It's Monday 12/17! What Are You Reading?

Whoa, December 17 already, and Christmas is just over a week away! How did that happen? My past week was mostly filled with holiday prep. I set aside my writing work almost entirely last week to finished ordering gifts, and I spent most of my time putting together my annual year-end DVD of photos and music for my family. It's a lot of work, but it means a lot to me to have that keepsake of the year and to DO something with all my photos! I am almost finished now - just previewing it and then hopefully tonight I can burn the DVDs. My goal is to get all of them (plus photo calendars) in the mail to far-flung family members by Wednesday. Then, I just need to wrap gifts, send cards, finish a few last end-of-year writing tasks...whew! Busy, busy!

I also hit some milestones last week health-wise, with my first time in the grocery store and my first walk around the block in more than two months...though I overdid a bit and had a couple of down days, too - baby steps! I'm not quite back to my normal baseline after that big flare-up of my chronic illness, but I am getting there, bit by bit. I even made it to my husband's office holiday party on Saturday evening for a couple of hours.

We always have time for books, even when we're busy! Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

• I finished reading The Light Years, a memoir by Chris Rush that is due out in April. It's a moving, powerful, funny story of a seriously warped childhood among the drug culture of the 1960's and early 1970's. I am hoping to review it and interview the author.
• Now, I have turned my attention back to fiction, with another review book, Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen. When I read the synopsis of this twisty time travel story wrapped up in family drama, I begged my editor to send it to me! It's like this novel was written for me, with all of my favorite fiction elements, about a man in the future who is part of a time-traveling law enforcement team. He is on a mission to 1996 when he gets left behind and stuck there. Eventually, he lets go of his old life in 2142, finds a job in IT, marries a woman, and they have a daughter together. Eighteen years pass, and the Retrieval team finally comes back for him. He goes back to his own present (where he's only been gone two weeks), but he barely remembers his fiance and his old life. When he finds out that his daughter is in peril in the past, he has to figure out how to save her. IT'S SO GOOD!!!
• I finished listening to Release by Patrick Ness, a teen/YA novel narrated by a gay teen whose father is a hardcore evangelical pastor. The novel all takes place in a single day - possibly the worst day of Adam's life, when everything that could go wrong does. It's completely engrossing, and I enjoyed it very much, though I'm not sure I totally "got" the parallel fantasy/afterlife story woven into it.
• Now, I am listening to Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. I loved her novel LaRose (which I also listened to on audio), and this one also deals with the Ojibwe tribe, but with a completely different story. It's about a pregnant woman named Cedar who was born Ojibwe but adopted and raised by a kind white couple, but it's all set against an apocalyptic background where time seems to be moving in reverse, causing all kinds of problems in animals, plants, and humans. It is suddenly rare to have a normal pregnancy or birth, so when Cedar's doctor sees that her ultrasound looks normal, he advises her to hide. It's a strange story but very compelling, and I love listening to Erdrich read her own novels on audio. 
• My husband, Ken, is still reading Dead Wake by Erik Larson, the king of entertaining narrative nonfiction. He says this story of the sinking of the Lusitania is interesting, and the torpedo was just launched (no worries about spoilers in historical nonfiction)!
• Jamie, our 24-year old son, finished his favorite Wheel of Time series, with the final book #13, Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.
• He is now reading a book I gave him for Easter that sounded right up his alley: The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan, book 1 in The Riyria Chronicles. He says it's great so far. Thanks for the recommendation, Beth Fish Reads!

Blog posts from last week:

Movie Monday: Trainwreck - light, funny, raunchy romcom starring Amy Schumer

TV Tuesday: Killing Eve - compelling & completely unique thriller that we loved!

Nonfiction Review: Look Alive Out There: Essays by Sloane Crosley - warm, witty, relatable essays about life

Nonfiction review: Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - a modern classic that is lyrical, insightful, and still relevant - my 3rd time reading it!

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? 

So excited this weekend to get dressed like a grown-up & go out in the evening!