This post concludes 5 years of ye old blog. I know, I can’t believe I didn’t get

This post concludes 5 years of ye old blog. I know, I can’t believe I didn’t get a real life in that time period either! My time here has been spent with roughly 260 books, some music here and there, more than a few grainy iPhone pictures, plus a lot of grammatical errors. I may be getting lazy with updates but I love having an archive to see what was good and what could have been left out. Guess that means I’ll have to just keep going. I’m excited to see what 2013 will bring and keep sending me your recommendations! December 2012 I think this was the first month in the history of forever that I only read books published this year. 2012 had some real winners so I’m glad they made it into the final tally. #49: How Should a Person Be by Sheila Heti - Now I loved the first half of this book then became disengaged in the second half. I’m still not sure why that happened because I very much liked Heti’s writing style. It has been compared to Miranda July which I found to be accurate. What I still don’t understand, however, is how exactly a person should be. #50: Broken Harbor by Tana French - There was a new Tana French novel available at the library so I had no choice but to check it out. This is number 4 in her loosely connected mystery stories and I would have to rate this one my 2nd favorite. It was dark and weird enough to keep me engaged without being too dramatic. Plus, I love the way French writes about Irish detectives. They’re so intense and unintentionally hilarious! #51: Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple - While I was home for Christmas, my sister heard my mom and I talking about Bernadette as if she were someone we actually know. I don’t know any real life Bernadettes but she sure felt real to me in this book. It was probably my favorite book in the 2012 category of WHERE-DO-ALL-THESE-LADIES-GO-OR-HIDE-OUT novels. The characters were well developed, all had a funny streak, and I honestly thought none of them were crazy. This is also a great book for a sing-a-long, an activity I’ve never been able to resist. #52: An Everlasting Meal  by Tamar E. Adler - Can I just say that it is very difficult to read about eating without having actual food in front of you? It makes one very hungry. As soon as I read the chapter on scrambled eggs, I made scrambled eggs because it seemed like the right thing to do. There was so much important information in An Everlasting Meal but I think my take home message was that you should always finish a dish by adding freshly grated Parmesan. I mean, it’s important to have goals for 2013 so… #53: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters - As you can see, our family cat Otis was really pumped about this book. I was too but doesn’t really matter as much. Otis’s opinion is what really counts. I read Beautiful Ruins during a cursed attempt to get to Texas for Christmas and it really helped relieve the stress. The book weaves old Hollywood with modern love and then adds a hint of mystery. Thank you, internet, for telling me to read this one! #54: The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman - Similar to the previous book, I read this one in it’s entirety on my way back from Texas. I’m beginning to find that I love digesting a book in a day then not reading at all again for a week. This obviously won’t work in real life, but it’s fun anyways. But back to the book! The whole time I was reading it, my eyes were wide because I just could not believe what was happening. Basically, a baby shows up for a couple who has been trying to have one but they don’t know what to do when they find it. Look for it’s parent’s or pass it off as their own? I’ll leave it to you to read the book and decide if you agree with their decision. This would make an excellent book club choice if that’s your thing. -- source link

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