It's Monday 12/18! What Are You Reading?

Busy, busy, busy! 'Tis the season, right? I spent much of last week trying to finish up my writing work for the year AND getting ready for the holidays. You should see my to-do list from last week! I kept adding to it until it was about three times longer than normal. But I managed to knock a lot of things off it this weekend. Our college sons came home Friday (temporarily) to help put up the Christmas tree and decorate it. It's one of our favorite parts of the holiday season, going through all our old ornaments - from vacations, childhood, and other memories - with the requisite complaining from our younger son that his brother has about 10 "Baby's First Christmas" ornaments, and he doesn't have any! I fixed that last year with a custom ornament, with a photo of him as a baby and 1998 on it! Always lots of fun and laughs.

This week's list looks more reasonable (so far!) though there are some BIG holiday prep items on it that I have barely started yet.

No matter what is going on, we always find time to read. Here's what we've been reading this past week:

• I just finished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers for a read-along hosted by the Book Cougars podcast, created by two women who've been to the same two Booktopias that I went to! I enjoyed this 1940 classic novel about a small town in Georgia in the late 1930's. It focuses in on several characters, and - you guessed it - they are all very lonely! A pretty sad story but very well-written and engrossing.
• I have just started Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, one of my favorite authors. My son gave me this novel for my birthday this summer. Her books always focus in on a big issue, and this one is all about race. Some chapters are from the perspective of a white supremacist, and those are REALLY difficult to read - just horrifying. But I guess that's the point. There are kind and relatable characters, too.
• I also read a teen/YA graphic novel last week, Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani, about a teen girl who is Indian-American and struggling to understand her family history. A magic pashmina (large scarf/shawl) allows her to get glimpses of India and better understand her mother. I enjoyed it.
• For my next audiobook, I chose a great one: American Street by Ibi Zoboi, a YA novel that was a finalist for the National Book Award...and with good reason. I was immediately pulled into this story of a teen girl who immigrates to the U.S. from Haiti, while her mother is detained by authorities. Her story of trying to adjust to life with her American cousins in cold Detroit, while also trying to get her mother released, is powerful and moving so far. I am loving it.
• My husband, Ken, finished The Farm by Tom Rob Smith, a thriller set in Sweden that sounds really good and was highly acclaimed. I gave it to him for his birthday. He enjoyed it and moved it to my side of the overflowing TBR bookcase!
• Now Ken is reading another birthday gift, from our son: Cephrael's Hand by Melissa McPhail, book 1 in A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. This is one of our son's favorite fantasy series, so he wanted to share it with his dad. It's 780 pages long so a good one to start now, with the holidays coming up!
• Our son, Jamie, 23, is re-reading a favorite trilogy, The Night Angel series by Brent Weeks. He is on book 3, Beyond the Shadows. He's finished with final exams now, so I see lots of reading in his near future!

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: The Fundamentals of Caring - a funny, moving story

Memoir Review: Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen - warm, funny memoir

Nonfiction Review: Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self by Manoush Zomorodi - an inspiring and entertaining book

Saturday Snapshot: Winter Is Coming! - from fall pics last week to three snowfalls this week!

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

Our tree is up!