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.