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

We had a wonderful celebration on Saturday for our younger son's college graduation! We held a little "ceremony" in our driveway, for our son and his longtime roommate/best friend, and then a celebration complete with decorations, a car parade (plus one bike and one skateboard!) of friends going past the house, and dinner and a campfire with our son and his roommate's family (easily socially distanced outdoors). It wasn't traditional, but in some ways, this personalized, intimate celebration was even better--sitting in comfy camp chairs in the shade, we all agreed we did not miss the hours of sitting on metal bleachers in a boiling hot stadium with 20,000 other people! The two graduates had a great time, and we managed to surprise them a few times during the day. Our son is moved back in at home now. In a month or two, he will be starting his new full-time job, moving into his own apartment, and embarking on his adult life, but we are all enjoying this little bit of time with the four of us back together. Nostalgia is high here this week!

Our family with the new graduate!

So, I spent most of last week getting ready for the big day! I apologize for not getting around to nearly as many blogs as I'd planned or even keeping up on new Big Book Summer Challenge sign-ups (I'm on it today!). This will be my catch-up week.

Speaking of the 2020 #BigBookSummer Reading Challenge, today is June 1, so it's the perfect time to think about your summer reading! The challenge is easy-going, like summer: you only need to read one book with 400 or more pages between now and September (Labor Day) to participate ... but you can read as many as you like! Here's my own pile of Big Books to choose from this summer. Just go to the challenge page to see the rules, leave a link to your sign-up post, or--if you don't have a blog--sign up on our Goodreads group (all the details and links are on that page). Hope you'll join the fun!

Our whole family (except our non-reader!) is getting into the Big Book Summer spirit! Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

My first choice for Big Book Summer is Faithful Place by Tana French, book 3 in her Dublin Murder Squad series. I just read--and loved--book 2, The Likeness, back in the fall, and my husband and I took advantage of a recent free week of Starz (it's also on BBC) to watch the new TV adaptation, Dublin Murders, which is based on the first two books and is excellent. So, I was geared up for this one and eager to read more! It is AMAZING and completely engrossing! This time, the story focuses on Undercover Detective Frank Mackey, with a cold case dating back to his childhood in the run-down neighborhood called Faithful Place where he grew up. As always, French has created immersive and realistic characters, setting, and plot that pulled me right in. The novel digs deep into Mackey's very dysfunctional family, with lots of unexpected twists and turns in the plot. It also puts a spotlight on his adorable daughter and his very loving relationship with her--a very different perspective on the abrasive detective than we've seen before. This one is keeping me up much too late every night, but I am loving every minute of it. I should finish it today.

My first audiobook choice for #BigBookSummer is a novel I've been dying to read since its release in January: A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen. I absolutely loved his time-travel novel, Here and Now and Then, last year, with its sci fi plot and in-depth characters and fun pop culture references.  His second novel is similar, only the "sci fi" plot this time deals with a global pandemic. Yeah. It's not feeling quite so futuristic now! Lest you think I am crazy, reading about pandemics during a pandemic, as the title indicates, the focus here is on new beginnings. The novel begins six years after the pandemic, which was far deadlier than COVID-19, leaving the remaining population in quarantine communities and the infrastructure in tatters. But now, six years later, life is returning to a new normal. The main characters all live in the Metro area that used to be San Francisco: an IT guy working for a news organization who has a young daughter, a wedding/event planner who also works on the side as a "reunion agent," and a woman who was the world's hottest teen pop star when the pandemic hits who just wants to live a quiet life and stay far away from her controlling father/manager. I'm loving it so far and getting to know the characters as they each strive to build a new life. I just keep thinking about the author writing such a prescient novel! Interestingly, he got some things 100% right (masks, hand sanitizer, not wanting to shake hands) and other things in his world are different than what we've seen.

My husband, Ken,  finished a thriller (and a Big Book!), Neon Prey by John Sandford. I gave him this paperback in his Easter basket ... I had to choose from the 10 books for sale in our local drugstore! I remember giving my dad some of Sandford's Prey series, but I don't think Ken has read one before. The series is about Lucas Davenport, who seems to be (from the blurbs) a member of the police force who is brilliant and tends to work on his own. In this particular novel (number 29 in the series), Lucas is chasing after a serial killer in Louisiana who has been killing--and getting away with it--for years. We always love reading books set in Louisiana, where we used to live (and an intriguing setting for any novel). This one sounds like a gripping thriller!

Next, Ken (who did officially sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge once I got him on Goodreads) browsed through our bookcase of books we inherited from my dad (you can see it in this video - the first of my Mini Bookcase Tours). Most of it is filled with his collection of Stephen King and Dean Koontz hardcovers, so Ken chose a Stephen King book he hadn't read yet (and a Big Book, like most King books!), Hearts of Atlantis. According to the descriptions online, this book is an unusual one: a collection of two novellas and three short stories, connected to each other by recurring characters and taking place in chronological order. That format was a bit confusing to my husband at first, since he was expecting a novel, but he is enjoying it so far. Anything Stephen King writes is engrossing. Besides, the first part of the book features a young boy, and King writes kids so well; he just captures perfectly what childhood feels like.

Our son, 25, finished reading a relatively new novel, Priest of Bones by Peter McLean, book 1 in the series War for the Rose Throne, which be bought with the Amazon gift card that was in his Easter basket. It's a British fantasy that combines religion, politics, crime, and war. Ironically, just as I switched to Big Books, this one was only about 350 pages--my son very often reads fantasy chunksters over 1000 pages long, so this was a quickie for him! He enjoyed it very much.

Next, he read The Miscreant by Brock E. Deskins, book one of The Transcended Chronicles. He's enjoyed this author before and explained to me that this fantasy novel was different than the typical epic fantasies he normally reads. It focuses on a young man, Garran, who has special powers and is trained as a spy. So, this is more of an espionage novel, though still set in the sort of Medieval fantasy world that he likes reading about. He enjoyed it so much that he moved onto book two in the series.

As he started book two of The Transcended Chronicles, The Agent by Brock E. Deskins, my son said, "Mom, I'm reading a Big Book for summer, too!" It's a joke between us, since it's rare for him to read books that are below 400 pages, but he knows I get excited about my annual challenge! This novel continues the story of the magical spy, Garran, who must try to save the heir to the throne before assassins can kill him and the rest of his family. Then, the two must search for allies while trying to save the prince's sister. My son is enjoying this original, fast-paced series.

Now, our son has moved onto another Brock E. Deskins' series, The Sorcerer's Path. He's started with book one, The Sorcerer's Ascension. It's about a young boy from a wealthy family whose left on his own and must survive in the streets, among thieves, thugs, and murderers. He not only wants to survive but to avenge the wrongs done to him and his family. This series also revolves around some sort of mysterious magical power, too. He's enjoying it so far and says he and his college roommate discovered this author years ago, and he's enjoyed reading his books ever since. My son hopes to one day write his own fantasy series!




Last week's blog posts:

Teen/YA Review: Bent Heavens by Daniel Krauss - twisty, dark sci fi thriller

Fiction Review: The Last One by Alexandra Oliva - I loved this unique, gripping thriller about a reality show gone wrong!

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?

Congratulations, Class of 2020!