It's Monday 4/13! What Are You Reading?

What day is it? What month is it? ha ha Just kidding, though the days are starting to run together a bit. We enjoyed a very nice Easter. We video chatted with the whole family (who would normally be together for Easter) then had our traditional Ukrainian feast here with just us. My son and his girlfriend joined us for a socially distant dinner - we set up a card table for them away from the dining room table! It was a lot of work for me, but we all had a great day and enjoyed being together (and eating all that yummy food!). Hoping the pierogies didn't have too bad an effect on my gluten-intolerant son, who splurged on them - they're his favorite! I hope all of you also managed to have a nice holiday and/or weekend in these odd times we're living in.

A social distancing Easter dinner

I continued to struggle with my health last week. My chronic illness has been flared up for the past two weeks or so, causing super-low stamina and occasional severely bad days (I had another of those last week). But this weekend was very busy and far too exerting for me, with lots of time standing in the kitchen yesterday and a walk, and so far, I am feeling OK this morning! Fingers crossed that I might be getting back to my usual normal baseline, though I am being cautious today (sometimes there is a delayed reaction to exertion). I hope to get back to more typical functioning for me this week and also try some more book videos - I have a lot more bookcases here to share with you! To check out the mini tour of our To-Be-Read Bookcase, visit my Facebook page at the link - like the page to see other posts and get updates.

Wow, we are all really loving our books right now! The three of us are enjoying the extra reading time and indulging in some good fiction, for the most part. Here's what we've been reading this past week:

This weekend, I finished reading The Late Show by Michael Connelly because I felt in the mood for fast-paced escapism (as I think many people are right now). I haven't read a Connelly novel in ages, but my husband and I both love his Harry Bosch series (and the TV show adapted from it). I gave this one to my husband for Christmas a few years ago. It's the first book in a new Connelly series, featuring female LAPD detective Renee Ballard. She works the midnight shift ("the late show") in Hollywood, which means she and her partner respond to calls all night, collecting evidence and writing reports, but then turn their cases over to the day shift. This novel begins with a long night of new cases, including one that Ballard really wants to be able to investigate herself instead of turning it over, plus a multiple shooting in a club that her old partner is helping to investigate. It was great, as all his novels are, and I really enjoyed the immersive suspense.

Now, I have moved onto another book from deep in my TBR bookcase (one advantage of the libraries being closed), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. This is the first Foer novel I have read, though I saw the movie adaptation (starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) of this one years ago. I remember the general premise and that I loved the story (it's a great movie), but I don't remember all the details. It's about an extremely smart and precocious nine-year-old boy named Oskar who lost his dad in 9/11. It's only been a few months, and he hasn't fully processed the trauma and grief yet. Oskar finds a key that belonged to his father, and he goes on a mission (much like the secret missions his dad used to send him on) to find the lock that fits the key. He's got all of New York City to search, so this is a big mission, but it's just what Oskar needs to help him heal and move forward. Although that perhaps sounds a bit dark, I remember the movie being funny, uplifting, and full of joy. I just started the novel yesterday, but I am already enjoying it and laughing out loud.

I forgot to mention last week that I've also been squeezing some graphic novels between the cracks in my available time. I finished Snapdragon by Kat Leyh, a middle-grade graphic novel, and really enjoyed it. It's an original story about a girl named Snapdragon who feels like she doesn't fit in. She befriends Louis next door, who listens to his heart and soon begins to transform into Lulu, with Snap's encouragement. She also meets an old woman named Jacks, whom everyone thinks is a witch, in the woods. As Snap gets to know her better, the two of them spend more and more time together and begin to bond. Though Snap now knows that Jacks is just a lonely old woman, she soon learns some secrets that could indicate that Jacks actually does know some real magic, plus a possible connection with Snap's own family. It's a warm, smart, unique story about kindness, acceptance, friends, and family (and a touch of magic).

I also read an adult graphic memoir, Go To Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood by one of my favorite artist/authors, Lucy Knisely (who also wrote graphic memoirs like Relish: My Life in the Kitchen and Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride. If, like me, you have followed her life as depicted in these warm, fun, entertaining books, then this one about being a new parent fits perfectly into the timeline. And if you're new to Knisely, then this is a good introduction. The book is all about the joys and stresses of being a new parent, from sleep deprivation to worries to first smiles, all captured in Knisely's wonderful drawing style. Anyone who has been a parent can relate and feel her love for her baby come off the page and into your heart.

On audio, I am still listening to Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, a newly released novel. At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 1982, a young woman named Oona who is celebrating her nineteenth birthday is suddenly transported 32 years into the future, where she is a 51-year-old woman, living in a gorgeous house and greeted warmly by a man she's never seen before. From then on, each year at the same time, Oona jumps to another age and time in her life. This plot is right up my alley! As I've mentioned, I love time travel and alternate timeline plots in novels, so this is a perfect escape for me right now. I am loving it so far. It's pretty mind-bending as Oona jumps from one age/time into another, but that's exactly what I love about these kinds of plots. She approaches each year very differently and it takes her a while to get the hang of this bizarre life she's leading. I am just starting Part 4, as she makes her third jump, from age 27 to ... I need to go listen to more to find out!

My husband, Ken, just finished a novel I gave him as a gift, Live to Air by Jeffrey L. Diamond. This is a thriller about a television news producer named Ethan Benson. Although he hates crime stories, he gets pulled into a big one when his boss assigns him to cover a bloody murder in the meatpacking district that grabs headlines. As he investigates the story, which has ties to organized crime, he criss-crosses New York, from one borough to another, as things get more and more dangerous. His wife and son have to go into hiding, and his own life is in danger, as he follows the story to its end. This sounds like a suspenseful, tense thriller. Ken enjoyed its inside view of television journalism and said it kept him guessing right up till the end.

Now, Ken has made a big switch after a bunch of fast-paced thrillers to The Pioneers by David McCoullough, a nonfiction history book. I received this one as an Advanced Reader Copy last year, and though I didn't review it, we hung onto it. It's about the part of American history that includes the settling of the Northwest Territory, beginning in 1788, as a band of pioneers set out after ther Revolutionary War seeking the freedom of religion, free education, and prohibition of slavery that existed further west from the original 13 colonies. McCoullough is an outstanding and award-winning writer, so I'm sure this is an amazing book, though I wonder if I would have trouble reading about pioneers and westward expansion after reading An Indigenous People's History of the United States earlier this year!

Our son, 25, finished reading Master, book 5 in the Sanctuary series by Robert J. Crane. We gave him book 1, Defender, for Christmas 2018, and he loved the series so much that he quickly read books 2, 3, and 4, also. So, this past Christmas, we gave him book 5. The series is epic fantasy about a world called Arkaria and features dragons, titans, goblins, and more. He loves the series, and thoroughly enjoyed this next book. He said this series has lots of action and suspense. Staying homebound is giving him some much-needed downtime to take care of his health and finally get to some of these tomes he's been wanting to read!

Speaking of tomes, he has now turned his attention to The Sixth Strand by Melissa McPhail, book 5 in her A Pattern of Shadow and Light series. He loves this series and even gave his dad book 1 for Christmas last year, so he could share it with him. This is another giant book (900 pages), so it looks like he's reading a big encyclopedia when he carries it around the house! (Am I dating myself with that reference?) He read 100 pages in the first day, and is loving being immersed back in this complex fantasy world.





Just one additional blog post last week (I have some catching up to do):

Nonfiction Review: Women Rowing North: Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Pipher - a warm and thoughtful look at the experiences of women aging

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?