It's Monday 6/2! What Are You Reading?

June? Huh? How did we get to June already, almost to the halfway point of the year?

Last week was really hectic, both online and off! It was my younger son's last week of classes, my mom came to visit for a couple of days for Grandparents Day at the high school, and my older son finished final exams and moved back home from college. Our living room looks like a dorm room exploded in it.

Online, I bravely (stupidly?) went ahead with my plans to participate in Armchair BEA in spite of all that real-life stuff going on, managing several posts for that, plus one review last week.

I did enjoy a nice, relaxing Sunday for a change, but I messed up my medications (for my chronic illness), so I am pretty wiped out today as a result.

With all of that going on, we still found time to enjoy our books - in fact, it was a great week for reading at our house:

• I finished The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom on my Kindle for my online family book group. In fact, if today is June 2, I may have missed the start of our discussion yesterday! It was an interesting premise and an easy read, though not as well written as other Albom books I've read.
• Next, I successfully tried to squeeze one more short book into May and read Gypsy Davey by Chris Lynch, an emotionally powerful YA novel that packs a lot into just 150 pages. This was my first Lynch novel, and I keep finding myself thinking about the characters, so I would definitely like to read more from him.
• I am itching to dive into some of my Big Books for my Big Book Summer Challenge, but I realized I still have two more book groups to read this month first! Yes, I am a bit over-committed. I just started Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt for my neighborhood book group, and I am already loving it. It's the story of a teen girl in the late 80's who loses her beloved uncle to AIDS.
• I finished The Here and Now by Ann Brashares (of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants fame) on audio and really enjoyed the time travel story. Now I need to find a new audio to start!
• My husband, Ken, finished Doctor Sleep by Stephen King in record time. He said it reminded him why Stephen King is such an amazing novelist!
• Ken is now reading The Expats by Chris Pavone, an e-book I bought on sale for our joint Kindle account. I want to read this one, too!
• Jamie, 19, finished finals and is home for the summer...which means he is reading like crazy! He finished The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham, the first book in The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series, and loved it.
• Next, he decided to catch up on the Dust Lands teen/YA trilogy by Moira Young, since we got books 2 and 3 while he was away at school. He said he's in the mood for some post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels after reading so much fantasy. He started by re-reading Blood Red Road and is now in the middle of book 2, Rebel Heart. My husband and I are both reading this trilogy, too.

Lots of posts last week:

Armchair BEA 2014 Introduction -  info about me and my favorite books & book blogs

 Review of Time Management from the Inside Out by Julie Morgenstern

Armchair BEA - Author Interactions, about some of my memorable meetings with favorite authors

Armchair BEA - Beyond the Borders, about books that have transported me to different places and cultures.

Armchair BEA Wrap Up, including some of the new book blogs I discovered last week.

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.  

Remember, this is the perfect time to sign up for my Big Book Summer Challenge! You only need to read one book, 400 pages or more, this summer to participate, so join the fun!