First Lines 2018

My 2018 Blog Archive is quite scant.  I posted a mere 12 times in 2018, including this post.  I've enjoyed reading about books on other book blogs, but writing about the books that I've read has taken a backseat this year. Regardless of my lack of posts, I wanted to continue the tradition and wrap up my year in blogging with a First Lines summary post of the past year.  This meme is hosted at the end of each year by Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, a well-written book blog that will entice you to add more books to your reading list.  The basic idea of First Lines is "to take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year".  I've participated in this meme since 2009, after seeing it on Kate's Book Blog, an incredible book blog that I discovered in my early days of blogging.  Without further ado or explanation, here are my First Lines, with some photos from my posts. (If the first line is very short, I've added an additional line.)  To read more of a post, simply click on the month.

January
Canvas Press, Inc., a company that specializes in creating custom canvas prints for homes and offices, offered me a canvas print in exchange for a review on my blog.














February
I didn't post.😔

March
Emerson and Thoreau! I studied their work in school, did you?














April
How will you celebrate?  April is National Poetry Month, a time to explore and experience the world of poetry.














May
Published in 2017, Sass, Smarts, and Stilettos: How Italian Women Make the Ordinary, Extraordinary by Gabriella Contestabile is a book that focuses on Italian women.

June
As a book blogger, I've participated in many online tours with Poetic Book Tours.











 


July
I didn't post.😔

August
Several months ago, I learned about the novel  Brahmahatya by Rajiv Mittal, published in 2017, on Tracy's wonderful book blog, Pen and Paper.














September
Do you remember making paper covers to protect your school books?














October
Many of my readers are also listeners, who greatly enjoy audiobooks.












November
Last month, I won the book The Tourist Trail on Serena's blog, Savvy Verse & Wit.














December (this post!)
My 2018 Blog Archive is quite scant.



As illustrated here, I started 2018 with a beautiful print from Canvas Press, featured exclusive guest posts and a few book reviews, and showcased a book related craft, during the rest of the year.  What's not shown here is that I continue to post book giveaways on my blog, to win books, to receive complimentary books from authors, agents, and publishers, and to relish my "private" reading (without posting). Although I did not post frequently, I genuinely enjoyed the posting that I did do over the past year, and the lovely comments that followed.  If you'd like to create a year-in-review summary of your own, please visit The Indextrious Reader's special end of the year meme, First Lines.

As always, your comments are welcomed. Thank you for reading, and happy New Year! 

First Lines 2017

Although I posted infrequently here this year, I will continue my tradition and finish the year with a First Lines summary post for 2017.  Hosted at the end of each year by Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, the basic idea of First Lines is "to take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year".  I've been doing this meme since I first discovered it (on Kate's Book Blog) in 2009.  If you've ever stopped by Melwyk's blog, then you know that she writes thoughtfully and insightfully about the books that she reads.  I've been captivated countless times by books that she's featured, and I've also been tempted to join her reading challenges, although I've cut back on my participation in them over the past few years. Anyway, without further ado, here are my First Lines.  To read more of a post, simply click on the month.  

January
I will begin the new reading year with a Japanese novel, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, a book that my daughter, Jasmine, recommended to me.

(Note to my readers: I enjoyed reading this wonderful book, but I did not post a review of it. I do not review every book that I read.)  







February
In this post I'm featuring three children's books from Loving Healing Press.















March
é bella!













 

April
During a Facetime chat yesterday with my daughter, Angela, she passed a statue of Robert Frost on the campus of Dartmouth College.













 

May
Published in 2017, Seasons of Joy: Every Day is for Outdoor Play is a children's book written and illustrated by nature enthusiast and fiber artist Claudia Marie Lenart. 


 


June
Published in 2016, United States of Japan by Peter Tieryas is an alternate history novel in which Japan has won World War II. 

 











 

July 
Although Kristen Beddard, the author of Bonjour Kale: A Memoir of Paris, Love, and Recipes (published in 2016), grew up eating kale, she never expected that it would become a main focus in her life.



 
August
I didn't post.😔 

 
September
When I was younger, I loved to swim, and although I never became a competitive swimmer, I was a pretty fast swimmer.



 
October
I didn't post.😔


November
Have you heard of hygge?




December
This is my only post. 

So there you have it, my 2017 First Lines!  This special, end-of-the-year meme forms a quick summary and is a good way to wrap up my eclectic, sporadic year in blogging. Please feel free to post your own First Lines from the year, which will create a unique sort of collage of your own blog.

Thank you very much for reading! Your comments are welcomed.

First Lines 2016

Since 2009, I've posted this special meme, and I was determined to keep this fun, annual tradition in 2016.  Created by Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, A Year in First Lines is a once-a-year, end-of-year meme.  The idea is simple yet brilliant. Take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year.  This year, I'm posting on the very last day of the year! 😀

 To read any post in its entirety, click on the month of the post.

January
The first one should be extraordinary, or at least special in some way.

First Book of the Year 2016

February
Fans of cozy mysteries, I have a spectacular book giveaway for you!

A Cozy Giveaway

 


March
Argh! 

Really Random Tuesday #96

April
Spring is a sublime season. 

The Jane and Bertha in Me

May
I didn't post.😔
 

June
These days, I tend to rely on Instagram and texting to communicate with family and friends.

Saturday Snapshot: Pride and Prejudice

July
I didn't post.😔


August
I'll  admit right away that I cannot be objective.

Saris and a Single Malt

September
Typically, field guides are books that help interested readers identify wildlife such as plants or animals, or natural objects, such as minerals, designed to be brought into the "field" or area where the  objects exist.

Field Guide to the End of the World

October
Imagine the possibilities! 

Saturday Snapshot: May Designs

November
I didn't post.😔


December
Holiday greetings!

Pick Me Up

As you can see, I did not post every month this year.  While I visited the blogs of others and left numerous comments throughout the year, I did not post as often as I have in the past.   Oh, well!  It's hard to fit everything in, isn't it?  But, I enjoyed the posting I did do, which is important to me. 

Please feel free to post your own First Lines from the year, which will create a unique sort of collage of your blog.

 Wishing all of my readers a happy and healthy New Year!  Your comments are appreciated. 😃

First Lines 2015

It's the most wonderful time, of the year.  Created by Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, A Year in First Lines is a once-a-year, end-of-year meme.  The idea of this meme intrigued me right away.  The basic idea is "to take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year". 

As many of you know, I haven't been blogging much this past year.  In fact, I skipped a few months  completely this year (the first time since I started this blog), so those months will not have "first lines".  This year, I've added images from the featured posts.  (I truly have not been blogging enough! When did it become possible to simply drag and drop images, from my blog, onto my Desktop, and into new posts?  It's certainly easy. Way to go, Blogger!)

This is my seventh time to post this meme, which creates a unique collage or summary of your blog over the past year.  It reminds me all year long to try to write interesting opening lines.  Below are my "first lines" from the past year.  If you're interested in reading more, simply click on the month above them.

January
I am a master at slow reading.










February
It's time to give thanks.  Thank you, CoolText!
(I'm usually such a stickler--one line only-- but I included this second line because CoolText really deserves thanks and kudos.  I use CoolText to create original graphics quite often, including the First Lines logos above, and the Book Winner logo below.)




March
How do you entice a reluctant young reader?




April
Three may be a crowd, but it's also the magic number in this novel.




May
Pleasant Day is Southern fiction, published in 2015, the eighth novel by author Vera Jane Cook. 




June
These very hungry caterpillars are on a restricted diet.




July
(I didn't post.)

August
Finally!




September
(I didn't post.)

October
(I didn't post.)


November
Thanks, Amy!




December
Don't hate me because I'm a book blogger. 

 


My year in reading and blogging was, once again, quite eclectic, and as already noted, I posted rather infrequently.  I've cut back on book tours, but I'm glad I chose to participate in some, because that "forced" me to write up a few posts.  I enjoy this meme, and look forward to it all year long.  Please feel free to try it if the idea appeals to you as well.  Tracy from Pen and Paper also does this special meme, and she posted her brilliant First Lines recently.   

I do wish I had posted more often over the past nine months.  It's been harder to post now that I'm at the office full-time.  Perhaps next year I'll be able to post more frequently again.  Thanks very much for reading, and have a wonderful holiday season!

First Lines 2014

At last--my wait is over!  I don't like time to pass too quickly, but I do look forward to this special meme all year long.  Created by Melwyk from The Indextrious Reader, A Year in First Lines is a once-a-year, end-of-year meme, that creates a personal collage of your year in reading and writing.  Simply stated, the idea of this meme is "to take the first line of each month's first post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year".  It's a lot of fun, and I encourage other book bloggers to try it.  As a reader, you'll recall and think about some of the books that you read over the past year (which is valuable when you read a lot of books).  As a writer, you'll note the strength of your opening sentences.  (Are they good enough to "catch" readers?  Do they show variety?)  I could go on and on, but since it's an extra busy time of the year, here are my first lines.

January

Do your bookstacks defy gravity?

February

When Irish playwright and novelist Dermot Davis contacted me about reading his self-published book, Brain: The Man Who Wrote the Book That Changed the World, winner of the 2013 USA Best Book Awards for humor, I knew I wanted to read it.

March

After Caroline Sommer's husband of fifteen years, Scott, announces that he's "had enough", he methodically packs a suitcase and leaves her alone at home in Columbus, Ohio, with their three young children, Henry, 5, Maggie, 7, and Jack, 9, and Caroline is understandably distraught and confused.

April

Did she or didn't she? 

May

Most of you already know what a cozy mystery or "cozy" is, but for those who require a bit of help, it's a mystery that's not too gory or violent.

June

Although I have never had an eating disorder, I've struggled at various times with weight and appearance issues, like many women.

July

Which characteristic do you value most in a female protagonist?

August

When Laura from Italy Book Tours invited me to participate in the tour for The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani, I was overjoyed.

September

Author Tanya J. Peterson does not shy away from difficult subjects in her books.

October

In My Thinning Years: Starving the Gay Within, a memoir by Jon Derek Croteau, published in September of 2014, the author talks a lot about his father, a bully who constantly criticized his wife and three children, Jared, Julie, and Jon.

November

Is there a term for someone who collects words?

December

Boop-oop-a-doop!

To read beyond these first lines, simply click on the month above them.  Not surprisingly, my year in reading and writing was rather eclectic.  Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful holiday season!