It's Monday 6/27! What Are You Reading?

I am basking in the peaceful silence out on our back deck. One son is in Rhode Island, my husband left for a business trip to Las Vegas at 4 am, and my older son is back at his apartment, packing to join his brother in a day or two. It's soooo quiet. And I only cooked for one this morning. And I was able to open all the windows when I got up instead of having to keep the upstairs air-conditioned while my son slept until noon. Can you tell I was desperately needing a little downtime and solitude? It's been a crazy month, starting with my son's graduation. I still have a lot of work to do today, to help my son get ready for his trip, but I am relishing this quiet moment.

As always, lots of good books being read at our house last week:

• I finished Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard, a middle-grade graphic novel that is due out on August 2. It was wholly unique, interesting, and had richly imagined drawings. I loved kind-hearted little Bera.
• My next book group pick came in at the library, so I am reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, a highly acclaimed YA best-seller. Am I the last person in the world to finally read this unique novel? The author combines a completely original story with some really weird old photos with great effect. It's about a modern-day teen boy discovering the very strange place where his grandfather lived as a child. Excellent so far. 
• I struggled to start an audiobook last week because the first two I tried - that I had downloaded from the publisher - were both missing chapters (you should have seen my confusion when the first one started with chapter 2!). I finally successfully uploaded one to my iPod and started listening to Pax by Sara Pennypacker, a middle-grade novel about the friendship between a boy and a fox that he raised from an orphaned baby kit. The two are separated and trying to find their ways back to each other. It is just as good as I had heard, with chapters alternating between the boy's and the fox's points of view - reminds me of a Kate DiCamillo novel (yes, that good).
• My husband, Ken, finished When Darkness Falls by James Grippando, a paperback thriller that I put in his Christmas stocking. 
• Ken has three new (big!) books from Father's Day but chose an old slim paperback from our shelves for his travel week: The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. This was the first Follett novel I ever read (many decades ago), and I think I have read it 2 or 3 times by now. I couldn't believe my husband had never read it before. It's an excellent spy thriller that was later made into a very good movie.
• Jamie, 21, is almost finished with the third book in A Pattern of Shadow and Light series by Melissa McPhail: Paths of Air. He says that it really picked up in the second half and he's loving it as much as the first two books.

 Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: The Fosters - a warm, funny family drama

Teen/YA Review: The Mystery of Hollow Places by Rebecca Podos - combination mystery & family drama

Graphic Memoir Review: Persepolis 2 by Marjane Satrapi - coming of age in (and out of) Iran

Saturday Snapshot: Camping & Hiking in Maryland

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.

Join the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge! Just click the link to read the rules - super-easy for summer! You only need to read one "big book" (400 pages or more) to participate. Join the fun & sign up today!