Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were joyful and peaceful, with perhaps a book or two to unwrap and enjoy. There are a couple of books I’m reading right now that I’m excited to tell you about. The first is The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak, a story about Catherine the Great and the girl that served as her servant. It is rich with the history and setting of the time, as well as palace intrigue and romance – a great read to lose yourself in!

The second is Mr. g by Alan Lightman. Alan Lightman has previously written science titles which don’t tend to be my forte, but this one has a very cool concept. The “Mr. g” of the title is God and he is writing about creating the world. Chatelaine has chosen it as their Book Club Pick next month, so if you are a Chatelaine reader, or even if you’re not, you might want to check out their features on the book in the latest issue, or read them online next month at Chatelaine.ca.