Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A Year in First Lines


As this is the first day of the new year, I thought I would follow a suggestion by Simon at Stuck in a Book (who is following a suggestion by Melwyck at The Indextrious Reader) and copy the first line of each month's blog post (with link) in 2013.

Here goes:

January: I have already pulled off my shelves three books that I bought in 2012 and that I have been saving to read this year. 

February: Here is what author Jean Hersey has to say about February in her book The Shape of the Year (1967). 

March: March is restless and wild and windswept.

April: For most Major League baseball teams, today is opening day. 

May: Happy May Day! Did you ever circle 'round the May Pole when you were a kid?

June: There is an urgency in April and May in both man and Nature, an urgency that quiets during June. 

July: Here's the thing: I grew up watching television shows such as Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Have Gun...Will Travel

August: I took two years of French in high school and then quickly forgot the headache of deciphering the feminine and masculine nouns, the use of pronouns - je, tu, il, elle, on, and the days of the week - lundi, mardi, mercredi...

September: I have added two destinations to my travel itinerary - armchair travel that is - for this long weekend.

October: Here is a link to some helpful suggestions - from a librarian no less - at Design Sponge on how to style your bookshelves. 

November: It's funny how similar themes seem to arise from books that one is reading. 

December: My at-home, no-writing retreat went something like this:


In review, I know that these lines don't touch on the posts on vintage dictionaries, the Letter a Day Month in February, my four-day retreat from writing and technology, the Kentucky Book Fair, The Grand Southern Literary Tour of 2013, author events at the library and other venues, used book sales and bookstores, my research and paper on the female Victorian archaeologists, attendance at The Jane Austen Festival, my 500 Posts Giveaway, and book lists from the past.

It also doesn't tell me - and this is a good thing - how many books I bought this past year. I would estimate at least fifty but that is low-balling it. I will have to go on a book-buying diet this year to give me a chance to read the stockpile that I have acquired. (Oh, yeah...we'll see how long that lasts!)

Happy New Year to all of you. Thank you so much for visiting and commenting here at Belle, Book, and Candle.

8 comments:

  1. Looking forward to another year of reading your posts, making notes of books to read and just generally enjoying an almost daily visit from you. Happy 2014

    Joyce in KS

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    1. Hi, Joyce. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. What were your favorite books of 2013? I would like to know how your reading year went!

      Happy New Year.

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    2. Favorites by Month
      Jan - Counting My Chickens -- Duchess of Devonshire
      Feb - Chocolat -Joanne Harris
      Mar - The Birdcage - Marcia Willett
      Apr - Tolstoy & the Purple Chair - Nina Sankovitch
      May - The Crossing Places - Elly Griffiths
      June - Secrets from the Past - Barbara Taylor Bradford
      July - Sweet Salt Air - Barbara Taylor Bradford
      Aug - The Way We Were - Marcia Willett
      Sept- The Kashmir Shawl - Rosie Thomas
      Oct - The Scent of Water - Elizabeth Goudge
      Nov. - only read one book??? not worth mentioning
      Dec - Me Before You - Jojo Moyes

      In all I only read 72 books this year which is a low number for me! I think Oct & Sept favorites would tie for the best.
      Joyce in KS

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    3. Nice job, Joyce! I used to own a copy of 'Chocolat' - loved the movie but couldn't get through the book. I followed Ms. Sankovitch's blog for a while and am happy to see she turned her reading adventure into a book. I am familiar with B.T. Bradford and E. Goudge but have not read anything by either of them.

      I will have to investigate the others. Thanks for taking the time to compile your list. And I think 72 books is quite a feat considering one in four adults don't read one book a year!

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  2. Thanks for sharing your first lines! I always think it's interesting to see the shape of the year with this meme. (and I'm particularly intrigued by October's line!)

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    1. Hi, Melwyk. This was a fun review of the year for me. It is amazing to see all my words written about books! Thanks for your comment!

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  3. I used your idea on my blog last week, Belle. I enjoyed going back through the posts and seeing what was happening. Happy New Year to you, too, and I look forward to reading your blog in 2014.

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    1. I will check out your Year in First Lines, Kathy. I will have to be more attentive this year to what I write on the first of each month!

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