So Spring 2020 will be forever synonymous with COVID, and the turning to comforts to get us through. For me, I delved into some fun YA books and was very grateful that I still had the Harry Potter audiobooks to provide some stability and familiarity each day.
Here’s a round-up of the 13 books I read during these turbulent months. It may not be many, but I am proud I was able to keep drudging through no matter what.
For the first time, audiobooks made up half of my reading this month. I became obsessed with Stephen Fry’s readings of Harry Potter and raced through book 2, 3 and 4 this month, which was a refreshing nostalgia trip I highly recommend. Has it been a while since you reread Harry Potter? Get to it! You may be as surprised as I was, in just how truly good it still is.
Meanwhile, for physical books, I got stuck into some YA and read an exciting ARC. So, a pretty successful reading month… perhaps inspired by the cold and dreary month of January?!
My reading in December was somewhat all over the place. As I often find in times of high stress, things in life to start to slip, and my priorities are forced to shift. I chose sleep over reading a lot of the time.
It was needed, I think, but I am finding more and more that the less I read, the less well I feel overall. Does anyone else find that? Reading is soothing for the soul, and it can be easy to forget that sometimes…
As the nights grew darker, so did my reading. I love this time of year, as the air grows crisper and the trees burst into colour. November is my birthday month and marks the beginning of the winter months ahead.
And yet I often find that as the days plunge into darkness, so does my head. My motivation levels drop, and I instead seek the comforts of warm blankets and comfort food.
My reading levels slowed to a crawl, matching my energy levels, and yet I found a lot of fulfilment in taking my time. Savouring every word, rather than chasing chapters…
As the nights draw colder and darker, October was the calm before the storm that is Winter and the related festivities. October has always been a good month for me. Historically it would be the start of a new term, a new beginning, full of bright-eyed hope and expectations. But now, I’m an ‘adult’ there are no summer holidays or new starts.
This year it was more of the same, but that stability meant I could perhaps appreciate what else October has to offer. Those gorgeous autumnal leaves never get old, and now I walk through a park each day on my commute, I get to appreciate them even more.
