The Year Ahead
Finding healthier ways to give my nervous system a parallel universe
Reminder for audio-readers that a voiceover version of this post is available via the Substack app.
Everything is on fire and the bad guys aren’t facing consequences. Every day for years now the horrors of the world have been endlessly consumable via our phones. As the new year starts, I find myself once again walking the fine line between remaining informed+engaged and burning out. Because the antidote to fear is not inaction but its opposite, one of the things I’m prioritizing in 2026 are ways to soothe my nervous system (as opposed to numbing it). Now, I get it: reading isn’t a terrible vice to have; but in 2025 I read 240 books and that is, quite frankly, too many.
Reading is known to reduce stress hormones like cortisol, slow heart rate and breathing, release feel-good neurotransmitters, and enhance focus, cognitive function, memory and emotional processing. I can only presume that that all fails to be true when you are mainlining book after book after book—maxing out your library holds, perpetually starting and switching reads, pushing your audiobook speed up to a level that reminds you of the Micro Machine commercials you saw as a kid.
While books helped me survive in 2025, I’m looking to find ways to use them to help me slow down and be more intentional in life generally this year.
So what does that look like?
1. More Physical Books
I love audiobooks and will die on the hill of audiobooks counting as reading. Audiobooks make books accessible to so many for myriad reasons, and I am no exception. I embraced audiobooks after losing my job, becoming a primary / stay at home parent and the birth of my second child. Household chores became not just manageable but, dare I say, entertaining: changing bed linens became getting another chapter in; folding infinite piles of laundry brought me closer to the enemies becoming lovers; lying next to my kids while they fell asleep meant mom got story time after they did. I am not just doing chores, I am a multitasking domestic goddess for a life on the go go go.
But when I read a physical book I have to sit my seat down and focus. There is no running around whilst reading, there is only reading. Reading more physical books will be a forcing function to get me to be more intentional, make more time to sit and give one thing my attention (which is endlessly robbed by useless things at all times—eyes on you, social media) and for longer and longer periods of time. I will of course continue to listen to audiobooks without apology; but I look forward to doing less with my precious time.
Here are two audiobooks and two physical books I have loved recently:
2. Read more in community with others
Building and being in community with others has been a huge priority for me in recent years, and I’d like to bring reading—a consistently individualistic task—into this work by doing it more with others, especially in real life. This year I’m doing this in two ways: book clubs and buddy reads.
I have joined a book club with a small group of my neighbors focusing on non-fiction books about political theory and radical activism—as much an excuse to gather and discuss books as it is to brainstorm and plan community action in our day to day lives. I have also joined a different book club online that meets sporadically throughout the year which will introduce me to other avid readers. But perhaps most important is my goal to do more Buddy Reads. Discussing a book with one other person after reading it is another great way to slow down and process the book while facilitating re-connecting with someone I love.
3. Read more diversely
Speaking of being more intentional, I want to diversify my bookshelf. I don’t just mean demographically diverse, though obviously that is a perpetual goal; but I want to read outside of my typical genres. I want to read more non-book content like long form articles and essays.
I want to read more non-fiction, more poetry, more translated works and international writers. I want to read books about things I might not otherwise read or know about and I want to get better at tracking this stuff to hold myself accountable.
4. Connect more to the world off the page
There was a time where “seen any good movies lately?” would render me speechless. Does watching 13 episodes of Bluey back-to-back with my kids count? Sure, I always have a book recommendation at the ready; but I am also the kind of reader that when one book ends, a new book is immediately opened. I want to be better about processing time, sitting with the story I’ve just read. I also want to find joy off the page in the new music, the podcasts, the other stuff. Life.
So naturally, I kicked off this year by binging the queer ice hockey MM romance series Heated Rivalry, based on romance author Rachel Reid’s Game Changer series. I didn’t even read the books first! It has reminded me that there is so much art and creativity to enjoy beyond books. Books will always be my number one love, but other passions and outlets exist. I hope to connect with them more in 2026.
What are your goals for 2026, bookish or otherwise? How can we support you?
Happy reading (and other stuff),
Courtney x
You sexy, tender bitch ahahaha 😆