It's Monday 8/15! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Last week was a productive one because I had most of the week to myself, at home. Since the pandemic started, my husband's been working from home. While I love him very much and enjoy his company, I have missed the quiet solitude of my work days during the week! He went into the office several days last week, and it was nice to have that quiet time to myself again. I got a lot done and finally feel like I'm starting to catch up from the funeral, etc. plus move forward on some projects.

The big news here is that we finally came out of those endless heat waves! It's been almost nonstop temperatures in the 90's with high humidity all summer, which makes it impossible for me to enjoy the outdoors (which is really important to me). Around Thursday last week, the temperatures dropped into the 70's and low 80's, and the humidity came down. I was finally able to spend some time outside, walk a bit, and make a tiny dent in weeding our overgrown jungles that used to be gardens. I even recorded my weekly reading video outside!

We had a busy weekend, with a good mix of fun and work. We took advantage of the perfect weather Saturday and had breakfast outside at our favorite local cafe, then took a short hike on a trail we'd never walked before. It ran along one of the many beautiful creeks in our area. Very nice. We did our usual Saturday evening take-out (I know, we live wild lives), and the entire day was relaxing. 

Beautiful summer day by the creek

We're out!

Sunday, we finally tackled some long overdue cleaning. I can't do much because of my chronic illness, so I usually handle the dusting (and even that was a lot for me--I'm pretty worn out today!). Usually, my husband has to do all the rest--cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming, washing floors--but yesterday, our son was home, so he pitched in, too. We're trying to get the house in shape for visitors next weekend: our son with his girlfriend for his birthday and my mom and her husband. 

I uploaded two new reading videos last week:

July Reading Wrap-up - quick overviews of the four Big Books I finished last month.

Friday Reads and Trees! 8-12-22 - my usual weekly catch-up, recorded outside, plus some nature video, inspired by The Overstory

And here's what we're all reading this week:

I did finally finish The Overstory by Richard Powers; it took longer than I expected but was well worth the time! It won the Pulitzer Prize, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and was on many Top 10 lists in 2018. The first part is a series of separate but connected stories about people and families. In each story, there is a tree or trees that grow and develop along with the people or otherwise deeply affect their lives. It all comes together beautifully in the second half of the book, as many of the characters in the first part meet, united by a common purpose of saving trees. It's wholly original, both beautiful and devastating, and a very powerful read.

 

Now, I am reading my last print book for the #BigBookSummer Challenge, Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. This was one of dozens of King (and Dean Koontz) novels that we inherited from my dad. My husband read this one last year for Big Book Summer and loved it, so I've been looking forward to it. It's a novella and several short stories that are all interconnected, set in the same town and about the same people, over time. The first part, the novella, is about 11-year-old Bobby in 1960, and it showcases King's incredible talent in writing from a kid's perspective. It's mostly set in the real world (though there is a thread of something vaguely supernatural running through it) and while it's not horror in the traditional sense, there are some real-world horrors that Bobby and his friends and family must deal with. It has so much emotional depth and is gripping, moving, and engrossing. I've been staying up much too late reading! That guy can write.

I also finished Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian on audio. This YA novel is set in 1989 in New York City in the midst of the AIDS crisis and follows several teens. Art is a very out gay boy who is flamboyant and open. Reza is a recent immigrant from Iran, by way of Canada, who is very closeted, in part due to his family's culture and in part due to a fear of AIDS. Judy is a teen girl who is Art's best friend, is very close to her gay uncle, Stephen, and has a crush on Reza (not knowing, of course, that he's gay). It's a wonderful novel, with compelling characters and a unique and intriguing coming-of-age story.

 

I haven't started my next audio book yet because I need to set up my new iPod (yes, I still use an iPod!). But I've chosen my next audio (and last one for Big Book Summer): The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. This will be a cross-over book (and Hearts in Atlantis, too) to finish up Big Book Summer and kick off the R.I.P. Challenge in September! This is book 17 in her Inspector Gamache series. I enjoy this mystery series set in Quebec but have not been reading them in order. I read book 1, Still Life, and then skipped to #15, A Better Man, and now this one. I hope to start it today.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading another Father's Day gift, Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger. I read my first Krueger novel in the spring, This Tender Land, and was blown away by its beautiful writing, gripping plot, and wonderful characters. Iron Lake is the first book, published back in 1998, in his mystery series that features P.I. Cork O'Connor, former sheriff of Aurora, MN. He's enjoying it so far and says he definitely wants to read more of the series.

 

Our son, 27 (not for long!), finished reading Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe, book one of the Arcane Ascension series and then moved onto book 2, On the Shoulders of Titans He's enjoying that series. Now, he is halfway through Blood of a Fallen God, book one of the Forgemaster Cycle series by Joshua C. Cook. I can't wait to see my son this weekend!

Last week's blog posts:

TV Tuesday: The Bear - one of our favorite shows this summer - outstanding!

Fiction Review: Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane - gripping psychological suspense

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?