This post is sponsored by Kobo Plus, and contains affiliate links which bring a portion of your purchase to us at no extra charge to you. If you use them, thanks, and if not, no worries. Thanks, y’all!
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Many folks make New Year’s resolutions to learn something new, and I’m pleased to report that with a Kobo Plus membership, you’ve got so many options.
I know y’all have heard about Kobo Plus, I am presuming, but in case not: Kobo Plus is nifty.
Kobo Plus is a subscription service that allows you unlimited access to ebooks, audiobooks, or, depending on the plan, ebooks and audiobooks.
I’ll be honest – I didn’t know about the separate Kobo Plus Listen option until recently and I’m really happy with it.
If the graphic isn’t legible for you, Kobo Plus Listen is $7.99US per month, and there are over 150,000 audiobooks in their catalog.
Kobo Plus Read is also $7.99US per month, and has over 1.5 million ebooks in their catalog, including some exclusives, and entire series bundles, too.
And Kobo Plus Read & Listen is $9.99 per month – both listening and ebooks, for $10. That’s a really good deal.
Plus, if you’re a new subscriber, you can try Kobo Plus for 30 days for free, and cancel any time.
I love a cancel any time – and if you’re someone who worries that you won’t remember to, here’s a tip. When you sign up for a free trial, set a reminder or calendar appointment for just under the free trial length, with a link to where you can unsubscribe. So if it’s a 14 day free trial, sign up, and IMMEDIATELY afterward, set a reminder or calendar item for 12 or 13 days from now that your trial is about to end, and do you want to renew? Helps me out immensely.
Here are some of the many skills and crafts you can learn with help from Kobo Plus!
Crochet
I like learning a skill with a specific project in mind, and a top-down beanie would be perfect for me.
I also like the idea of learning as a step-by-step daily practice.
Tunisian Crochet
I don’t know how I stumbled upon the Tunisian crochet corner of YouTube but despite my lack of skills with numbers, counting, and remembering said numbers after I count, I am intrigued. I’ve featured this book before but Toni Lipsey seems to be an excellent teacher and authority on Tunisian crochet.
Toni Lipsey has a gorgeous YouTube channel, too.
And if you’re already familiar with Tunisian crochet, take a look at this option: Tunisian Crochet in the Round!
I’m starting from zero in terms of crochet skills, but if that blanket or tote were among my goals, I would be hella motivated.
Gardening
Joel Karsten’s first book on straw bale gardening got me started 10+ years ago. Straw Bale Gardens Complete by Joel Karsten is the updated and expanded edition with advice on “how to apply this method in just about any environment: on a city balcony, in a rocky outpost, in a desert, and even in the tundra of Alaska.”
If you’re thinking Instagram-ready vegetable gardens in neat rows, this is not that. Straw bale gardens look increasingly goofy and lop sided as they break down over the summer (that’s the point) but wow wee wow, did I have some great vegetables when I used them. One time, I went outside, and my two kids who were in grade school at the time were eating grape tomatoes right off the vine – SHOCKING.
Greatest asset to this method: use hose timers to set up soaker hose watering times, and get used to not having to weed. No weeding!
Raised bed gardening is another good alternative, and this book includes advice on placement, tools, and easy plants to start with. My neighbors have a raised bed garden on the corner of their property, and it looks like an endless tangle of the biggest tomatoes I’ve ever seen. I’ve been inspired many a time – though it is a lot of tomatoes.
Birding
Bird watching has been growing in popularity, so if you’ve been thinking you’d like to try, fear not!
Attract and identify birds – and help your cat improve their tv watching. I also recommend the Merlin app for identifying birds by sound.
Drawing
Reviewers say this book is perfect for beginners, which I totally am.
Watercolor
I am going to be so full of hobbies by the end of next year. Watercolor has always fascinated me, and I’ve never tired it. Both the small paintings and abstract painting sound really appealing!
Knitting
There are so many tutorials on knitting, and I learned the first (and second, and third) times through a children’s book, but this guide on knitting different squares to assemble a blanket is exactly the kind of project I love.
Quilting
Quilting is great. You sew a straight line. Then you sew another straight line. And you assemble a puzzle you made out of fabric.
I do want to learn foundation piecing, though.
And some day, I’ll hand-piece and hand-quilt something. Maybe.
Sewing
This book starts with basics like threading a needle, and then explains patterns and hand stitching, and offers different projects for practice. I love an all-in-one guide.
Speed Reading
This was a suggestion on Kobo.com, and it made me chuckle:
ZOOM ZOOM! There are a bunch of positive reviews, too – maybe I should try this, too!
The most important element to this post: you’ve got options in your subscription services.
If you’re an insatiable reader and listener (hi) or hobbyist (hi again) an unlimited subscription plan can keep you happily engrossed and save you some money, too.
What are you thinking about learning to do in 2026?
And if you’re a Kobo Plus subscriber, what titles do you recommend?
I signed up for Kobo audio a couple years ago during Christmas time during my “finish all the presents I said I’d make” rush and ran out of Hoopla checkouts. I haven’t gone back. With the price point I feel like if I listen to at least 2 books a month with it I’m still saving money. There’s also a lot of crossover with my hoopla so I can save checkouts with those dwindling down.
For a free (cheesy bread free!) option, see if your local public library offers Craftsy. At my library, it’s a Libby Extra and also accessible through the library’s databases page. They also have Craftsy en Espanol, which doesn’t have quite as many classes, but still an awesome resource.
“Craftsy is an online resource for all creative makers, where you can find everything you need – from basic instruction to advanced techniques. It’s a community of enthusiastic makers, from quilters and sewers, to cake decorators and painters, wanting to create beautiful things and express their creativity.
Features
* Over 1,400 in-depth instructional video classes; covering 20 different creative passions
* Over 3,500 total hours of detailed commercial-free video instruction
* Each class includes downloadable class materials to support the video
* Access to thousands of written articles, projects, and tips
* Supported Language: English; closed caption available”
My New Year’s Resolution is to learn how to string pearls and beads with a knot between each and a tidy finish or an attractive connection to a clasp.
I haven’t tried Kobo Plus yet, but enjoy seeing some of the options available through it. Quilting is on the enormous list of would-love-to-learn, as is sock-knitting… (I can kind of knit simple-ish, mostly flat things). And improving my very rudimentary watercolor would be fun too!