Dream Department Storeby Miye Lee
Return to the Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee
(Audible)
June
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
(Audible)
The Split by Sharon Bolton
Traitors Gate by Jeffrey Archer
July
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell
Book Boyfriends by Lucy Vine
Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer 1/2 (Spotify)
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
August
Do Not Disturb by Freida McFadden
Little People, Big Dreams: Lenny Henry
Blind Spot by Paula Hawkins (Quick Read)
Hotel Avocado by Bob Mortimer 1/2 (Spotify)
A Gypsy in Auschwitz by Otto Rosenberg
The Story Spinner by Barbra Erskine (Audible)
Blackout by Emily Barr (Quick Read)
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Strange Houses by Uketsu
September
The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose (Novella)
The Crash by Freida McFadden
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis
A Slow Burning Fire by Paula Hawkins
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch
October
Future boy by Micheal J Fox (Audible)
The Intruder by Freida McFadden
All Wrapped Up by Heidi Swain
Love and Lattes at Pumpkin Hollow by Victoria Walters
November
The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan (Audible)
The Christmas Holiday by Phillipa Ashley
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore (Spotify)
The Cinnamon Bun Bookshop by Laurie Gilmore (Spotify)
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stoneby J K Rowling – Full Cast Audio Edition (Audible)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling (Audible) 50%
The Christmas Clue by Nicola Upson
December
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling (Audible) 50%
All We Want For Christmas by Phillipa Ashley
The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore (Spotify)
Not another Bloody Christmas by Jo Middleton
Total no of Book Club Books: 8
Total completed books of my ’25 for 2025′ challenge: 11
Total no of books altogether: 63
A great year of reading! Here’s to more in 2026 😃📚
So, I had an idea to document some more memories on my blog. I used to do a lot more of these sort of posts before I started posting more book/reading content, and when I had more time haha, life seems to be busy these days!
Here is my fourth and final quarterly memories update to capture 2025, we made it!!
These are the final three months of the twelve of 2025!
Let’s take a look.
October
October was a fun month of pumpkin picking, autumn reads, football, trips to London to see Ruth Jones & James Corden at the Palladium and to see my uni friends – all topped off with a Halloween wedding.
The inaugural Ipswich Book Festival was a highlight of October ❤️📚 I went along on the Saturday and spent the whole day enjoying the talks, I went to three in total, visited my local bookshops, read, had some yummy food and bought some books. A brilliant day.
This was my highlights- meeting my favourite author Heidi Swain. Me and my Mum went along to her event at the Norwich Book Festival. It was so cool! She was lovely and she even recognised my Instagram!! Such a great evening that I won’t forget
November
November saw firework night, the start of the festivities. Lots of christmas lights, decorating, wreath Making, Christmas reads, Christmas nails and the first of the season 5 Stranger Things releases.
December
A super fun and festive month!
Christmas really has begun, even at the start with more decorating, at home and at work, we went to two Christmas light trails, including our usual trip to the Enchanted Light trail at Colchester Zoo. I went to a Christmas tree festival, did festive baking, Christmas reading. Christmas nails and lots of wrapping whilst watching Christmas films.
Christmas itself was great with lots of family time, present opening, yummy food, laughs, games and relaxing. Perfect.
I hope you’ve had a happy 2025! Here’s to another good year in 2026 – let’s see what it brings.
Me and my twin sister LOVE going to the cinema, its literally one of our most favourite things to do and we’ve had our Unlimited cards since we were 18/19! Love that thing.
My husband even got himself an Unlimited card when we got together because I liked going so much so he thought he might as well too haha.
There have been a couple of festive films out this season as well as their usual showings of old classics and family faves.
I’ll leave a link here to Blogmas Day 9 , where I reviewed ‘Christmas Karma’ the new Christmas themed musical comedy – drama based on ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens. I watched that with my nephews and niece at the end of November and it was really good.
I’ve also watched two other Christmas films at the cinema…
Silent Night, Deadly Night
I actually really enjoyed this film. I know in the grand scheme of horror films it was a bit random and less highly publicised but it was enjoyable to watch. They didn’t drag it out like some films do, it had a good flow. It was an interesting story idea that I haven’t seen before and it had quite a few surprising moments that kept it interesting.
My husband isn’t a horror fan so it was just me and my twin sister for this one.
I’d give this a solid 7/10.
It’s a wonderful life
This is my favourite Christmas film, I love it. I will never forget the first time I watched this film, it was so far from what I expected and it blew my mind at how lovely and brilliant it is.
I love how cleverly the story us weaved and portrayed to us. The characters are very likeable and its just so lovely to watch.
I love the message of the film… at the heart of it, it just makes you, the ordinary man or woman, want to squeeze out every bit of life you are given.
I love it and they usually show it at the cinema so I try and go if I can. My twin sister and husband came along to this one too.
It’s a wonderful life gets an 11/10
My favourite Christmas films are:
It’s a wonderful life
Elf
Deck the Halls
The Snowman
The Grinch
Love Actually
Last Christmas
That Christmas
Jack Frost
The Holiday
Have you been to the cinema to see a festive film?
The end of Blogmas is in sight! I’m going to miss the festive fun, but we still have a few days of festivities to go!
I have done a few festive nails over the second half of November and into December, and I thought I would share them with you.
I am by no means a nail artist but I enjoy having my nails painted and I like giving different designs a go! Especially Halloween and Christmas nails 💅🏻
So let’s have a look at the three sets I’ve done 😊
First up are a simple set that I did in the middle of November. These are just a little festive intro to Christmas nails haha. I used a new red cat eye that I’d bought and I really love the cat eye effect.
The second set are probably my favourite although it is a close call. These are super festive. I tried out a hard gel this time and loved the sort of nudes colour so I kept that as my base. I then drew on some little festive adornments to each nail.
The candy cane are my fave. 🍬
This is my last festive set and will see me through to the big day and those special festive days afterwards. This is a close second as I like the glitters I’ve used and I also just think my nails look better because they’ve got a bit of length (thanks to the hard gel!)
I did a selection of glitters and cat eyes in festive colours. I then used this whitey/Gray toned cat eye as a base for the nails with nail art on. I couldn’t resist one last bit of festive nail art (and I had to include another candy cane haha)
I also did my twin sisters nails ready for Christmas. I used the same sheer white/silver cat eye as a base for all her nails. I then hand painted a candy cane and Holly on each middle finger as a little festive touch.
I think I’ll probably do another glittery set to start 2026 as whenever I use it I remember how much I love it on my nails.
At the weekend me and my husband went to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at our local theatre.
It was a one man show performed by Vincent Franklin. He has been in loads of famous shows such as Doc Martin, Happy Valley, The Office and The Thick Of It.
He was brilliant and the show was really enjoyable. The way he performed it was haunting, entertaining and comical at different points throughout and he brought the story alive with his brilliant portrayal of this classic story.
The way he used a very basic, yet very effective, set ans very few props to create so much was mesmerising and clever. It is one of my favourite parts of theatre when your imagination is unlocked by the simplest props and sets. So enjoyable.
The post show talk was amazing, a really interesting insight into the show itself, as well as the actors love of the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’. It added a lot to the experience for sure.
I really like the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and I try and read it each year. I love the beautiful editions you can see in the picture above.
The story of ‘A Christmas Carol’ is so relevant in our current world, we all need to think of others and how our actions effect them more than we do, as a collective, and I like how it really makes you think about yourself, yout behaviour, the way you treat and view others etc.
ONE WEEK TO GO!! THIS TIME NEXT WEEK IT WILL BE CHRISTMAS DAY!!! WOOHOO 🎄
Here are some photos of me and my husband decorating our mains christmas tree, in our flat. We’ve gone for a new position by the window this year, I decided last Christmas I wanted it there as you can sit on both sofas and look at it and see it whilst you watch tv.
As usual we have gone for our red, gold and green theme 😍
Here are some of the new decorations my mum got us. She very kindly always gets us a new tree dec each year, in our chosen colour scheme. These ones are great.
Do you have a favourite Christmas decoration colour scheme?
Roseanne Byford 