We're back! I haven't posted since July because we took a 2-week camping vacation to Cape Cod and Maine, then headed to Pennsylvania for a weekend with our extended family. Lots and lots of fun all around - hiking, kayaking, and eating way too much delicious food! If you want a peek at our vacation adventures, check out our Road Trip Blog - scroll down to August 1, 2013, to see the photos in order.
So, with all that vacation time, we read a LOT of books these last few weeks!
- I read The Twelve by Justin Cronin, sequel to The Passage and my fourth Big Book of the Summer. I enjoyed it and am glad I read it, but I liked The Passage more (and just gave it to my sister for her birthday this weekend). I wish I'd read The Twelve sooner because I'd forgotten a lot of what happened in the first book.
- This weekend, I started The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go which I read earlier this summer and loved (another big book). The two books are part of a YA trilogy that is a mixture of science fiction, dystopia, and post-apocalyptic fiction, with a heavy dose of action and adventure.
- My husband, Ken, had eye surgery before we left. Fortunately, it went well, and he was able to get back to reading during vacation. He read The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins, an Edgar Award winner that I gave him for Father's Day. He really enjoyed it and is looking forward to reading more by Atkins.
- Now, Ken is reading Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag, a freebie I picked up for him at the library when I completed their adult summer reading challenge (I got a total of 5 free books!).
- Jamie, 19 (as of Friday!), took full advantage of vacation and read at least 6 books over the past two weeks! He is lucky that he can read in the car and not get sick. First, he finished the David Eddings' trilogy The Tamuli, reading Book 2, The Shining Ones and Book 3, Hidden City. He liked this fantasy series that his dad lent him.
- Jamie also read a couple of free books on his Kindle. When he first got it for last year's birthday, he downloaded a dozen free fantasy novels and has been making his way through them. One of the ones he read last week was The God King by James A. West, Book 1 of the Heirs of the Fallen series. He loved it and is looking forward to reading more of the series.
- Jamie and I were thrilled to find a bookstore in Bar Harbor, Maine, so I treated him to two more books for his birthday. He already finished the 700-page novel The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks and absolutely loved it!
- Now, Jamie is reading his other birthday book, Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling, Book 1 of The Nightrunner series (as you can see, he loves fantasy). He says this one is good, too. His reading is going to come to a screeching halt next week when college starts up again, so he's enjoying it while he can!
- Craig, 15, finally started his second book for required summer reading, The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. He's not too excited about this one, even though his brother told him it's pretty good! I want to read it when he's finished.
- Despite all those hours on the road, we didn't listen to much in the way of audio books (to my great disappointment!). The boys don't like listening to books with us anymore (sniff, sniff) - Craig would rather listen to music, and Jamie would rather read on his own. I did talk Jamie into listening to Insurgent by Veronica Roth with Ken and I - all three of us read the first book, Divergent, and enjoyed it. However, he got frustrated because he didn't remember much from the first book and soon gave up. Ken and I still listened while the boys had their earbuds in, but we didn't get very far - I'm not sure when we'll find time to finish it now that we're home!
Review of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain, an amazing and moving novel.
My summary of Books Read in July.
What are you and your family reading this week?
(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers.)
Glad you were able to take that vacation--I remember it was in doubt due to husband's illness. I used to live in Maine, beautiful there.
ReplyDeleteI have The Twelve on my try again later shelf. It came so late after I read The Passage (started Passage the first day it came out) and now I didn't remember too much about the characters. Very convoluted. But I did enjoy The Passage so much! Worth giving it another shot, maybe keeping first book next to my lap to refer too :) Enjoy your week home and reading.
First of all, I'm so glad to see you back! I'll have to check out your pictures from vacation! I'm glad to hear your husband's surgery went well. That's a relief!
ReplyDeleteI think it's funny you're reading The Ask and the Answer since I am just now reading The Knife of Never Letting Go. It's so good! I forgot it would be considered a big book for your challenge. Yay! That will be my second. :-)
Have a great week!
I am a big fan of THe Housekeeper and the Professor. It was one of my favorite book club reads recently. Welcome home. Anne@HeadFullofBooks
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rita! We LOVE Maine - it's one of my favorite places in the world. We spent most of our time in Acadia National Park. I love it there!
ReplyDeleteYou are exactly right about The Twelve - it is very convoluted. What helped me was looking up a detailed plot synopsis online of The Passage and reading that first to remind me of the characters and what happened. Also, there is a list of characters in the BACK of The Twelve that I didn't find until I finished it! So look there first, too. Hope you enoy it.
Sue