Monday, October 24, 2011

It's Monday 10/24! What Are You Reading?


Well, it is now truly fall here - the weather has cooled down, and it seems as though the tress suddenly turned from all green to a riot of colors.  I love this time of year!  We made our annual trip to the pumpkin farm this weekend to pick out our pumpkins and gorge ourselves on still-warm, homemade donuts and fresh cider....oh, my gosh!  I forgot I have a leftover donut....ah...that's better! Mmmm...cinnamon-sugar donuts and typing don't mix well.

OK, I'm back.  Anyway, here's what we read last week:
  • I finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's like Nancy Drew for grown-ups.  I want to be Flavia when I grow up.
  • I am now reading The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, a newly released teen/YA post-apocalyptic novel that my husband recently read.  I really like it so far.  It's a bit like The Road, only not nearly as dismal and hopeless.
  • My husband, Ken, is reading a thriller I gave him for his birthday, The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, a Norwegian author who has been compared to Stieg Larsson.  He likes it so far, though he says the translation is sometimes a bit rough.
  • Jamie, 17, finished his Dad's old favorite fantasy series, The Belgariad by David Eddings with Book Five: Enchanter's End Game, the last book in the series.
  • Jamie was home sick all last week, so he treated himself to a book he's really wanted to read, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.  He loved the Mortal Instruments series and has been looking forward to this prequel series.  He and I listened to the beginning of this book on audio, but he said he preferred to read it.
  • Now, Jamie is reading Blood Red Road by Moira Young, a much-anticipated new post-apocalyptic novel.  He says it's good so far, though he doesn't like the author's convention of not using quotation marks for dialogue.  This one is on my TBR list, too.
  • Craig, 13, is reading Woodsong, a memoir by Gary Paulsen, author of one of our favorite novels, Hatchet and its sequels.  He's enjoying it, though he says it's not as good as Paulsen's fiction.
Last week, I posted a review of a new picture book, M.O.M.: Mom Operating Manual at Great Books for Kids and Teens.  I don't normally review picture books anymore, but this one was unique!

I also posted a recap and photo from my book group's meeting with author Rachel Simon, which we all thoroughly enjoyed, and a discussion of how many books we have in our house, with pictures of our overflowing bookcases!

What are you and your family reading this week?

Ooh...now I have a bit of a sugar-rush headache from that donut, but it was so worth it!

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)

2 comments:

  1. I'm very jealous of the donuts! Yum! We haven't made it to the farm yet. I really hope the weather cooperates on Saturday since we have to get our pumpkins before Halloween!! The Eleventh Plague sounds interesting. I thought The Road was too depressing but that sounds like a good one.

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  2. I agree, Julie! I didn't actually read The Road, but my husband and I watched the movie. What a downer! Pretty hopeless with no food left, nothing growing, and no animals. This one is not quite so full of despair!

    Sue

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