Since I want to make this an annual post, here’s what I read in 2020! I’ll never have a long list of books, but my biggest change in 2020 is that I got a proper ereader! And oh boy, do I ever love that thing!!
Kindle or Kobo ereader?
I purchased this Kindle Paperwhite in June, after I realized on our first camping trip of the season, that reading in the sun in the Kindle app on my Samsung Galaxy is impossible! Nico showed me the app on his phone, a Samsung Note, and it was way more visible on his screen. Now I didn’t plan on changing phones, but I did realize that a proper ereader would actually be WAY better than any of these.
I researched a lot and esp. between the Kindle and Kobo brands. Kobo is Canadian, so that was interesting, and had the option to rent library books (which I don’t use though). But Kindle is Amazon and we already have a bunch of ebooks for the Kindle. This was the deciding factor for me to go for Kindle as we were already using the Kindle app. But both brands had similar devices, so it’s definitely worth comparing them yourself. I also didn’t go for the cheapest Kindle Basic, as this Paperwhite had way better specs for only about $20 more.
Now that I had set myself up for the best device for reading, I enjoyed it way more. I love that I can adjust the font size. I have a lot of annoying floaters in my eyes, esp. in my one good (right) eye. This mainly only bothers me with reading, so font size matters 🙂 Reading in the sun is a breeze (it only gets clearer like sun on paper) and I also love it for my nighttime reading. I don’t really like white text on black background, so I just turned my light level down a lot.
Oh right, the books!
Now to the actual books! Looking back to my 2019 list: I finished that Catherine Coulter book, but stopped reading the Wheel Of Times fantasy series by Robert Jordan. I loved book 1, but book 2 got a bit weird… more science fiction elements and stuff I didn’t like much. Now I am not a seasoned fantasy reader and have been looking for something in the style of Lord Of The Rings – which I was able to find! I read the first book of Terry Brooks’ Sword Of Shannara Trilogy and LOVED it! I hope the rest is in the same vein and there are many more Shannara books to keep me busy.
Barbara Cool Lee
After one Shannara book, I went back to my virtual pile of Barbara Cool Lee books. I was craving some lighthearted, feel-good books (yet they are still page-turners) and she’s my very favourite writer for that. Pajaro Bay is a place I have loved to visit, but while waiting for book 8 to be released this year, I started with the Carita Cove series. One book, I said to myself, just for variety, then return to Shannara – but that proved impossible! I had to keep reading, book after book (granted, they are small compared to my usual fantasy books). I had to keep reading how the main character Maggie would do and went through all seven books that are out there for now in no time! The eighth one was just released, but I didn’t get to that one yet.
Jean M Auel
Instead of going back to Shannara right away, I “picked up” the Jean Auel series again. I had already been reading in the second book for a bit, The Valley of Horses, and continued. In the beginning I wasn’t sure I liked it enough to re-read all of it, but after a while it captivated me again. After this one I plan to go back to Carita Cove and then Shannara 😉
The only paper book I read was a cat-themed book that our friend Duncan Blackman sent us. It was by the famous British vet and writer James Herriot, so quite a different setting. After enjoying the short stories of this one, I passed it on as per Duncan’s request, to our friend Randi for her cabin collection.
2021
- Reading now: JEAN M AUEL – The Valley of Horses (Earth’s Children series 2, ebook)
- Lined up next: BARBARA COOL LEE – Maggie and the Rattled Snake (Carita Cove mysteries 8, ebook); TERRY BROOKS – The Elfstones of Shannara (ebook)
2020
- BARBARA COOL LEE – Maggie and the Black-Tie Affair, Maggie and the Inconvenient Corpse, Maggie and the Mourning Beads, Maggie and the Empty Noose, Maggie and the Hidden Homicide, Maggie and the Whiskered Witness, Maggie and the Serpentine Script (Carita Cove mysteries 1-7, ebooks)
- TERRY BROOKS – The Sword of Shannara (ebook)
- JAMES HERRIOT – James Herriot’s Cat Stories
- CATHARINE COULTER – Double Take (FBI Thriller series)