It's Monday 6/17! What Are You Reading?

This summer continues to be busy, busy, busy here! It was another week with our sons in and out (they are both sort of half living home and half living in their apartments in the nearby college town) - I only ask that they give me some notice if they'll be home for dinner! It's nerve-wracking not knowing if I'm cooking for 2 or for 4 (or for 6 or...) each day. We had a very nice weekend together as a family, something we haven't been able to do for a long time. My husband left on a business trip Sunday morning, so we celebrated Father's Day on Saturday. All four of us took a hike on a perfect day to a nearby trail we'd never tried with great views. I have sooo been hankering for some camping and vacation time, so this gave me a little taste. In the evening, my father-in-law joined us, and we enjoyed a nice picnic-style dinner and gifts and some time in our newly-cleaned and spruced-up screened porch. All in all, it was a lovely day. Then, everyone cleared out, and by 8:30 am on Sunday, I was alone...which was also very nice! Both sons came back home for dinner (leftovers - no cooking!) and both are heading out of town tomorrow. With my husband gone this week, I am hoping to get caught up on writing, household stuff, and everything else that hasn't been getting done lately. You know how this goes...I probably won't manage a fifth of what I've planned, but a girl can dream! (and, yes, my dreams involve fierce productivity).

A Father's Day hike

We have all been enjoying our (mostly Big) books this past week - here's what we've been reading:

Surprise! I am still reading my first Big Book of the Summer, a 959-page chunkster, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. This is a readalong for the Book Cougars podcast for June, plus a classic (I am behind on my Classics Challenge), and from my own shelves, so it counts for several challenges. I've never read the novel, though I saw the movie many decades ago, and I am enjoying it so much. I'm surprised (though I shouldn't be) by how wonderful and well-written it is. I'm completely engrossed in the story, in both the personal dramas as well as the detailed perspectives of the Southerners during and after the Civil War and what that time period and culture was like. I'm about two-thirds of the way through now (they are very big pages with dense text) and still looking forward to reading it every evening! The story has been wholly engrossing so far, and I can't wait to see what Scarlett does next. I will need to set it aside this week to re-read a favorite novel for my book group.

I forgot to mention last week that although I've been reading the same book for three weeks now, I did squeeze in a graphic memoir in small increments over the past couple of weeks: A Fire Story by Brian Fies. It's the fascinating, horrifying, and eye-opening story of Brian and his wife's experiences with the 2017 California wildfires. They were awakened in the middle of the night and could see the fire quickly approaching, so they packed a few things and evacuated. Within hours, there was nothing left of their neighborhood - every single house burned to the ground, leaving just ashes. As an author and illustrator, Brian began drawing and telling this story immediately in the days after the fires, with some cheap drawings tools he bought, so there is an immediacy, level of detail, and personal touch to the book that is stunning. It brings a whole new understanding of these disasters, way beyond what you get just from watching a news story.


On audio, I finished listening to another Big Book, Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen, a novel I've wanted to read ever since it was released last year. It's two intersecting stories about Harry, a man who works for the Forest Service whose wife dies suddenly, and Amanda, a woman who lives in a nearby rural area whose husband also died unexpectedly. Harry goes to the woods and ends up meeting Amanda and her daughter. It's a story about healing...and trees! It's intriguing, compelling, heartfelt, and even a bit magical, with fairy tale elements woven in, thanks to the imagination of the young girl. I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

My husband, Ken, finished his second Big Book of the summer, The President Is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton, a recent political thriller that's gotten a lot of press. The fast-paced novel is set over the course of three days and deals with cyber-terrorism and espionage of such a magnitude that the whole nation is at risk. Even the President himself is a suspect, as the investigators try to root out a traitor in the cabinet. Word is that Clinton's inside knowledge of the workings of the White House and government make this political thriller extra-chilling and suspenseful. Ken enjoyed it and just finished it in time for his trip.

Ken took a slim paperback on his trip, The Good Son by You-Jeong Jeong. This thriller was given to me by one of the booksellers in our local bookstore who runs an international mystery book group at the store. Each month, they read a mystery or thriller set in a different country, and this was a favorite in the group. Jeong has been called "the Korean Stephen King" and the novel has been described as "The Talented Mr. Ripley meets The Bad Seed." It begins with the main character waking up, with no memory of the night before, to find his mother's dead body in a pool of blood....ooooh! Enticing, right?

Our son, Jamie, 24, was reading a new series, The Runes of Issalia, by Jeffrey L. Kohanek, but he gave up in the middle of book 2, The Emblem Throne: A Quest of Magic. He said it was all plot with no character development or depth to it. It's a shame because he did like the premise, but he just wasn't enjoying it much. Instead, he has gone back to a favorite series, Sorcery Ascendant Sequence by Mitchell Hogan, and is re-reading the first book, A Crucible of Souls (a Big Book, like most that he reads!) in preparation for reading book 2. He's enjoying it so far but probably won't have much reading time this week with travel, his girlfriend, and a weekend-long outdoor concert!


Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: Weeds - funny, suspenseful & irreverent show about a suburban mom who deals pot to make ends meet

Booktopia 2019 - my wrap-up of this unique and awesome event - plan to attend in 2020!

Teen/YA Review: On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - original graphic novel about an all-female sci fi adventure and romance

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?

Remember to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It's easy-going, like summer - you only have to read one book of 400 or more pages between now and September (though you can, of course, read more!) It's lots of fun and a great way to add extra enjoyment to your summer! All the details are at the link - you can sign up there if you have a blog or, if not, just leave a comment on that page or sign up at the Goodreads group linked from that page. Join the fun!