Tag: Reading Habits

Which books or authors are you most looking forward to reading in 2021?

Bookish Question #160 | Which books or authors are you most looking forward to reading in 2021?

All the books 🙂

Unfortunately, time doesn’t allow me to read all the books. Oh, to have Hermione Grainger’s time turner!

Instead, I’ll have to content myself with the novels I know about … which isn’t many. I do know some of my favourite authors have books releasing in 2021, such as:

Prince of Spites by Roseanna M White (releases 16 February)

Is it Any Wonder by Courtney Walsh (releases 6 April)

Dusk’s Darkest Shores by Carolyn Miller (releases 20 April)

Hidden in her Heart by Milla Holt (releases 29 March)

Let it Be Me by Becky Wade (releases 4 May)

There are also a few authors that I’m sure (or I sincerely hope) will be releasing books in 2021, including:

Book #5 in the Grace series by Christine Dillon

Book #2 in the Luella Linley series by Meredith Resce

Book #2 in the Collective Underground series by Kristen Young

There are also some books from debut or new-to-me authors I’m looking forward to reading:

When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown

Summer’s Out at Hope Hall by Pam Rhodes

What about you?

What books are you looking forward to reading in 2021?

Do you read more books during summer or winter?

Bookish Question #159 | Do you read more books during summer or winter?

Good question! I don’t keep a track of my reading by month, so I don’t actually know whether I read more books in summer or in winter.

I know I read a lot of books during the summer,

I love spending a warm summer day at the beach, reaching on my Kindle between dips in the ocean.

I also know I read a lot of books during the winter months.

In winger, you can usually find me curled up by the fire with the cat in my lap while my husband watches TV. Reading is my preferred form of personal entertainment. I do watch a handful of  TV series, but I’d usually rather read a book (or, in the case of TV or movie versions, I’ve usually read the book already).

And I read a lot in spring and autumn.

We have a spa pool (aka hot tub), and I do read in the pool in spring and autumn, but only paperback books (I don’t want to risk dropping my Kindle in the water, or having the steam cook the device). My pool reading therefore tends to be books on the to-read pile, as my recent purchases ten to be the Kindle version.

So do I read more in summer or winter? I suspect I read fairly evenly through the year, as work and weather permit.

What about you? Do you read more in summer or in winter?

Have your reading habits changed during lockdown?

Bookish Question #153 | Have Your Reading Habits Changed During Lockdown?

We live in strange times.

A huge proportion of the global population is in some kind of lockdown in an effort to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Many people are scared. As Christians, we know God has not given us a spirit of fear, but love. But knowing that doesn’t change our situation: working from home (if we’re lucky enough to be able to), supervising our children’s schooling, and not going out except to the supermarket.

I’ve seen a lot of writers on social media saying they’re having trouble writing in the current situation.

I’ve seen readers saying they can’t concentrate to read, or that they are actively seeking out some genres and avoiding others.

I’ve also seen reports that the consumption of audiobooks has dropped. Most people listened to them as they commuted to and from work, but no one is commuting right now. I don’t listen to audiobooks, but I’ve also stopped listening to podcasts since I’ve been working at home again.

I’ve found my reading habits have changed.

I’m not reading less. That weekly reminder on my telephone tells me I’m reading more. The change is in what I’m reading.

I’m reading a lot more news—mostly the local news site (Stuff, because it’s free), plus BBC News and Al Jazeera (because they are international and more impartial than other sources).

I’m reading more for pure entertainment. Over the last month, I’ve read about a dozen books from my to-read pile. Okay, so I didn’t finish some of them, but they are now in my to-donate bag, rather than cluttering my bookfloor.

Bookfloor: place where books get stored when the bookshelf is full.

But I’m finding it really hard (well, impossible) to concentrate on books on my review pile. There are a handful I’ve finished but haven’t yet written reviews for. There are even more that I’ve started but haven’t finished.

So please forgive me if some of my reviews are briefer and less informative than usual.

What about you? Has lockdown changed your reading habits?

Do you read with a favourite beverage by your side?

Bookish Question #68 | Do you read with a favourite beverage by your side?

I always have a drink by my side, no matter what I’m doing.

If it’s morning, it’s likely to be coffee—it takes one or two cups to get me up and running each day. I rarely have more than two coffees, although I might have another if I go to a cafe. I might then treat myself to a Chai Latte … but cafes are usually for meeting up with friends or writing, not reading.

I switch to green tea in the afternoon and evening, and water the rest of the time.

My husband works for an international company with operations in China, so I’m currently drinking some Lychee tea he brought back from a work trip. It’s a lovely green tea with a hint of sweet lychee. (Note that the Dragon tea did not taste of dragon—not that I know what dragon tastes like!).

I usually have a glass or a bottle of water with me all the time. I drink a lot of water—I definitely drink my eight glasses (two litres) a day, and it’s often more. Why not? Our tap water is as good (i.e. tasteless) as any branded bottled water, and it’s free. And calorie-free. We have a Soda Stream, so sometimes I’ll have plain tap water, and sometimes I’ll use the Soda Stream to add the bubbles (but no flavour).

My reading times are usually evenings or weekend afternoons, so I’m usually drinking water or green tea by then. Maybe one, maybe the other, maybe both. Often both.

So yes, I always read with a drink nearby.

What about you? Do you read with a favourite beverage by your side?