At the very beginning of the year, before the news broke, I had set my '26 reading target goal to be 100 books read before the end of this year.
Confession: I am obsessed with planning my reads ahead of time down to the finest details... and I mean... well, just look at the above photo again (and I was even able to break down how many books I'd need to read PER month to achieve this ๐ซฃ)
I love the preparation phase of any creative project you begin... when you start thinking about the current season, the month and what it brings- the energy and vibes surrounding the books to read and the themes expressed in their pages. Plus, the artist inside thoroughly loves curating the visual template to organize and capture the essence of that month.
So since January '26, I've been designing my personal monthly reads template using Canva.
Here's a little sneak peek at next month's template:
Besides the two preselected themes for April's Morbid Curiosities book club, the rest of my selections were picked to go with the Spring season awakening, Cherry Blossoms blooming and a few new genres/genre-bending reads that I felt fit the vibes for April, plus some digital NetGalley Advanced Copies I've been itching to read!
Why do this at all?
Using this monthly reads template I've made, I've become extremely motivated to finish my reads within a given timeframe and have enjoyed discovering the coincidental connective themes & phrases that can come out of this kind of curated reading experience, solely basing your reads on a selected theme or the vibes from the books and their covers.
Plus I get to use the mobile app conveniently to hop into my project and update the graphic to showcase in a visually stunning manner the monthly progress I've made!!!
Just check out where I am currently for March... 6/9 read so far, baby!
Does it even work?
Using digital tracking apps, like Fable & StoryGraph, I've been able to gather and visualize just how much this template has helped me achieve my annual reading goal, compared to my reading habits this time last year... and you know this ghoul loves their evidence-based research approaches ๐
But of course, remember correlation is NOT causation...
I'm not going to sit here, sipping on my morning coffee, and tell you my monthly reads template was the oracle that changed my entire reading progression and trajectory... because no, it wasn't that.
Has it helped me prepare ahead of time and get excited about my monthly book selections? Absolutely. But other factors have also contributed to my accelerated reading habits and we cannot discourage their impact. Having the time to meaningful read and write has been an absolute blessing, but of course it came with a cost (i.e., the unexpected departure from my previous career in UX research) and I have to acknowledge that.
However, spending the time to curate my monthly reads and completely immerse myself in them each month truly has been a lovely way to spend my time at the current moment, and I am endlessly thinking of ways to curate THIS experience into a future career that can given me the same fulfilling sensation that my previous one gave me.
So, I've been thinking...
As a supporter, I want to be able to offer a gesture of gratitude or a curated XP as a thank-you for joining me on this passionate & fulfilling side quest of mine.
Would you be interested in having a monthly reads template (and/or book list) made, for yourself? ๐
It can be anything from just the blank graphic (sans books) to a pre-made, fully designed graphic including a curated selection of titles aimed to get you motivated to tackle your endless reading lists! The titles can be ones you've chosen yourself to be added to the template (or you can ask this ghoul to pick them for you... and see if they sated your morbid curiosity with their book suggestions...)
Thanks for reading, and hoping your Friday coffee has the ignition to spark some pre-weekend energy! โ