We did have some family fun last week, though. We made our annual visit to a local farm market to pick out pumpkins & enjoy their homemade cider donuts - yum! We had to go on Wednesday morning to get all of us together, but we did it. On Friday, we carved pumpkins with our older son and his girlfriend - her first time! You can see our highlights on my Saturday Snapshot post.
The upside of feeling sick? More reading time! Both last weekend and this weekend, cozying up on the couch and in bed with good books lifted my spirits and helped me stick to my goal of resting and not pushing myself. And I read a lot!
Here's what we've all been reading the past week:
- Remember that book I really didn't want to read for book group? I not only finished all 600 pages but LOVED it! America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie is historical fiction about Jefferson's daughter, and it was absolutely fascinating. I drove my husband crazy interrupting his own reading to say, "Did you know...?" over and over. I learned so much! The history is interesting, the story is compelling, and the characters feel real. Kamoie is a history professor, and much of the novel is based on Jefferson's actual letters. With my sick days helping me, I ended up reading the entire book in only about 8 days...and then read every word of the extra stuff at the end because I just wasn't ready to leave that world yet. Highly recommended.
- Next, I jumped back into the last bit of my RIP Challenge with Fifty Mice by Daniel Pyne, a thriller set on Catalina Island in California. A man is forcibly brought into the Witness Protection Program but has no idea what he is supposed to know or have seen. It's an intriguing concept and a gripping story so far.
- I've also been slowly making my way through a middle-grade graphic novel, The Unsinkable Walker Bean by Aaron Renier. It's an engaging, colorful, spooky fantasy featuring pirates and sea creatures so also a good fit for the RIP Challenge.
- On audio, I finally finished listening to Macbeth, after I finished reading the print version so that I could better understand what was happening! Like all Shakespeare tragedies, almost everyone dies and there is a lot of stabbing...but also 3 witches and a ghost, so it did include some seasonal spookiness.
- I also finished listening to The Lost Ones by Sheena Kamal. It's the first book in a new thriller series starring Nora Watts, a woman who was brought up in foster care and now lives a solitary life and looks for missing people. This case is different, though, because the missing teenager is the daughter Nora gave up for adoption 15 years ago. It's set in Vancouver and has plenty of action, adventure, and suspense, but the main character and her history are also fascinating and compelling.
- Now I am squeezing in one last dark and creepy audio book this month: How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather (yes, of those Mathers). This teen/YA novel combines modern teen problems of starting at a new school and fitting in with history of the Salem Witch Trials. Samantha Mather, descended from the infamous Cotton Mather, moves to Salem and discovers that history is still entirely relevant to the people in town, as teen descendants of the original witches hung in Salem make life a nightmare for her. This one includes witches and a ghost, so it is a perfect way to end this spooky month! It's excellent so far.
- My husband, Ken, is reading one of his birthday gifts from me, The Outsider by Stephen King. It's a suspenseful thriller that he's been looking forward to. We only wish we could share it with my dad, who was a huge King fan. I've been missing him a lot lately.
- Our son, Jamie, 24, finished book 3 in the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer, a big brick of a book at 1250 pages! Not sure what he started next - he had a lot to choose from.
Teen/YA Review: The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher - a dark thriller
Fiction Review: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - suspenseful thriller set on a cruise
Saturday Snapshot: Halloween 2018 - fun with pumpkins last 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.
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?
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| HAPPY HALLOWEEN! |
I hope you are feeling better soon. The Lost Ones sounds good to me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathy. I really enjoyed The Lost Ones.
DeleteOh that's so good to hear you loved America's First Daughter, even though not from USA I'd have to say I'm tempted. I love your traditions around Autumn too, we don't do that, we just grow the kind of pumpkins you eat! (I've just been planting mine out!). Hope that immune disorder gives itself a rest and takes a hike soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kathryn - still having a tough time here. But yes, I think you'd like America's First Daughter - it also deals with the French Revolution since Jefferson & his daughter were in France at that time.
DeleteI’m so sorry you’ve not been feeling well. I’m glad you’re trying to listen to your body and take it easy. We did not make it to the pumpkin patch this year. AND we did not grow our own pumpkins — it feels like a very “off” year for us in that regard. On America's First Daughter -- it’s wonderful when we’re pleasantly surprised by a book we though we would hate. YAY! Now I’m going to have to go look up How to Hang a Witch to see if we have it locally. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shaye - I have SO much trouble getting myself to rest & accepting not being productive!
DeleteI'm jealous you get to experience trick-or-treating tonight, even if you didn't have time for pumpkins - those were such fun times for us!!
Hope you continue to feel better!!!!
ReplyDeleteHappy reading this week :)
P.S. Intrigued by America's First Daughter. Anything you read that quickly must be good!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kellee. The sick time helped speed up my reading but it WAS a very good book!
DeleteWow, you did get a lot of reading done. I hope you feel better soon. Have a good week.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks, AJ!
DeleteThe up side of feeling down is having reading time! I hope though, that you are feeling better. I am not so good at listening to what my body needs and can end up really sick. I'm much better now that I am retired though.
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with all your reading. I'm not so good at reading the scary stuff, but am listening to Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. It's more than enough for me!
Same here, Cheriee!! Very tough for me to accept not being productive & rest as much as I need to. I'm determined today though!
DeleteOh, Killers of the Flower Moon was sooo good - and dark in it's own right, even more so since it is true. I bet it's great on audio. Enjoy!
That's so great that you ended up loving the book club book! And that is such a coincidence that you mentioned cider donuts. I have never heard of them before, but a friend who used to live in NY told me about them yesterday. She says they are devine.
ReplyDeleteGuess it's an East Coast thing - lots of apple farms here :) Soooo yummy!
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