It's Monday 6/22! What Are You Reading?

Busy, busy week and then a nice, quiet weekend spent recovering! Both of our sons went to Firefly (a giant outdoor concert here in Delaware with 90,000 people) this weekend, so I am enjoying a little bit of quiet solitude before they both come home in a couple of hours....probably both completely exhausted!

We enjoyed some good books last week:

• I finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce for my neighborhood book group. I enjoyed this unique story about a retired British man who leaves his house on the southern coast one morning to mail a letter to an old friend dying of cancer and instead keeps walking. He decides on the spur of the moment - with no preparation - to just walk all the way to his friend, in the northern-most town of England. The novel starts out light and funny but digs deeper as Harold walks and gradually allows himself to remember some of the traumas he's experienced. It was excellent.
• With two book group reads behind me, I am now reading my second Big Book of the Summer, Revolution by Deborah Wiles, a middle-grade novel set in Mississippi during the summer of 1964, the Freedom Summer. I knew nothing about the events in Mississippi that summer, so the historical backdrop has been fascinating, alongside a compelling fictional story of both white and black kids in one town. I'm enjoying it very much so far.
• I finished listening to Nest by Esther Ehrlich, another middle-grade novel. It was excellent, about an 11-year old girl in 1972, coping with her mother's sudden illness as well as more ordinary adolescent problems. It is both heart-breaking and heart-warming and paints a vivid picture of growing up at that time (I've been living in the past this week!).
• To continue this week's retro middle-grade theme, I am also reading the graphic novel The Baby-Sitters Club: Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier, based on the popular series by Ann M. Martin from the late 80's. I was too old when the original novels came out, but I am enjoying this graphic novel adaptation.
• After finishing A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin, my husband, Ken, chose a teen/YA novel that my son and I both enjoyed, Sharp North by Patrick Cave (in fact, it was one of my Big Book Summer reads in 2012). He's enjoying it so far.
• Jamie, 20, is reading a review book we received last year: The Grace of Kings by Ken Lui, book one in The Dandelion Dynasty, an epic fantasy novel (his favorite kind!) and also a Big Book. He says it is very good so far, though he didn't have much reading time last week with Firefly!

 Blog posts last week:

Review of A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, my first Big Book of the summer.

Review of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, a teen/YA audio book

Saturday Snapshot, with photos of raindrops on our local greenery

Great Books About Fathers, a Top Ten list reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital! magazine

A Tribute to My Dad, for Father's Day

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.     

Yesterday was officially the first day of summer, so you still have plenty of time to join the Big Book Summer Challenge and join the fun! You only need to read 1 book (though you can read more if you want) longer than 400 pages to participate. And this year, for the first time, there'll be a Big Book Giveaway at the end of the summer for participants!