Welcome to a brand new year! It’s been a bit slow around here these past few days. Well, more like I’ve been struggling to crawl out from under the pile of holiday e-mails that attacked me when I walked back in the door after my trip home for Christmas. The thing about getting back up to speed following a long vacation is that there often doesn’t seem to be much obvious progress for a while. It might be time to clean out a closet or something, so I get that sense of accomplishment that comes from noticing an actual difference.

However, I have scrounged up some fun and interesting links to kick off 2013, and I’m happy to share them with you here. Next week we will return to actual content, including talk of what everyone has planned for the new year in writing. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and happy reading!

The Obscure Early Lives of the Artists – Or stalking Harper Lee. Either way, good read.

My New Year’s Resolution: Read Fewer Books – I’ve been known to panic over the idea that I’ll never read all the books I want to read, but I still thought this was an interesting look at the annual books-read tally.

Crews Remove Borders Sign from Flagship Store – A moment of silence, please.

North Polar Bear’s Leg Got Broken – Yesterday was J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday, so in honor of that, a link to a 1925 Christmas letter, with illustrations, that the author wrote to his boys as part of their annual holiday tradition.

Experience Required: A Group of Writers – An entertaining tale about MFAs, writer’s groups, and late starts.