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

Hosted by The Book Date

 Is it Monday again already? Not a lot happened last week, just the usual routines: visiting my father-in-law every day (some days he's pretty good and some days he's in another world), blogging, cooking, resting, etc. I felt better than the previous week, thank goodness, though I am still struggling post-COVID. I did get a chance to talk with my chronic illness specialist last week, and she's prescribing a couple of new meds for me to try that will hopefully help me get back to my "normal" baseline. And I spent 90 minutes on the phone with our health insurance company, trying to straighten out a bunch of things. Aren't those phone calls fun? I have to admit, though, that my "health concierge" was great and actually resolved all the issues.

I did get out into the world one day and stopped at one of our local Barnes & Nobles. I talked to their buyer who is going to purchase my book for their Local Authors display--yay! I also picked up a few copies of the April issue of RV Magazine, which features my article, Take a Hike!, about hiking with kids of all ages. This is my first feature article where I provided all of the photos as well as the writing. The magazine did a fabulous job with the lay-out and production. The extra copies are for my mom (of course) and my sons, since the article is like a professionally-made scrapbook of their childhood travels and hikes!

And, in spite of continued cool, wet weather, we are finally seeing some signs of spring around here, which makes me happy! It's actually sunny out today, which is rare lately, so took a short walk, my first time making it all the way around our neighborhood since before COVID. Fingers crossed there's not too much payback tomorrow, but it felt good to be out and moving again!

Our daffodils finally bloomed!

Trees in the neighborhood are starting to flower!

Just one video last week, my weekly video with a bit extra: Friday Reads and Weekend Getaway about the books I was reading/listening to this weekend and our mini trip last week.

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

 

I am still reading--and loving--This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger, our All-County Reads selection for this year and our next book for my neighborhood book group. I have been hearing rave reviews of Krueger's novels from my friends for years, so I was excited to read this novel (my first of his). It's set during the Depression, beginning in 1932 at the Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota, which houses, among hundreds of other kids, two white orphaned brothers named Odie and Albert and a mute Indian boy found abandoned as a baby and named Moses. These three, plus a six-year-old girl, set off down the river on their own in a canoe to escape from violence. It's just as wonderful as everyone said! I am fully immersed in the story and setting and am rooting for these poor kids to find a home and safety.

 

For my next audio book, I chose a relatively-unknown classic, The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is not a detective story/mystery but science fiction! I didn't even know Doyle ever wrote in this genre. It's set before WWI and begins in England, when a journalist looking for adventure signs on with an eccentric scientist who claims to have found an isolated spot in the Amazon where prehistoric animals (including dinosaurs) still survive. It was the first novel that introduced his Professor Challenger character. Given that it was published in 1912, it has some cringy instances of racism, but so far, the story is intriguing and compelling, and I want to see what happens next.

 

My husband, Ken, just finished Never by Ken Follett (I think he did--he stayed up later than me last night to finish it!). 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's gripping as well. My husband really enjoyed it.

 

Our son, 27, just finished reading The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, an older fantasy novel and book 1 of a trilogy by the author. He loved it! He said he wishes he hadn't waited so long to try it, and he will definitely read more.

Last week's blog posts:

Fiction Review: Country of Origin by Dalia Azim - wonderful multi-generational story of family and immigration

Middle-Grade Review: Katie John by Mary Calhoun - I enjoyed re-reading one of my childhood favorites!

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?