Year in Review: 2020 in First Lines

My annual calendar choice!

As usual at this time of year, I review and share my reading/blogging year with First Lines.

Simply put, we share the first line of the first post of each month and see what that overview tells us about our year. Often it can be an uncannily accurate summary.

If you haven't tried this before, give it a go this year; it's a fun exercise, and often summarizes the year quite efficiently. If you do, please share a link in the comments so we can all enjoy!

Here is my 2020 Year in First Lines: 

January:

I thought I'd start off 2020 with a book published in the 1920s -- in 1921, to be precise.  [from The Trumpet in the Dust]

February: 

In 1954, Marilyn Munroe visited US troops in Korea. [from The Starlet & the Spy]

March: 

I've been reading MacInnes for years, ever since I was a teenager. [from Rest & Be Thankful]

April:

In my Sayers reading spree last spring, I managed to read all of her books. [from Have His Carcase]

May:

This is an uplifting and encouraging book to read in these troubled times.  [from From What Is to What If?]

June: 

I've been pretty quiet over here at the blog this week; with everything going on in the US in particular, posting as usual didn't feel like the thing to do. [from Anti-Racist Reading Resources  ]

July: 

It took me a little while to feel in the mood to read a suspenseful gothic tale, after bringing this one home just before my library closed down due to the pandemic. [from The Sea of Lost Girls]

August:

I can't believe it's August again already, and that means it's time for Women in Translation Month! [from Women in Translation Month 2020]

September:

This is one of the books by Black women that I found in my library last month, and I really, really liked it. [from Eloquent Rage]

October:

As some of my readers here know, I really love sewing and textiles. [from Fibershed]

November:

Another novel with fashion at its heart, this one was a clear winner for me. [from The Last Collection]

December:

I was a huge fan of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke's blockbuster novel, as soon as it first came out. [from Piranesi]

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A bit of an odd reading year! I have a mix of old and new titles, some sewing themes thrown in, quite a bit of translated work, and some that reflect the social issues that were rising up this year. 

I was able to read and review for the first little while after the start of the lockdown but then it became too much and I couldn't concentrate long enough to finish much or review much. So instead of reviewing more in 2020, I reviewed far less. Hoping that a more stable 2021 will allow for more measured reading and reviewing, for myself and for anyone else finding it harder this year. 

Onward to 2021!