It's Monday 3/7! What Are You Reading?

I try to keep things light in my weekly posts here, but life is kicking my ass lately. Skip ahead two paragraphs, if this is too heavy for you! I've been struggling with awful flu-like aches this past week, which is a messed-up immune system thing, though I can't figure out exactly why (which drives me crazy!). I'm adjusting my meds and trying not to overdo. My husband says it's the weather, which is super frustrating but could be true! It's a gorgeous, warm (almost 80!) day today but that means high pressure, which does sometimes affect me. So, I can't take a walk like I want to. I'm just sick of feeling sick. I had my 20th anniversary of chronic illness last week, so you'd think I'd be used to it all by now, but the unpredictability can still get me down sometimes.

We're also still struggling to care for my father-in-law, so I know stress is part of the problem, too. We have meetings today and tomorrow with our doctor and with the nursing home care team. We are setting up hospice this week. Even at 96, his heart is strong, but he's not eating and drinking enough. He needs more care and support than the overworked nurses and aides there can provide, and my husband and I are at our limits and need the support, too. We're both over there every day (me at lunchtime and him at dinnertime). Our doctor explained that hospice will do a lot more and give him emotional support, too.

We did pledge to take a little time for ourselves this weekend, so we got out for a short, flat walk on Saturday (aches, be damned!) at a pretty local park. We walked alongside a creek, and the sun even came out. In the evening, we enjoyed our usual Saturday take-out and TV. We are rushing to finish The Handmaid's Tale (which is amazing!), since our son's Hulu subscription runs out this month, and we are also really enjoying Reacher--two shows based on books!

The skies cleared a bit!

My husband checking out the creek

 Oh, and big news--and something to look forward to! Booktopia is back on, in-person, in 2022! This unique event, "where readers and authors meet," is held annually in Manchester, VT, on the first weekend in May at the fabulous Northshire Bookstore. My mom and I attended our first Booktopia in 2015 (my summary at the link) and went to three more, until 2020 hit, and it was suspended. It's a fun book event, where a group of 100-150 readers spend all weekend hanging out with about 10 authors. There are author talks, which are more like book group discussions than typical bookstore readings; recommendations from the booksellers; a "big event' Saturday night with all the authors; plus a really fun Friday dinner, with book trivia and a Yankee book swap. It's an entire weekend packed with book fun! Here's my summary of Booktopia 2019. Many of the same people return every year, so it's also a reunion of book friends, especially this year, after two years off. Everyone is welcome to attend, so check out the details at the Northshire Bookstore site (click on Events, then scroll to the bottom to Booktopia 2022). Let me know if you're going!

I only managed one short video last week, but it was a double-header: my usual weekly wrap-up of what I'm reading PLUS what I plan to read for Middle-Grade March, a fun #Booktube readathon you might enjoy, too!

Middle-Grade March and Friday Reads 3-4-22

And here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I finished The Editor by Steven Rowley and discussed it with my book group. This is a fun story about a first-time author in the 1990's whose book is acquired by a publisher. James goes to his first meeting at the publisher's only to discover that his new editor is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis! The book has fun with that premise (she was an editor in the 90's), but it also has plenty of emotional depth. James' novel is autobiographical, about a difficult relationship between a mother and son. His mother is none too happy about it, and James has a lot of stuff to work through before the novel has a satisfactory ending. I really enjoyed it, and we had a good discussion.

 

Next, I moved onto my first Booktopia selection, Country of Origin by Dalia Azim. The booksellers at Northshire always choose amazing books/authors for the event, and this debut novel is no exception. It begins in Egypt in 1952 when Cairo is set aflame, and the revolution for independence begins. Fourteen-year-old Halah is pulled out of the British girls' school she is attending and begins to feel like a prisoner in her own home. She's grown up privileged and protected and experienced very little of the outside world. She runs away with a soldier to New York. The novel has different parts from the perspectives of Halah, her husband, and their daughter (so far). It is engrossing and compelling.

 

I kicked off Middle-Grade March with a graphic novel I've been meaning to read, The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Tangled Web by Drew Weing. I love this fun, creative series! I read the first two books in this series, and this is the third entry. A boy named Charles moves to Echo City when his parents buy an old apartment building. Charles discovers a troll living in the basement, and his new friend, Kevin, suggests he call Margo Maloo, Monster Mediator. Margo, who is also a kid, helps humans and monsters (who most adults are unaware of) live together peacefully. Now, Charles is her assistant, and in this third book, Margo is missing when a new case comes up, so Charles tries to tackle it on his own. I'm loving it so far, as always!

 

Also for Middle-Grade March, I started a new audio book, Room to Dream by Kelly Yang. Seventh-grader Mia Tang is dealing with some issues in middle-school, but she's very excited that she and her parents are finally going to visit their family in China! It's been five years since they went back (and since they've had a vacation), so Mia can't wait to see her cousins and grandparents. Mia wants to be a writer, and a unique opportunity presents itself while she's in China--she's going after her dreams! I love how the author shows parallels between problems in China and in 1990's California--big problems, like gentrification and big box stores putting mom and pop places out of business, as well as smaller problems among middle-school-aged kids. I'm really enjoying this book and can't wait to see how it gets wrapped up!

 

My husband, Ken, finished A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson (it seemed like an apt choice for February). He really enjoyed A Solitude of Wolverines by the author last year, so I gave him this second novel for Christmas. Both books feature Alex Carter, a wildlife biologist who studies endangered species, and this second installment takes her to the Canadian Arctic. He enjoyed both of them. I want to read these, too!

 

Now, Ken has started a chunkster, Never by Ken Follett (#Booktube is also celebrating March of the Mammoths, and this book would qualify!). We have both been fans of Follett's books since the 80's, when he mostly wrote thrillers, and here, he returns to his roots with a modern, globe-spanning, unique race against time. The author's note at the beginning says he was thinking about how a series of seemingly small events dominoed to start WWI, so he's setting up a similar set of scenarios in today's world (with a female U.S. President!). It sounds fascinating, and knowing Follett's writing, I'm sure it will be gripping as well.

 

Our son, 27, is back to reading a favorite series, The Magic of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. He's reading book 4, The Order War, which we gave him for Christmas. There are 22 books in this epic fantasy series, so it should keep him busy for a while!

 Last week's blog posts:

Fiction Review: Kindred by Octavia Butler - Outstanding, powerful novel of a modern Black woman going back in time to a southern plantation in 1815.

Middle-Grade Review: Ruby Lee and Me by Shannon Hitchcock - Moving, tender story of friendship between two girls and the racial tensions of school integration in North Carolina in the 1960's

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?