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I’m a book lover, through and through. From birth, I have loved and been captivated by books. One of my favorite pictures is of me as a toddler, reading a book with my mom, while being surrounded by even more books. I spent many hours as a kid in libraries, bookstores, and home with stacks and stacks of books.

My mother’s an author, and I would tag along with her to book conferences and book signings. To me, authors were like celebrities. I would see their names printed on the covers in so many places! They would have people gather to meet them and listen to them read their books! It was nothing short of amazing.

As I met more authors, I began to see them when I picked up their book. They were no longer just a name and a headshot on the back flap. They were real people who I had talked to and maybe even shook their hand! I could look at my bookshelf and see memories of meeting that author or illustrator.

Since becoming a food blogger and attending my own conferences, I’ve started to create a new shelf of memories. This time, several of them are more than memories. The cookbooks are tied to bloggers I consider my friends. A lot of my blogger friends and sprinkled all over the country and I don’t get to see them very often.

Blogging can get a little lonely sometimes, to not have that always person around that just gets it when you’re spending hours cooking, looking for that perfect time of day to shoot, photo editing, or trying to come up with a better word than “delicious.” Now I can start to see my friends on my bookshelf and in the bookstore and feel a little less alone in the thick of it.

Recently, I saw a newer friend’s cookbook on the shelf. It has such a pleasant surprise to see Tara’s book right there, in the midst of a mid-lunch errand run. It was like she was there, just waving hello at me. I grabbed it off the shelf and bought it. Happy Holidays to me! As I flipped through her book, I was inspired by her Ginger Honey Carrots and made another side dish with the intriguing ginger-honey-carrot-combo in mind. If you’re looking to liven up your side dishes, I would highly recommend Tara’s book, Choosing Sides (and that title is so clever! How could you not?!).