Is it over yet? I started 2020 with a heap of work that saw me yoyoing to Dublin (…no complaints, Dublin was fab) then flying home for lockdown. It’s been a year that has been endless and timeless and anxious. And now it’s nearly 2021. I wonder what it has in store for us? I’ll do a full 2020 redux early in the new year, but for now let’s look back at December…
LitsyAtoZ
Well that was a MONTH, huh? Time is an illusion in 2020, but I’m pretty sure November has lasted longer than its allotted 30 days (election week alone must have lasted at least that long). But SciFiMonth has been a joy, as always: thank you to everyone who took part and made it such a success!
October began with a holiday in my favourite place (Scotland) and ended with Spooktastic Reads, so fair to say it was a hit from start to finish. However, it included far less reading (and reviewing) than I anticipated – seems I’ve been more burnt out than I really wanted to acknowledge.
Mark Spitz was the very definition of average, carried along unresisting by the currents of middle class life… until the dead started walking.
Now he’s a traumatised loner – sorry, seasoned survivor – sweeping up the remnants of the apocalypse so that the living can return to Manhattan.
Welcome to Zone One.
September started well with the announcement of our 2020 Subjective Chaos Kind of Award winners, but it has felt like sailing into the wind ever since. To quote Bilbo, I’m feeling like butter spread over too much bread and would like a holiday (although not a permanent holiday). Preferably one with books and a blanket. Strictly no magic rings.
August has historically seen me hit a book slump, but this year I got that out of the way in July. The month started out hot and humid, perfect for finding a cool spot to read rather than doing anything more strenuous – and ended up cool enough to want to snuggle up under a blanket with a book. I set to on Subjective Chaos finalists and ARCs – and discovered the joy of audiobooks on walks and whilst cooking. Why didn’t I ever try this before?
July has been a quiet month in books: the first half flew by with barely any reading thanks to real-world work-related meltdowns – although when I did find some books I could settle in with they were exactly what I needed. The trick was finding the right book to read.
I devoted June to revisiting Dominion of the Fallen and catching up on the works of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which bought me time to catch up on a few overdue reviews and made me as happy as a pig in mud. Which I’ll take, as the world is otherwise an overwhelming trashfire.
May has been a month of Wyrd and Wonder. Outside of that glorious celebration of all things fantasy, I’ve been frustratingly absorbed by work, which is busy and more effort than usual because <gestures wildly> my concentration still isn’t what it usually is. Thankfully, May contained two long weekends when I could decompress with books and baking.
April started with an unexpected honour: I was invited to take part in WiFi SciFi and moderated my first panel! The rest of April has been much less exciting – gardening, baking, and a nostalgic visit to Baldur’s Gate. Sadly, my reading and blogging have slipped as my concentration is poor. I’ll keep trying…
I spent half of March in Dublin (yes, I’ve spent a lot of time in Dublin recently – good food, good craic, and a successful project deployment, hooray) and half of it enjoying my glorious new home office set-up and trying not to panic about the coronapocalypse. About which the less said the better. Stay safe, friends.
