It's Monday 7/10! What Are You Reading?

Whew, super busy weekend, so no time for blogging. Our sons came home from their 2-week long trip (on their grandparents' sailboat) late Friday night, so we are back to our normal level of noise, mess, and chaos...but it is great to see them again! We were awakened at 2am Friday with an emergency from my father-in-law, so my husband spent the rest of the night in the ER with him (he is fine now). We went with our sons and some old friends to our favorite local Cajun/Creole cafe Saturday - we used to live in New Orleans, and the husband/wife chef-owners of this place also lived there and each cooked for our two favorite restaurants there! So, their food is truly authentic (as opposed to most so-called Cajun restaurants) and really delicious. Sunday, we had all of us here, including my father-in-law, for a big dinner. And next weekend, my husband and I hit the road again...this time for my 30th college reunion! So, that should be fun, but it will be a very busy week getting ready.

Of course, we always have time for our books - here's what we've been reading this past week:

• I finished reading a review book for Shelf Awareness, Exposure by Lisa Scottoline. I think I've only read one other novel (her first) by this very popular author. I enjoyed this legal thriller that is part of her Rosato & DiNunzio series. It was a slow build in the beginning, but past the halfway point, the pace was very fast and packed with action and suspense. It's about a case involving a close family friend of Mary DiNunzio that starts out as a simple wrongful termination case, but blows up into something much bigger and more complex.
• Now, I am reading my only summer book group book, I Am Malala: the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. I've wanted to read this one for a long time and am glad to finally have the chance. It's great so far - fascinating and engrossing - about a young girl's childhood in Pakistan.
• I finished listening to The Risen by Ron Rash on audio. I have wanted to read a Rash novel for ages! This one, like most of his, takes place in Appalachia, in the mountains of North Carolina. The action shifts back and forth between 1969, when the narrator and his older brother met a beautiful girl while fishing at the creek, and present day, when his life has fallen apart and he sees in the newspaper that the girl's body was found near that same creek. It was very good, with excellent writing and a riveting plot. Now I want to read more Rash novels!
• I started a new audio, Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin, a teen/YA novel about a teen girl in a Jewish family in Norway during WWII (I know, I keep saying no more WWII stories, but there are so many in my backlog and so many different angles!). At the start of the novel, the war hasn't really affected her and her family yet, but I suspect that will change.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Dust by Hugh Howey, book 3 in the Wool series, which I am dying to read! I just finished book 2, Shift, last month and hope to read this one as soon as Ken is finished with it, while the first two books are still fresh in my mind. This is Ken's 2nd Big Book of the Summer, and will be my third!
• Jamie, 22, has returned from his trip with his brother, cousins, and grandparents. He finished reading Dune by Frank Herbert, the classic sci fi novel. Jamie read Dune once before, but he was very young (about middle-school age) so he enjoyed re-reading it. Next, he read Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, a sequel that his dad lent him. 
• Now, Jamie is reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, book 1 of the series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen. It's an epic fantasy of the type he loves that he picked out at his favorite used bookstore recently.

 Last week's blog posts:

Books Read in May (yes, May, but I'm catching up!) - 9 books in all

Fiction Review: The World To Come by Jim Shepard - short stories based on real-life disasters

Teen/YA Review: Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz - unique, suspenseful story of kids' role in WWII

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. 

Remember to sign up for my Big Book Summer Challenge! You have plenty of time (until September) to read just 1 book (more if you want) with 400+ pages. Everyone has a chunkster like this (or dozens of them, like me!) on their shelves or TBR list. I hope you'll join the fun! (you don't need a blog to sign up - see the challenge page for details)