It's Monday 7/13! What Are You Reading?

We are still mostly in crisis here, but managing and getting through it day by day. Our week was again focused on my father-in-law (who's 95 and recently had a sharp decline cognitively) and trying to line up the help he needs. We've made some progress on a few fronts, but we are still in the midst of some serious stress. We found out this weekend that he does have a mild UTI, so that's good news. After just 24 hours on antibiotics, he was vastly--shockingly--improved at lunchtime Sunday. After weeks of barely being able to get him out of bed and ready for meals, he was sitting up in his chair when my husband arrived, already dressed, ready for lunch, and even had a list of things he needs from the store! Unfortunately, by dinnertime, he was out of it again, and he called about 10 times in the middle of the might (he has his days and nights mixed up and time has lost all meaning lately), but we did see that glimmer of hope, and we are hoping he will at least come back to his baseline of about a month ago.

Meanwhile, while my husband has been running back and forth, I've been on the phone. We decided against assisted living for now because we wouldn't be able to see him at all--they are all still on total lockdown in our state. Losing contact with us would just push him over the edge. We're arranging for 3-4 hours of in-home care each day, which should help a lot, but we were worried about the cost. Then, we found out there is a VA program to provide assistance for in-home care or assisted living, and he's a vet! So, we need to apply for that program for him: more phone calls and forms to fill out!

That's pretty much our life right now. And, of course, we are all still enjoying our books and Big Book Summer here--reading is a wonderful escape! There's still plenty of time to join the fun: you only need to read one book of 400 or more pages by September (and, of course, you can read more if you want).

Here's what we have all been reading this past week:

I finished my next Big Book, one we inherited from my dad, Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. I've wanted to read this trilogy ever since I read The Outsider last fall because I loved the character of Holly Gibney. In this novel, retired Detective Bill Hodges gets an anonymous letter from one of "the ones who got away," a man dubbed the Mercedes Killer who killed eight people when he drove into a crowd a few years ago. It's one of the cases that has always bothered Bill and has never been solved. Now, the killer himself has written a Bill a letter, filled with tantalizing details, taunting his inability to catch him. Bored by retirement, Bill suddenly feels like his life has purpose again and begins to re-investigate the case, using some of the clues from the letter and digging into details that bothered him at the time. Eventually, as I anticipated, weird, neurotic, lovable Holly joins him, along with the super-smart teenager who takes care of his yard, Jerome. I loved it just as much as I expected to; as always, King's suspense is almost unbearable ... and delicious. I am tempted to jump right into the next book, Finders Keepers, but I need to tackle some other books first. I'll be starting something new later today.

I was hoping to report that I had also finished my audiobook (it's taking me forever to listen to a Big Book on audio, with a full house here!), but I am still listening to The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins. You've probably heard about this one, since it is getting a LOT of attention right now. It's the prequel to The Hunger Games, and it begins at the start of the 10th annual Hunger Games, while the war is still a recent memory. The story focuses on Coriolanus Snow, a teen-aged boy, who readers of the series know will eventually become President of Panem. Here, though, he is a self-conscious boy from a great family that has fallen on very hard times. He's trying to hide the fact that the remaining members of his family--him, his cousin, Tigris, and their grandmother--are barely surviving, eating cabbage and lima beans and unable to keep their family home if the rumored property tax is truly put into place. He feels like he has one chance to prove himself: as a mentor to one of the contestants from the districts. He is  assigned to mentor a girl from District 12 named Lucy Gray, a girl who creates quite a stir on Reaping Day with her colorful outfit and beautiful song. As Coriolanus gets to know her better, his role in her life becomes more and more complicated, causing him to question the Hunger Games and the Capitol's role in it. I am loving this book, and as always, Collins has provided such thought-provoking, morally complex subject matter.

My husband, Ken, is still reading a book I put in his Easter basket, The A List by J.A. Jance. It's a thriller about a woman named Ali Reynolds who used to be a broadcast journalist. The last story she did before her career ended was about a man who needed a kidney, which spiraled into a massive medical scandal. The doctor at the center of it went to prison for murder. He is now bent on revenge, even from prison, and Ali is on the list of those he blames for his demise. Ali and her cybersecurity team must race against time to stop the doctor's continuing murder spree before Ali is next. My husband says that so far it's not quite as fast-paced as he had hoped, but it's got an interesting and unique plot that he's enjoying. Not bad for a drugstore choice while everything else was closed this spring!

Our son, 25, returned to an old favorite series and read Heretic, book 7 in the The Sanctuary Series by Robert J. Crane, which he is loving. 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, which he read this spring, moving quickly onto book 6. The series is epic fantasy about a world called Arkaria and features dragons, titans, goblins, and more. He loves the series, and he flew through this latest book on his Kindle and immediately moved onto book 8, Legend.



Blog posts from last week:

Movie Monday: I See You - super twisty thriller filled with surprises that we loved!

Fiction Review: Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery by Rosalie Knecht - 2nd in a great series about a girl spy/detective in the 1960's

Fiction Review: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - WWII classic that highlights the humor, absurdities, and horror of war

My Summary of Books Read in June - a Big Book Summer month!

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?