Inscription reads: For Stacie, Hope the women unleaded some spirit! Marlon James
I made Marlon James smile and chuckle as he inscribed my copy of The Book of Night Women, so that was obviously a highlight of my year.

I don’t think I’ve ever known so many people to be so happy that a year is coming to a close. Didn’t make very many friends, did ya, 2016?

Well, at least there were good books! I heard a stat earlier this year that blew my mind. (Disclaimer: This is not fact checked!) And that is: There are one million books published in the US every year. One million. Apparently, 250,000 are published by the big publishing houses, another 250,000 by small indie presses, and 500,000 are self-published. That. Is. Nuts. No wonder I feel like I can never keep up, no matter how many I read! (96 treebooks + 7 ebooks + 11 audiobooks = 114 on the year.) Continue reading