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As the year comes to an end, NPR librarian Kee Malesky shares closing lines from some great novels — those last few moments spent with a story that you love.

This year's weather will be one for the record books; 2012 is slated to be the hottest summer on record. "We've already passed all kinds of tipping points," environmentalist Bill McKibben says. He's wondering if President Obama will take a different approach to climate change in the coming year.

Ben Fountain's first novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, was nominated for the 2012 National Book Award. He's well-read for 2013, so we thought we'd ask him what to look forward to in the book world.

Both the House and the Senate were in session Sunday evening, but a bipartisan push by Senate leaders fell short. Monday is the last day to avoid the tax hikes and spending cuts, though Congress may still reach a deal over the next few days.

When scientists figured out how to make the deadly H5N1 virus more contagious, a debate ignited about whether to publish the research and do more experiments. Over the past year, scientists published the contentious work, but they still can't agree on the field's future.

From a charming tale of the tooth fairy to the very grown-up fiction of Graham Greene, read by the very grown-up Colin Firth, Robin Whitten of AudioFile magazine picks some of 2012's best audiobooks for your holiday listening.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in a New York hospital for treatment of a blood clot. Clinton suffered a concussion after a fall earlier this month.

Clay's Corner Store used to lower a live possum in a box but People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sued. This year, the store plans to drop a stuffed animal, or roadkill — depending on what's available.

It turns out parents are increasingly naming newborns after grandparents. That's one new trend, according to the baby website, Belly Ballot. It is also predicting first names that sound like last names: think Kennedy.

Despite what has been called a status quo election, the 113th Congress will bring with it generational changes and some history, including the first all-female delegation for a state, and the fewest number of military veterans since World War II. Here are some of the noteworthy newcomers.