Monday, March 06, 2017

It's Monday 3/6! What Are You Reading?

Hello Monday! I have a packed-full, crazy week ahead, so I am enjoying a quiet Monday morning to catch up. Last week was writer's bliss: a whole week all to myself. Then, mid-week, my husband and I decided on a last-minute mini vacation getaway for a chance of pace. We drove just an hour away to a nice little town west of Philadelphia, Downingtown. We stayed in a guest house that is a renovated old one-room schoolhouse (it has more than one room now!), enjoyed some great meals out, finally tried out the dine-in movie theater up that way, and roamed around the RV Show yesterday. It was wonderful to get away, even for just 28 hours, and was definitely just what I needed. Unfortunately, we returned home to all kinds of family emergencies, so re-entry was tough last night! But, it's good that we at least got away on our own for a bit.

We also enjoyed our books last week, as always. Here's what we're reading:
  • Last Monday, I started The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen for my neighborhood book group this week. This was one of my choices, and I was eager to read this Pulitzer Prize winning novel that also won many other awards last year. I'm about halfway through (need to pick up the pace to finish in time!), and it is excellent so far, about a Vietnamese man in the late 1970's who works for the Secret Police and is airlifted out to America at the end of the war. His secret, though, is that he's really a spy for the Communist side. The writing is excellent, with many laugh-out-loud moments and sentences I marked for their pure brilliance.
  • On audio, I finished listening to a teen/YA novel, The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron. It was intriguing, about a dystopian world where everyone forgets everything every 12 years...except the main character who remembers everything but keeps that a secret, as she begins to uncover the secrets of her community. I was slow to get into this one, but after a plot twist in the middle, I found it more compelling and ended up enjoying it. Now I need to pick a new audio today!
  • My husband, Ken, finished a review book I got, a noir thriller, Lucky Supreme: A Novel of Many Crimes by Jeff Johnson. The author (it's his debut novel) has been compared to Elmore Leonard and Dennis Lehane, and my husband enjoyed it. The novel is due out April 4.
  • Now, Ken is reading a novel that I read two years ago and loved, The Last Days of Ptolemy Gray by Walter Mosley. I was greatly moved by this powerful novel about aging, memory, and family, so I'm glad my husband is getting to read it now, too.
  • Jamie, 22, has been reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. He is up to book 3, The Dragon Reborn, and enjoying it. Even though he's been sick a lot, I think he's been watching more TV than reading lately.
 Lots of blog posts last week - trying to catch up!
Movie Monday: Spectre - the latest James Bond film that I enjoyed more than I expected

Celebrate Mardi Gras! - the holiday is over, but there are links here to excellent books, TV, and movies, plus recipes you will want to add to your meal plan all year round!

TV Tuesday: Sneaky Pete - about a con-man taking over someone's life; we love it

Memoir Review: Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies (with Alison Leslie Gold), one of the people who helped hide the Franks - stunning & powerful

Memoir Review: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - compelling story of an ordinary teen girl living in extraordinary circumstances

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

What are you and your family reading this week?   
Me enjoying fish tacos on our mini getaway!
 

20 comments:

  1. I don't quite understand the appeal of the fish taco! What a fun place to stay. I've always wanted to live in an old high school!

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    1. Oh, yum! I love fish tacos! Have you ever tried them? And I actually had shrimp tacos the night before!

      It was a cool old building.

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  2. Sometimes you just need to get a change of scenery, even if it's just for the weekend. Just getting away can do your mind and spirit a world of good, and leave you feeling refreshed and energized!

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    1. Yes, exactly, Jane! I was feeling those end-of-winter doldrums last week (especially after our college sons took turns being home sick all of February!)

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  3. So glad that you and your husband got a bit of time for yourself. It's so important to do that every now and again. You've got me intrigued about The Sympathizer. I'll look forward to reading how your book club went.

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    1. Yes, it was just the break we needed!

      The Sympathizer is great so far - I just need more time to finish it!

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  4. The Sympathizer is high on my list. Yay for mini-getaways!

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    1. It was on mine, too, Beth. I love when it's my turn to present choices for book group & I can select all the books I've been dying to read!

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  5. That sounds like a lovely trip! Getting away really does help you to approach everything with new energy and perspective.

    Do you usually have an audiobook and a paper book going at the same time? I just finished an audiobook, but I'm not usually someone who is always listening to one.

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    1. Yes, I do! When I switched from listening on CDs to digital downloads on my iPod a few years ago, it was revolutionary! I can listen while I walk, cook, do laundry, etc. So, yes, I always have one book I'm listening to and one book I'm reading. Works great for me - I can read so many more books this way!

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  6. Your mini getaway sounds perfect and such a great idea. Even if you did hit stuff when you got home. I haven't read a dystopian for years now - can only take so much of it!

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    1. Yeah, I hear you, Kathryn - in fact, the last two dystopians I listened to on audio were too similar - I've had my fill for a while!

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  7. Another week where you introduced me to a new YA -- thank you!
    Love the sound of a mini-getaway :) Glad you enjoyed yourself!

    Happy reading this week :)

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  8. I am just over half-way through The Unquiet Dead, a mystery set in Canada, but with ties to the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia back in the mid-1990s. It's good

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    1. Oh, wow - that sounds intriguing. I read a book set during that time in Bosnia last year & found it fascinating because I knew nothing about it.

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  9. I really want to read The Sympathizer and the Mosley looks good. Enjoy!

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  10. The Sympathizer was also a book club choice - and I read it over two months ago. I did not particularly like the protagonist, but agreed with the literary craftsmanship.

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    1. Yes, it was hard to know what to think of the protagonist, wasn't it?

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