It's Monday 3/16! What Are You Reading?

Well, the world has certainly changed since last week's update! We are now self-isolating at home and are limiting my 94-year-old father-in-law's contact to just my husband (he is in independent living nearby). Our state of Delaware only has seven cases of COVID-19 so far, but they set up drive-through testing this weekend, so that number is expected to rise. Schools are closed for two weeks (at least), the large corporation my husband works for closed all offices, and University of Delaware (where our son is a senior) moved spring break up and just today extended it to two weeks. When students "come back" from break, it will be to 100% online classes. Of course there are bigger problems, but I do feel bad that my son is missing out on his last semester of college experience. If you think your nation or community is over-reacting with closures and self-isolation, read this stunning article from an Italian reporter, published in the Boston Globe, about what's happening in Italy right now because they didn't do enough at the beginning of the outbreak. It's pretty sobering.

Spine is 2 mm too narrow, then ...

In other news, my book woes continue. My cover designer finally made the changes I needed (spine was 2 mm too narrow), and I uploaded it again to Amazon successfully. I ordered another (what I was hoping would be final) proof copy, paid extra for shipping, eagerly ripped open the package yesterday, and ... now the spine is 2 mm too wide! sigh... Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. I have requested another change from the cover designer, but she's been getting slower and slower to respond. Then, I will have to wait (and pay) for another proof copy to arrive. So, I am hoping the paperback is finally available by next week?? All this waiting has been really frustrating and nerve-wracking - the e-book was published over a month ago, and I figured the paperback would be available within a week! Believe me, I know there are much bigger problems in the world right now, but I am anxious to finally resolve these issues and get it out in the world where it can help people.

... and now the spine is 2 mm too wide!

At least, all this time spent at home will mean more reading time for everyone! And blogging is a great at-home activity, too. Here's what we have all been reading this week:

I finished my second Booktopia 2020 selection (this will be a continuing theme for the next two months), Black Is the Body: Stories from my Grandmother's Time, my Mother's Time, and Mine by Emily Bernard. This is a collection of essays by a college professor and author who has written several nonfiction books. She is a black woman, living in Vermont (i.e. a very white state), married to a white man, and mother to two beautiful little Ethiopian girls they adopted. She also teaches courses in African American literature  and race relations to an almost-entirely white student body. As the title indicates, the essays are all about her experiences (and those of the generations before her) of race, covering everything from being a stabbing victim, to having white friends, to her girls' growing awareness and experiences with race (which are quite different from her own childhood in the South), and more. I really enjoyed this thoughtful book. She is an excellent writer, a storyteller, and has a good sense of humor. She examines difficult topics, that are often not talked about, in an accessible and entertaining way.

With all that's going on in the world and after reading a thought-provoking memoir, I was in the mood for something lighter and quick, so I dove into my TBR shelf of mostly very old middle-grade and YA books! I chose OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu (published back in 2013!), a novel I have wanted to read for ... well ... seven years. It's about Bea, a teen with just-diagnosed OCD who doesn't want to admit this is her correct diagnosis nor that it's getting worse. She meets a boy named Beck at a school dance, and he turns out to be in her new group therapy (not a big coincidence when you read how they met!). Beck is also struggling with OCD, also newly diagnosed. Their compulsions are very different, but they understand each other in ways that no one else can. As their relationship develops, Bea's OCD continues to worsen, though she tries to hide the worst of it from everyone, including Beck. I am loving this novel so far! It's so much more than a quirky teen romance, and I am learning a lot about what it is like to live with OCD (spoiler: it's private torture).

On audio, I finished listening to The Atomic City Girls by Janet Beard, a novel about the young people working at Oak Ridge in Tennessee during WWII. Oak Ridge was a hastily-built town to support top secret research and production of radioactive materials for the atomic bomb, part of the Manhattan Project. It's a fascinating inside look into a very secret place and time, from a variety of different perspectives, including June, a local farm girl, adjusting dials all day without knowing exactly what she is working on; Sam, a PhD physics professor from Berkeley brought in to work on the heart of the operation; and Joe, a black man who had to leave his family behind to work construction at the new facility in the deeply segregated South. The story extends through the dropping of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, delving into the effect of that on the people involved in creating those bombs. It was a very engaging story with interesting characters. It digs into the details of the characters and their relationships and experiences, as a thoughtful way of examining the larger picture of the Manhattan Project and Oak Ridge's role in the war.

Now, I am listening to another Booktopia selection, The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata. This is an unusual novel that features a book-within-a-book and elements of science fiction. It begins with a Dominican immigrant, a young woman, who settles in New Orleans with her pirate husband. They have a son named Maxwell, and she writes a sci fi novel called Lost City. Before her death, she and her son burn the only copy of her sequel, A Model Earth, which she just finished. That's as far as I've gotten so far, but the blurb says that her second novel--supposedly destroyed--shows up in Chicago decades later, found in the home of Saul, a Jewish immigrant, after his death. The book leads Saul's grandson to New Orleans to try to find Maxwell, during Hurricane Katrina. I am enjoying this novel with a unique writing style so far and loving the New Orleans setting.

My husband, Ken, is still reading Shell Game by Sara Paretsky, book 19 in the popular V.I. Warshawski series, featuring a female detective (Kathleen Turner played her in a movie adaptation in 1991). We don't think either of us has read a novel in this series before, though who knows? This one was a super-early review copy I received back in 2018--have I mentioned how overflowing our TBR bookcase is? With all the stress lately in our family, Ken wanted something fast-paced and escapism-focused, so he grabbed this one when he saw a blurb by Lee Child (his favorite author) on the front. This version isn't even bound like most ARCs; my husband says he feels like he's reading a movie script! He's enjoying it so far, and I think it is doing its job, providing some fun, mindless escape.

Our son, 25, is still reading The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, book 1 in the Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, one of the books he bought recently with a Christmas gift card. Sounds like this one features dark sorcery, an elf-like race, royals and servants, a deadly riddle, and plenty of swords--all right up his alley! I can't remember, but I don't think he's read this author before. He has been enjoying it very much, but life has been hectic for him lately, so it is taking him longer than usual to finish it. Maybe these next few weeks will give him some downtime (which he needs anyway for his health) and more reading time.


Blog posts from last week:

Movie Monday: The Call of the Wild - wilderness adventure starring Harrison Ford

TV Tuesday: Star Trek: Picard - we are loving this show!

Fiction Review: Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht - female spy in 1966 Argentina

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?