It's Monday 2/1! What Are You Reading?

Whew, another busy week (I know, when are they not?). With my son home from school Monday & Tuesday due to snow and taking my father-in-law to a doctor's appointment Tuesday, it just felt like a really short week. I have also been super busy with writing work - that's a good thing! I had 3 deadlines all converge (still need to finish the last one today). And it's Mardi Gras season! So, I will also be busy this week preparing for our annual Mardi Gras party on the weekend - a big deal for me with my chronic illness because it's the only time we have more than 2 people over at a time all year. Loads of fun, though, so I am looking forward to it.

Oh, yeah, and there's...reading! I actually spent a fair amount of time reading in the middle of the week, trying to finish my book before book group meeting Wednesday evening (I didn't). Here's what we've all been reading this week:

• I finished (finally, on Saturday!) a book for my neighborhood book group, The Art Thief by Noah Charney. It's a mystery about an art thief who steals multiple valuable paintings seemingly all at once from three different locations. I know absolutely nothing about art, so I learned a lot. It was a very complex mystery with lots of different interwoven threads. I think I understand what happened...
• I also finished listening to The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman, a teen/YA novel on audio. It is intriguing, about a teen girl who lives in a world where spells can help you overcome life's challenges - make you prettier, more popular, less sad. The main character, Ari, seeks a spell to help her forget her boyfriend, Win, who died, but all spells come with a cost. I thought it was a little weird at first, but it turned out to be engaging and gripping.
• I am on a mission this year to get through more of my TBR books (check out my summary of 2015 challenges to see how I did last year), so I chose a thin middle-grade book off my bulging TBR shelves: This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen. We used to LOVE to listen to Paulsen's novels (especially the Hatchet series) on audio with our sons when they were younger. This is a collection of essays by Paulsen, all about wild animals. It was nominated for the National Book Award last year, so I'm glad I'm finally getting to it - it's facinating so far and laugh-out-loud funny!
• I haven't started a new audio book yet, but as I type this, I am downloading The Cage by Megan Shepherd, a teen/YA novel which is supposed to be "The Maze Runner meets Scott Westerfeld," about humans being held in zoo-like places by an alien race. Sounds a bit Planet of the Apes to me! Should be interesting.
• My husband, Ken, finished Broken Harbor, the fourth book in Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series and loved it, as he did her others. I've only read the first one so far, so I have some catching up to do.
• Ken is now reading another Christmas gift from me, The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), the first of her Cormoran Strike series. He's enjoying it so far though trying to figure out some of the Britishisms.
• Jamie, 21, finished The Brethren Prince: Piracy, Revenge, and the Culture Clash of the Old Caribbean by Ira Smith. It is historical fiction about real-life pirates in the mid-17th century Caribbean - he started it for our trip to Jamaica over New Year's. I'm not sure what he's reading now!
• Craig, 18, is reading The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka for his World Lit class. His older brother didn't like it, but Craig is enjoying it so far. That's a classic I haven't read yet - maybe I will finally get to it when he is finished.

 I'm getting a bit behind on reviews, but wrote these blog posts last week:

TV Tuesday: Younger - I love this smart, funny, sexy show that is back for its 2nd season

Fiction Review: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave - my starred review for Publisher's Weekly of a wonderful historical novel

Summary of 2015 Reading Challenges - yes, finally! Now I need to choose 2016 challenges...

Saturday Snapshot - last week's winter storm

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.