Growing up, reading was my favorite pastime. At one point, I had over 200 books lining the walls of my very small bedroom. I would stay up, far past my bedtime, reading under the covers and then, as I got older, would look forward to the weekends when I could go to the library and spend at least 20 to 30 minutes perusing the shelves, searching for the perfect next book.  Recently, I’ve returned to my original hobby and have been disconnecting each evening to read for 30 minutes before bed. Now I look forward to this time, typically from 9:30-10 each night, and have created a ritual that includes evening skin care, a cup of tea and a good book. In addition, any time we are on vacation or visiting family, my favorite way to relax is by enjoying fresh air and a good book. As you can see from the picture above, when we’re in Vermont, I love propping my feet up on the back porch, enjoying the sunset and a novel. These moments are far and few between now since Katie’s arrival, but this is still my preferred way to relax during one of her naps or when I have a helping hand.

Based on the feedback I received on Instagram and Facebook when I asked for book recommendations this weekend, I thought it would be fun to share it on the blog today and hopefully share it more regularly since I’m reading more frequently. I love getting book suggestions from friends and other bloggers, such as Grace, so why not share with you guys too?

If you’re looking for more inspiration or more frequent updates, you can follow me on Goodreads. My “to read” list is more than 100 books long as I find myself adding new books on a weekly basis; a far faster pace than I read a book these days.

The below list is a compilation of the recommendations friends, family and readers shared over the past few days. The ones with ** next to them are ones that I have read and each of the other books were recommended by at least 2-3 people, if not more. In fact, a few of them, such as The Light We Lost, were recommended by more than 20 people!

• When Breath Becomes Air**
• All The Light We Cannot See**
• The Nightingale**
• Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo**
• The Handmaid’s Tale
• Lilac Girls
• A Gentleman in Moscow
• A Man Called Ove**
• Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
• The Light Between the Oceans
• A Tangled Mercy
• What to Do About the Solomons
• We Are Never Meeting in Real Life
• Small Great Things
• Present Over Perfect 
• The Light We Lost
• The Leavers
• All the Ugly & Wonderful Things
• Exit West
• What is Not Yours Is Not Yours
• The Heart’s Invisible Furies
• A Simplified Life

I will incorporate my thoughts on these books as I make my way through them, most likely via Friday Favorites posts and a few dedicated book posts.

If I’m missing your favorite, leave the title in the comments and I will update this post!