Thinking About Reading in 2026
January 2026 has arrived. No, it's already January 25th. The new year began, I bought a few books, started reading a few more, and added some to my "read forever" list. If I categorize the books into three groups, they are as follows.
==Newly Purchased Books==
- > - (Essay) Marriage? Not Sure, But I Have My Own Home / Kim Min-jung / 21st Century Books
- > - (Essay) Please Keep It Concise / Kim Hye-hyung / Mabook
- > - (Philosophy of Technology) Data That Distinguishes: Correlation, Neighbors, and the Politics of New Perception / Wendy Hee-kyung Jeon / Workroom
- > - (Novel) Kindred / Octavia Butler / Bichae
- > - (Self-Development) Double Click / Alganzi / Garden of Thoughts
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Purchased from Aladin, Kyobo Bookstore, The Book Society, and Aladin Used Bookstore. These are books I suddenly felt like reading, didn't feel like going to the library for, couldn't borrow until late February due to long overdue fines at year-end, and are the first books by YouTubers I've been a long-time fan of.
==Books I'm Rereading or Still Reading==
- > - (Nonfiction) The Extinction of Experience / Christine Rosen / Across
- > - (Nonfiction) AI Feeds on Humans / Mark Graham et al. / Stream Publishing
- > - (Nonfiction/Essay) Stolen Focus / Johann Hari / Across
- > - (Tech Philosophy) Don't Dim My Light / James Williams / Must Read Books
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These are books I've read before or am continuing from last year. Most are being read for the Netflix Reading Group's Algorithm Rebellion Club preparations.
==Books I Only Ever Think About Reading Forever==
- > - (Philosophy) The Phenomenology of Mind / Edmund Husserl / Hangilsa
- > - (Philosophy) Phenomenology of Perception / Merleau-Ponty / Sechang Publishing
- > - (Philosophy) Husserl's Phenomenology / Dan Zahavi / Hangilsa
- > - (Philosophy) Gestures: An Introduction to Phenomenology / Workroom
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Most are phenomenology books. They're thick and difficult.
While writing this, the term 'book hoarder' popped into my head. I Googled it and found the site 'Book Hoarder.com'. There's no site description, and I can't tell who runs it or why, but a form popped up where I could easily log in with Google and add books I'll never read and just let pile up. The book search API integration was seamless, so I added the books sleeping on my shelf. Eleven books piled up in no time. Haha.
While doing chores this morning, I watched a new video from Doldol Kong, a YouTuber I often watch. The title was How I Went from Never Reading Books to Reading a Lot. Hmm… I always thought Doldol Kong read a lot anyway, but seeing how I clicked on it without even realizing it, I guess the title was meant to be effective. In this video, Doldol Kong explains that it's really hard to voluntarily engage in 'reading' without getting distracted by Netflix, games, or short videos, and offers several suggestions for reading consistently and a lot.
- Reading Goals & Plans
- Instead of just setting a time or quantity goal (like "I'll read X books a month"), create a reading list with a specific theme each month, like a particular author or genre. He said reading this way helps you think more broadly about that field. Doldol Kong chose romance novels as his December theme because he thought reading a genre he doesn't usually read would broaden his horizons. There's also a YouTube video about the December theme. (It was fun!) The idea that "having context and story helps you remember things longer" was interesting too. Last year, my reading felt too narrowly focused (mainly tech philosophy), so I'd been thinking this year I wanted to try books I don't usually read. I really related to that part. My attempt at this was joining Suhyeon's reading group, which led me to currently reading Octavia Butler's novel ⟨Kind⟩. Following Dol Dol Kong's advice, I think it would be fun to spread out the year and plan accordingly.
- Make your Reading list : Creating 'Your' Reading List
- This section discussed how to create a reading list, suggesting finding 'book recommenders' like booktubers who match your taste rather than just following bestsellers. Honestly, since books I want to read always pop up naturally everywhere, I mostly tuned this part out.
- Plan your reading time
- This part was quite interesting. Reading lacks the power to compete against the many distractions vying for our attention. Therefore, if you've done steps 1 and 2 well, the even more crucial thing is to plan and secure 'reading time'. Dol Dol Kong suggested first understanding your 'reading speed', then working backwards to calculate how much time you need to read at that pace, and finally figuring out how many hours per day you should read to meet your goals. It's a bit tight, but using this method based on set goals seemed like it would be a huge help with time management. Especially when reading nonfiction that's hard to get into, he suggested reading for about the first 15 minutes and calculating your speed. I thought I should try this when reading those phenomenology books I've been putting off forever.
- This part was quite interesting. Reading lacks the power to compete against the many distractions vying for our attention. Therefore, if you've done steps 1 and 2 well, the even more crucial thing is to plan and secure 'reading time'. Dol Dol Kong suggested first understanding your 'reading speed', then working backwards to calculate how much time you need to read at that pace, and finally figuring out how many hours per day you should read to meet your goals. It's a bit tight, but using this method based on set goals seemed like it would be a huge help with time management. Especially when reading nonfiction that's hard to get into, he suggested reading for about the first 15 minutes and calculating your speed. I thought I should try this when reading those phenomenology books I've been putting off forever.
- Find what motivates you to read "무엇이 나를 독서하게 하는가" 찾아보기
- It was about motivation for reading. Instead of punishing yourself with fines or penalties for not reading, it suggested finding more enjoyable and productive ways. What they proposed was sharing my reading experiences with others! The quote from C.S. Lewis they cited was really good. "We read books to know we are not alone." It closely mirrored my own thoughts on reading. So, how might I share my reading this year? I have a monthly book club meeting, the Netflix & Chill Algorithm Resistance Club, and I should think about other ways to share. Interesting!
2026 Reading Goals
- Read one full-length novel per month. Experience 12 full-length novel worlds in total.
- Finish reading all the phenomenology books I own by the first half of the year. Create my own phenomenology learning map
- In the second half of the year, thoroughly read Bruno Latour's works. Based on a phenomenological perspective!
- Beyond that, buy, borrow, and read whatever books catch my interest at the time. However, for every book I read, I will leave at least one line of a memorable quote and my own notes.
- Secure reading time!!!! - During public transit commutes, 1 hour after returning from exercise
> 2026 Reading list
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(Novels) [Classic SF] Octavia Butler ⟨Kindred⟩ [Classic SF] Mary Shelley ⟨Frankenstein⟩ [Classic SF] Ursula K. Le Guin ⟨The Left Hand of Darkness⟩ [Jazz] Haruki Murakami ⟨Kafka on the Shore⟩ [Jazz] James Baldwin ⟨Giovanni's Room⟩ [Latin] Gabriel García Márquez ⟨One Hundred Years of Solitude⟩ [Latin] Clarice Lispector ⟨The Hour of the Star⟩ [Latin] Isabel Allende ⟨The House of the Spirits⟩
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(Phenomenology) Dan Zahavi ⟨Husserl's Phenomenology⟩ Edmund Husserl ⟨Cartesian Meditations⟩ Merleau-Ponty ⟨Phenomenology of Perception⟩