Okay, confession first: I barely survived this year's challenge by the skin of my teeth. A lot of real life events intervened and I was trying to swim with the current; I barely finished all the posts in time. It was a rough month, y'all. But I did it!
You can find all my posts here.
On the other hand, honestly: This year's A to Z had some of the best themes I have ever seen!
I am sad I did not get to visit all of them daily. My plan is to go back in May and just read them all back to back :) Road Trip, here we go!!
Here is a shout-out to my favorites (in no particular order):
Anne E. G. Nydam: Black and White - Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns
Okay, maybe some particular order. I read Anne's previous collection last year and I absolutely loved it. This year, her theme was a set of tidbits and art from her new collection that came out in April, titled Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns. I couldn't wait! I am halfway through reading it, and people, it's amazing. Go take a look at her blog if you don't believe me. And then buy the book!
Aaron Peck: The Confusing Middle - A spin around the multiverse
Another absolute favorite this year. Each day, we visit a different alternate universe. (For those of you who are old enough: like Sliders!). I loved these posts because each was very well written, and well structured. We got to learn what real life event was the divergence point, and why. We got to follow how the change cascaded down history. We got to visit, and see what this alternate Earth would look like to us. It was a treat. It could easily become a book!
Natasha Musing - Nature's Voice
Even though this series will be finished later on (the author took a pause at M), it is still worth reading. A lovely theme of communicating (and communing) with nature from the author's own experiences.
Pradeep Nair: Time and Tide - The quirky Indian way of life
This blog's theme was unusual places, customs, and practices from all over India. It was absolutely fascinating, and all brand new to me. Well written and humorous posts introduce us to amazing cultural diversity. Go read!
Jamie Ghione: Whatever I think of! - Book cover scavenger hunt
A simple yet really fun theme: each day gives you an image or object, and then you get to find books that have that thing on the cover! I really had fun with this one (and found some cool books!).
Jill Ball: Jillballau - Island Hopping
This one was a really cool travel theme featuring islands around Australia, and beyond. Most of them were places I have never heard about, and the posts came with photos too!
Sandra Williamson: Sandra's Ancestral Research Blog - Behind the newsprint
These are long, detailed, and amazingly well researched posts that take a historical newspaper clipping, and do a deep dive into the story behind it. It's an immersive read, and I enjoyed the heck out of it!
Prakash Hegade: It's PH - The mind and hidden biases
A fascinating series on various biases and perceptions that people can have, explaining the concept of each one. I learned a lot from it.
Anne Young: Anne's Family History - Victorian goldfields
Another well-researched genealogy blog, this time about Victorian era gold fields, mines, and the history of prospecting, often through her own family's lens. A topic I knew nothing about, and yet it was fascinating.
Sue Brustynski: The Great Raven - Women in speculative fiction
Sue is a veteran participant in the challenge, and her themes never disappoint. This year, it was women in speculative fiction. Her posts always fill up my TBR with new books!
Lisa: The Versesmith - Art and poetry forms
Another familiar A to Z participant, and a cool theme: each post presents a piece of art from Lisa's collection, and attaches a new poem to it, representing different styles of poetry - also following the letters of the alphabet! Quite an accomplishment, and a really cool blending of art forms.
Thank you all for participating, and making this year an amazing one!
Who were your favorites? Leave links in the comments!
See you all on the Road Trip!
Posts
Congrats on finishing in spite of it all and thanks for sharing these blogs, some of which I missed.
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