Review of 2016

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s now 2017. We’ve left 2016 in the dust, and not a few of you are glad of it. That said, 2016 was a great year for some. My friend Donna Everhart saw her debut novel published back in October, and from what I gather it’s doing very well–a USA Today Best Seller, an Amazon “pick of the month,” and lots of very important nods and approvals from all kinds of places. There were also weddings and births and careers launched and lots of celebrations. On July 5th our landlord told us he was selling the house we had been renting for the past 13 years, so we had to find somewhere else to live, which led to us buying a house. If you’ve been following the blog you’ve read the saga, and I think it has turned out to be a good thing. Indeed, we have a roof over our head, clothes to wear, food to eat, jobs, and breath in our lungs, so we are blessed.

But without doubt, 2016 was a year of turmoil. There was the US Presidential Election which, for many was one of the most uncomfortable elections ever. There were acts of terrorism in various parts of the world. And there were a large number of notable celebrity deaths. Off the top of my head I recall the following: David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Prince, Terry Wogan, Andrew Sachs, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Harper Lee, George Michael, Alan Thicke, Richard Adams, Greg Lake, Keith Emerson, Maurice White… and many others I’m sure you can remember. Though death is inevitable for all of us, such a great many well-known people passing on in a single year is unusual. In this way, 2016 served as a sharp reminder of the fragility of life, and the importance of never taking a single person, or a single moment, for granted.

Turning to the blog, what were the popular 2016 articles? As usual, my quest for UK Graham Crackers got the most hits, with the Update page being the most popular. Some other popular posts (NOTE: as with the Graham Cracker post, these articles weren’t necessarily written in 2016, but of all the visits in 2016, these got the most hits):

Most Popular Book Review: CARRIE by Stephen King.

Most Popular Music Monday Post: “The Logical Song” by Supertramp.

Most Popular Devotional: Romans 12:2

Most Popular Who Review: “The Space Pirates”

Most Popular A-to-Z Post: “Another Day”

The second most popular A-to-Z Post was one of my favorites, “Rainclouds.” A couple of the others inspired short stories, one of which I completed and hope to get published somewhere.

So that’s about it for 2016. I wish you all the best in 2017. May we all have much to celebrate, whatever our goals might be.