Gosh, I once again missed my own blogiversary… by one day. Okay, that’s probably not as bad as the previous years, but still. All the more as I had a big plan for this year and already a post draft. Shame on me.

Ahem, without further ado, I’d like to toast with you… my freshly-turned-5 blog!

While I have lost the spontaneity and freshness and giddiness of the first years, quitting has never been an option. I love having all the books I’ve read recorded somewhere, so that I can look back and make connections with my present reading. Some of my early posts still receive many visits every day (especially, I suspect, when the text is part of a school curriculum- but I don’t think any of my posts are really worth copying from for a school paper). I do regret that I haven’t kept any record before, especially as I remember some book’s title and can’t remember when I read it and what I thought about it at the time. And the best thing about the blog is of course the connection with other great book lovers! Thank you all for that.

When I started this blog, I’d just started reading the Iliad. I haven’t managed to take another big (read: ancient) reading project ever since. This year, I’m considering reading the Aeneid. Not only for the sake of reading more classics, but because this story is something quite special to me.

Bear with me, this is a long story. The kind of story I’d love to share with good friends, drinking a glass of (insert whatever you like) if I were to celebrate my blogiversary in real style.

Back in December, I tried something called Reverb10. I don’t know if you heard about it, but this initiative basically gives you prompts to reflect on the past year and what is important to you. It was quite inspiring, and it led me to actually draft a life list (Perhaps I should use big L, but I’m kind of shy about that stuff). Anyway, one of my dreams I listed there is to attend a live performance of the Purcell opera Dido and Aeneas (two other performances I wish to attend one day is the yearly French charity Concert des Enfoirés, and the contemporary opera by Poulenc Le Dialogue des Carmélites). This music is special to me because my mother loved it when I was a child and it remained with me throughout the years. And I happen to have grabbed two of the last tickets for a famous performance next spring, hurrah!

That’s why I came to Virgil’s Aeneid, to prepare and rejoice about this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and to return to the origins of this blog. It’s a bit of a mature read for a 5-year-old I guess. But I would be delighted if anyone cares to join me.

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