It's Monday 7/19! What Are You Reading?

What a weekend!

Apologies to the blogs I didn't have time to visit last week. I normally do much of my blog visiting on the weekend, but my mother called Friday to ask if they could visit on Saturday. It had been 18 months since we'd had any houseguests, and we hadn't seen them since Christmas 2019, so of course, we said yes (I only just recently hit the "fully vaccinated" milestone due to my immune problems). What followed was a whirlwind of cleaning the house and clearing all my husband's accumulated stuff out of the guest room!

Of course, it was wonderful to see them again! They joined us Saturday evening for an annual joint birthday celebration for me and one of our oldest, dearest friends (who my mom and her husband know well, too) at a favorite restaurant, and it was the first time any of us had hugged each other in at least a year and a half! Funny how hugs have become so meaningful now. I'm a natural hugger, but suddenly, it is such a big deal to be able to hug a friend or family member.

We just hung around the house on Sunday and had my 96-year-old father-in-law over in the afternoon. There was a lot of talking and catching up all weekend! While I took my daily nap, "the boys" (my husband, my son, and his Pop Pop) worked on my son's old car and checked out his new company truck. It's unusual for me, but I forgot to take a single photo all weekend, so here's one my mom took of my son and his Pop Pop with the new truck.

 

Yesterday and today, I was (and am) totally wiped out (that's just how my chronic illness works), but it was worth it, of course.

I posted two new book-related videos to YouTube last week, which you can check out at the links:

• June Reading Wrap-Up, with a quick summary of each of the five books I finished in June
• Friday Reads, my usual end-of-week video update on what I am reading

And, of course, the #BigBookSummer Challenge continues! Here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I am still reading my 7th #BigBookSummer book, Blackout by Connie Willis, a favorite of mine and my husband's. Willis has a loose series of time travel books, Oxford Time Travel, and if you've read my blog, you know I love any kind of time-twisting plots! We both enjoyed To Say Nothing of the Dog, a sort of time travel farce, and last summer for Big Book Summer 2020, we both read Doomsday Book and were blown away by it--it was a favorite for both of us. Blackout takes place about four years after that last novel. All of this series are about a group of historians in near-future Oxford who use technology to travel to different time periods. Their role is to observe and learn more about history, not to change anything. In this novel, many historians are traveling back and forth to various places and times during World War II (including Dunkirk, Pearl Harbor, rural England where children were evacuated to, London during the Blitz, and more). This time, though, things begin to go wrong with their time travel technology and mistakes start to occur. As with all of Willis' books, it is completely engrossing, and I am loving it.

I am also listening to a Big Book on audio, Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton. It is a complex narrative at first, but I am well into it now (almost finished) and enjoying it. It's narrated by twelve-year-old Eli Bell, who lives in Australia. His mother and step-father are heroin dealers, his older brother, Gus, is mute, and his best friend is an elderly, notorious felon named Slim who is know for his multiple prison escapes. So, there is a lot going on here and a lot for Eli and Gus to deal with, but it's interesting and engaging. As you might guess from that set-up, Eli doesn't have an easy life, and things are about to get a whole lot worse for him and Gus. But Eli is clever and determined and has learned a lot from his buddy, Slim. This is a unique novel, and I'm really enjoying it so far.

My husband, Ken, has started on another Father's Day gift, The Lost Man by Jane Harper. This author of Australian thrillers has become a favorite of ours (and many other people!) recently, and we both read and enjoyed her first two novels, The Dry and Force of Nature. This third novel is a departure from those first two, as it does not feature Australian Federal Agent Aaron Falk. Instead, it focuses in on one Australian family. In the Australian outback, two brothers, Nathan and Bub, meet, for the first time in many months, at the remote fence line of their two properties when their brother,  Cameron, is found dead there. They have to come together to support Cameron's family and his ranch. As is often the case with thrillers, there are family secrets to protect, plus the mystery of Cameron's sudden death. Ken is enjoying it so far!

Our 26-year-old son has returned to a favorite series, The Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu. He started by re-reading book 1, The Novice. According to the blurb, "Fletcher is working as a blacksmith’s apprentice when he discovers he has the rare ability to summon demons from another world. Chased from his village for a crime he did not commit, Fletcher must travel with his demon, Ignatius, to an academy for adepts, where the gifted are taught the art of summoning."  When he finished that, he moved onto book 2, The Inquisition, and quickly finished that one, too! He has a summer job doing environmental sampling, but he was thrilled to learn he could read during the waiting periods that dot his days! I'm not sure what's he's reading now, but he and his girlfriend will be visiting next weekend for my birthday, so I'll have a chance to talk books with him.

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: A Quiet Place II - a great follow-up to that stunning first movie ... and our first time back in a theater!

My Summary of Books Read in June - a great reading 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?