It's Monday 9/14! What Are You Reading?

Another lost week here - still very sick & stuck on the couch. I had a couple of days where I thought I was getting better but then quickly got worse again. Although these kind of lengthy "crashes" are common with my chronic illness, I've been doing pretty well the last few years, so this one is hitting me hard. Not getting much done generally...but lots of extra time for reading while lying on the couch!

Here's what we are all reading last week:

• I have three nonfiction books started (!) but was having trouble concentrating while sick. I turned to middle-grade novels which were the perfect solution! Nice and easy, fast-moving plots, and great escapism! I finished Doll Bones by Holly Black and loved its creepy, suspenseful plot and focus on friendship - the kids' pretend games reminded me so much of my own sons years ago!
• Next, I flew through another excellent middle-grade novel that had been on my shelves for far too long: Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper. Historical fiction combined with a ghost story, this novel kept me riveted. It is set in the 1600's when the Puritans first came to the New World and focuses on the clash between their ways of life and those of the Native Americans already living here. It was a moving, powerful book that will stay with me for a long time.
• I finally returned to my book group selection: If the Oceans Were Ink: An Unlikely Friendship and a Journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power, about a half-Jewish journalist who grew up in several Muslim countries and embarks on a project with a good friend & Muslim scholar to learn about the Quran. This nonfiction book definitely requires more thought, but it is interesting and enlightening so far.
• I am also still reading How To Wake Up by Toni Bernhard, a good friend of mine who also wrote How To Be Sick (she has the same illness I have). This book is about applying the principles of Buddhism to every day life, and it is very good. I've been reading a little bit each day - it's not something to read quickly but needs absorption time.
• I finished listening to All Fall Down by Ally Carter, a teen/YA thriller set in a fictional Mediterranean country along Embassy Row. Grace goes to live with her grandfather, the longtime American ambassador. She is certain she saw her mother murdered, but no one believes her. Suspenseful and engaging, in a unique setting, it is the start of series.
• My husband, Ken, finished Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch, the second book in a series that he and our son have both enjoyed.
• Now, Ken is reading The Girl on the Train which I read this summer. He's enjoying it so far.
• Jamie, 21, finished Malice by John Gwynne, Book 1 of The Faithful and the Fallen series, and has now started book 2, Valour.
• Craig, 17, finished reading The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, a novel I really enjoyed, for his World Lit class, though he didn't like it much - not enough action for him. His girlfriend read it along with him (they finished it on audio in the car), and she liked it!

 I actually managed a lot of blog posts last week since I couldn't leave the house:

My Big Book Summer Wrap-Up - the big books I read plus winner of the giveaway!

Movie Monday - new weekly feature - reviews of 2 movies & a mini-series

Keep Learning with Books - reprinted from my monthly book column in Vital! magazine

Review of Crows and Cards by Joseph Helgerson, a middle-grade audio book

Review of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin, a novel I loved!

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.     

One last reminder -  if you signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge, you can still add your reviews of Big Books to the review list at the link (the second links list) through the end of the month.