300 Days of Sunshine

It was another memorable year of discovering new books from a wide range of genres, made even more meaningful by my amazing book club that is going strong after seven years and added some new members this year.  Some of the best books I read this year were book club picks, including Olga Dies Dreaming, Great Circle, Lessons in Chemistry, and The Lincoln Highway (read at the end of 2021) .  I read a few National Book Award winners and finalists ( Hell of a Book, Where the Dead Sit Talking, Matrix, All That She Carried, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club ), all of which were excellent.  I was also incredibly impressed with some of the debut novels I read this year ( Remarkably Bright Creatures, Olga Dies Dreaming, Black Cake, Lessons in Chemistry, School for Good Mothers , to name a few) and I look forward to seeing what these authors come up with next!  Santa Fe had its inaugural International Literary Festival, bringing big name authors to our small city to talk about their work and

"As you look back on your time in Venice, you won't only remember what your experiences looked like, you'll remember how they made you feel.  And that's what love is really, isn't it?  Love is not how something looks but is an intensity that you feel to your very core." I loved Venice from the minute we rode in on our vaporetto.  Everything about the city is charming, mysterious, and full of tradition.  Everywhere you look there is something unique to explore, from mask shop windows displaying elaborate carnival masks to crowded outdoor cafes and tables filled with seafood and pasta, unique architecture and Gothic art, and people from all over the world.  I love wandering the alleys, some barely wide enough to walk through, and emerging into one of the many campos throughout the city.  Venice is a city that appeals to all the senses, with the smells of good food any time of day and the sounds of church bells in the distance.  Just like the water it sits on, Ve