- Favorites from the Archive [THE PARIS REVIEW]
- Classic Dionysian Shit: An Interview with Richard Hell [THE PARIS REVIEW]
- Art Historical Figures as Unexpected Street Art Collages Around the World [FLAVORWIRE]
- 10 Snowy Reads To Snuggle Up With This Winter [HUFFPOST]
- Classic Book Recommendations For Every Person In Your Life [HUFFPOST]
What Are You Reading in December?
What is on your reading list this month?
Have you given yourself permission to take it easy, as the year comes to a close?
Or, as we race the clock to 2016, are you trying to stuff as many books into your brain as possible?
I am still doing the latter, albeit at a slower pace compared to November.
The other difference between this month and last is that I am currently committed to reading lighter fare.
Since 1st December, I’ve finished:
- Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema by Tom Lesanti
- Busted by Thomas J. Craughwell
I’m in the midst of reading:
- Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era Edited by Lean’Tin L. Bracks and Jessie Carney Smith
- Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors by Andrew Shaffer
To Be Read by 31 December:
- The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915-1964 by Zachary Leader
- Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais by Suzanne Fagence Cooper
- My Golden Flying Years by Air Commodore D’Arcy Greig
- The Mind of the Artist by Laurence Binyon

Effie Gray Ruskin by George Frederic Watts, 1851.
What is your favourite book this month?
Which book on your list are you most looking forward to reading?
Please share with me in the comments!
Happy reading.
A Christmas Carol #4: Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball

Illustration of Mr. Fezziwig’s Ball by John Leech. First Edition of A Christmas Carol, 1843.
Two Jean Toomer Quotes
“Acceptance of prevailing standards often means we have no standards of our own.”-Jean Toomer
“We do not possess imagination enough to sense what we are missing.”-Jean Toomer
Wedding Anniversary
Today is my fifth wedding anniversary with The Chef! We’ll be painting the town a few different colors! See you tomorrow.

The Saturday Night Kid* with Clara Bow and James Hall, 1929
*Yes, I know today is Friday, but The Chef and I are both redheads…so, just go with it!
An Emily Dickinson Scrapbook
Today is poet Emily Dickinson’s 185th birthday. Let’s celebrate, shall we?

Drawing of Emily Dickinson as a child
“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.”-Emily Dickinson

Book cover of Poems by Emily Dickinson, 1890
“I dwell in possibility.”-Emily Dickinson Continue reading
Daily Diversion #288: Fountain with Baby Elephants
Goodale Park, Columbus:

Fountain with baby elephants. December 4, 2015.
A Christmas Carol #3: Marley’s Ghost

Illustration of Scrooge and Marley’s Ghost by John Leech. First Edition of A Christmas Carol, 1843.
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
This was originally published here on 7 December 2012. In what is turning into an annual tradition, I am re-posting it today in honor of its subject, my buddy Frank.
A Christmas Carol #2: Title Page

First Edition Title Page of A Christmas Carol. Illustrations by John Leech, 1843.