It's Monday 5/9! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

First, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and grandmas! I was away yesterday, so I didn't get to see either of my sons, but am looking forward to a little belated celebration with my husband and younger son tonight. I did spend the day with my own mom, so that worked out well. In fact, we spent all weekend together.

And, wow, what a weekend! She and I drove to Vermont for Booktopia 2022, an annual weekend-long event for authors and readers, held at the fabulous Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT.

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT

I will be writing up a full summary with lots of photos here on the blog--and recording a video, too--but briefly, it's a weekend packed full of author talks, great meals, lots of book discussions, getting to know the authors, book trivia, a Yankee Book Swap, and most of all, hanging out with book-loving friends, both old and new. Many of us return each year (this was my mom's and my 5th time!), and after the two-year break for the pandemic, it was extra-special to gather together again for our annual event. It's paradise for book lovers and avid readers!

Our book trivia team! Author Jane Pek is on the far left.

The eight authors chosen by Northshire booksellers this year were outstanding (as always). I have some work to do to catch up on reviews, but I've already reviewed three of the books, which were among my favorites:

Country of Origin by Dalia Azim, a riveting novel of family, immigration, coming of age, and more.

Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck, a beautifully written memoir that weaves together the author's experiences, Thoreau's experiences, and gorgeous nature writing.

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb, a fan favorite at Booktopia, an engrossing mystery that incorporates family drama, historical fiction, and music.

Watch for the rest of my reviews (because all of the books were great!) and my Booktopia summary and video.

Speaking of videos, I only had time to post one new video on my YouTube channel last week, but it's a fun one! Let's Get Outside Tag is a fun "BookTube" meme all about books related to nature and the outdoors, with some fun questions woven in. You can watch it at the link.

And, here's what we've all been reading this past week--my reading was mostly focused on Booktopia:

While in Vermont, I finished reading The Verifiers by Jane Pek ... after eating dinner with the author! She is super-smart and was great at book trivia. The novel is a mystery/thriller with an intriguing main character and a great sense of humor. Claudia is sort of the black sheep of her "model minority" Chinese-American family, so she hasn't even told them about her new job. She works for a company that people can hire to investigate their "match" from one of the many dating apps. One woman comes to them, and Cluadia investigates two men for her, but then the client dies suddenly. Since Claudia loves detective novels, she begins looking into the mysterious death, even though her bosses tell her to let it go. From there, there are lots of fun twists and turns to the story, as Claudia tries to find out what happened. She is an awesome protagonist, and the author has a wonderful way with words. I was often laughing out loud but also turning the pages in suspense!

 

Next, I started on another Booktopia selection, a memoir called The Year of the Horses by Courtney Maum. I didn't get to her author session, but she gave a hilarious wrap-up talk about publishing a novel at the end Saturday night. This book, however, is not hilarious. It's about her personal battles with severe depression. She's married with a two-year-old daughter when her insomnia and other symptoms finally get bad enough for her to seek help. Looking back, she realizes, she has struggled since childhood. She turns back to her childhood passion, horses and riding, to help herself heal. I'm only 20% of the way in, but it's good so far--honest and moving.

 

I needed an engaging audio book for my long drive back and forth this weekend, and my favorite podcast, Book Cougars, gave me just the inspiration I needed (by the way, they are Booktopians, so I got to catch up with them this weekend and will appear in an upcoming episode!). In their latest Episode 154, they talk to author Jess Montgomery, which reminded me that I really enjoyed her first book in the Kinship series, The Widows (my review at the link), so I chose book two, The Hollows, for my road trip audio. This series of historical mysteries is based on the real-life first woman sheriff in Ohio in the 1920's. In this fictionalized version, Lily took office when her husband, the current sheriff, was killed (in book 1). Now, Lily is running for election on her own when an elderly woman is found dead on nearby train tracks, clearly having plunged from the tunnel overhead onto a moving freight train. As Lily begins her investigation, she starts to suspect this was not an accident. The story delves into the mystery, the sheriff's race, the difficult decision Lily's best friend must make, and even the KKK beginning to infiltrate their area. It is a completely immersive story that helped the miles fly by, which was especially helpful last night when I was exhausted with terrible back pain and trying to get home!

 

My husband, Ken, is still reading the new book I put in his Easter basket, Afterland by Lauren Beukes. I picked this one out for him because we both liked Shining Girls, by the same author, and we are very excited about the new TV adaptation that started last week on Apple TV, starring ... Elizabeth Moss! We can't wait to watch it. Meanwhile, this newer novel from Beukes is a post-apocalyptic story about a world where most of the men are dead. A twelve-year-old boy named Miles is one of the few boys left, and his mother will protect him at any cost, from the many women who want a piece of him: as a scarce reproductive resource, a sex object, or a substitute son. It's described as a high-stakes thriller that Stephen King said is "smartly written," so it should be good!

 

Our son, 27, finished reading book 6, Faith of the Fallen, in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, a favorite of his. After reading three from that series in a row, he is now reading something new, The Written by Ben Galley, book one of the Emaneska series. It is fantasy, of course--his favorite genre. (You should see the stack of awesome books I found for his birthday at Northshire this weekend!) It's described at Game of Thrones meets Diehard and "an explosive epic fantasy." Sounds like a good one!

No new blog posts last week! Too busy reading and talking books.

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?