Monday, March 18, 2019

It's Monday 3/18! What Are You Reading?

I love Monday. I always feel a bit guilty about this, but I relish - and need - the quiet solitude that a Monday morning brings and the chance to catch up and start a new week, fresh. We had a wonderful weekend, with dinner out with friends Saturday night, time to catch up and clean up a bit around the house after 2 full weekends past, and a great St. Patrick's Day corned beef dinner, with the whole family here - both sons, one girlfriend, my father-in-law, and my husband and I. Yesterday was a fun, noisy, great day with everyone here, and I loved it...but I also love the peace and quiet of having the house to myself and being responsible only for me this morning. My morning started with several hours of taking care of urgent problems that came up over the weekend, but it's still quiet alone time. This will be a busy week, but I'm ready!

Here's what we've all been reading this week:
  • I am still reading my next book group pick, My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. You may recall that I dreaded reading the 600-page novel, America's First Daughter, by the same authors last year but ended up loving it, and I'm having the same experience now! I thought I wasn't in the mood for lengthy historical fiction, but once again, these remarkable authors have plunged me into the life of a woman connected to a Revolutionary hero, and I am captivated. It's an amazing novel, and I am also learning so much (driving my husband crazy with interesting facts while he's trying to read). This novel, in particular, is striking for how little things have changed, from the founding of our country to the challenges we are facing today - we are still arguing over the exact same issues, which is mind-blowing. If you haven't yet read either of these novels, you should! They are both perfect picks for my Big Book Summer Challenge, coming up in two months.
  • I am still slowly making my way through a very unique illustrated book, Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan. Tan is known for his amazing illustrations, graphic novels, illustrated short stories, and even a short film. This unusual book is a collection of short fantasy stories about animals in an urban environment. Some stories are just a few lines long and others are 5 or more pages, each with at least one huge, colorful, two-page painting. They are all very weird and imaginative, about worlds that are different than ours, with a focus on the connections between animals and humans. It's almost impossible to describe briefly, but I am enjoying it.
  • On audio, I listened to Tangerine by Christine Mangan, a novel that got a lot of attention last year. It's the story of two young women in the 1950's who are college roommates and then meet up again later in Morocco. There is tension throughout, as you know that something bad happened when they last saw each other, but it's quite a while before you find out exactly what. It kept me a bit off-balance because the chapters alternate between the two main characters, and they are both unreliable narrators - or are they? I wasn't sure for quite some time whether one of the women was a stalker or the other woman was paranoid. I didn't connect with the characters and wasn't thrilled with the ending, so overall, I liked it and it was engaging, but I didn't love it. There is a discussion hosted by my local bookstore at lunchtime today, but...see my opening paragraph! I don't think I'm leaving the house. And now a headache has kicked in, so...no.
  • Now, I have started listening to The Widows by Jess Montgomery, which was recommended by the Book Cougars podcast (they also interviewed the author - episode 68). I highly recommend their podcast - they are friends of mine from Booktopia, and I always look forward to a new episode! Set in 1924, The Widows is inspired by the true story of Ohio's first female sheriff and tells the fictional story of two widows who are brought together by unexpected circumstances and find themselves at odds with the male leadership and corruption in their communities. It's very good so far.
  • My husband, Ken, finished reading The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld, a thriller that I gave him for Christmas. It got a lot of great buzz when it was published in 2017, and he said it was very good. I plan to read it also.
  • Now, Ken is reading Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson, a very good psychological thriller about a woman who discovers she is living next door to a killer - and he knows that she knows. It's good tense suspense, and he's enjoying it. I reviewed it for Shelf Awareness and will post a link as soon as my review is published.
  • Our son, Jamie, 24, wants to read book 4, Kingdom Blades, of the series A Pattern of Shadow and Light by Melissa McPhail, a favorite series of his. But, being him, he decided to first re-read the first 3 books in the series. So, he finished book 1, Cephrael's Hand, and is now reading book 2, The Dagger of Adendigaeth. He says he's enjoying it and is glad he decided to re-read because he's remembering details he'd forgotten...and the series is sooo good!
Blog posts from last week:
Movie Monday: Secret in Their Eyes - dark psychological thriller

Fiction Review: The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh - unique witness protection suspense

Nonfiction Review: The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea - powerful true story of lethal border crossing

Books Read in February - a great reading month for me

Saturday Snapshot: March Madness - in like a lion and out like a lamb!

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.

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

What are you and your family reading this week? 

First time on the deck this year - 75 F on Friday! (only 40 today, though)
 

24 comments:

  1. It is nice to have some quiet time, especially after a busy weekend. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. Yes, I always cherish my quiet solitude - not sure how I'll cope after my husband retires!

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  2. I cannot believe y'all hit 75 degrees on Friday! WOW!! While it's warmer this week than last week, we'll have piles of snow around us for a long time. It's mostly turned to ice after some melting and re-freezing, but it's so high that it may be summer before it's completely melted. And speaking of summer... I love that you're helping us plan for a new Big Book Summer Challenge. I'll have to take note of these books. Thanks for all the shares, Sue!

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    1. I know - wasn't that crazy?? Just 40's here now but I saw 70 on the forecast for next week. Wow, sounds like you got a LOT of snow there! Reminds me of growing up in Rochester, NY :)

      Yes, I already have books in mind for Big Book Summer, RIP Challenge in the Fall, and Nonfiction November! ha ha

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  3. Yes! Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan is so strange! It's been about a month since I read it, and there are definitely stories that really stick out to me. I like how you can put it down and come back to it and not miss anything. The collection aspect is quite appealing. Also, the illustrations just blew me away. :)

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    1. Oh, yeah - the paintings are just magnificent and moving! And I can see how some of the stories would stick with you - he imbibes so much emotion into even the shortest ones.

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  4. I absolutely get the need for quite Monday mornings. It's one of the reasons I don't work Monday. We also have the whole family over for big Sunday dinners. It's wonderful, but also busy, busy busy!
    I have added The Widows to my want to read list, but so far, my library doesn't have it.

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    1. I think The Widows is a recent release, but your library should be getting it soon - it's getting a lot of attention.

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  5. I liked Widows, but didn't love it. However, I definitely found the coal miner and first female sheriff stuff interesting.

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    1. Interesting, Helen - I'm not too far into it yet, so still figuring it out. On audio, I was a bit confused by names & characters at first! Bob and Dave and Daniel and...ha ha

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  6. I'd like to read My Dear Hamilton, but I know I can't fit a lengthy novel like that one into my limited reading time these days! Keeping it in mind though. Happy Reading!

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    1. It takes me a long time to finish a longer book, Kym, but it's really no different than reading two 300-page books! I've been surprised by how riveting these two novels have been.

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  7. I have a copy of Tales from the Inner City to read. My weekly update

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  8. A lot of good books here! I'm listening to a long book and reading a long book . . . so no review post this week. It's fun to get immersed in a book that takes more than an evening or two to read.

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    1. That's one advantage of longer books - gives me a chance to catch up on reviews!

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  9. I'm looking forward to the Shaun Tan book. It's getting lots of buzz recently. Glad you had a nice weekend, Sue. I'll put The Widows on my reading list! Thanks!

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    1. Hope you enjoy both Shaun Tan and The Widows, Linda!

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  10. I'll be interested in hearing how you like My Dear Hamilton--I read a bio of AH well before Hamilton came out, and find him such an interesting person.

    Tangerine sounds really good! Sorry to hear the headache prevented you from the book discussion. I think I'll get on the library waitlist for the audio version.

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    1. Jane - This one is historical fiction about Hamilton's wife, Eliza, rather than a biography, but I am certainly learning a lot I didn't know about Hamilton - I agree, he's fascinating.

      The audio of Tangerine is good - one narrator is American and the other is British and they have two different people reading, so it helped me keep track of who was who!

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  11. I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying My Dear Hamilton! I think it's one of my favorite historical fiction reads ever :)

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    1. Both that and their other novel, America's First Daughter, were excellent!

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  12. I feel so bad that I have to wait an entire year to read Shaun Tan's newest book (we are having a #WomenReadWomen2019 reading theme - so exclusively female authors/illustrators for 2019). But even more books to look forward to, definitely. :)

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    1. Wow, that sounds like a really cool challenge for the year! Enjoy!

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