Dec ’12 was…

December 2012 was a decidedly difficult month. I don’t mind admitting it was stressful and full of ups and downs. How else can I describe a period of time that contained mad love and the quiet urge to request freedom all at once? A month of feeling like the best thing on Earth and the last person anyone would want to be with? I buried myself in books to compensate for what I wasn’t sure I was feeling. And I won’t even mention the Sandy twins. But wait. I just did.

• The Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer ~ in honor of all things Hanukkah. This was by far my favorite book of the month.
• Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner ~ in honor of Iowa becoming a state in December. This was a close second.
• The Tattered Cloak and Other Novels by Nina Berberlova ~ in honor of the coldest day in Russia being in December. I read a story every night.
• Big Mouth & Ugly Girl by Carol Joyce Oates ~ in honor of Oates being born in December. I was able to read this in one sitting.
• The Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan ~ in honor of December being one of the best times to visit India
• Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox ~ in honor of Franking being born in December
• Billy by Albert French ~ in honor of Mississippi becoming a state in December
• Apples are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins ~ in honor of Kazakhstan gaining its independence in December.

In an attempt to finish some “series” I read:

• Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol 3  by Giorgio Vasari (only one more to go after this, yay!)
• Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers

For audio here’s what I listened to:

• The Galton Case by Ross MacDonald ~ this was laugh-out-loud funny
• Bellwether by Connie Willis ~ in honor of December being Willis’s birth month

For the Early Review Program with LibraryThing here’s what I read:

• Drinking with Men: a Memoir by Rosie Schaap

And here’s what I started:

• Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws

For fun: Natalie Merchant’s Leave Your Sleep.