Monday, January 22, 2018

It's Monday 1/22! What Are You Reading?

Busy week last week - lots of catch-up, writing, two book group meetings(!), plus the usual errands and other household stuff. I'm still not even close to caught up - I can't seem to get down to less than 200 unread e-mails!

Of course, we always enjoy some downtime with our books. Here's what we've been reading this past week:
  • I just finished Circling the Sun by Paula McLain - I enjoyed it very much, more than I expected to. It's a novelization of the real-life story of Beryl Markham, a female horse trainer and pilot. It begins with her childhood in Kenya in the early 1900's with her father, up through her record-breaking trans-Atlantic flight in 1936. I was captivated by her story.
  • I finished a middle-grade graphic novel on the side, Cici's Journal: The Adventures of a Writer-in-Training by Joris Chamblain and illustrator Aurelie Neyret. Cici is a budding journalist who investigates mysteries in her neighborhood. It was warm and fun and all about friendship.
  • I just started reading The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury. In high school, I read every Bradbury book in my public library, so I am very excited to be revisiting one of his classics. It's wonderful already!
  • Just this morning, I finished listening to Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson, an adult novel on audio. It's about a 19-year old girl who is pregnant and joins a strange sort of Utopia experiment, where a group of parents and babies all live together and bring up their children together, with the kids not knowing who their parents are until age 5. Yeah, it sounds a little weird, but I really enjoyed it - it was interesting, unique, and engaging. Now I need to choose my next audio!
  • My husband, Ken, is still reading a birthday gift from our son: Cephrael's Hand by Melissa McPhail, book 1 in A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. This is one of our son's favorite fantasy series, so he wanted to share it with his dad. It's 780 pages long, so it's keeping him busy!
  • Our son, Jamie, 23, is reading a favorite fantasy series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. He is currently reading book 3, Memories of Ice. He enjoyed books 1 and 2 a while back and says he has books 4, 5, and 6 waiting at his apartment, thanks to his favorite local used bookstore. This one is over 900 pages, so it could take him a while!
Blog posts last week - not as many as I'd hoped but making progress on my 2017 wrap-ups:
Movie Monday: Favorite Movies Watched in 2017 - what were your faves last year?

Graphic Novel Review: The Witch Boy - middle-grade fantasy with real-life relevance

Summary of Books I Read in December - pretty good reading for a busy holiday month!

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?  

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.    

16 comments:

  1. I read The Martian Chronicles in high school too, and it's one I'd like to revisit. Here's what I'm reading this week:http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-im-reading-january-22-2018.html

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  2. I really liked Circling the Sun a lot! Glad you did too. Email ... sigh.

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    1. Yes...sigh...a necessary evil, I guess! We should be reading more books and fewer emails!

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  3. It's the first I'm hearing of Cephrael's Hand, very interesting. Ray Bradbury is timeless. :)

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    1. One of my son's all-time favorites!! And I am REALLY enjoying revisiting V=Bradbury - he's very clever.

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  4. Imagine not letting your child know only at five they belong to you. I wonder how that would work out! Nice that you enjoyed the book. Don't get too busy!

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    1. Interestingly, the kids were all great in the novel - it was the parents who had trouble! lol

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  5. I hope you enjoy all your books. Have a good week.

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  6. I am still doing the non-fiction thing. I just read How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana, which I really liked.

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    1. I've heard good things about that one, Helen - glad you enjoyed it.

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  7. I don't know any of these books! Well, I know the Bradbury book, but I haven't read it. I don't love Bradbury, but maybe I need to read more of him!

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    1. I barely remember most of Brandbury's books - only that I LOVED them in high school!! It's fun revisiting this one.

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  8. Perfect Little World sounds interesting. As someone who lives in an extended family situation (my son and his wife have their own space in the basement but we eat together), we have come to see that it is positive for everyone. We love having our grand baby so close!

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    1. How wonderful for you, Cheriee! Glad to hear it is working out so well.

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