The last month of the year is here, and so it’s time to play a particular game:

“Take the first line of each month’s post over the past year and see what it tells you about your blogging year.”

It’s an idea that started with The Indextrious Reader a few years ago and it really is an interesting way to look back at a year.

So here goes …

(Artwork by George Lepape)

December

A BOOK FOR RUMER GODDEN DAY: THE BATTLE OF THE VILLA FIORITA (1963)

The opening scene is captivating.

November

HELBECK OF BANNISDALE BY MRS HUMPHREY WARD (1898)

Bannisdale was an old family home in the Lake District, a part of the world that the author knew well and brought to life with lovely and evocative prose.”

October

BROOK EVANS BY SUSAN GLASPELL (1928)

I was very taken with Susan Glaspell’s novel ‘Fidelity’ when I read it, a year or so ago, and because I knew that only that novel and one other were in print,  I thought that I should save that other for a little while, and enjoy the prospect of reading another work by a very fine author.

September

A BOOK FOR MARY STEWART DAY: THIS ROUGH MAGIC (1964)

Since I discovered what a wonderful writer Mary Stewart was – not so many years ago, though my mother had recommended her books many years earlier – I have come to love her writing and I have traveled to many wonderful places by book, in the company of a captivating band of heroines.

August

AN A TO Z TO PICK UP THE THREADS ….

…. because days have flown by at great speed and I have been distracted from the important business of reading and writing about books by professional demands, health niggles and the ongoing demands of living in an house in need of tender loving care.

July

A BOOK FOR ELIZABETH TAYLOR DAY: THE SOUL OF KINDNESS (1964)

I imagine that anyone who picks up this novel will know someone like Flora, the soul of kindness of the title.

June

A SEASONAL COLLECTION: JUNE

“What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade?”

From ‘Gardens for Small Country Houses’ by Gertrude Jekyll

May

GRANIA: THE STORY OF AN ISLAND BY EMILY LAWLESS (1892)

This tale of a girl who grows up on Inishmaan, the second largest of the three Arran Islands, evokes its heroine, her fellow islanders and the world that they live in quite beautifully.

April

BEAUTY’S HOUR BY OLIVIA SHAKESPEAR (1896)

History has it that Olivia Shakespear was the companion of better remembered men, but she was rather more than that.

March

NOT ALL STORIES ARE MINE TO TELL …

…. and so all I can say is that a few weeks ago life dealt me a blow that I thought I might never recover from.

February

A COLLECTION – OR SHOULD I SAY A PARLIAMENT – OF OWLS

“Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible to have ignored the circumfusion of those mean dwellings that swarmed like an epidemic around its outer walls. ”

From ‘Titus Groan’ by Mervyn Peake

January

A BIRTHDAY BOOK OF UNDERAPPRECIATED LADY AUTHORS

A few years ago, when I noticed that the centenary of one of my very favourite underappreciated lady authors was approaching, I hit upon the idea of throwing a party on that day. I did, and it worked beautifully.

….

And that’s it!

I don’t know how it looks to you, but it has stirred memories for me.

Do have a go – it’s a lovely way to look back and I’d love to see your results.