Some New Year's Randomness

New Year's Trivia

• In Italy, people wear red underwear on New Year’s Day to bring good luck all year long.
• In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, some families stuff a large doll, which is called Mr. Old Year, with memories from the past year. They also dress him in clothes from the outgoing year. At midnight, he is set ablaze, thus burning away the bad memories.
• Chinese New Year is celebrated the second full moon after the winter solstice. *2016 is the year of the Monkey.
• The traditional New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne,” means, “times gone by.”

Art

2016 Zodiac Dragons Cancer
by The Sixth Leaf Clover (DeviantArt)

Symbol of the year - 2016! Red Monkey
by Yullapa (DeviantArt)

New Releases ~ week of 12/28/2015

Anything for You by Kristan Higgins (#5 Blue Heron)
Brute Force by Marc Cameron (#6 Jericho Quinn)

Choked Up by Janey Mack (#2 Maisie Mcgrane Mystery)
Christmas From Hell by R.L. Mathewson (#7 A Neighbor from Hell)
Cowboy Take Me Away by Soraya Lane (#2 Texas Kings)
Dead Eye by Alyssa Day (#1 A Tiger's Eye Mystery Book)
Dead in Her Tracks by Kendra Elliot (#2 Rogue Winter)
Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee (#1 A Liv And Di In Dixie Mystery)
December by Audrey Carlan (#12 Calendar Girl)
Dirty Pleasures by Meghan March (#2 The Dirty Billionaire Trilogy)
Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase (#4 The Dressmakers)
Hunter Deceived by Nancy Corrigan (#2 Wild Hunt)
Kill Without Mercy by Alexandra Ivy (#1 ARES Security)
Mastered by Maya Banks (#1 Enforcers)
Murder Most Finicky by Liz Mugavero (#4 Pawsitively Organic Mysteries)
Murder Most Malicious by Alyssa Maxwell (#1 Lady and Ladies Maid)
Naked Hunger by Desiree Holt (#8 Naked Cowboys)
On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander (#3 Bakeshop Mystery)
Point Blank by Fern Michaels (#26 Sisterhood)
Redemption by Kate Douglas (#2 Intimate Relations)
Shameless by Joan Johnston (#14 Bitter Creek)
Smoldering Hunger by Donna Grant (#8 Dark Kings)
Susana and the Scot by Sabrina York (#2 Untamed Highlanders)
The First Hostage by Joel C Rosenberg (#2 J. B. Collins)
The Forgotten Soldier by Brad Taylor (#9 Pike Logan)
The Lady's Command by Stephanie Laurens (#1 The Adventures Quartet)
The Rock by Monica McCarty (#11 The Highland Guard Series)
The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean (#1 Scandal & Scoundrel)
The V'Dan by Jean Johnson (#2 First Salik War)
Their Fractured Light by Meagan Spooner, Amie Kaufman (#3 Starbound)
Thread and Gone by Lea Wait (#3 A Mainely Needlepoint Mystery)
Untouchable Darkness by Rachel Van Dyken (#2 Dark Ones)
With Every Breath by Lia Riley (#1 Wanderlust)

Year End: Favorite Reads of 2015

These are some of my favorite books that I read in 2015. Not all are from 2015 but I was surprised to see how many new books I was able to read this year.

Shadow Study by Maria V Snyder
Released: February 2015
Rating: 5
**This is one of my all time favorite authors and I was thrilled to get to go back to this world.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Released: February 2015
Rating: 4.5-5
**Loved this book. From the characters, the plot, and the setting it all just worked. Cannot wait for book 2.

Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
Released: July 2015
Rating: 4.5-5
**This was another that hit on all high points for me.

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan
released: originally 1990-2012
**I'm trying to get book three finished before 2015 ends. Definitely the longest books I read this year.

The Grendel Affair by Lisa Shearin
Released: December 2013
**I've been enjoying everything I've read by this author so far.

Some Christmas Randomness

Christmas on Other Words

• Kung His Hsin Nien bing Chu Shen Tan ~ Mandarin 
• Vrolijk Kerstfeest en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar ~ Dutch
• Joyeux Noël ~ French
• Froehliche Weihnachten ~ German
• Sung Tan Chuk Ha ~ Korean
• Nollaig chridheil huibh ~ Scots Gaelic

Christmas Facts (collected from various sites around the web)

• Hot cockles" was a popular game at Christmas in medieval times. It was a game in which the other players took turns striking the blindfolded player, who had to guess the name of the person delivering each blow. "Hot cockles" was still a Christmas pastime until the Victorian era.
• Wassail" comes from the Old Norse "ves heill"--to be of good health. This evolved into the tradition of visiting neighbors on Christmas Eve and drinking to their health.
• According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut farms.
• America's official national Christmas tree is located in King's Canyon National Park in California. The tree, a giant sequoia called the "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 meters) high. It was made the official Christmas tree in 1925.
• An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck.

Art 

Lonely Nights Melody
by JulyaArt (DeviantArt)

Winter Fantasy
by IronShod (DeviantArt)

Winter Mystery
by Tatyana (DeviantArt)

New Releases ~ week of 12/21/2015

Adam by Beth Williamson (#1 Devils on Horseback: Generations)

Drantos by Laurann Dohner (#1 VLG Series)
In Constant Fear by Peter Liney (#3 Detainee)
My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis (#2 Cedar Ridge)
Night Shift by Bianca D'Arc (#3 Grizzly Cove)
No Hiding Place by M A Comley (#2 D I Sally Parker Thriller)
Outtakes From the Grave by Jeaniene Frost (#7.5 Night Huntress)
Secret Admirer by Ron Roy (#8 A to Z Mysteries Super Edition)
The Marriage Contract by Katee Robert (#1 The O'Malleys)
Tracks of Her Tears by Melinda Leigh (#1 Rogue Winter)
Waltzing into Damnation by Rita Stradling (#3 The Deception Dance)
Wild Cowboy Ways by Carolyn Brown (#1 Lucky Penny Ranch)