It's Monday 12/12! What Are You Reading?

Whew, another busy holiday week! 'Tis the season, right? My focus last week was on working on my annual family DVD - all the photos (plus some video clips) I took during the year, organized into slideshows with music, with copies made for all of our extended family. We are having our holiday celebration with one branch of the family this coming weekend, so my deadline for finishing the DVD is quickly approaching!

I also finished my gift shopping (mostly online but a bit in person), contacted another part of the family to organize a gathering when we visit after Christmas, updated my address list for holiday cards, had everyone home to decorate the tree, and spent a few hours sorting out and paying a huge stack of medical bills. This is final exam week for my sons in college, and then they are on break for six weeks!

Of course, we all found time to enjoy our books last week, too:

• I finished Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman this week. My husband and I are HUGE fans of the TV show (my review at the link). This is the real-life memoir that the Netflix show is based on, and it is every bit as good! Piper brings that same mix of heartfelt emotion, humor, and social commentary to the book that you see on TV (though without the graphic sex scenes!). It was one of those books that I never wanted to end - I read every last word, including acknowledgements, references, author's note, etc.
• Now I am reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philip Sendker for my neighborhood book group this week (this is our 150th book, so we are celebrating with a nice dinner out!). It's been OK so far, but I'm not loving it. I wonder if it's because I just finished an amazing book that bowled me over or if perhaps the translation is a bit flat. I don't dislike it - it's the story of a NYC lawyer who disappears, and his grown daughter who tracks him to Burma, where he grew up, to try to find him and uncover his past. It's interesting, and I want to finish it, so we'll see how I feel when I'm done.
• I finished listening to The Outliers by Kimberly McCeight, a teen/YA thriller. An agoraphobic teen girl named Wylie who recently lost her mother overcomes her anxieties and leaves the house when she gets a text that her best friend, Cassie, is in trouble and needs her help. Wylie and Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper, take off on a crazy road trip in search of Cassie, without knowing exactly what they are getting into. Lots of suspense and unexpected twists here. I had no idea where the plot was going until the very end. It's the first in a series.
• I just spent a few minutes choosing my next audiobook - and probably my last one of 2016. I decided on LaRose by Louise Erdrich. I've been wanting to read this novel, have never read anything by Erdrich (a National Book award winner) before, and this was a 2016 release, and I rarely get to new releases in the year they came out. So, we have a winner! I am downloading it now, and will start it this morning.
• My husband, Ken, finished Before the Fall by Noah Hawley, a book I gave him for his birthday this fall. It's about the aftermath of a small plane crash with only two survivors: an adult man and a small child. He enjoyed it and says I need to hurry up and read it, too, so he can talk to me about the ending!
• Now, Ken is hoping to finish up one of his 2016 reading goals before the end of the year - to read another classic. He started The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, a book he has been wanting to read for a while. I'd like to read it, too, because I grew up in New York state, learning about the tribes of the Iroquois nation. I recited the tribes from west to east for him last night :)
• Jamie, 22, finished re-reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas in preparation to read a new book in the series - he does that a lot! Now, he is re-reading book 2, Crown of Midnight. He has two finals this week, and then he is off for winter break and can read nonstop again!

Not a lot of blogging time last week (and even less this week!), but I managed to get a few posts up:

Movie Monday: The Legend of Tarzan - an action-packed adventure

Teen/YA Review: Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle - an apocalyptic road trip

New Travel Article: Exploring Cajun Country - my latest travel article - about Louisiana

Fiction Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - a different persspective on WWII and women's roles in the war

Saturday Snapshot: Florida Keys - a few last photos from our vacation - take me back to the islands!

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.
 

Our sons and the finished tree! (just needs tinsel)