So, here’s the thing… I’m kind of (really) addicted to books. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, how to rule-the-world-in-30-days, you name it and it might already be on one of my many over-stocked shelves. I love books like some women love shoes – they just cost less and look a lot more awkward when I strap them to my feet.

When I was in university, reading books was practically my sole mission in life (a dream come true when you’re a major bookworm) since I was working on a BA in English Literature. The only down side was that if it wasn’t on a syllabus, I didn’t have time for it… So now I have a lot of catching up to do. Like figuring out who this Harry Potter chap is, anyway.

Now that I’m on the path to life as a bona-fide “grown-up” (eek!), I’ve found that I don’t make nearly as much time for my books as I used to. It’s like a great friendship that’s drifted over the years – we started hanging out less and less, and before I knew it, they weren’t returning my calls. Or e-mails. Or singing candygrams.

But, it’s a whole new year, and in 2009 I’m determined to get my relationship with books back on track. I hope to work my way through quite a stack this year – new titles, old must-reads and a few classics for good measure. Here are a few new finds that I’m really looking forward to:

• The Optimist: One Man’s Search for the Brighter Side of Life by Laurence Shorter
• Rockabye: From Wild to Child by Rebecca Woolf 
• Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate by Brad Warner
• Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-city Shantytown by Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote