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

Hosted by The Book Date

I had a very busy week last week, with meetings or appointments every single day (very rare for me). Then we decided to take a last-minute trip to my hometown--Rochester, NY--to see family this weekend! My cousin texted last weekend to say he and his wife would be visiting Rochester and were going to try to get all the cousins together for a picnic, so we decided to drive up there. This is a new experience for us after the last several years of caring for my father-in-law--just being able to leave on a last-minute trip (or any trip, for that matter).

It's a long drive up there and back, about 7 1/2 hours with a lunch stop, so it was a lot of driving for just about 36 hours there. But it was wonderful! We stayed with my step-mom all weekend and had dinner Friday night with my aunt, uncle, and cousin; I hadn't seen any of them since last Thanksgiving. Saturday was the big picnic on my dad's side of the family, including aunts and cousins I hadn't seen in over three years! I couldn't help crying as I hugged one aunt I hadn't seen in 3-4 years. I had an absolute blast just sitting in the shade chatting with all my cousins. We reminisced about fun times as kids together and caught up on our current lives.

While in town, we also splurged on some Rochester favorites, like Bill Gray's (used to be a single burger place and now has many locations and a big menu), where we got a local classic, the fish fry. I don't know why you can't get them here in Delaware, but yum! And we got Abbott's Frozen Custard twice - sooo amazing! When we moved to Delaware, I got excited to see frozen custard advertised in nearby New Jersey, but it was basically just soft-serve ice cream. Abbott's is the real deal and totally original!

 

Sunday morning, we had breakfast in a diner my family used to go to. So many favorite local places have closed over the years, but this one was still open! Then, we listened to my favorite classic rock station (it was just "rock" in the 70's and 80's, but it's still the same music!) as we drove out of town and spotted all the familiar landmarks. I was in nostalgia heaven. There's just something so wonderful about returning home. Sadly, my dad is no longer there, but we enjoy spending time with my step-mom, and I sort of got to hug my dad!

 

I posted just one new book video last week:

Friday Reads 8/5/22 - my weekly recap of what I'm reading

I've also posted two new chronic illness videos recently, if you're interested in that topic:

Interview with The Crooked Spine Podcast - Dr. Tony interviewed me about living with chronic illnesses

Chronic Illness Vlog - July - Short video clips of my everyday life - the good days, the bad days, and everything in between!

And here's what we've all been reading this past week, though we didn't have much reading time this weekend!

I'm still reading The Overstory by Richard Powers. This one was in my stack for #BigBookSummer 2021! It won the Pulitzer, the National Book Award, was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and was on many Top 10 lists in 2018. It's 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 so far, excellent.

 

On audio, I've been  listening to Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian. 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 so far, with compelling characters and a unique and intriguing story.

 

My husband, Ken, is now 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. Lots of friends told me this series is great, so I figured it was a good one to get my husband started on. He's enjoying it so far.

 

Last I heard, our son, 27, was reading Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe, book one of the Arcane Ascension series, and enjoying it! I need to catch up with him.

Last week's blog posts:

Movie Monday: The Power of the Dog - this award-winning movie was dark, beautifully filmed & emotionally complex

Fiction Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - amazing, hilarious, and warm-hearted, but I can't tell you what it's really about - perhaps my favorite book of the year!

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?