Did you know that January saw the birth of Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron and J.R.R. Tolkien; illustrious indeed! Read on for more snippets as well as some recommendations from authors, both past and present - all great reads and many with free Opening Extracts to let you ‘try before you buy’.

Uplifting Download! – Lovereading’s eBooks of the Month

No One Left to Tell Karen Rose The addictive Sunday Times bestseller Karen Rose serves up her most relentless thriller yet.

West of Here Jonathan Evison Though its themes are weighty, West of Here is an electrifying epic and never bogs down despite its 500 pages.

Don’t miss our two MEGA Books of the Month

From the globally bestselling author of the quirky Salmon Fishing in the Yemen comes a dark comedy with beautifully wrought characters, The Legacy of Hartlepool Hall, and something entirely different, Catch your Death, a thriller with kick which is already a self-publishing phenomenon.

Be the First to Read...Pre-Publication Extract Exclusives

The Guardians  Andrew Pyper A chilling ghost story for grown-ups. Are you brave enough?	Tom-All-Alone's  Lynn Shepherd Dark secrets in the corridors of London’s Victorian law chambers set up this Dickens-influenced murder mystery. Great stuff!
Secrets of the Tides  Hannah Richell If you’ve not yet applied to be a reviewer for this very special debut then this is your last chance – only 10 places available!

Out of this world reading – Maxim Jakubowski recommends... Love Science Fiction writing but don’t know where to look? Fear not! Back by popular demand is our great section featuring a host of titles in this exciting genre, as personally recommended by expert reviewer, Maxim Jakubowski. A mega published author in his own right, Maxim reviews for Time Out, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Bookseller. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Click here now to see his best picks and start 2012 with an adventure!

New Year, New You

Looking for that quick fix or a longer change in lifestyle habits? Then this is where to go. Each title selected for our New Year, New You feature has been hand picked so choosing which book is right for you will be easy.

New Year – New Food!

If one of your new year’s resolutions is to learn to cook better food then why not start with a couple of selections from our food and drink category?

The Baking Book : The Ultimate Baker's Companion Good Housekeeping Institute Even if you’ve never picked up an egg whisk before, this baking guide promises to carry you from complete novice to experienced baker.

Love Food : Heartwarming Recipes Presented with Style Tina Bester Love Food consists of a series of recipes for robust, heartwarming food and is crammed with ideas for meals that are the culinary equivalent of a lovely long hug.

Your Favourite: Our Unique Author Favourites Section is BACK!!

This year our hugely popular Author Favorites section is relaunched and brand spanking new. Here your favourite authors reveal their favourite books and writers and give you some great ideas for your next read. Click here to get started.  

T. S. Eliot Poetry Prize Winner

This may not have gone to the favourite as is so often the case but the deserving winner was Black Cat Bone by John Burnside. The judges described the book as 'a haunting book of great beauty, powered by love, childhood memory, human longing and loneliness'. You can read an extract from it by visiting our site.

And, don’t forget about the category winners of the Costa Awards announced last week – we have them right here, extracts and all:

	Costa Biography Award Now All Roads Lead to France: The Last Years of Edward Thomas Matthew Hollis
Costa Novel Award Pure Pure Andrew Miller	Costa Poetry Award Tiny Sunbirds Far Away Christie Watson
Costa First Novel Award The Bees Carol Ann Duffy	Costa Children’s Book Award Blood Red Road Moira Young

Surprise your loved one with a book for Valentine’s Day

Ladies, as 2012 is a leap year, you may take the opportunity to pop the question rather than waiting to be asked. If not, then why not have a browse through our special Valentine’s category full of books about love and romance. There’s even one on how to capture the heart of Mr Right. And boys, don’t miss out; flowers are all well and good but a book, like the best of relationships, can last a lifetime… So, that’s January wrapped up at Lovereading.co.uk! Oh, just one more thing - The TV Book Club is back on your TV screens at the end of the month and we are featuring all the titles that are due for review. Below are the first three titles to be featured.  

29 January	5 February	12 February
Before I Go to Sleep S. J. Watson How would you live your life if every time you fell asleep you forgot everything?	The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt Dazzlingly original second novel is a darkly funny, offbeat western about a reluctant assassin and his murderous brother. The Sisters Brothers...	The Somn -ambulist Essie Fox Every heart holds a secret... The stunning debut from an incredibly talented new author

We’ll be back with more great book ideas in February. Until then, stay warm and... Happy Reading

P.S. Quiet Please! - National Library Day

We are big fans of local libraries here at Lovereading4kids and are very pleased to endorse National Library Day 2012. This great initiative will take place on 4 February and drive home the importance for education, development and community of good, well-funded libraries. Do get yourself and your kids down to the library if you can on that date when all sorts of activities are taking place. And don’t forget , if you don’t use your local library you may lose it. There’s also a book to accompany National Libraries Day. The Library Book features contributions from literary greats such as Stephen Fry Zadie Smith and Alan Bennett. Famous writers tell us all about how libraries are used and why they're important. Please do support you local library…