Monday, March 12, 2018

It's Monday 3/12! What Are You Reading?

Bit of a rough week last week, and another one coming up, but it had some good moments, too. Just a lot of medical appointments last week - replacing a broken filling, cutting out a really bad ingrown toenail (sounds trivial but it's really painful) - and this week, I get to repeat both of those on the left side! But I just came from my massage therapist, and that was a good kind of medical appointment - my neck and back problems have calmed down, so that's really good news. In between all that, we got over 10 inches of snow in Nor'Easter #2 last week (which means a snow day here, where we rarely get more than a few inches) - check out my Saturday Snapshot photos. It looks like we will probably get just the edge of Nor'Easter #3, hopefully just a bit of rain here. We had a decent weekend, with our younger son and my father-in-law over for dinner Friday night, and our older son here for breakfast & lunch on Sunday - I can always lure them home with food! And we met our oldest friends for dinner Saturday night, to celebrate their 30th anniversary, at our favorite authentic New Orleans restaurant (hard to come by up here!) - good memories of the years the four of us spent there.

I was feeling out of sorts last week - overwhelmed by all the writing projects I want to tackle and my limited time/energy. But yesterday, I booked a mini getaway for my husband and I next weekend (the location is a surprise for my husband - shhh!), and that perked up my spirits considerably! This time of year always gets to me with a bit of cabin fever - itching to get the camper out again - so getting out of town for a couple of days should help.

Meanwhile, as always, we are all enjoying our books:
  • I am still reading my next book group selection, Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, a Christmas gift from my husband (I suggested it to the group). Since I just read my first-ever Atwood novel last year (The Handmaid's Tale), I am glad for the chance to read more. This is a historical novel, based on a real-life woman in the mid-1800's in Ontario who was sentenced to life in prison for murder. The question of whether she is guilty or innocent is central to the story. I am down to about 60 pages left, and I'm still not sure! Should be a great discussion this week.
  • I have been listening to The Freakling, book 1 of the Psi Chronicles by Lana Krumwiede, a middle-grade/teen/YA fantasy dystopian novel that I downloaded free from SYNC last summer. Somehow, I keep forgetting that fantasy isn't one of my favorite genres...but this novel has been interesting and engaging so far, about a society where most people have telekinesis powers and those who don't are sent to a colony, where they have to do horrible things like feed themselves with forks, tie their shoelaces, and pick things up to move them! It's an intriguing concept.
  • My husband, Ken, is reading NightSun by Dan Vining, a novel I recently reviewed for Shelf Awareness. It's a detective story set in 2025 that combines mystery, suspense, and dystopia.
  • Our son, Jamie, 23, is reading book 6 in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Lord of Chaos. He loves this epic fantasy series. He spent all of his Christmas gift cards on books, so he has stacks and stacks of new books waiting! His reading time is limited right now, as he finishes his last semester of college and looks for a job.
Last week's blog posts:
Movie Monday: Red Sparrow - Russian spy thriller starring Jennifer Lawrence

TV Tuesday: 11/22/63 - historical drama about a man who goes back in time to stop JFK's assassination, based on a Stephen King novel - a must-see!

Fiction Review: Maurice by E.M. Forster - a classic about two gay men in early 1900's England

Middle-Grade Review: Swing It, Sunny! by Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm - warm, fun, and thoughtful graphic novel

Teen/YA Review: The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah - two teens caught on opposite sides of immigration controversy in Australia

Saturday Snapshot: A Tale of Two March Storms - pics from high winds & heavy snow

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.  

21 comments:

  1. I love Robert Jordan's Wheel of TIme series. I hope your son is enjoying it.

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  2. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to look up Wheel of Time series to see if it might work for my second born. I hope you and your hubby have a wonderful mini getaway. I can't wait until my five are old enough for us to do that, by ourselves -- hasn't happened in about 15 years, so we're due. lol Have a wonderful reading week!

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    1. It's an epic fantasy series - one of the modern classics. My son loves it!

      Yes, our nest isn;t completely empty yet since they are both in college just 20 min away, but we do have some freedom now! We still don't like to go far or for long, though, because we also have my husband's 92-year old dad to take care of!

      Enjoy those kiddos - the time flies by so fast! I was so jealous of your AWIT weekend - sounds awesome!

      Sue

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  3. Nothing trivial about those medical issues Sue. All the best for the coming week and the reverse sides. Great idea to plan a weekend away - do enjoy it.

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    1. Thanks, Kathryn. The end is in sight now - just a few more days of this stuff to get through 7 then our little break!

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  4. Sorry to hear you've been feeling out of sorts - I hope the little getaway does you the world of good. Sometimes a change of scenery is just the thing.

    Alias Grace is an Atwood novel I've been interested in for a while, and with the Netflix series out now, I definitely want to give the book a read before watching.

    I've just finished a fun MG title myself, and am now going to move on to an old Diane Chamberlain novel I've yet to read - she has quite the backlist so there are many I have yet to read, but always enjoy her stories.

    Happy reading to you & the family.

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    1. Oh, yes! The cover of my copy of Alias Grace mentions the Netflix series - I'm definitely going to watch that after I finish the book!

      I've never read any Diane Chamberlain, but I know a lot of people really liker her novels - I need to give them a try!

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  5. I just started The 57 Bus and it is SO GOOD so far!

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    1. I've heard about that one - sounds like an intriguing concept!

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  6. Sounds like you had a tough week. I love Alias Grace. It’s one of my favorite Atwood books. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. So funny that everyone else seems to know about Alias Grace and I only recently heard of it! It's been great.

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  7. I haven't had any students read Freakling yet--I should pick it up and then maybe I can book talk it to them.

    Happy reading this week :)

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    1. It's good so far - I'm about 3/5 of the way through. I sometimes get bored with fantasy novels but this one is engaging.

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  8. I read Alias Grace ages ago but I wasn't in the right mood for it. I should go back and re-read it. Come see what I'm reading

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    1. Yes, give it another try! I've found it very engaging - a much quicker read than I expected.

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  9. I laughed out loud. I always forget that I don't like Fantasy a lot, either. That said, there are some incredible Fantasy books that make me forget that I don't generally love books within the genre. :)

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    1. ha ha - glad you could relate! The ones with dystopian-type plots, I always think, "Oh, I might like that" but I'm just not fond of the all-made-up fantasy world novels. That said, I am enjoying this one!

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  10. I remember enjoying Alias Grace when I read it in my early 20s. I think the very first Atwood novel I read was Cat's Eye and got hooked ever since. :)

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    1. oooh...I've heard good things about Cat's Eye - another one to add to my list!

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  11. Hope you are feeling better soon. I'm trying to recover from a sinus infection. Being sick sucks! Getting away to anywhere is always a good idea!
    Here in Vancouver I finally peeked into the garden only to discover daffodils blooming!
    I'm not a huge fantasy fan either. It has to be exceptional to keep me engaged. I think I have The Freakling from sync too. I'll look forward to reading what you have to say.

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    1. Ugh - sorry to hear that. My younger son used to get a lot of sinus infections, so I know how they can knock you out.

      I noticed daffodils in our neighborhood with buds yesterday - it's still very cold & windy here, though!

      I'm getting close to the end of Freakling now, and I have to say, I've enjoyed it more than I expected to.

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