Category: Reading

Reading

2025: My year in reading

DorkyMum

Photo shows a close up of a book with the pages fanned out, and the text '2025: My year in reading'

It’s time for one of my favourite annual traditions: a roundup of the reading I’ve done this year. Some of you have followed along with me on my Instagram account, which has been lovely. If you haven’t found me on there and you’d like to, please do come and say hello.

In 2025, I read 100 books. Of those, 51 were fiction, 46 were non-fiction, and three were poetry. I also logged six DNFs – which, by my own rules, only count if I made it at least 50 pages in before admitting defeat. Anything abandoned earlier than that doesn’t make the list at all.

Compared with previous years, this has been a slightly lighter reading year overall. ALMOST LIKE THE WORLD HAS BEEN REALLY MESSY AND I’VE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME DOOMSCROLLING LOL. Continue reading “2025: My year in reading” →

Reading

2024: My year in reading

DorkyMum

It’s time for one of my favourite annual traditions! A roundup of the reading I’ve done this year. 

There are still a few days to go, and I’m about halfway through Salt Houses by Hala Alyan. I’m expecting to finish it by New Year, so that will bring my 2024 book total to 103 books. That’s slightly down on the previous few years, but there were some big chunky novels in there and fewer poetry collections, so I reckon my reading pace remains unchanged.

Of those 103 books that passed through my hands, 46 were fiction, 50 were non-fiction, five were poetry and one was a hard-to-categorise anthology of images and words.  Continue reading “2024: My year in reading” →

Reading

2023: A Year in Reading

DorkyMum

Photo shows the pages of a book with text overlaid that reads '2023: A Year in Reading'

 

One of my favourite things to do in the relatively calm week between Christmas and New Year is take a moment to reflect on my year in reading. 

My Instagram account @ruthreadsbooks has made that task a bit easier because the covers jog my memory on books that I’ve particularly loved or found interesting – but for the grand tally I still rely on my written reading journal.  Continue reading “2023: A Year in Reading” →

Reading

2022: A Year in Books

DorkyMum

A photo of a white book on a white background with the caption '2022 - a year in reading'.

 

There’s still over a week of 2022 to go – time for at least one or two more books – but I’m taking a moment today to look back at my reading diary and share a few of my favourites. 

I do this every year, and it’s always great fun to remember some of the good (and not so good!) books that have passed through my hands.

Overall, this has been a great year for books!  Continue reading “2022: A Year in Books” →

Reading

2021: a year in books

DorkyMum

Photo shows a woman standing in front of a brick wall, a book held in front of her face. Caption reads: 2021 a year in books ruthdawkins.net

I love reaching the end of a year and taking a moment to look back through the books I’ve read.

Starting my @ruthreadsbooks Instagram account that I use as a reading diary has been a bit of a game changer. I still keep a notebook to record everything I read each year, but having the visual prompts of the front covers is a great way to jog my memory about the books I’ve enjoyed the most. Continue reading “2021: a year in books” →

Reading

2020: a year in reading

DorkyMum

2020: a year in reading by Ruth Dawkins

Despite everything that happened in 2020 – or perhaps even because of everything that happened – I’ve managed to keep up a pretty good pace of reading this year.

There’s still a week or so left in the year, but to date I’ve read 107 books. Ten less than last year, but still not bad.

The split was 48 fiction, 48 non-fiction, 8 poetry and 3 mixed anthologies. Three of them were audiobooks, and four of them were e-books that I was sent as a volunteer reader for the Highland Book Prize. The rest were hardcopy, sourced from a combination of new and second hand bookshops, op shops, loans from friends, and free little libraries.

Additionally, I started three books that I didn’t finish – but I tend not to name and shame when that happens, because reading is such a personal thing. Message me if you really want to know…

I thought I’d share my favourite fiction and non-fiction reads, along with a couple of poetry recommendations, in case you’re looking for some reading inspiration over the holidays. (Or perhaps a last-minute Christmas present!) Continue reading “2020: a year in reading” →

Reading

12 great reads… that have nothing to do with COVID19

DorkyMum

A flatlay image of a desk with the caption '12 great reads that have nothing to do with COVID19'

I’ll start this blog post in the same way that I have started almost every email in recent weeks: “How are you going? I hope you’re keeping well in these strange days.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it essential at the moment to take time away from the news cycle. Although it’s important to stay up date with what’s happening, it’s all too easy to get sucked into endless scrolling of updated figures and bad news stories from around the world – and that’s not good for anyone’s wellbeing!

There have been days during the lockdown when I’ve really enjoyed getting stuck into a good book. But there have been other days when I’ve only had the attention span for essays and features. I’ve been keeping track of the best ones so that I can share them with you.

I hope some of these keep you engaged and entertained. Continue reading “12 great reads… that have nothing to do with COVID19” →

Reading

Reading as self-care

DorkyMum

a blue book on wooden table with the text 'reading as self-care: what to read when the world feels overwhelming'

I’ve been meaning for months to write a blog post about the benefits of reading as self-care. For obvious reasons, now seems as good a time as any.

Reading has always been my go-to activity.

Worried about something and need to know more about it? Read a book.

Worried about something and need to distract myself from it? Read a book.

Need to shut out the white noise of the world and remind myself how to focus on one thing at a time? Read a book.

Heaps of time to kill – at home, in a waiting room, while travelling? Read a book.

It has been clear from watching the stress levels rise across my social media feeds and in-person communities over the last few weeks that not everyone has tuned in to the life-changing magic of books yet.

That’s reasonable. We are living in exceptional times – for those working in frontline jobs, on casual contracts, or as freelancers, there are financial pressures that accompany the COVID-19 pandemic that can’t just be wished away. For those personally affected by the virus, there are even more pressing things to think about.

But for every one of us, for our own wellbeing and mental health, it’s important to have a way of taking the occasional break from the strangeness of it all – from the pressure, the panic, and the 24-hour news cycle. Books are one of the most accessible ways of doing that. Continue reading “Reading as self-care” →

Reading

What are the best books about Tasmania?

DorkyMum

A stack of books with the caption 'What are the best books about Tasmania?'

For a relatively small state, Tasmania has a disproportionately high number of good writers.

From emerging writers like Erin Hortle and Ben Walter, whose work you can often read in contemporary Australian lit journals, to crime writers like David Owen, historians like James Boyce, and award-winning novelists like Amanda Lohrey and Christopher Koch, there is a wonderful diversity of styles, themes and genres.

There’s also an abundance of talented children’s writers and illustrators in Tasmania, including Coral Tulloch, Christina Booth, Emily Conolan, and Kate Gordon. Continue reading “What are the best books about Tasmania?” →

Reading

My Top Reads of 2019

DorkyMum

Tall stack of books with caption 'My top reads of 2019' by Ruth Dawkins

Have I mentioned before how much I enjoy reading? I think I might have! Once… or perhaps twice.

2019 has been an absolute cracker of a year for good books. My targeted approach of only buying and borrowing books that are on my wishlist – rather than lucky dipping from the sale table – seems to paying dividends. I’ve not encountered many duds this year at all.

We still have a couple of weeks to go, but my reading stats for 2019 are:

Books read: 117

Books started but abandoned before the end: 6

(I don’t like criticising books publicly because reading is such a personal thing, but message me on social media or email me if you want to know what they were!) Continue reading “My Top Reads of 2019” →