It's Monday 8/6! What Are You Reading?

Wow, it just occurred to me that it is now August, and we left July behind last week.  That should give you a hint as to what my week was like!  Lots of stress, emotion, and a flurry of activity after our first meeting with the Office of Disability at my son's college.  We have a very big decision to help him make this week regarding whether he is healthy enough to start college (3 weeks from today!) and if so, how much he can manage: 1 class, 3 classes, in the dorms, living at home?? 

Anyway, that has been completely occupying our minds and our time, so I had no time at all for either writing reviews or visiting blogs, but I hope to catch up a bit this week.  We did all turn to our favorite past time, reading, to help distract us from the stress in our lives:

• I finished Sharp North by Patrick Cave and will try to write my review this week.  It is a teen/YA dystopian novel that is full of action.
• Next, I attempted to start the book for my library's discussion group this week, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson's ground-breaking 1962 book that led to a public outcry against pollution and the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture and the formation of the EPA.  Since I used to work in Environmental Management, I am very interested in the subject matter and am reading bits of it when I can, but it was just too heavy and depressing for me to focus on, given my emotional state.  So...
• I picked up Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich, a gift from my husband for my birthday last month.  This light and fluffy Stephanie Plum novel is just what I needed right now - a bit of reading fun with nothing at all to think about!  I am laughing out loud while I read and enjoying it.
• I also continued making my way through the stack of graphic novels Scholastic sent with Bird and Squirrel on the Run! by James Burks.  Talk about light and fluffy!  This is a simple, fun graphic novel about...well, just what the title says...a bird and a squirrel who become friends and endeavor to stay away from the evil Cat.  Think classic cartoons, like Tom & Jerry.
• My husband, Ken, finally gave in and set aside George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings so that he could read Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, after our son and I raved about it!  He is enjoying it, too, and should finish this morning while he is waiting to be called for jury duty.
• So, Jamie, 17, finished Ready Player One on Monday (with lots of laughs).
• Now Jamie is reading Taliesin, Book 1 in The Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead. He says it's good so far.
• Craig, 14, is reading In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, one of his required books for school.  He is waiting to get to the parts with more action; so far, it is mostly about sisters reminiscing about their days at school - not really his thing!

As I said, no reviews posted last week, but I did post a link to a fun list of 11 Authors Who Hated the Movie Versions of Their Books.  There are some real surprises on this list!  I added my own list of movie adaptations I loved or hated.  How about you?  Join in this fun discussion!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)