Spring has sprung in Cyprus

Today, for the first time this year, I opened the door to our utility balcony mid-morning today, and felt a blast of warm air. No, we don't have a tumble drier. It was just air from outside, which was distinctly warmer than air in the house. The weather site tells me it reached 24C today, and that's in the shade. So it was probably even warmer in the sun. This is more normal for this time of year than the 20 (maximum) we have been experiencing in recent weeks.

I'm still wearing a sweatshirt. I guess I might have taken it off if I'd gone out anywhere in the middle of the day, and I certainly had a few extra windows open until mid-afternoon. But whereas I like spring, I don't really want to think about Summer coming along all too quickly, as will doubtless happen within the next few months.

So. Another post about the weather, and it's been over a week since I last wrote. Time has a way of rushing past without me noticing it these days.

Still, I did spot that today it's exactly ten years since the first book review on my book blog. There are 975 reviews there in all. I'd hoped I might get to 1000 to celebrate ten years of reviewing books, but couldn't manage that.

I didn't actually start blogging about books in 1999, I hasten to add. But ten years ago exactly, I decided to write down the titles and authors of every book I read in a notebook, along with a brief review. I did this periodically as a child, but didn't keep it up, sadly. I actually started writing the reviews in a book blog rather than on paper in about 2006 (though I still keep a review notebook for times when I'm away).

Then I decided I might as well type in all the ones I had reviewed on paper, too, with the correct dates. It took me a couple of years, off and on, to get them all entered. As I did so, I found that my reviews became longer and more involved, and - I hope - more interesting. I try to link, where possible, to a site giving a brief bio of each writer, and although I don't get a huge number of readers, I'm always pleased when I realise that people have found the blog through some obscure search, particularly when it means that someone has been able to find a book whose title they had forgotten.