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

Monday...a fresh start to a new week.  Everyone is healthy and in school, so that's an excellent start!!  We spent the weekend working on college and scholarship applications, make-up work (my son), and finally getting our Christmas tree and decorating it.

Remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned I gave talks on writing and reading at my son's middle school to the 8th grade English classes?  Well, on Friday, I received this note from the teacher:

The students are LOVING your recommendations!!! Esp. Mike Lupica, Everlost  and Alibi Junior High. Parents are thrilled with the fact that their kids are reading more. You really helped start this with your reviews and by talking to them. THANK YOU!

As a book lover AND a parent, this just made my day!  My son says that everyone is requesting books now, talking about my recommendations, and even recommending books to each other.  How exciting!

Meanwhile, my family is enjoying our books as well:

• I finished She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan, a memoir about James becoming Jennifer, for one of my book groups.  I loved this book - it was well-written, warm, funny, and fascinating.
• I am now reading the first book in a new series, The Guardians, by children's book veterans William Joyce and Laura Geringer.  Book One is Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King - I wanted to be sure to get to this seasonal novel before Christmas.  The series will explain the origins of legendary characters, including St. Nick, through the kind of imaginative fantasy tales you'd expect from Joyce.
• I'm still listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Stephen King's new release, 11/22/63: A Novel, about someone who time travels back to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's assassination, and he is loving it.
• Jamie, 17, was sick all last week with a bad flare-up of his chronic illness, so he did a lot of reading.  He comforted himself with an old favorite series, The Great Tree of Avalon by T.A. Barron.  He read all three books: Avalon, Avalon: The Eternal Flame, and Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy.
• Next, he moved onto another old favorite series starting with The Cry of the Icemark by Stuart Hill.  He's been waiting literally years to read the final book in the trilogy because a friend borrowed book 2 from him and never returned it.  His friend finally admitted he'd lost it, so Jamie bought the second book last week and is eager to get through the full series.
• Jamie is also reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.
• Craig, 13, is reading The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney - he's currently on Book Two: Curse of the Bane.

Not much time for blogging last week (or this week probably) because of all the holiday preparations, but I did post one review of The Songcatcher, a novel set in the Appalachians by Sharyn McCrumb.


What are you and your family reading this week?


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

Our Biggest Tree Ever!