One change that helped me read more
How to read more when life is busy, my physical TBR pile for 2025 and April updates
I finally found a way to read more books. It’s not anything revolutionary, but switching from reading primarily physical books to e-books drastically changed how much I read.
I am not a fan of speed reading or reading for the sake of ticking the book off my list or hitting a yearly goal. But I do love reading, dearly, and I am a writer, so reading widely is essential to me. The older I get, the more responsibilities I pick up, the harder it is to make the time to read.
I prioritise my relationship with my husband, always. I take the time to play with my dog and be present. We are his whole life. After that, I prioritise my book. I also do my best to exercise 3 times a week, do my day-job well and keep the house relatively clean. Reading often falls to the bottom of the list because it is one thing I do that’s almost pure pleasure. I don’t have to read lots but I want to.
Finding a time during the day when I can sit down and read feels impossible most days. Enter e-books! I started reading before falling asleep, in the dark, tucked in bed with my Kindle (not something I can do with a physical copy) and it changed everything. I do most of my reading this way now and reading just half an hour before falling asleep takes me to 20+ books a year. It’s not a lot for most people in this industry, but I’m also a slow reader and it’s a lot for me.
Finally, I feel satisfied with the number of books I read in a year and I leave my physical books for vacations and my time at the outdoor spa I go to during spring-summer while Will swims.
I bought my Kindle in my early 20s before I realised how problematic Amazon was. I desperately want to switch to Kobo but purchasing a new e-book when my current one is perfectly functional also seems wrong to me.
My fellow e-book readers, if you have any thoughts on the switch from Kindle to Kobo, please share them with me. What do you think about buying a new e-book when the one you currently have could serve you for many many more years? Does the switch to a more sustainable company to purchase e-books from outweigh the argument of slow consumption and using a product until the end of its life?
Now on to some news: reaching the first subscriber milestone, editing progress, my physical book list for 2025, moving into a new house and more.
Authorly Hauntings
Editing is going slow and painful. I’m not upset about it, but I am waiting for the slog to be done 😀 I’m halfway through the re-read of the first draft and while I’m re-reading, I’m creating a scene-by-scene synopses, adding location tags, tracking subplots and outlining character arcs as they are right now. After I’m done with this, I’ll be brainstorming my editing plan and then the actual fun will begin. It’s been a slog because this re-read takes a lot of time but I don’t feel like I’m making any progress yes. Soon, I’ll start re-writing!
Another reason why I am so impatient to finish re-reading the first draft is because it will help me collect all the information I need to pass on to the illustrator I’ve commissioned an artwork from. They are my dream illustrator and they also worked with one of my favourite modern writers multiple times. I’m not sharing the name of the illustrator yet because I need to send them some of my writing, character descriptions and other things before we sign a contract.
This month I also hit my first subscriber milestone on Substack! There are more than 100 people here who choose to spend their limited time reading what I have to say and I’m so so grateful! I don’t have much practice writing non-fiction and find it hard writing a piece that is thought out and focused. This publication helps me practice this skill and I’m just so excited that I am making friends along the way.
Literary Hauntings
Aside from reading on my Kindle, I love reading an occasional physical book but generally only receive those as presents. I only buy a physical copy myself if I intend to re-read it in the future or if I find it beautiful and want to reference it in my writing practice.
In April, I pre-ordered The Knight and The Moth by Rachel Gillig that will come out in less than a month (I am a big fan and know it will be perfect), Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid because it is stunning and a great example of third person present tense narration, and the new edition of The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid which I haven’t read yet but want to and the new cover is stunning.
Below is the stack of books that was gifted to me this past Christmas. I am especially excited to finally read Morgan Is My Name and The Priory of the Orange Tree.
The Auckland Writers Festival is fast approaching. This year, I remembered about it right before the tickets were going on sale and managed to buy tickets for all the events I wanted to attend. I will be going to the award night on Wednesday 14th of May, a masterclass on dialogue writing on Friday 16th, two panels on Saturday and two masterclasses on Sunday (one on writing in the speculative genre and another on how to take the book from start to finish). If you are attending the Auckland Writers Festival and would like to say hi or grab a coffee, let me know! I’d love to meet up 😊
Mundane Hauntings
We will settle on our house at the end of May and will be moving soon after. I’m most excited about my future 17-minute commute to work, which means more writing time in the mornings, and the prospect of painting a wall without having to ask for permission. It’s the little things. Still cannot believe we bought a house after viewing it for 10 minutes two months ago. Adulting is truly wild.
In other exciting personal news, we are two weeks away from buying out flights for our October Europe trip! For context, I am from Ukraine and my entire family is scattered around Europe, so we go there once a year to visit them. I am low-key happy about this “forced” travel because it cancels out having to decide if we should go or save the money for other things.
This year, we will be visiting Scotland for a week, then another location we haven’t decided on yet and Denmark for another week. Once the tickets are purchased, we can make actual plans for where to go. If you have any must-visit recommendations for Scotland and Denmark, please send them my way! We are planning to be stationed in Edinburgh in Scotland and Copenhagen in Denmark and go on day trips from there, but also flexible to stay somewhere nearby for a night or two. Visiting small towns always ends up being the best part of the trip.
Even though I had 10 days off work in April, I still feel overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities that were suddenly dropped on me. I’m stressed more often than I am not, battling with bad tension pain in my shoulders and in a bad temper because of it way too often. In May, I am going to try my best to not let things stress me out and let go of the stuff I cannot control (most of my day job workload/deadlines).
As always, through all of this, writing is my safe haven and I’m so happy I get to do this. If there are any topics you’d love me to write about, let me know in the comments 😊
Have a lovely day!
Daria
E-books can be so handy! I once had a job selling fruits and vegetables at a stand, and I would take my e-book reader and read while it was quiet, which was most of the time. It was so easy to hide it, so people didn't even see I was reading. Can't really do that with a book either! Such a tricky question whether to keep using your Kindle for the sake of using the device until the end of its lifetime while supporting an incredibly problematic company, or to buy a new device from a different company that might be less problematic. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. In our complex society, it can sometimes be challenging to determine which decision is more sustainable than the other. Often, something can appear more sustainable but, in truth, isn't. In the sustainable movement, people often have this tendency to switch less sustainable products for new "more sustainable" ones. However, that isn't more sustainable, as you essentially consume more resources by purchasing new products. It might feel better. You might feel like you're being more sustainable, but in truth, you aren't because you're just consuming more. Unless anyone analyses this problem, it's hard to know which is better. So I understand both sides. I would probably keep using the device I already have because otherwise, the device wouldn't be used anymore unless you sell it, but then that person would end up supporting Amazon, so someone will in any case if that device is to be used. It also means saving money on a new product.
And congrats on the 100 subscribers. YAY!