It's Monday 1/24! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

I'm slowly recovering from COVID, bit by bit. I passed two big milestones last week: a negative COVID test on Thursday (finally!) and leaving the house on Saturday to go out in public! I just took a quick trip to the local natural foods store, but it felt like a big event after being mostly housebound for three weeks. And, today I am finally going to a podiatrist appointment that was scheduled for the first week in January. 

Out of the house! In public!

I also tried a short, slow walk at our local nature center last Tuesday, and it was glorious to be outdoors again, but it was too much for me and I was in bad shape the next day. Baby steps! I know it's going to be a slow recovery, due to my underlying immune disorder, but I am very relieved to see these small signs of improvement. I will try another walk this week.

Escaped! Out for a short walk.

I did manage to record a couple of videos later last week, and I got one of them uploaded:

Friday Reads 1-21-22 - where I talk about my current reads

And here are the books we have all been reading this past week:

I am almost finished reading Bottle of Lies by Katherine Eban. This nonfiction book was the choice for my neighborhood book group on Zoom last week (I wasn't well enough to join in). The author is an investigative journalist, and the book is about dangerous fraud and scandal in the generic drug business. It's an excellent book--very well-researched and well-written--but wow, so scary! I'm reading the Epilogue now, and it seems that many of the horrifying issues uncovered by investigators and whistleblowers have not yet been corrected. Ugh.

On audio, I am still listening to Mercy Street by Jennifer Haigh, which will be released on February 1. I love Haigh's novels, and it's been years since she published a new one, so I was thrilled to spot her name in the list of upcoming releases! This novel centers around a women's health clinic in Boston and the lives of several people involved in it: Claudia, a counselor who works there; Anthony, who grew up nearby, lives with his mother, and is devoted to anti-abortion protests; and Timmy, a local weed dealer who both Claudia and Anthony frequent. Haigh has such a talent for bringing ordinary characters to life on the page.

 

 

My husband, Ken, is still reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, book one of The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, a fantasy novel recommended by our son. This is a long, dense book, but he says he only has 60 pages left now! It was a slow start, but he's been enjoying it.

Our son, 27, is still reading a book that was a gift from his girlfriend, The Rage of Dragons by Evan Winter, book one of The Burning series. Last week, I heard a Booktuber recapping her Best Books of 2021. She mentioned a bunch of my son's all-time fantasy favorites ... and this book! So, I'm guessing it's right up his alley. Besides, it's listed as one of Time magazine's Top 100 Fantasy Books of all time.

 

I worked all week on my 2021 book summary. Here are my blog posts from last week:

Movie Monday: Finch - an entertaining movie--warm and funny--starring Tom Hanks

Best Books Read in 2021 - Finally! My year-end summary after an excellent reading year.

2021 Reading Challenges Wrap-Up - I enjoyed lots of fun challenges last year - now I need to pick some new ones, hopefully before the end of January!

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?