A Year in Lockdown, A Year with my Books

A year in review. I do these posts normally in the last week of December. That’s how things are supposed to work, no?

But then we had 2020, and all our lives were collectively thrown into a chaos never before seen or heard. I remember a 6am grocery run to the ‘Big Tesco’ because we’d run out of rice and cooking oil, but shopping at a civilized hour like 11am was out of question because the aisles looked something like this

After an excited first few weeks, were we all made banana bread and I made a forgettable yoga video for my colleagues (I am truly sorry for everyone who had to sit through that), all days merged into a single time zone and it became acceptable to turn up on team calls in your fluffy robe (I can neither confirm nor deny this allegation).

The single most important thing that kept me going and offered me a much-needed escape, was the company of my much beloved books.

Having moved into our house only 3 months before lockdown, the newly established ‘Home Library’ was now my favourite place, and I happily gave into every whim and fancy that my anxious little heart needed to calm itself down.

I discovered the brilliance of Shirley Jackson, revisited Frodo my old friend and fell in love all over again with the irresistible magic of Gaiman and Murakami.

Then came that moment of truth when I landed that first review copy of a to-be-released book and I realised, I may have taken on more than I could handle. But as Tolkien says, little by little one travels far 🙂

So after some hurdles, a LOT of help, and a teeny bit of courage, Between Pages was launched, initially to my most trusted of friends and family and then to the whole wide world. Alongside, I also made the terrifying decision of making my Instagram ‘Public’.

But what a journey it has been. Along with reviewing books, I did a workshop on Japanese Literature, was part of a Shakespeare study group, and am currently self-learning Greek mythology. It’s almost made me forget that I haven’t seen my parents and sister in over a year, and that I’ve missed being present for three of my closest friends who became mums in the last one year, and the one who married in lockdown – whom I’m yet to congratulate in person.

In short, my books and this little book community really kept me sane.

So, above everything else, this is a note of gratitude. If we’ve connected in any way over these past months, if you’ve followed my blog, messaged me or just skim read my posts out of sheer curiosity, thank you and I am glad we found each other ❤