what mish read, so far in 2023

21 books.

This year I have read 21 books.

Well, actually it's 22 but one of the books I started a few years ago and finally finished.

But still, 21 books.

I don't remember when I last read so many books in a year.

Maybe when I was a kid, getting books from the library?

I definitely read a lot of Nancy Drew, The Baby-sitters Club, The Fantastic Five, so I assume I read many a book in a year.

But as an adult? Nah, definitely not.

As much as I love books, love buying books, and reading books, I go through ups and downs with reading. I get hyper-focused on reading books, or a specific book, but then something else distracts me. I guess that's the wonderful brain of someone with ADHD. Or, the book is slow or takes a while to get me hooked and I struggled to get through it.

So that makes reading lists...not a fantastic thing for me. I tried my hardest the past few years to get through a reading list for the year, which has mainly been all the books I have bought but yet to read (53), but I always lose momentum when I hit a book that I am struggling to read.

Last year I read 5 books. Which is pretty good, as I think the year before it was maybe 4 or less.

So, some improvement right.

Alas, in contrast to the ever growing list of books to read on the shelf, I have brought home more books than my current reading rate..

What changed you might be thinking?

Goodreads.

I know it's been around for ages, I just never got on the bandwagon.

One of my bestie's uses Goodreads and does has done the reading challenge the past few years, and I just decided to see what it was all about.

Having a brain that really loves novelty and also is very visual, the challenge gives that wonderful dopamine hit each time you finish a book and you are one step closer to your reading goal.

It's been so great, I started with a 10 book challenge... I hit that... increased it to 20... and got to that goal the other day.. so I have now increased it to 25.. which I might just stick to and whatever is over is bonus.

Something else that has changed my reading habits, e-libraries!

End of last year, finally went to the local library and signed up but I didn't realise that through the library you can access a number of e-library apps. New(ish) tablet novelty + new library card novelty + new apps novelty = oooh all the books! Plus I didn't realise you could borrow magazines through these e-libraries.

It also came about from renewing a book a few times then deciding I'll just try finish it as an e-book (spoiler, still going, but that's okay) thus equalling to downloading all the apps to see which one has it.

So at 33 years of age, I got on the bandwagon with e-books.

Which, after being against them....I'm not hating, because it makes it very convenient to read books and also when you need to save money it's a great way to get access to new books...and also you don't have to go to the library and you can get books from the comfort of your home in your pjs haha.

I still prefer and love physical books though. The feel of a book, turning the pages, the feel of the cover, the smell of a book, going to bookshops and perusing all the books. I will always prefer a physical book to an e-book, but I can see the value and convivence of them. If it gets one reading more books, how can it be a bad thing?! And there are also options to make it easier to read, my usual settings are bigger letters, more space between lines, and if they have the option I use dyslexic font, all this makes reading on the iPad much easier. Oh and it makes it easier to have a book with you out and about as my iPad mini is much smaller and slimmer than an actual book and fits easily into my bag. So, more wins there.

Anyway, I've definitely rambled away here so let's get to the fun part - the books I have read so far this year.

Book Lover - Emily Henry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Tea Gardens - Fiona McIntosh

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Secret of Nightingale Wood - Lucy Strange
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eligible - Curtis Sittenfeld

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lost Jewels - Kirsty Manning

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Miss Aldridge Regrets - Louise Hare

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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Beach Read - Emily Henry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You and Me on Vacation - Emily Henry

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

❤️️Heartbake - Charlotte Ree

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hindi Bindi Club - Monica Pradhan

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lost Apothecary - Sarah Penner

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Couple Upstairs - Holly Wainwright

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lady Helena Investigates - Jane Steen

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blind Bake - Denise Grover Swank

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Opposites Attract - Camilla Isley

⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Billionaire Grump - Camilla Isley

⭐️⭐️

❤️️The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nancy Drew #1 The Secret of the Old Clock - Carolyn Keene

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Adding to these reads is:

Dosa Kitchen - Nash Patel & Leda Scheintaub (cookbook)

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety - Sarah Wilson (non-fiction, started reading 2021 I think)
⭐️⭐️⭐️

So those are my reads so far for 2023!
I am super proud of how much reading I have done, and gives me hope that I will eventually read all the books I have on the shelf that have yet to be read...maybe I'll get through them in the next year...that's if I stop getting more haha.

The two books that have been my absolute favourites so far this year is Charlotte Ree's memoir/cookbook Heartbake and Matt Haig's The Midnight Library.

To keep up-to-date on what I am currently reading, read to my Goodreads profile or hang out with me on Instagram, though I have been absent on there for most of the year but hoping to get back into sharing my reads and life there as well.

Thanks for making it this far and reading all that.
I will endeavour to do more in-depth reviews in the future, this is more just a catch up of what I've been reading.

Until next time!
Big hugs,
Mish