Honestly, looking back at the year we had, you would think that I would have read more. My goal was to read 25 books this year and I managed to read 27. But with being quarantined for a few months, I would have expected to read more. I'm sad that I did not. I need to cut down on my "online time" in 2021 (Facebook, Instagram, and just random scrolling). That is a goal of mine for the new year. Less online time, and more reading.
One thing that the pandemic did do for me was that I got used to reading e-books. I used to have a Kindle reader but it is so old (I think it's a first gen) that it no longer works so I had been using my phone. I actually had a library book at home when the pandemic first hit the U.S. and we were locked down. But the library was closed after that and no more books were being lent out. They were, however, loaning out e-books and that became my way to keep up with my reading. I still prefer a book in my hands and reading them on my phone can be a bit hard (I'm 51 and still don't need reading glasses, but I'm getting there), even when I increase the font size (I really wish my Kindle worked).
I also discovered audio books. Boy was I against those. The sacrilege!! But I actually discovered those before quarantine. My son had an out of town wrestling tournament that happened to be 4 hours away. He rode with the team and I drove alone so I downloaded an audio book (again, free from the library) to keep me company. Then I discovered that I could listen to audio books while I cleaned and it made cleaning so much more pleasant. The 8 year old and I are currently listening to "The Little House on the Prairie" before bed each night and enjoying it immensely.
I enjoyed most of the books I read this year. One was just so bad that I couldn't finish it, and once again that is just something that I just don't do. No matter how bad the book is, I will gut it out. This particular book was so disjointed, repetitive, and just made no sense that I had to stop reading it. It was actually making me angry.
Here is my list of the top 10 books that I read in 2020:
10. The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking
I love the thought of Hygge. Winters here in Ohio can be so long and dreary that the art of hygge appeals to me. I need comfort and peace to help me get through. I do not enjoy the snow and cold at all, but this is where I live and the older I get the more I'm trying to embrace it. I read two other books about hygge and one was ok but used much of the information from this book (even quoting this book in every chapter) and the other one was the book I didn't finish.
9. The Jane Austen Diet: Austen's Secrets to Food, Health, and Incandescent Happiness by Jane Austen, Bryan Kozlowski
This book was just a fun read. I love cookbooks, diet books, and self help books about health. I may not agree with or use everything in the books, but I just enjoyed reading this book and there were many useful ideas. Plus I love all things Jane Austen, and Bryan Kozlowski's humor kept me laughing.
8. Polish Your Poise with Madame Chic: Lessons in Everday Elegance by Jennifer L. Scott
7. At Home with Madame Chic: Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life by Jennifer L. Scott
6. Lessons from Madam Chic: 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris by Jennifer L. Scott
The three books above by Jennifer L. Scott were also very fun reads. I am a Francophile at heart and I really love reading anything that has a French flare or talks about how the French live and eat. I also found her You tube channel at the Daily Connoisseur and I have really been enjoying that too.
5. The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100 by Dan Buettner
The book and photos are beautifully done. I have tried several of the recipes and they are very good and my family likes them also.
4. The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff
This book is set in WWII and centers around an all female spy ring that was deployed around Occupied Europe. A suitcase is found in New York City and it contains numerous photos of women. Grace Healey, the woman who found the suitcase, sets out to solve the mystery of who were these woman, and what happened to them.
3. The Gown by Jennifer Robson
Things are bleak in post war Europe. But the upcoming wedding of Queen Elizabeth II is one bright spot and something that all of Britain is looking forward to. The book mostly takes place during that time period, and follows the lives of two women chosen to help embroider the Queen's gown. It flashes back and forth between post war Britain and 2016 Toronto where a granddaughter finds some embroidery that would have been made for the Queens dress among her late grandmother's things. The grandmother never really spoke about her life before she came to Toronto so the granddaughter sets out to solve the mystery of how the embroidery came into her grandmother's possession.
2. The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor
The book follows Maggie Murphy and 13 other residents from a small Irish town on their ill fated journey to America abroad the Titanic. Maggie is among one of the few survivors from steerage and vows to never speak of what happened to her. After her father's death, Maggie's great granddaughter Grace struggles to decide what direction her life should take, and Maggie decides to share her terrible experience aboard the Titanic. This gives Grace a new direction and helps both women to reunite with people they had lost or thought they lost. The book deals with disaster, survivors guilt, and the lasting repercussions of the Titanic's tragedy. The book is based on true events and blends fact with fiction.
1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
I really enjoyed this book even though it's outside of my usual reading choices. There are a few risque scenes and some racy language. It's not for the younger crowd. Every one of my Good Reads friends read it and it was on the best seller list forever. Usually I shy away from books like that but my mother read it and recommended it and I had to see what the fuss was all about. I won't give a synopsis of it here, because you can find that anywhere on line. I will say that it is a bittersweet story. The main character experiences so much loss that I just couldn't see how she could go on. But she does. And while the book is sad and my heart broke for the lead character, her strength gave me hope and made the book inspirational.
No comments:
Post a Comment