Athens, GA - Best Town in the World -- I couldn't agree more.

Saw this great blog post about Athens today on Facebook and he describes really well all the great things about living in Athens. Read it for yourself over at Simple Economist

And/or enjoy this photo of Emma and I taken in 2004? at one of the eating and drinking establishments the author mentions-- The Globe. A friend found this in her files and e-mailed it to me just today -- good timing!

Is it "Reading" if you listen to an Audibook: and other dilemnas in this year's reading roundup

It was a really good year for books and reading. I joined Audible and for $15 a month I can download one book per month for free and listen on my iPhone. I found that I enjoy listening to audibooks while taking the bus to work (I can tune out all the annoying and inane conversations around me) and also while driving Emma to and from ballet. Audible gives members a 30% discount on audiobooks outside the one free per month. I also continue to enjoy my book group, and read a number of great books (and some I couldn't finish) for book group this year. I still love mysteries and discovered a guilty pleasure -- devouring M.C. Beaton Agatha Raisin books which can be purchased for my Kindle at less than $8 per book.

So here's what I read (or listened to) in 2013. Audiobooks are in Green and Book Group titles are in Brown. You can read my full reviews at my Goodreads account.

Five out of Five Stars
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate by Gary Chapman
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Four out of Five Stars

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Still Life by Louise Penny
Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isnt'): Making the Journey from "What Will People Think?" to "I        Am Enough" by Brene Brown
Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
The Expats by Chris Pavone
The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro
The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
Your Hidden Symmetry: How Your Birth Date Reveals the Plan for Your Life by Jean Haner
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
The House Girl by Tara Conklin
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny
Agatha Raisin and the Love From Hell by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Walkers of Dembley by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardner by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton

Three out of Five Stars
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway
Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres

Help Thanks Wow: Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Agatha Raisin and the Faires of Fryfam by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist by M.C. Beaton
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M.C. Beaton

Two out of Five Stars
Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George

Books I Started But Couldn't Bear to Finish
Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom