The Year in Review.

The most important event this year was the marriage of Mark & Kate. The entire weekend was joyful, from the rehearsal dinner to the ceremony itself followed by the reception. They honeymooned in Hawaii, posting pictures on Flikr while they were there. Many of the guests also posted pictures of the wedding and reception, which was really cool to see.

This summer I definitely decided to retire at the end of this year, and I officially submitted my papers in November so there could be no backing out. Both the math teachers and students were very upset, which both flattered me and make me feel fairly guilty. One girl cried for 10 minutes, while a boy started a Facebook group encouraging me to stay. But I have put off writing fulltime for 30+ years, and I am running out of time to start doing so.

The saddest event of the year was Misty’s dying. She had a tumor on her chest for many months, which did not bother her much until the last week when she deteriorated steadily every day, eventually dying Friday while Jean, Andy and I were all at work. Jean and Andy got home first and buried her in the woods. *poor kitty*

I made a determined effort to buy less books this year in an attempt to cut into my Books-To-Be-Read pile, but then I joined Paperback Swap which killed that idea. So while I only bought or received as gifts 18 books all year, I got 27 books in trade. Many of them were omnibuses too, so I really got about 45 books in trade. *sigh*

I also renewed The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction when they went bi-monthly, because I really miss not having a subscription to a science fiction prozine. I read 29 books and 13 prozines this year, a reasonable number which should increase next year after I retire.

The best book I read all year was the first one I read in January, Elmer Kelton’s The Time It Never Rained, a fabulous character study about ranchers struggling through a long drought. Other outstanding books I read for the first time included three career-spanning collections: Poul Anderson’s To Outlive Eternity, Robert Silverberg’s Phases of the Moon, and Samuel R. Delany’s Distant Stars; Jack McDevitt’s best Academy novel Omega; Stephen Lawhead’s historical novel Byzantium; and Bill Bruford’s nonfiction book about Mario Batali, learning to cook in Italy, and working at Babbo, Heat. A good reading year.

I also joined CD Swap, so while I cut back my cd-buying to 18 this year, I also got 8 cd’s in trade. I did not listen to any spectacular album this year, but notable purchases were Bruce Springsteen’s Working on a Dream, Bob Dylan’s Tell-tale Signs, Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown and the Decemberists’ Hazards of Love.