It's Monday 5/8! What Are You Reading?

Wow, what a week I had! It was basically book nirvana - a reader's paradise! I left on Thursday to attend Booktopia in Vermont, hosted by the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester. My mother and I attended Booktopia in 2015, and she came with me again this time. I will post a summary of the weekend and the amazing authors once I catch up at home, but in the meantime, you can check out my post from two years ago. Because of my chronic illness, I am physically exhausted today - totally wiped out from the weekend - but still on an emotional and intellectual high from spending the weekend with so many wonderful and interesting people who love books as much as I do, not to mention getting to know some incredibly talented (and fun!) authors. It was an incredible experience (again).

So, it was an extremely busy week for me, but as always, I made time for reading - first finishing up my Booktopia reading and then moving onto other great books. Here's what my family read last week:

• I finished Books for Living by Will Schwalbe, the best-selling author of The End of Your Life Book Club (which I still need to read!). This second book about books is a series of essays about books and life - each chapter focuses on one book and one thing he learned from it. The books run the gamut from classics to children's books to old nonfiction to modern novels and more. I dog-eared dozens of pages for quotes, names of books I want to read, and more and thoroughly enjoyed every chapter. I got to meet him this weekend, and we bonded over remembering loved ones who've died through the books they loved. He was just as good a speaker as he is a writer, and I was thrilled to meet him and hear him talk about his book.
• I started another Booktopia book, The World To Come by Jim Shepherd, a book of short stories. I only had time to read a few of the stories before I had to set it aside, but I enjoyed those, and I do plan to finish the book. Many of the stories are based on real-life historical disasters but focused on the details of fictional people involved and their thoughts and feelings. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the stories.
• This weekend, I had to FINALLY set aside my Booktopia reading to get started on my next review book for Shelf Awareness, Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar, due out May 6. I requested this one special because I loved the author's earlier book, The Space Between Us, and this latest novel is living up to my high expectations. It's about a young black boy from the projects who is fostered and then adopted by a wealthy white family in the suburbs...but there is a whole lot more to it than that. I am completely engrossed so far.
• On audio, I finished another Booktopia book, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney, a novel about an elderly woman taking a very long walk around Manhattan on New Year's Eve 1984 and recalling her long and interesting life, from the 1920's to the present day. It is based on the real-life story of advertising icon Margaret Fishback. I started reading the book and finished it on audio, and by the end, Lillian felt like an old friend, and I could hear her voice in my head for days! The author, Kathleen Rooney, was delightful and her story of writing the novel was fascinating.
• On my way home yesterday, even though I was completely exhausted, I was looking forward to listening to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas on audio in my car. It's a YA novel about a black teen girl whose friend dies in front of her after being shot by police. It is just as powerful and amazing as everyone has been saying (I was crying as I drove!), and it really did make the long miles fly by for me last night. I can't wait to hear what happens next.
• My husband, Ken, is reading one of my review books that was released last week: Crime Song by David Swinson, a sequel to The Second Girl. Both feature PI Frank Marr, a retired cop who was forced to leave early due to his addictions.
• Jamie, 22, says he is on a science fiction kick! He is/was reading Columbus Day, book 1 in the Expeditionary Force series by Craig Alanson, a series about an outer space war where the Earth is unsure of who are enemies and who are allies. I wonder if our recent viewing of the TV show Colony is influencing his reading choices! I'm not sure if he's finished it yet.

Reviews to come on ALL of these wonderful books! Here's what I posted on the blog last week - just two posts, but I am surprised I even managed that before I left:

TV Tuesday: Chewing Gum - a quirky, fun, irreverent British comedy

Fiction Review: The Leavers by Lisa Ko - a boy caught between two cultures & families

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?  

You can also follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page. 

My mom and I at Booktopia in Northshire Bookstore