Book nerd alert! I spend hours planning my reading life. Probably too many hours because the new and shiny upcoming book releases distract me from reading from my own overflowing bookshelves- both the physical and digital ones. I must admit, the planning hours are fun for me.

You do not need a single item I am sharing with you today. However, if you like the book nerd stuff, too, then these tools may help you be more intentional about your reading in 2026. This list is for the “I like a real book in my hand” crowd. (The e-reader crowd will get their list at a later date.)

  1. A blank journal to log the books you want to read. I have this cute one that is no longer available. https://a.co/d/ijggysa You may prefer a spreadsheet or a digital tracker such as Goodreads, StoryGraph or Fable.
  2. A pencil like this one from Blackwing for annotating. https://blackwing602.com/products/blackwing-set-of-12 I received a box for Christmas, and they have become my new favorite pencil. As a lifelong Ticonderoga user, this switch is a big deal.
  3. A pen for your annotations. A fountain pen makes me feel smarter and fancier. Check out this one I gave my family a couple of years ago. https://a.co/d/iaYq4Sd
  4. No bleed highlighters that do not overpower the words. I found these a few years ago and have given them as gifts several times. They work well on thin pages like Bible pages, too.https://a.co/d/2aVpe7r
  5. Book darts or flags to mark a page I want to return to later. https://stellarfactory.com/products/book-darts or https://a.co/d/ddfYACJ
  6. A book light for those late-night reading sessions. I have bought numerous book lights through the years and never been satisfied. My husband gave me this one for Christmas a couple of years ago, and it fits around my neck, is adjustable, and has three light settings. https://a.co/d/2h5mPvZ
  7. A book tracking journal or tool to log the books you read and your reviews. Many options exist! For a physical book, check out Anne Bogel’s My Reading Life, a book journal. Etsy sellers offer hundreds of digital reading journals. Keep it simple with an online tracking service like Goodreads or a spreadsheet. I have created my own system by combining parts of all these methods.

We could continue down the reading rabbit hole with Commonplace and Word journals, but I have given you enough to consider. We will tackle those in a later article.

I am not receiving compensation from these items. They are ones I reach for to help me absorb books better.

This week, I am reading Wild Love by Elsie Silver and listening to Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen.

Look for books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.

Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.

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