Monday, August 24, 2015

It's Monday 8/24! What Are You Reading?


Quiet week at home last week, for a change. I wasn't feeling well most of the time, so I tried to take it easy. Both sons were home (in and out) for much of the week. I managed a lot of blog catch-up and plenty of reading:
  • I finished my sixth and final Big Book of the Summer, Anne of Green Gables by H. M. Montgomery. If, like me, you have never read this childhood classic, you should! It is clever, charming, warm, and funny. I just adore Anne and want to read more of her adventures. Really enjoyed it.
  • Next, I read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, a novel I've been wanting to read ever since its release last year. It lived up to my expectations - I loved it! It's a book-lovers novel, about a bookstore owner. I laughed out loud throughout, cried at one point, and wanted to go read every single book or story mentioned! 
  • Now, I am reading What Waits in the Woods by Kieran Scott, a teen/YA novel that I chose from my overflowing TBR shelves! It's good so far - a spooky story about a group of teens camping in the woods.
  • I finished listening to Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, a teen/YA audio book about a young man agonizing over the disappearance of a young woman who was living with him and his brother. I thought it was realistic fiction, but it turned out to have a fantastical/supernatural element to it. I'm not usually a big fan of magical realism, so I'm still trying to decide what I thought about that, though it was a compelling story to listen to.
  • Now, I am listening to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, a classic I downloaded from SYNC this summer that I have been meaning to read for years. My husband and I started it on vacation, but he lost interest in the slow pace, so I am finishing it on my own now.
  • My husband, Ken, finished Straight Down the Middle: Shivas Irons, Bagger Vance, and How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love My Golf Swing by Josh Karp, a golf memoir. He seemed to really enjoy it - a nice change of pace from his usual thrillers, about his favorite thing!
  • Now, Ken is reading Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, the second book in a series that he and our son have both enjoyed.
  • Jamie, 21, finished The Barrow by Mark Smylie, an epic fantasy novel he's been working on for a while (he wasn't feeling well last week, either so he had more reading time). He enjoyed it.
  • Now, Jamie is reading Malice by John Gwynne, Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series, another epic fantasy novel of the type he loves!
  • Craig, 17, has finally started his required summer reading: Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel I really enjoyed, for his World Lit class. It's slow going for him so far - he's not exactly thrilled to be reading this novel! Not a lot of action.
 Lots of blog posts last week:
Review of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, suspense novel

Review of Listen, Slowly by Thanhhà Lạ, a middle-grade audio book set in Vietnam

What Does Summer Reading Mean To You?

Summary of Books Read in July - not a lot of quantity but great quality!

 Saturday Snapshot - close-ups of flowers

Weekend Cooking - recipe for Fried Rice that is healthy & delicious!

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey (who is currently on hiatus), with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers
 
   

Remember if you signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge, you can add your reviews of Big Books to the review list at the link (the second links list). Just 2 weeks of summer left, so finish those Big Books!

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:16 PM

    LOVED A.J. Fikry! I wasn't as big a fan of Bone Gap as everyone else was. The magical part didn't resonate with me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's how I'm feeling, Holly - I was enjoying Bone Gap very much, then got to the magical part and was like...what?? Glad I;m not the only one!

      Delete
  2. I loved Bone Gap. I loved the strange atmosphere of hovering between real and some alternate reality. It's such a fresh retelling of the Persephone myth. Here are my thoughts on it. http://dickenslibrary.blogspot.ca/2015/04/bone-gap-by-laura-ruby.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had heard it was based on Greek mythology - not something I am very familiar with, I'm afraid.

      Delete
  3. A.J. Fikry is such a delightful novel. I am glad you loved it, too! It makes me happy when others like the books that I love!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope you are feeling better!
    I want to read AJ! I really love Zevin's YA novel.
    Interested to hear what you think about Bone Gap. It is on many peoples' best of lists.

    Happy reading this week! :)

    ReplyDelete