The book of the year: I never thought I’d say it but the best book I’ve read this year belongs to the fantasy genre. Yes, it’s that good. I’m talking of Haruki Murakami’s 1Q84. I’m no fan of Murakami and I profoundly dislike fantasy. This book, however, is a joy to read. I will publish a detailed review soon.
The blogging milestone of the year: The record number of visitors in one day: 5,330. Of course, that was in August, which is always the best month for blogging.
The gadget of the year: Kindle Fire that managed to overcome my suspicion of tablets.
The disappointment of the year: Spain’s right-wing party Partido Popular won the general elections.
The academic tragedy of the year: The suicide of Dr. Calvo of Princeton U.
The surprise of the year: Some people in Russia feel angry about the falsified elections to the Russian Parliament (the Duma.)
The personal discovery of the year: Philosophers are a really cool bunch.
The achievement of the year: A dramatic drug-free improvement in my health.
The restaurant of the year: Modern in New York.
The hotel of the year: Hyatt Regency in Clearwater, Florida.
The most helpful blog of the year: Stupid Motivational Tricks that did the impossible and taught me to become organized and do things in advance instead of leaving them for the last moment.
The recipe of the year: Billionaire’s pasta
The movie of the year: Elena by the Russian film director Zviagintsev.
The weird culinary experience of the year: Alligator meat.
The bargain of the year: This great bag I got in Florida.
The photo of the year: Latte. Taken by me (both the picture and the latte.)
The stressful moment of the year: Moving my blog from Blogger to WordPress. I know it sounds like a very exaggerated reaction to a simple blog move, but I seriously freaked out, OK?
The post I would have liked to publish every week of the year: This one. Because people keep doing it more and more often and it bugs me.
The post that will make me famous: This one because it will get me quoted in a real academic publication that analyzes the way academic bloggers record the history of academia. See how useful it is to bark at people every once in a while?
The shopping experience of the year: The Big Sleep bookstore in St. Louis.
The hilarious video of the year: This one sent in by reader V. I watched it so many times that I can now perform it on my own.
Have I left out anything important?
Clarissa's Blog 
My copy of 1Q84 is waiting for me at home, I wish I’d brought it along so I could read it on the plane.
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Murakami really has grown as a writer. The book is VERY good.
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Song of the year?
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Seconding the IQ84 accolades. I’m working my way through it right now.
Song of the year? Well, personally, I’d plump for this:
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Oops, sorry, I meant to just link to it, not leave a big ol’ video cluttering up Clarissa’s space. Btw, the singer is a woman.
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No, that’s OK. I actually like it.
I haven’t been listening to music this year, so nominations for song of the year are accepted.
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IQ84 changes your perceptions. I don’t know whether I like that or not, but I can’t deny the power. It’s hypnotic. I wonder what kind of experience it is in Japanese.
And I LOVE my Kindle Fire. Be sure to get the book entitled, *Love Your Kindle Fire.* It’s cheap, well written in an engaging style, and full of tips to help you get more out of your Fire.
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Ah, thanks for the great tip!
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Thanks, Clarissa. I also like No Rockefeller and Generation Indigo by Poly Styrene. I’m not going to link-sorry- because I don’t want to set off the spam filters, but I have to say Generation Indigo as an album is worth every penny. (As you may have guessed, I am a huge geek about music- almost as much as I am about anime and manga.)
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