When I was a kid & throughout my teenage years, I loved reading. Among my favourite reads were anything by Jacqueline Wilson, Harry Potter, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Famous Five, and one of my absolute favourite series of books – The Noughts & Crosses series by Malorie Blackman. Noughts & Crosses, and the books that follow, are probably the only books I’ve read over and over, enjoying them all just as much when I read them for the third time, as I did when I read them for the first time.

Then social media became a huge thing, and I found myself engrossed in my phone screen rather than my books. I’d tell myself I’d dedicate time to reading. All I had to do was put my phone down. But it’s harder than it sounds! I’d go to charity shops & buy myself books, telling myself if I’d gone out of my way to pay for them, I’d be more motivated to read them. A photo of the books would go on Instagram with a caption like ‘yay love reading!’, then I’d ignore them and keep scrolling. The sad realities of the non-reality of social media.

A couple of years ago, I got back into reading when I had to catch the train every day for my work commute. It’d be my reading time, and I was happy that I’d gotten back into reading. But due to my disability, I started finding it hard to carry a book around, and sometimes just holding the book felt like too much physical effort. So I decided to invest in a Kindle. I did my research, and found the most lightweight one. I bought the Kindle Paperwhite, and found that I could get it for a lower price if I got the one with adverts or ‘special offers’ as the screensaver when it’s locked. These adverts aren’t intrusive at all, as they aren’t there when I read. £20 off to have a screensaver is fine by me!

So this year, I’ve decided to give myself a set reading goal for the year. 25 books to be read in 2019. 2 books a month, plus one extra. Definitely achievable.

Don’t get me wrong, I do still find myself scrolling through my phone sometimes, when I’ve actually planned to sit and read. It’s a difficult habit to get out of, but I’m getting there!