Happy New Year's! What's Happening at Book Readers Heaven

Hi Everybody...another year has gone by--can you believe it?! Thanks so much for coming to visit Book Readers Heaven in  2015! Those who visited in December - 20,401 - brought the total hits up to 544,246... For a blog that doesn't promote, has few giveaways, and sticks only to books and writing-related material, I think I have reached people from all over the world who seriously enjoy reading and learning of really great books and other good stuff! I had 12 from Slovakia this past month...I always wonder how word gets out to far-away places--is it by accident? Do friends of friends of authors refer people here? Or is there some magical search engine that spits out the latest? LOL In any event, the end of the year seems the appropriate time to once again thank you for supporting Book Readers Heaven! 

I've got a 4-book thriller spotlight coming up soon, a book that will help you think about a resolution for the new year--Blabbermouth, and new books from a number of authors whose have earlier been reviewed here. Plus, always new ones that contact me from various sites where my reviews are posted...

One new activity I added this year was creating a picture stream of by review page and posting just the pics on Tumbler. That second notice always seems to bring many more in for that particular review. And for those who haven't yet been here--my blog is in magazine style which brings up a pic and short blurb of what's available. This easily allows you to scroll down and pick and choose what looks like an interesting book or a piece of poetry that's been shared...

From a personal side, the good news is that my foot surgery has gone very well and I have just one more checkup visit to confirm that things are fine... I also found someone who has been helping me do maintenance and cleanup at my cabin, which has required me to get involved as well. This is the first major upgrade to the property since I've lived here so it's been a welcome change but also time consuming...

My sister, Dee and Bill

The bad news was that our family lost Bill, my brother-in-law, who had always helped me with mowing and maintenance until his health forced him to stop. His family had built the cabin where I'm living but circumstances prevented the cabin from automatically staying in his family. Fortunately, it was when I was retiring that I was able to move in, knowing that it would go back to his family in the future.

I read in one of my recent books where the main character had loved an in-law in his family so much that he had dropped the legal words and just called him his brother...That's how I felt about Bill. I have never met a more loving, gentle man who loved God's world and its bounty--fishing and hunting to feed his family, caring for others by giving his life to the scouts and church, and, above all, loving his family--including me... He had a droll sense of humor that you could easily miss if you weren't watching his face, his eyes, to catch the twinkle shining there. I learned that his favorite song was "Shall we Gather at the River..." and thought how very appropriate--it spoke of him and how he loved the land and his country...

I shall miss him greatly...

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