We’re fast approaching the day when this Ninja lord must return to the Shadow World of Wind and Ghosts from whence he came to recharge his chi — that well of soulful energy that leads to well-being, creativity, and grusomely shuriken-peppered enemies. I will consult with the other dark lords of awesome death and rampant silliness (Bookmuskateer, Bookblackknight, and Bookpirate) and imbibe the nectar of the Other Side, which will sustain me for the coming year of corporeal manifestation (but will first leave me dizzy and incapacitated on the couch of a stranger’s house on New Year’s Day). In the spirit of these end times that seem like death but are actually not and are only being trumped up to counteract the tinny Christmas musak on the speakers overhead, I give you several “end of the world” articles for your litschatological pleasure.

• A dismal year for books
• Twilight of the books
• England faces bloodiest arts cull in half century
• Near death experience still haunts author
• Leno heads back despite writers
• Google vs. Wikipedia
• Conrad Black loves the Frankenhand
• Googling oneself is growing in popularity (I’d like to see some stats on how much the average person finds…)
• Investigative reporting on the decline
• Former Defence Secretary to head Booker Prize jury…

Okay, a few of those aren’t quite end-of-the-world worthy, but you can see why I might have stuck them in there.