Celebrating 12 in 2012

In an anecdote that sticks to the memory like an overdone cookie on an undergreased cookie sheet — those 2011 holiday baking mishaps still rankle — an American visiting the Sorbonne is accosted by a French student.

“You Americans!” the Frenchwoman says disdainfully. “You read all the time. You act as if there’s something magical about reading!”

The American smiles and replies, “No, there’s nothing magical about reading.” She adds, “The magic is in rereading.” And so it is.

If you’re looking for another resolution for the new year that doesn’t involve diet or exercise — except the intellectual kind — then why not go back to these 12 classics and crack ‘em open one more time?

— Julia Keller