It's Monday 8/28! What Are You Reading?

Hear that? Me, either. I am all alone in a completely quiet house....ahhh! We moved our younger son back onto campus Thursday evening (our older son had an apartment near there all summer), and classes start tomorrow. I am starting my recovery from a very hectic and tiring summer!

We squeezed in a mini-vacation last week, Tuesday through Thursday, at Rickett's Glen State Park in PA, which is absolutely gorgeous. Check out my photos in my Saturday Snapshot post. It was just what we needed - a couple of quiet days with just the four of us, back in our camper together like the old days.

Of course, we also enjoyed our books, as always. Here's what we've been reading this week:

• I am still reading my next review book for Shelf Awareness - Machine Learning by Hugh Howey, a collection of short stories (including a few Silo stories) from the author of the amazing Silo trilogy, which I just finished last week. Just like his novels, these stories are imaginative, clever, and entertaining. I am really enjoying them. This book is due for release on October 3.
• On audio, I am still listening to Carve the Mark, 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 - a full-blown fantasy set in a different universe. I prefer fantasy or sci fi set in our real world, with some fantasy or sci fi elements. However, it is growing on me, and I am enjoying it more now that I've gotten to know the characters.
• My husband, Ken, finished reading another of my review books, Leona: The Die Is Cast by Jenny Rogneby. This is a new Scandinavian thriller, which he always enjoys, and he said this was a good one.
• Now, Ken is reading The Magician King by Lev Grossman, book 2 in the Magicians Trilogy. He and our son both like this series, and this is one last Big Book of the Summer for him!
• Jamie, 22, reads only Big Books! He read and finished The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, book 1 in The First Law trilogy. We gave this to him for his birthday last week, and he lost no time in devouring it - finished it in 3 days (560 pages!) on our trip. It's an epic fantasy that was recommended by our friends at Northshire Bookstore in Vermont, and he says he definitely wants to read the rest of the series.
• Now, Jamie is reading another epic fantasy (and Big Book): Swords and Scoundrels by Julia Knight, book 1 of The Duelists trilogy. I could tell by the title, this one is right up his alley! He went on a brief sci fi kick this summer, but now he is clearly back to his fantasy roots. 

 Not many blog posts from last week, with our travels & tight schedule:

Middle-Grade Review: Mighty Jack and the Goblin King by Ben Hatke, a fun fantasy adventure graphic novel

Saturday Snapshot: Rickett's Glen State Park, PA - featuring over 20 waterfalls!

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! The Challenge will wrap-up next Monday, though you can continue to link up your reviews and/or wrap-up posts through the end of September.