Happy, happy New Year 2017!

January
Happy, happy New Year 2017!

January
I read 82 books in 2016, but fell 28 short of my (rather ambitious) goal of 110. My year was way too busy to read as much as I would have liked. I finished the majority of the books during the first half of the year, as life obligations slowed my pace after summer. On the bright side, 2017 will get off to a good start reading-wise, as I am close to finishing half a dozen books.
Here’s a list of every book that I finished in 2016, with some very loose ratings.
KEY:
*=Read as research for my novella
**=This designation means that I liked the book in spite of myself, but as such find it too hard to assign a fair grade
1=You are my enemy
2=We’ll stay acquaintances, thanks
3=I like you, but I don’t like you like you
4=You are my friend, but not my best friend
5=You are my love match, but don’t expect fidelity Continue reading
I always shop for books and calendars between Christmas and New Year’s Day. As usual, I ended up with quite the eclectic mix (although the combination makes sense in my head). Do you like to buy books this time of year?

Books! Calendars! Comics!
I would be totally negligent if I didn’t acknowledge the death of author Richard Adams. He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 96.

Watership Down by Richard Adams
Happy Christmas to those who celebrate the day!

Woman Holding a Sheaffer Pen by Coles Phillips, 1921 advert
A Christmas Carol by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1867:

A Christmas Carol by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1867
This photo is from the Ohio Chinese Lantern Festival in Columbus:

Chinese Dragon Lantern

Green Tree

Glowing Trees

Colorful Trees