It's Monday 5/21! What Are You Reading?

After a very busy, hectic week that left me wiped out, we got some news that sent us into a family crisis. There was nothing to do over the weekend but wait in limbo until that the powers that be can decide our fate this week. So, that all led to a very stressful, exhausting weekend with a lot of disrupted sleep (but still a lot to get done at home). Fingers crossed it will all work out this week, but we just don't know yet.

In this state, our books become even more important in our lives, providing comfort and escape. Here's what we've been reading this past week:

• I did something I almost never do - set a book aside without finishing it. I read a little past halfway of Fates & Furies by Lauren Groff for one of my book groups and threw in the towel when I realized I wouldn't be able to make it to the meeting (which ended up getting cancelled). I was just not enjoying this novel. The concept is intriguing - the story of a marriage told first from the husband's perspective and then from the wife's - but the characters were unlikable, the narrative style was really strange, filled with lots of sentence fragments and a distanced feel that made it hard to feel anything for the story or characters. Turns out most of the group didn't like it, so I was in good company!
• I picked up my next review book, The Possible World by Liesl O'Halloran Schwarz, which I am totally immersed in and loving - what a relief after forcing myself to slog through Fates & Furies! This is the intertwined stories of three people: a six-year old boy named Ben who witnesses a horrific mass murder at his friend's birthday party and loses his memory, an ER doctor named Lucy who takes care of Ben when he is first brought in and wants to help him, and across town, Clare, who will be turning 100 soon and finally decides to share her life story - including long-held secrets - with a new friend. It's just what I needed - hard to put down and engrossing.
• On audio, I finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, and it was excellent and compelling. It starts in 1974, with a 13-year old girl as the main character, about a family that moves to Alaska. The husband/father was a POW in Vietnam and is clearly suffering from PTSD (though that diagnosis didn't exist back then) and moves the family to a remote cabin in Alaska impulsively. Things go well at first (it was summer!), but once winter begins, his mental condition deteriorates rapidly. Since he is at times abusive, parts of the book are difficult to listen to, but it's a moving, immersive, and powerful story.
• For a complete switch to a lighter story, I am now listening to Deadzone, book 2 in the Horizons middle-grade series. This is one of those series with a different renowned author for each book, and this second book was written by Jennifer Nielsen. It's good so far, action-packed, suspenseful, and twisty, like its predecessor. It's about a group of kids who are the sole survivors of a plane crash that went down in the Arctic, but they find themselves in a strange alien-like landscape filled with unique (and dangerous) flora and fauna.
• My husband, Ken, is reading The Troop by Nick Cutter, a thriller I gave to my dad as a gift that was among the many books we inherited from him when he died three years ago. Ken and I both love reading his old books because he shared our love of reading, and it makes him feel close. I have heard this one is a bit gruesome, but my dad loved it. Ken confirmed that last night when he said, "This is good, but I don't think you'll want to read it!"
• I'm guessing that our son, Jamie, 23, is still reading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. He is on book 7, A Crown of Swords, but without much reading time. Graduation is this week, and things have been difficult for him recently.

Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: Splitting Up Together - a light, fun sitcom with star power

Fiction Review: She Rides Shotgun by Jordan Harper - an Edgar Award-winning debut novel that I loved

Middle-Grade Review: Refugee by Alan Gratz - a moving, powerful story of 3 refugee children in 3 different time periods - a must-read

Summary of Books Read in April - it was a late spring but a great reading month for me!

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?  
 
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