It's Monday 7/24! What Are You Reading?

Whew, another packed-full week! 'Tis the season! We took another trip to NY state this weekend, this time to my hometown of Rochester, to visit my step-mother and go to my cousin's graduation party. It was a very short, whirlwind trip - we arrived about 7 pm Friday and left at 8 am Sunday, with two long days of 8 hours in the car on either end! But it was great to see our family and catch up with everyone. There were some cousins at the graduation party that we usually only see at weddings, funerals, and graduation parties! So, lots of fun but also completely exhausting for me.

One of my several birthday treats this weekend!

Oh, and my 52nd birthday was yesterday (yup, spent in the car mostly!), so I also went on a total sugar binge this weekend, with a birthday cake AND an ice cream birthday pie on Saturday, plus extra servings of Abbott's frozen custard (an amazing concoction that originated in Rochester). It was more sugar than I've eaten in the past six months (due to medical problems), so that helped me to feel more exhausted, too...but SO worth it! ha ha Now we are back home - for a while, hopefully - and catching up.

An AMAZING ice cream pie from Abbott's

So, our reading time was limited last week, but we still enjoyed our books:

• I finished 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 been great - fascinating and engrossing - a memoir about a young girl's childhood in Pakistan, her campaign to support girls' education, and the Taliban's shooting of her. Unfortunately, our book group was cancelled last week (in part because I wasn't feeling well enough to manage it), but I am still hoping for a chance to discuss it soon!
• Now, I am reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I decided on a two-for-one book - this one works for my own Big Book Summer Challenge (see below) and also for my 2017 Classics Challenge, which I am really failing so far! I last read (and loved) this classic novel in my early 20's, so I don't remember much of it and am enjoying it so far.
• I finished listening to Almost Autumn by Marianne Kaurin, a YA audio book 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! In this case, the angle is a story from Norway, which was occupied by the Nazis but not the scene of fighting. It was very good...but now I really am done with WWII novels for a while!
• Today, I will start a new audio, A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold, a new (relatively - I am always a bit behind) middle-grade novel about a boy with autism. I've heard great things about this book, so I am looking forward to it (and no war!).
• My husband, Ken, is still reading one of my review books, Thousand Cuts by Thomas Mogford, part of the Spike Sanguinetti series. Not sure yet what he thinks of this thriller/detective series.
• Jamie, 22, finished Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, book 1 of the series, The Malazan Book of the Fallen in the car yesterday (lucky boy - he can read in the car!) It's an epic fantasy of the type he loves that he picked out at his favorite used bookstore recently. He enjoyed it and wants to read more of the series. Not sure if he has started another book yet.

 Last week's blog posts: 

Movie Monday: The Dressmaker - a quirky, dark satire set in 1950's Australia

TV Tuesday: Sense8 - an intriguing supernatural show

Teen/YA Review: The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - action-packed fantasy

Fiction Review: Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf - warm, gentle story of aging and love

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)