I debated on not doing a personal post this go around and to instead just keep moving forward with reviews, after all, haven’t we had enough commentary on the year 2020? But then I wouldn’t be doing right to the stories I consumed nor would I be challenging myself, and that is partly what The Lesbian 52 aims to accomplish. A challenge.
This year I put out 23 reviews. That’s roughly 2 a month not counting January when I took a break after my 52 challenge. Despite this number seeming so small, I’m pretty okay with it. This year I also read a handful of books that fell outside the bounds of lesbian fiction. I enjoyed the balance of this decision and aim to continue alternating going forward. I would like to increase that 23 number in 2021, though. But I’m not setting a specific goal amount other than ‘more.’
Aside from 23 reviews, other accomplishments include the blog getting its own social media presence on Twitter and Instagram. Even grander than that, I co-hosted a podcast episode with A Tip of the Tongue in which we discussed Olivia Waite’s The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, sharing the voice of The Lesbian 52 with an even broader audience. Not only was the conversation (as well as every ATTT episode) stimulating, but Rebecca and Caitlin have some incredible insight. If you haven’t heard the episode yet, check it out here!
I felt fairly well-rounded in my book choices this year in terms of genre, with Romance still holding court, but I did dabble more into Fantasy than I expected. As I’ve said before, it feels like romance and lesbian fiction are at times synonymous. This isn’t my favorite thing about reading within lesfic. However, I did manage to find some pretty interesting reads that broke free of genre fiction. Early on I read This is How You Lose the Time Wars, which was a poetic little novella that captured two spies sending love letters throughout space and time. It was unique and like nothing I had read before. Perhaps not as different as Night Ship, which felt like a dream, as intended, and might be my first re-read of the year. I also really appreciated The Feasting Virgin which introduced me to a culture that I knew nothing about and made me hungry for food I had never heard of.
Depending on how closely you follow the blog, you might have noticed that the last few reviews really focus on gender, which seems fitting. I’ve been collecting books on this topic in pursuit to educate myself, so you’ll likely be seeing that journey pop up in 2021. If you have any recommendations, fiction or not, I’m very open to receiving them.
On a more personal note, the highlight of this year for me was obtaining a new reading buddy, my dog Quinn, who is the perfect cuddling company, but prefers I only read one handed. If I only knew how quickly my heart would soften with this new companion I might have agreed sooner to getting a dog, but then we wouldn’t have Quinn. This is all to say, it’s truly amazing what a dog can do.
I’ve already finished reading my first book of the year so expect a new review out this week. Also keep a look out for my own personal release in March. I won’t be posting about it on the blog, self-reviews seem pretty silly and unethical, but if you’re interested in the details you can check out the Amazon page here.