What I'm reading 2025

I started challenging myself to reading a book a week in 2023 and continued into 2024.

Our daughter died suddenly in October 2024 and my love for reading among so many other things just stopped.

And like so many other things, it's taken a long time to get going ago, to do the things I loved to do when I had 5 minutes to them.

I wasted so much time after Stephanie's death, so much time with 'We could be with Stephanie now, but we can't' and I spent hours in the first few months, doing nothing, staring into space, lying in bed, doing absolutely nothing.

I returned to work, part time initially, then slowly a routine, with elements of our old life starting filling our time again, days out, going places where we took Stephanie became visiting places that we couldn't take Stephanie due to her disability. We didn't find things to do to replace her, we found that we just started living again without her.

I was tutoring English in a secondary school from year 7 up to GCSE, I supported a student with English Literature at A Level from 2022-2023.

I read a few books from October 2024 till March 2025, but in April I started again with a book a week and here we are, the middle of July on book no 30 and raring to go for the rest of the year.

January

February

There has been lots of reading with the grandchildren.

And new books bought

I've taken to buying my books from National Trust properties and after I've circulated them around family and friends they'll be donated back there.

One of the things I enjoy doing is looking for unusual titles in the National Trust properties.

Books read for work - re reads:

Treasure Island - Tutor Read in School
Macbeth
The Tempest
Romeo and Juliet
Lord of the Flies
A Christmas Carol

New Reads:
Julius Caesar - William Shakespeare 

March

April

May

June 

I tweeted the author after finishing this book in the DI Claire Mackay series, I was pleased when she responded.

I started this book the beginning of June. I however left the book on a plane and had to order a replacement which I finished later in the month.

July 

Richard Osman - We Solve Murders.

My current read, turns out, I'd only read half of it last year.

What are you currently reading?

Word of the Week - Mornings

It's the school holidays. 

The alarm is off.

I'm still waking at 6am.

I'm more productive in the mornings than afternoon and evenings, although I do have a flurry of activity just before bed.

I've always woken early and I do enjoy the peace and quiet of a cup of tea, sitting in my happy place outside, regardless of the weather.

6am on a Friday before work.

6am on a campsite.

6am in bed.

No matter how hard I try to stay in bed, I'm awake by 6am most mornings. But as it's summer I'm not so worried about it, because the first thing I do, is make tea, feed the cat and go sit outside with my laptop or phone.

Most of my blog posts are written at 6am. It's rare to read a book and normally I just flick through social media on my phone.

Sometime I wake earlier and just stay in bed for a while hoping I'll go back to sleep, but the traffic noises keep me awake, vans pulling up with engines running and the occasional tooting of a horn to hurry their workmate up for his lift to work and car doors banging.

Are you an early riser? Do you have a time of the day where you get more done?

What I do to relax.

We go out in the van on the weekends.

I love going for long walks on my own, just ambling, to and from work, different routes.

Getting my nails done, a gossip and a coffee.

Popping bubbles on my phone.

Reading.

Long bubble baths.

Lounging around in my pyjamas.

Making things.

Writing letters and short stories for the grandchildren.

Watching Quiz shows on TV.

What do you do to relax?
 

What I'm reading in September

I read 14 books in August whilst on holiday. There were books in our accommodation and I purchased an additional three from charity shops, which we left behind and I found one in a bin, Private Down Under - James Patterson, that I didn't end up reading, which has been added to Septembers list along with The Dark Room - Sam Blake

Some of the books I read.

 

Most of the books I read are from friends and family and they get passed around. I also borrow books from the library and read recommended books in school.

For September I'm reading books that are half finished POSH, The Great Gatsby, (from July) Tess of the D'urbervilles (from June)  and Don Quixote (from February). For English A level we are also reading King Lear.

So far this year I've read the following:

January

Lord of the Flies - William Golding. Re read from O level days

To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee. One of those books everyone should read

A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens. Re read from O level days

Off Mice and Men - John Steinbeck. Re read from O level days

Macbeth - Shakespeare. Re read from O level days

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. Never watched the TV series, but the book was brillant

A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams. One we all think we know till we read it.

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly. The hardest book I've read to date, takes ages to get going through a series of letters.

February

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K Jerome. Loved this book so much, a travel guide to the Thames.

Good Eggs - Rebecca Hardiman. Light and easy read.

March

Pippi Longstockings - Astrid Lindgren. A childhood favourite.

Five on a Treasure Island - Enid Blyton. A childhood favourite.

The Tempest - Shakespeare. Read the summary first to get an understanding of the plot, characters came to life.

Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson. A bit boring, had to persevere.

April

Agatha Raisin Terrible Tourist - M. C. Beaton. Quick read in a day.

Anything Could Happen - Lucy Diamond. A life that could've gone either way, all the 'what ifs?'

Home Truths - Susan Lewis. Dealing with your husbands murder and blaming your son who then becomes a missing person.

The Wild Roses - D.B. Carter Three friends in the mid 80's making different choices and following the paths they lead.

Oranges are not the only fruit - Jeanette Winterson. Absolutely loved the BBC drama with Charlotte Coleman back in 1991. A young woman growing up with the church and not conforming with mothers expectations of her.

The Enemy - Lee Child. Exploring Reachers military days.

May

Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe. My fathers book given to him by his Granny in 1947.

Restoring Grace - Katie Fforde. Easy read about lost love and new beginnings.

Follow Me Home - Cathy Woodman. A light hearted story about finding new love.

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell. Hard to get going, but once engaged the pages just raced past.

When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kaplanithi. Pauls' story as a Neurologist discovering he has brain cancer, how he deals with the treatment, life and ultimately his death.

Five Go Adventuring Again - Enid Blyton. I've been reading this book alongside a mentee in school and we've been comparing childhood with the now and the then.

June

Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell - Making sure my windows are locked during the hot weather

Blue Moon - Lee Child - Quite a lot of graphic violence but good plot line

The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien Very different to my childhood memory of reading this book, probably because all I can see now as I read are the characters as they were portrayed on TV

Malory Towers - Enid Blyton 'Your people are here' Parents arrive to collect their daughter from boarding school

July

The American Dream 1965 - Norman Mailer A very violent read, stuck with it as it is relevant to the A Level curriculum

F. Scott Fitzgerald - Andre Le Vot More of a book to reference and understand

August

Again, Rachel - Marion Keyes I've read these books completely out of order.

Blow Fly - Patricia Cornwall Read out of order, her niece, Lucy is now an adult and playing an active role in the case.

The missing years - Lexie Elliot A proper page turner, read in a day.

No Plan B - Lee Child Typical Reacher

Past tense - Lee Child The story seemed so disjointed but typical Reacher.

The invisible man - HG Wells Hard reading

It started with Paris - Cathy Kelly  Following several families as they suffer loss, find love and intertwine

Head over heels - Jill Mansell Pop star discovers he'd fathered a child on moving to a new town and meeting and falling in love with his ex.

Perfect timing - Jill Mansell Jilted her husband to be at the night before the wedding then goes off to find her true love.

Stone Town  - Margaret Hickey Australian murder set in an old Gold Rush town outside Adelaide

A random act of kindness - Sophie Jenkins Searching for love running a vintage market stall

Her last holiday - C L Taylor Fran is searching for answers to her sisters disappearance at a retreat in Greece.

Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty Set in a retreat in Australia, 9 strangers locked in a plot with twists and turns

The Unhoneymooners - Christina Lauren An odd couple thrown together on a romantic honeymoon pretending to be their siblings.

September

Private Down Under - James Patterson

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald  

POSH - Laura Wade 

The Dark Room - Sam Blake

Don Quixote - Cervantes Started in February and a big read.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy - hard going and plot didn't really work for me (abandoned from June) 

23rd-25th September 2022 - Post Comment Love

Welcome back to #PoCoLo with Stephanie from Lifeat139a and I. 

Post Comment Love #PoCoLo is a friendly weekly linky where you can link up any blog post you've written this week and all we ask is that you leave a comment on either mine or Stephanie's post which you linked up through and at least one other post.

We'd also love it if you could RT us on Twitter when we tag you to help us reach a wider audience.

I've been reading a lot at the moment. As a Teaching Assistant in a secondary school I support students from year 7 up to sixth form in a variety of subjects, mainly Science, Religion Studies, English and Maths.  I've been helping with homework also, so I've been doing a variety of homework also and reading selected texts for GCSE and A Levels as well as re reading books I studied at O Level in school, many years ago.

I'll be catching up with reading your posts from last week and this, sharing and commenting over the weekend.

Want to find out more about Post Comment Love #PoCoLo? 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Reading with Clever Tykes inspirational story books for kids

I was asked by Clever Tykes if I wanted to read these Inspirational books for kids with my great nephews. I refer to them as The Things. 1, 2 and 3. They are 5, 3 and 18 months.

When I visit the UK, we do a lot of reading and Thing 1 often has a book or two waiting for me to read with him, his brothers also love to snuggle up on the sofa to join in.

Although these books are aimed at slightly older children aged 7+ they were perfect for reading with younger children also, as they do relate to day to day activities, such as healthy eating, making changes, taking responsibility, problem solving and realising one's potential and having a go. The books also promote important values through morals and role models.

We started with 'Change it Cho' and by the 3rd chapter I had Dragon fruit on my shopping list, we'd discussed why fruit and vegetables are good for us and how too many sweeties damage our teeth and took to google to find out what calcium was and where we get it from.

As a teacher also, I would use these books in my lesson planning if I wanted to promote a change in thinking and encourage class discussions. There are teacher packs available to support the books as well as activity packs for the children available online to support learning.