I accomplished a first in 2015 – finishing 100 books. Most years, I read about 65. A few times I’ve topped out near 85, but this year I actually hit three digits. To see the books and some cool stats about them, goodreads puts together a nice year-end summary. Or, for a quick list, divided by books I physically read vs those I listened to, I keep a running list on this site.
But that’s not really what this post is about. People often ask me for  book recommendations, so this post is about the …

This time of year it seems everyone has a “best of” list, so below is a literary roundup of 2015’s Best Books as listed by many of the sites that are our go-to places to find our next book. If’ I’ve left off one of your favorite sources, let me know & I’ll add it!
Amazon
The Atlantic
Barnes and Noble
Bloomberg
Bookriot
goodreads
The Guardian
Harper’s Bazaar
Huffington Post
Indigo
Kirkus
NPR
New York Times
Washington Post
Popsugar
Publishers Weekly
PureWow
Time

Many years ago, beef tenderloin became the entree of choice for my family’s Christmas dinner celebration. For the most part, we’ve used a recipe given to my mom by a long-time friend and caterer. I’ve adapted it, and it’s now one of my favorite “fancy” dishes to serve.
Ingredients
beef tenderloin – I’m typically cooking a 5-6 lb loin
Marinade
1/2 c. olive oil
2/3 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
4-5 garlic cloves
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary (~5 inches long)
salt & fresh ground pepper
Directions
Make sure the beef is trimmed of most of the fat …

October is Fair Trade month!
When I posted about justice earlier this year, I said that one of the points made to me was, if you want to work for justice, find ways to incorporate it into your current life. Justice feels like such a big issue, that big action is necessary. This isn’t possible for me right now, but small actions are.
So, I’m celebrating the small actions.
For me, this has meant incorporating Fair Trade products into my life when and where I can. Fair Trade means that the farmers and workers …

Many of you have been asking, but it is hard to know where to begin. My thoughts on Go Set a Watchman.
Does Watchman change the way we will or should read To Kill a Mockingbird?
This is the question at the heart of every reader who has paused before picking up Watchman. And my answer is, yes, it will forever change TKM. But it isn’t a bad thing or for the worse. Ultimately, Watchman provides a rounder, more fully developed understanding of TKM.
In high school and college classrooms across the country …