Happy Eve Morning

Good Morning,
On this fine New Year's Eve AM, I am reminded how lacking I have been in the upkeep of our CPBC updates.
Partial reasons include a general malaise toward book club in general, but I feel like we were on a bit of an upswing.
Other reasons include my own laziness toward the internet and business elsewhere, the clichèd 'holiday season' and the fact that my work started blocking blogging websites so I have to actually make time to do this at home.
I'm sure if I tried I could also find a way to blame Nazi's but I think we've established enough havent we?

Anyway, to recap: we read and discussed Mortality, by Christopher Hitchens. I was intrigued yet saddened by the book. I also had not ever read any of his other works before and felt I missed out a bit reading his final memoir before reading anything else. It did however motivate me to borrow all titles I could find by him from the local library. I got most of the way through God is Not Great, well worth it and incredibly interesting.
Either way, a good book club, good discussion, depressing yet somehow uplifting book. At least for me. It was new to read from the perspective of a dying man, one who did not use his illness as a platform to leap into new philosophical territory, nor did he try to absolve himself of all his past indiscretions when faced with the big finale.
I don't know. I can see how some people might have found it arrogant but I thought it was reassuring. To me, it seems the safest way to die with grace is to remain the person you have always been. If we are only motivated to be a better person when faced with our own demise that doesn't speak much to our character... does it?

Anyway, moving on.
Enough introspective nonsense :)

December brought another winter to the Minnesota tundra and another CPBC Holiday Book Exchange.
With Simon the cat fighting for the dice each time, it added a new sense of danger and mystery to the hum drum of your average Dice Game.
Cheese was eaten, wine was imbibed, books were traded, stolen and kept. All in good holiday spirit fun.

With that I leave you, to reflect upon the year you have had (apocalypse-free, I might add), to face the future of a new year, and dream sweet dreams of all the books you will read in 2013.

Cheers.

Melizard