It's Monday 9/3! What Are You Reading?

Hurray, it's September! We made it! This was not a good summer for us, with one family crisis after another, plus weather so hot & humid I barely left the house. It's still 90's today and so humid our windows are covered with condensation, but the turning of the calendar page tells me the heat will pass soon. Fall is my favorite season, and I can't wait for it to cool down a bit so I can get back to my normal walking routine.

My husband and I have enjoyed a quiet Labor Day weekend with perfect balance: some downtime, dinner with friends, some productivity (we actually cleaned out our kitchen junk drawer!), and my FIL came over for dinner. And of course, lots of reading! I finished my Big Book Summer reading and have turned my attention to dark and creepy books for the annual R.I.P. Challenge (I still need to sign up for 2018). And my husband is next to me reading right now.

Here are the books we've been reading this past week:

• I finished my 5th and final Big Book of the year, just in time for the end of summer: City of Savages by Lee Kelly, a YA post-apocalyptic (and somewhat dystopian) novel that's been on my shelf for far too long! It's the story of two teen girls and their mother, trapped in a Manhattan that has been destroyed by war, and the ragtag society that has been established among the survivors. It must have been compelling because I stayed up way too late reading every night!
• Now, I am reading my first dark and creepy book of the season (though that last one would have counted, too) - Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian. I am a big fan of Bohjalian's novels, and this one has been on my shelf since Christmas, so I am glad to get it. It's a suspenseful story of a woman who sleepwalks and just disappears one night. Her husband and daughters (and the police) fear the worst when she doesn't turn up right away. So far, it's a tense and engaging story that I am loving.
• On audio, I finished listening to Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork. I am a huge fan of Stork and enjoyed this novel. It's set in Juarez, Mexico, about a young woman whose best friend disappeared one day, along with many other young women over the years from their city. As a reporter, she is looking into the disappearances, but powerful people want to stop her. The narrative goes back and forth between her and her younger brother. It was intense and suspenseful, with in-depth characters, and an examination of some important issues, like all of Stork's novels.
• I have now switched my listening to a darker vibe now, too (though again, my last audio book would definitely have fit for RIP) and started Dark Saturday by Nicci French. When I chose this one for review, I didn't realize it was part of a series (the Frieda Klein series), but there were some hints at the beginning to catch me up. The titular psychologist is asked to look into an old murder case, where a girl (now a woman) was convicted of killing her parents and has been in a mental institute ever since. It's good so far - dark and gripping.
• My husband, Ken, is reading Waking Gods, book 2 of The Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel. He and I both loved book 1, Sleeping Giants, and I realized earlier this year we'd missed the release of the next two books, so I gave him this one for Father's Day (I'm next!). It's a suspenseful and thought-provoking trilogy about a giant hand found buried that is definitely not human-made. I can't wait to get back to this fabulous series!
• Our son, Jamie, 23, finished book 11 of the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan, Knife of Dreams and moved right along to book 12, The Gathering Storm, which is the first one that was co-authored by Brandon Sanderson.

 Not a lot of time for blogging last week - just a couple of posts:

Teen/YA Review: Disappeared by Francisco X. Stork - suspenseful and immersive

Saturday Snapshot: Salute to Reading - photos of my family enjoying books, together and individually, through the years

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.

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

What are you and your family reading this week?  

Today's the last day for the Big Book Summer Challenge! If you are participating, be sure to leave links to your Big Book reviews or challenge updates/wrap-ups on the Challenge page or leave your updates in the Goodreads group (you have another month to finish up reviews and/or wrap-ups). Seems like it's been an excellent Big Book Summer for a lot of people! I'll be posting my own last review and wrap-up this week.