It's Monday 12/5! What Are You Reading?

Whew, we are definitely in the midst of the holiday season now! It was a rude awakening to go from relaxed vacation mode - "living the island life" - to the hectic-ness of the holidays last week! I was kept very busy with Cyber Monday, more online shopping, Giving Tuesday, and what I termed Photo Wednesday (and Thursday and Friday and...). I spent a lot of time with my photos from 2016, making calendars and gifts on Snapfish (a holiday tradition), and getting everything organized for my annual DVD of family photos - that's this week's job! I give the calendars & DVDs to extended family members as gifts every year. We also went to get our tree this weekend, another family tradition that we all enjoy. Finding time in the midst of school, work, and finals when both boys can come back home to decorate the tree has been a challenge, but I think we've settled on Tuesday. So, another busy week of holiday preparations is ahead! I'm glad I planned ahead and finished all of my December writing assignments before vacation.

As always, we make sure we have downtime for reading. Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

• I have been reading (and loving!) 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, comedy, and social commentary to the book that you see on TV (though without the graphic sex scenes!). I am really, really enjoying it - one of the books where I look forward all day to bedtime so I can read more.
• On audio, I have been listening (in between podcast binging) 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'm enjoying it so far.
• My husband, Ken, is reading 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's enjoying it so far.
• Jamie, 22, Jamie finished reading Frostborn: The Gray Knight by Jonathan Moeller and enjoyed it. 
• Now, Jamie is re-reading Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence, Book 1 in The Broken Empire series, in preparation to read a new book in the series - he does that a lot! His reading will have to slow down for a while - 1 more week of classes with a bunch of group projects due, a week of finals, and then he is off for the winter break and can read nonstop again!

A very slow blogging week - too much holiday stuff going on! I hope to get back to my book reviews this week. Here's what I posted last week:

 TV Tuesday: Timeless - a fast-paced, suspenseful time travel series all about history

Saturday Snapshot: Sunsets in the Florida Keys

Weekend Cooking: 3 Great Restaurants in the Florida Keys

You can see my mind is still in the Keys!

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 annual trip to the tree farm (see the 2 reindeer in the background?)