It's Monday 5/23! What Are You Reading?

How can it possibly be the end of May already?? We had another cold, rainy week, and it is supposed to be high 80's and humid by the end of this week - just what I feared. We skipped right over the nice spring weather with sunshine in the 60's and 70's! We are incredibly busy with family stuff, end of school year, etc. Our younger son has two final exams this week and then is done with high school, with graduation in 2 weeks. Our older son also has two final exams this week in college and then is finished for the semester.

End of May also means...Big Book Summer Challenge starts this week! You can click the link to read about last year's challenge - the rules will be the same for this year (super easy and low-key for summer!) and I will have a kick-off post up by Friday or Saturday. So, start going through your bookshelves to dig out those Big Books you've been putting off (you only need to read one to participate) - summer is a great time to finally read them!

Meanwhile, in between collapsing into bed exhausted each night, here's what we've all been reading:

• I finished Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran: A Novel Based on the True Stories of Temporary Marriage by Nadia Shahram, a review book for Publishers Weekly. It was an absolutely engrossing novel about a young girl in Iran in the 1980's who is married off to an abusive older man when she is only 12 years old and how those early experiences affected every decision she made later in life. Some early parts of the book are hard to read but ultimately, it is a warm and powerful coming-of-age story about a woman who wants to be in control of her own life.
• So, now I have gone back to A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, which I had to temporarily set aside to get my review book read on time. I am loving it so far - an intricate, interwoven story about a Japanese teenager and a woman writer in British Columbia (I love stories about connections). I have become very attached to the two main characters!
• I finished listening to a teen/YA novel, My Name is Not Friday by Jon Walter, about a free black boy during the Civil War who is sold into slavery and taken to the South. It was a fascinating, engrossing story with some unexpected twists and turns.
• I plan to start a new audiobook today, The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos, another teen/YA novel.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Cell by Stephen King, one of many King books we inherited from my dad. Ken says he'd read this one before but didn't remember how it ended, so he enjoyed it again! We always traded books back and forth with my dad, so it's quite possible my dad lent it to him years ago when he first read it.
• Now, Ken is reading  The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick, which I gave him for Christmas. We have enjoyed the first few episodes of the TV adaptation on Amazon Prime, so I thought he'd like the novel. It's good that he's reading his Christmas gifts because it's almost Father's Day!
• Jamie, 21, has been re-reading the first two books in the A Pattern of Shadow and Light trilogy by Melissa McPhail: he finished Cephrael's Hand and is almost finished with The Dagger of Adendigaeth, in preparation for reading book 3. With finals this week, he hasn't had much reading time!
• Craig, 18, finished Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, a wonderful graphic memoir about growing up in Iran during the Revolution there, for his World Lit class (I read it last year - see my review at the link). I was disappointed that his teacher ran out of time to discuss it more thoroughly. They also ran out of time to read The Kite Runner, as planned - seems like this happens at the end of every school year!

 I managed quite a few blog posts last week:

Movie Monday: Stuck in Love, a fun family-oriented romcom with a bookish focus!

TV Tuesday: The Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce, a sexy, funny, clever female-centric show

Fiction Review: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz, an odd but entertaining mix of humor & suspense

Nonfiction Review: Blog Inc by Joy Deangdeelert Cho, a comprehensive guide to blogging

Saturday Snapshot: Sunshine Between the Rain, a few pics from a rare sunny day!

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.

Check Back This Weekend for the 2016 Kick-Off!