It's the most wonderful time of the year - no really. I love December, Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, whatever it is you celebrate (and I celebrate most of them with equal love). I love this time of year because it's the time of year when you get together with family, keep traditions, mourn the loss of old ones, and create new ones. It's been a year of change for me, personally and professionally, and I have nothing but hope for 2013.
My family and friends know me really well - well enough to know that when they're at a loss for what to get me (hell, now even when they aren't) they just get me a gift certificate for books. Seriously, I broke into the triple digits for book gift certificates this year. I used to get actual books - I'd write a list and divide it up between everyone who liked buying me presents and then they'd pick and choose which books they wanted to get me. We all got over that, and everyone realized just handing me a gift certificate wasn't actually a cop-out. That's a lie. My best friend actually bought me a real book, but she's allowed because she gets me.
That pile of books you see is part of the pile of books I bought with the big-chain bookstore gift certificates (the used book store ones will require more thought). Here's the thing: I'm a librarian. I love the library. I really really do. Go to the library, we have books and not books, and movies and tons of awesome stuff. But I love having books - actual books, that I can read more than once, and lend out, and maybe get back and read again. So far one of these books is now arguably my favourite book ever (
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore), I finally replaced
JPod (seriously, I've owned about 6 copies of this book and they keep mysteriously disappearing), and sorry library hold list a mile long, I just bought
Escape from Camp 14.
So come at me 2013.
