It's Monday 4/3! What Are You Reading?

Busy week last week! Our oldest college son headed to the Outer Banks for spring break, while our youngest came home. We helped set up our camper at a local state park for him and his friends - for the few days mid-week when the rain stopped! It was still pretty cool out, but they had a lot of fun, hiking and making s'mores around the campfire. It was nice to have our son around a bit last week, and I cooked a lot.

I had a nice unexpected treat this weekend when one of my cousins, who lives in North Carolina, came up here to visit with her mom (my aunt) and daughter. We quickly arranged a last-minute lunch gathering, and my other cousin (her brother) came down from Allentown with his wife and son. So, we had an unexpected mini family reunion! I rarely get to see these cousins because they don't live in my hometown, Rochester, NY, so this was a special treat, and we had a great time catching up.

At home, we all enjoyed our books:

• I have been ramping up my reading for Boooktopia, an awesome annual event in Vermont, where book lovers get together with authors for an intimate weekend of discussing and celebrating books - so much fun! My mom and I went two years ago and are going again the first week of May. So, in preparation, I read The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak, one of this year's Booktopia authors. I absolutely loved this novel about a fourteen-year old boy in New Jersey in 1987 who is obsessed with computer programming and wants to design his own games, at a time when that was not a typical thing to do! It's filled with fun 80's pop culture references (there is a whole subplot about he and his friends trying to get a copy of the infamous Playboy Vanna White issue!), suspense, friendship, and romance, too. I really enjoyed it. If you liked Ready Player One (one of my favorite books!), you'll like this one, too.
• I just started a non-Booktopia book - I have to fit in my book club read for this month! - Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. It's a memoir by a woman scientist, starting with her childhood playing in her father's lab at the local college. I'm enjoying it so far, especially as a woman who majored in chemical engineering!
• In between, I am fitting in additional chapters of Books for Living by Will Schwalbe, another Booktopia author. I haven't read his first book yet, The End of Your Life Book Club, but I REALLY want to, and I can't wait to meet the author. This is a book celebrating books - what's not to like?
• On audio, I finished another Booktopia book, The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, another of the authors who will be at the event. This novel is about widowed women living in a castle in Germany with their children after WWII ends. Although I've kind of overdosed on WWII fiction lately, this is a unique look at the aftermath of the war and the women who were left. I liked it very much, and it was good on audio.
• My husband, Ken, is reading The Red Hunter by Lisa Unger. As best as we can remember, he and I have only read one other Unger novel, Beautiful Lies. I incorrectly stated last week that she is from Baltimore and sets her novels there - I think I had her mixed up with Laura Lippman! Lisa Unger is a thriller writer, and we enjoyed the first one we read. Ken is liking this one so far, too.
•  Jamie, 22, is reading The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin, book 2 in the Dreamblood series. He loved book 1, The Killing Moon, a few years ago and is happy to have finally gotten to book 2 (which we gave to him for Christmas last year). I doubt he had much reading time last week, in a beach house with 11 other young people!

Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: Time After Time, a new time travel show featuring HG Wells & Jack the Ripper

Middle-Grade Review: Making Friends with Billy Wong, a fun story about friendship & family that also addresses racism in 1950's Arkansas

Saturday Snapshot: National Parks of Northern New Mexico, continuing my national park tribute

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.

What are you and your family reading this week?   

Spring has FINALLY arrived in Delaware!