HAPPY NEW YEAR!

YES, it is that moment again, when the last minute grain of sand in the hourglass is about to drop and no longer reversible. Retrospecting over the many events that have plagued the year, one discovers to one's dismay and awe how time has so rapidly fled and evaded us. We had a great time reading all those well-written books as well as a large dose of shoddy efforts that deserved to be hurled into the garbage pit of the book publishing and retailing industry. Let us all herald the beginning of a new glorious year and hope that it will be one imbued with more quality books to provide us with endless hours of pleasurable reading experiences.

Yes, go ahead and have a great new year! But let us not forget what the writer Thomas Mann said of New Year's Eve: "Time has no divisions to mark its passage, there is never a thunderstorm or blare of trumpets to announce the beginning of a new month or year. Even when a new century begins it is only we mortals who ring bells and fire off pistols."