It's Monday 4/18! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date 

Both our weather and my health continue on a rollercoaster course here! It was over 80 F one day last week, and I wore shorts and drove my car with the top down. Today, though, it's in the 40's, with heavy rain headed this way (and ice and snow predicted not too far from here!), and I am back in flannel. Likewise, I am still struggling with low energy and stamina, but I had a couple of good days early last week.

80 degrees and sunny last week!

Of course, the big event was Easter yesterday. Isn't it cool that holy days for three different major world religions all coincided in the same week this year? 

Easter morning at our house - our baskets include books!

Normally, we would travel to Rochester, NY, to spend Easter with my family, but we really can't leave my father-in-law for that long. He's in a nursing home nearby, but his dementia is really bad lately, so we visit every day to try to reassure him and keep him grounded. So, it was just the four of us for Easter, but it was so nice to have both "boys" home and all of us together. 

 

So nice to get all four of us together

We enjoyed our traditional Ukrainian feast: holubtsi (cabbage rolls), pierogies, hrain (a beet-horseradish relish), plus ham, Polish sausage, green beans, and of course, colored eggs. As an added bonus, my mom baked and sent a box of Ukrainian prune pastries. They're delicious, and we haven't had them in years, since she's the only one who knows how to make them. I made way too much food for the four of us, and both boys leave today (one for the work week and one for his home in NY), so my husband and I are going to be eating a lot of leftovers!

Ukrainian Easter feast!

 

Mom sent homemade Ukrainian pastries (individually wrapped!)

We watched old home movies after Easter dinner, from when our sons were 2 and 5--what a riot! Life was chaotic but a lot of fun back then. And they were both so darn cute! 

One of the scenes from our home movies - they loved to play dress-up!

With such limited energy last week (and a lot of cooking!), I only managed one video, my usual quick Friday Reads update. Check it out to hear more about the two books I am currently reading.

Friday Reads 4-15-22

I did, though, finally finish my reviews for March (the last ones are linked below), so here's my 2022 Reading Challenge Update, as of the end of March (click the link to see the details of my challenges):

Mount TBR Challenge - I'm only up to 9 books from my own shelves ... and my goal is 48! This happens with Booktopia because all of the featured books are new releases, so my April reading is much the same.

Monthly Motif Challenge - March was Buzzed About Books, and The Editor by Steven Rowley fit, since I'd been hearing about that one.

Back to the Classics 2022 - My goal is to read 6 classics this year, and I've already read three! I'm so proud of myself. In March, I added Katie John by Mary Calhoun as my Wild Card category (children's book).

Alphabet Soup Challenge - I have 11 letters filled in so far (of 26). It gets harder once the common letters are used!

Nonfiction Reader Challenge - I added one more nonfiction book in March, Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck, for a total of 4, with a goal of 12.

Diversity Challenge - I've already read 18 diverse books this year! My goal is 40, so I'm doing well with this one.

Travel the World in Books - In March, I added Egypt, UK, and Canada (Vancouver) for a total of 8 countries so far.

Literary Escapes Challenge - I've filled in 12 of the 51 states (including DC) so far. This one also gets more difficult once you get the more common states, like NY and California.

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

 

I am currently reading a book for Booktopia (details for this May at the link - click Events and scroll down; my recap of Booktopia 2019 here), Black Cloud Rising by David Wright Faladé. This is civil war historical fiction about a real-life unit of all Black soldiers, who were mostly ex-slaves just recently emancipated. As the Union army made their way through coastal Virginia and North Carolina, the newly-freed slaves rushed to enlist and join the African Brigade. The story is narrated by Richard Etheridge, the son of a slave and her master, who is now a Sergeant in the brigade. It's an engrossing, thoughtful story, and I'm learning a lot about this part of the Civil War I wasn't familiar with. I can't wait to meet the author in May!

 

 

On audio, I am listening to another new-release historical novel, The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. For years, I've been hearing fellow readers rave about Quinn's historical fiction, and this is my first of her novels. During WWII, a Russian woman becomes one of the war's deadliest snipers, better than most of her male counterparts. Mila is a single mother at the beginning of the book, working on her degree while managing a job in the library and bringing up her young son. Her shooting skills catch the eye of the Russian military, and she soon finds herself in the midst of war. The novel begins with a scene several years later, where she is in Washington, DC, and meets Eleanor Roosevelt. It's all based on a real story. I'm enjoying it so far.

 

My husband, Ken, just finished The Sense of Reckoning by Matty Dalrymple (my review from last fall at the link). I love this series! It's about a woman named Ann Kinnear who can sense spirits and sometimes helps to solve mysteries. In this novel, Ann travels to Mount Desert Island, Maine, to help investigate a haunted hotel. That just happens to be one of our favorite places (the island is home to Acadia National Park), and the author always includes lots of details of the setting and location. Like me, my husband enjoyed all those familiar place names, learned a bit of history we didn't know about the island, and enjoyed the mystery of the haunted hotel.

 

 

 

Now, Ken is reading another book I read last fall, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara. Neither of us reads a lot of nonfiction and rarely true crime, but I got this book as a gift from my son's girlfriend and really enjoyed it. This chilling, captivating true story is about a serial rapist and killer in California who outwitted police for decades, mainly by moving around. Writer McNamara heard about some of the cases and began investigating on her own, eventually helping police to connect diverse cases all over the state before her untimely death. Her husband, actor Patton Oswald, and her research assistant finished the book. It's a riveting read, and I think Ken will enjoy it!

 

I got a full reading update from my 27-year-old son, since he was home all weekend! He just last night finished reading an enormous paperback, Temple of the Winds by Terry Goodkind, book four in the Sword of Truth series. He really loved this series, and  book four was a re-read for him in preparation for reading book five, Soul of the Fire, which he'll be starting tonight. I think he has book six lined up, too!

Blog posts last week:

Movie Monday: The Adam Project - This twisty, action-packed, funny time travel adventure is a whole lot of fun!

Fiction Review: The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel - I devoured this unique novel and loved every minute with these characters!

Memoir Review: Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck - a beautifully written nature memoir - I can't wait to meet the author!

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?