NEW FEATURE: Beth's Book Nook (coming soon)

In my spare time, when I'm not knitting or baking (or cleaning), I really enjoy reading (and our little one enjoys it, too!). I usually have a book or two on the go at any one time. I read on my commute to and from work each day, so slow journeys or unexpected delays on the TTC are never an inconvenience for me.  I've also got a different book ready at home for those quiet nights I find myself alone after Olivia has gone to bed. Lately I'd much rather read then try to find something on television to watch. 

While I have favorite genres and authors, I love getting recommendations from friends, browsing at the book store, or online best seller lists. There are so many books to read out there (and so little time) that my list is always growing. Thanks to Goodreads, I'm able to keep track of them all. I tell everyone about this site, so if you're a book reader/lover, you should check it out (and find me!). It's great to see what other people are reading, and there's something satisfying about adding another book to your "Read" shelf. 
 

Goodreads has a yearly Book Challenge on their site that I find fun to participate in. You pick how many books you want to read that year, and then try to hit that goal. I thought my goal of 20 books would be achievable, but I'm already dragging behind by 5 books. At having read only 11 books so far, I better pick up the pace (and choose shorter books!). 

I am currently reading: 
How to Knit a Love Song by Rachell Herron
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

I've also thought about joining a book club, but there's something I don't really like about everyone reading and dissecting one book . It feels too much like high school when we had to write book reports. Instead, some girlfriends and I started an "unconventional book club", where we meet up about once a month to eat, drink wine, and talk books and movies. Our first meet-up was to see The Great Gatsby, a book that most of us had read back in high school, so we thought we'd check out the film adaptation. From there, the group was born. We're unconventional in the sense that, instead of all of us reading the same book, we come armed with a book or two (and a bottle of wine) to swap between the group. It's a little like Show and Tell: we tell a bit about the book and why we liked it, then we each get our pick of which to read next. The hubby thinks it's just an excuse to get together to eat and drink, and while I'll deny it to him, he's probably right.

The above is just a really long way of saying that I thought I'd start my own book review here and share with you some of the books I've read and enjoyed over this past year(s). The first review to come shortly (and appearing regularly).

And if you have any good books to recommend, please share in the comments!