Reading more is already a very popular New Year's resolution, but 2009 could be the year to really put it into action. It's great value (in a time when most people can't afford to take up yachting). It's incredibly, life-changingly exciting and with Lovereading here to help you plan out your year's literary adventures you'll have no shortage of books to choose from.

If you’re feeling like a complete New Year makeover, have a look at our New Year, New You? section. We've chosen some fantastic books to help you change your life - physically, intellectually, and emotionally.   Costa Book awardsOn 6 January the category winners of the prestigious Costa Book Awards were announced, making up the shortlist for the overall prize. We've got Opening Extracts of all the books, so take a look and do a bit of judging yourself and vote for your favourite in our on site poll.  

Our two Authors of the Month share a preoccupation with crime and heart-racing thrills:

Mary Higgins Clark is known as 'America's Queen of Suspense', so the only predictable thing about her new book is that it's incredibly exciting. Where Are You Now? sees young law-graduate, Carolyn, set out to find her missing brother, a suspected serial killer who refuses to come out of hiding. It's a quest with terrifying repercussions... And Tess Stimson's new book The Cradle Snatcher tells a story about the deadly psychological ‘nursery rivalry’ between a new mother and her hired nanny.

We've got three great Books of the Month:

Burial by Neil Cross is a, superlative, dark thriller about what happens when a celebrity party turns lethal. The Paper Moon, by Andrea Camilleri, is another brilliantly moody and sophisticated Inspector Salvo Montalbano mystery.  The Girl Who Played With Fire, by Stieg Larsson is a complex, fascinating and highly addictive thriller.
 

There are also four great Debuts of the Month, but all from very different genres:

Birthing House, by Christopher Ransom, is a tale of domestic 'horrors' – infidelity, imminent parenthood, human desire – and of one man's descent into madness because of them. The Other Side of the Stars is an unforgettable story by Clemency Burton-Hill about a young actress struggling to find herself amid the glitz of London's West End. And With My Lazy Eye, by Julia Kelly, is a fascinating novel by the daughter of the late John Kelly, former government minister, Attorney General and senior Irish politician. Finally Skin and Bones by Tom Bale has one of the best openings to a crime novel we have ever come across. This book grabs you from the opening line with it's unrelenting pace and action.
In Bed With... is a book that lets you slip under the covers with some humorous, wicked, and sizzling erotic stories from unusually famous authors (including Fay Weldon and Joanne Harris) writing under saucy pseudonyms. But can you tell who is Pom Pom Paradise and who is Minxy Malone?   Finally if you have teenage children don't forget our 'New Gen' category for teen readers. Here you’ll find writers like Melvin Burgess and Kevin Brooks, whose addictive stories are woven around real world issues. The lead characters tend to be teenagers too, making them easy to identify with. If you’re 14+ and want to find out a few things about the wild world you’re growing up in, give these a try!

So, put reading at the top of your list of 2009 resolutions and find out how easy it is to become a bookworm when you’ve got Lovereading’s tools to help you find your next book. And don’t forget you can order all your books from us the vast majority with a flat rate 25% discount off the RRP.