It's Monday 1/6! What Are You Reading?

Whew, what a hectic Monday! I am just now getting to my Monday books post, after dinner. Busy, busy! But I saw my massage therapist, who helped with a recent back problem, and restocked groceries after the holidays, and finally picked up my '92 VW Cabriolet from the shop where it's been for 6 weeks. So, it's been a productive day at least.

I am asking myself WHY I thought that New Year's week would be so relaxed, and I'd have so much "free" time to get caught up on everything. Ha! Hilarious. I think I kid myself on that one every year. In reality, it was a very busy week, though we had lots of time with good friends and finally managed to get everyone together for our annual cookie/Grinch party. It was January 3, but better late than never! This is a tradition we've kept with our oldest friends since our four kids (theirs and ours) were toddlers and preschoolers - look at them (with the addition of partners) now! We still enjoy decorating cookies and watching the Grinch together.

We've all been enjoying our books over the holidays. Here's what we've been reading this past week:

I finished Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, an author I have never read before (gasp!), for my last book of the year. It's a sort of day-in-the-life story set in London after WWI, with Clarissa Dalloway as the main character. My intention was to pick a short book I could finish before the end of the year, but this one was slow-going. It features long sentences, long paragraphs, LOTS of semi-colons, and no chapter breaks! I got very sleepy every time I tried to read it (admittedly, usually at bedtime) but persevered and finished after midnight on New Year's Eve (that counts!). The characters and the history were interesting, but it was a bit too rambling for my taste, with long passages that suddenly switch to the perspective of a minor character. Apparently, its focus on the details of everyday life was ground-breaking when it was published in 1925. You can read my full review at the link. I'm curious as to whether Woolf's memoirs are any more readable.

I had a First Book of the Year all picked out until I realized my book group is this week, and I didn't even have the book yet! I borrowed a friend's Kindle to read Running on Red Dog Road: And Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood by Drema Hall Berkheimer and have almost finished it (just the Epilogue to finish tonight). I loved this warm, funny childhood memoir about growing up in rural West Virginia during and after WWII. Her stories of living with her grandparents while her mother was in New York working as a Rosie the Riveter (and after her mom came back home) are lively, charming, and often hilarious and include encounters with gypsies, snake handlers, and moonshiners. I have thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted memoir and look forward to discussing it on Wednesday.

My last audio book of 2019 was a good one, Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix, a recent release and middle-grade supernatural adventure. A young girl named Marin moves to a new town with her family and discovers something strange going on in the woods behind her new house. She's up in a tree and sees a group of teenagers hanging out and laughing together ... and then they all suddenly disappear and later reappear. Marin is stunned and intrigued and teams up with a neighbor her age, Charlie, who knows more about what's going on but tries to warn her away. This was just what I needed to end the year right - fast, fun, and mysterious! Haddix is always a sure bet for exciting and original middle-grade adventures. You can read my review at the link.

And now I am enjoying my first audiobook of 2020: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center. This is a novel I'd been wanting to read since its release last year, after hearing so many rave reviews from other book lovers. It's about a female firefighter named Cassie whose carefully constructed life shatters when she has to leave the Austin fire department where she's done so well to move to Massachusetts to help her estranged mother who is now blind in one eye. Her new job there is with a fire department that has never even seen a female firefighter, so Cassie must prove herself all over again. To make matters even more complicated, there's also a new rookie there who Cassie is attracted to ... and Cassie does not date, not ever. I am thoroughly enjoying this multi-faceted novel so far, as Cassie gradually begins to come out of her self-imposed protective shell and to heal from past hurts.

My husband, Ken, is still reading a new Christmas gift that our son gave him, The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie. The two of them enjoy the same kind of fantasy novels (they are also watching Game of Thrones together on DVD!), so our son had fun picking this one out for his dad (he hasn't read it yet either). I see that this is Leckie's first fantasy novel, but she has won Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke awards, so she must be a good writer! Patrick Rothfus, an author whom they both enjoy, said of this novel, "It's a delight to read something so different, so wonderful and strange." I'm sure our son will want to borrow it after his dad finishes it - like mother, like son! Ken's not so sure about this novel yet, but he's waiting to see how the plot develops.

Our son, 25, was still reading Web of Eyes by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle last week, book 1 in the Buried Goddess Saga series. According to its blurb, a rotten thief and a stubborn knight must work together to save a broken kingdom, which sounds like exactly the sort of plot my son likes! He was enjoying it so far, but while away visiting his girlfriend for New Year's, he switched books to start reading one that her parents gave to him for Christmas...

He is now reading Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski, book 1 of The Witcher series. You have probably heard all the hype last week about the new Netflix TV show (and apparently, a best-selling video game, too) based on this book series, and even though he hadn't read the books yet (usually a requirement in our house), my son jumped into the Netflix show the first day it was released and has been enjoying it. So, when he received book 1 as a gift last week, he quickly set his other book aside to read it. He's enjoying it so far and says that having watched the TV show isn't ruining the book for him. He's loving both so far.



My blog posts last week - I'm trying hard to catch up on reviews after the holidays so I can finally do my 2019 wrap-up!

Movie Monday: Star Wars IX: The Rise of Skywalker - a satisfying conclusion to the saga

First Books of 2020! - how I started my new reading year

Fiction Review: The Nest by Cynthia D-Aprix Sweeney - warm dysfunctional family saga

Middle-Grade Review: Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix - fun supernatural mystery

Memoir Review: Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt - warm, funny memoir about death, family, and moving forward - highly recommended

Fiction Review: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - day-in-the-life story set after WWI

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?