Monday, December 05, 2016

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?)
 

12 comments:

  1. I've never seen Orange Is the New Black but have heard good things about it. I am having a low-key Christmas season so far. I should dig out the artificial tree one of these days. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. It's SUCH a good show! No such thing as a low-key Christmas with kids around :) They are 18 & 22 and in college but only 20 min away! They are both coming home to decorate the tree tonight! Enjoy the season, Kathy.

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  2. My schedule looks a lot like yours this week! We have had our tree up for a bit, since we just brought it up from the attic. But I will be combing through all of my pictures for Christmas cards and calendars for the grandparents!

    Have a great week, Sue!

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    1. Busy season, isn't it?? Both boys are coming home tonight to decorate the tree :)

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  3. "Orange is the New Black" is one of those books that I keep saying I'm going to read, but have yet to do so. I probably should make a goal to get it done in 2017.

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    1. It's very, very good, Melinda - do you like memoirs? It's warm and funny but also an eye-opening look at our very flawed prison system.

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  4. I love the holiday season!! Christmas is my favorite time of the year because of the positivity, music, and family (and time off, of course)!
    I keep saying I'll read Orange is the New Black before watching the show, but neither has happened yet.

    Happy reading this week :)

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    1. Sometimes I am ambivalent about the holiday season because it can be so stressful & exhausting, but our Thanksgiving week vacation put me in a good frame of mind this year, I think! It also helped that I was on top of things this year and finished all my writing assignments early, before Tgiving, so I can focus just on holiday & family now!

      If you like memoirs, you will love OITNB! It is warm, funny & interesting, but also an eye-opening look at our flawed prison system.

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  5. I'm in the audiobook queue for Before the Fall, so glad to see your husband is enjoying it.

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    1. I want to read it next! Hope you enjoy it!

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  6. My husband and I both follow the TV series Orange is the new black closely too, but didn't realize that it was based on a novel - will have to be on the lookout for that.

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    1. No, Myra - NOT a novel...a memoir! It's all based on a real-life story. Everything in the book really happened (though of course, the TV show has made up a lot of stuff!). That's what makes it all the more fascinating and thought-provoking.

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