Still Reading; Still A Bookworm
- Rachel King
- Apr 11, 2019
- 5 min read
2019 Reading Challenge: 19 books out of 52 completed (37%).
I'm still attempting to keep going with my reading challenge for this year. I've written about it quite a lot actually over the last few months. I've been aiming to keep reading the books I already own, both physical hard copies and the ebooks that are on my Kindle Paperwhite. The lovely thing about owning a Kindle Paperwhite is that I can carry around a large amount of books with me every day, which are saved on the device's library. Books generally tend take up a very small amount of memory space on the device so you can have a pretty large collection of books on the Kindle before you are forced to start removing downloaded copies or getting a new device with a larger memory. This means that if I finish my book when I'm out and about I can automatically start the next book without having to carry both the current and the finished books around with me in my handbag. The joy is that I do carry the books I've already read around with me but they're stored as soft copies on my Kindle Paperwhite, just like having several copies of my unread books on there. So I always have something to read, which makes me very happy. I think one of the best buys I've made in the last few years is getting that Kindle. Amazon has released several other newer editions of the Paperwhite since I bought mine but I'm not in a hurry to upgrade. There is no need for me to do so as my Paperwhite is working beautifully. It does have a few scratches on it, around the screen, because I've accidentally dropped it and the case I had on it didn't do any good to protect it (the cover had flipped open as it fell). I have bought a new case for it soon after this happened, with a metallic clip that holds the case cover closed if it does fall again, and even to protect it when its in my handbag or backpack.
One of the best things about having a Kindle Paperwhite is how cheap the Kindle books are. Often a hardcopy book will cost about £8.99 ($11.75, €10.45) new, whilst the same book, on the Amazon Kindle store will cost between 99p ($1.29, €1.15) and £4.73 ($6.18, €5.49). This is because the books aren't being printed, so the costs are lower due the fact that the books are going to being printed. Every month Amazon will drop the prices on some of their books so a lot of my books I only paid 99p for, and didn't have to pay for shipping or the like because the book I buy is downloaded straight onto my Paperwhite, if my Paperwhite is connected to the Wi-Fi, otherwise it'll be downloaded once I'm in range of the Wi-Fi at home. Amazon will do change the books on these sales every month and they'll also have daily sales. its lovely because its meant that some of the books I've wanted to read for years but couldn't afford, I've been able to buy for next to nothing. I love it.
The hardest thing for people to grasp is the fact that I'm dyslexic, moderately to severely. For those of you who don't know about dyslexia, its a learning difficulty that leads to challenges with reading, writing and spelling. Dyslexics often struggle with the order of letters in words, put letters the wrong way round (for example, exchanging the letter 'b' for the letter 'd'), have poor or inconstant spelling, etc. I was lucky, I was diagnosed early (between the ages of 6 and 8). I was also homeschooled up until the age of almost 10. This was another huge blessing, because I could learn to read and write at my own pace and my parents didn't force me to learn to read at the age most other children learned to read. I think I started reading at around 8 or 9 (for more information on Dyslexia, click here; I am going to write a post about Dyslexia at some point or other, please use this link to let me know if you're be interested in reading a post about living with dyslexia). Since my parents used to read to my sister and me for as long as I can remember this installed a deep love of reading and stories. My parents were also avid readers. I remember we once took a small, cabin sized suitcase of books on holiday with us one year. I'll give the credit to my parents for my love for reading and writing. Its something I hope that I'll be able to pass to my own children.
Current Read
I've been reading a book by a favourite authoress of mine. The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse. She'd written a series called the Languedoc Trilogy, which I've read and enjoyed, even though I did find the books sad and heartbreaking. I won't write more because I don't want to ruin the books for you if you end up deciding to read them. I've just fininhed reading the Taxidermist's Daughter, also by Kate Mosse, and have just started The Burning Chambers (pictured on the right here). Like many of the other books that Kate Mosse has written, its set in historical France, this one starts off during the inquisition, which was a time when people were tortured and executed by the government, and the monarch, because their beliefs weren't in line with that of the royal family and government of the day. Due to this, many of those persecuted fled to England, the Dutch Free States in Southern Africa and the American colonies. I've only just started reading this book and so far I'm not disappointed. I'm looking forwards to continuing to find out what happens next.
I'll be posting my progress on my GoodReads account (click here to get taken to my profile), as I go. I do have a new phone (for those who know about the fact I've destroyed several phones over the last six weeks) but the memory won't let me get the app right now (I'm waiting for a micro SD card to arrive in the post). I'll be posting from my laptop whenever I'm home.
Continued Progress with My 2019 Reading Challenge
I'm currently still ahead of schedule with my GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2019. As of right now, I'm five books ahead of where I'd hoped to be by this point in the year and my reading challenge, which is a good thing. If you want to help me with keeping on top of my reading challenge over the next eight months or so, feel free to help out by buying me one of the books on my reading list (the link is http://amzn.eu/7GM9Xqc).
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