It's Monday 8/21! What Are You Reading?

Attempting to write this post on Sunday night in a rare few minutes of quiet time because this week will be crazy here! My son and I will be on the road tomorrow, driving 90 minutes each way to see his Lyme doctor before college starts next week...and hopefully getting home in time to catch the best of the eclipse. Later this week, our family will be going on a quick vacation - 2 days camping in nearby Pennsylvania. That's all the vacation time we could squeeze out of our busy young adult sons this summer!

This past week was hectic, too, with my oldest son's 23rd birthday on Wednesday and all the rushed preparations for the start of school coming up.

Here's what we've been reading this week:

• I finished reading Dust by Hugh Howey in record time...and never wanted it to end! It counts for my Big Book Summer Challenge and is the last book in the amazing Silo trilogy.  I absolutely loved book 1, Wool, and book 2, Shift, and was thrilled to finally get to book 3. My husband and I LOVE this series that is just so compelling and immersive! If you haven't read Wool yet, you must. And it;s best to read all three in a row (you will want to once you start).
• I moved onto my next review book for Shelf Awareness which is...more fiction by Hugh Howey! Yay! I am reading Machine Learning, a collection of his short stories (including a few Silo stories). I'm only on the second story, but he is just such a great, imaginative writer. This book is due for release on October 3.
• On audio, I finished listening to The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler, an adult novel about two boys who become friends at a Boy Scout Camp in the 1960's and the paths their lives and friendship take over the ensuing decades. The beginning chapters are about the boys at camp as young teens, then it jumps 30 years to them as adults, and then further forward to the son and grandson of one of them, in 2019, coming full circle back to the boy scout camp. It was very good.
• Now, I have started Carve the Mark on audio, the latest YA novel by Veronica Roth. She is the author of the Divergent series, so I am trying to give this one a chance, though it's not really my cup of tea so far - a full-blown fantasy set in a different universe. Probably good but not my favorite kind of novel. If I read fantasy or sci fi, I prefer those set in our real world, with some fantasy or sci fi elements. I am having trouble keeping track of all the non-Earth names, places, flora & fauna, etc. on audio...but like I said, I am sticking with it for a few more chapters to see if it grows on me.
• My husband, Ken, is now reading another of my review books, Leona: The Die Is Cast by Jenny Rogneby. This is a new Scandinavian thriller, which he usually enjoys, and he says it's good so far.
• Jamie, 22, was reading The Wheel of Time series, book 4, The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, the last time I checked. He will probably have plenty of reading time on our camping trip this week!

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: The Circle - a star-studded drama about the dark side of technology

TV Tuesday: Gypsy - a psychologist gets too involved with her patients' lives

Fiction Review: Everybody's Son by Thrity Umrigar - drama about race, adoption & identity

Fiction Review: The Risen by Ron Rash - dark story about two brothers & how the past affects the present

Middle-Grade Review: A Boy Called Bat by Elana K. Arnold - a fun story about a boy with autism

Saturday Snapshot: Harry Potter Birthday Party

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 if you are participating in my Big Book Summer Challenge to leave links to your reviews on the challenge page (the second links list is for reviews) to share them. We only have a few reviews linked up so far, and I know many of you have been reading your Big Books this summer!