It's Monday 11/14! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

My big news last week was about five days of feeling good - back to my normal baseline after more than three months of a bad relapse of my chronic illness. Unfortunately, the flu-like aches and exhaustion came back this weekend. I really thought I had it figured out, with several medication changes in the past two weeks. I'm feeling very discouraged, but I have phone appointments with two doctors today and another one on Thursday, so I am hoping one of them has some ideas.

But, let's focus on the positive:

Our camper is finally repaired and we went camping last week for two days, taking advantage of the last of the warm, sunny, perfect weather and gorgeous fall foliage. We went to Trap Pond State Park in Delaware, home to the northernmost natural stand of Cypress trees in the eastern U.S. Luckily, camping coincided with my period of feeling good, so I was even able to go kayaking with my husband. Here are some highlight photos, and check out my Camping Vlog for some beautiful videos:

Sunset lights up the foliage & cypress trees

One of several Great Blue Herons we saw

Fall foliage from my kayak

Lots of turtles out - 80 degrees that day!

My husband paddling among the cypress trees

Reflections in the water

 

"I went to the woods because I wished to ..." ...read!

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On the Blog

Because we were camping last Monday, I skipped my usual Monday update. I was finally able to catch up on all of my October book reviews the last two weeks: 

Teen/YA Review: Creep: A Love Story by Lygia Day Penaflor - creepy story of high school obsession that was excellent on audio.

Fiction Review: High Country by Nevada Barr - a great thriller set in Yosemite National Park, starring ranger Anna Pigeon. 

Fiction Review: The Captives by Debra Jo Immergut - another story of obsession, this time between a prison psychologist and his patient who was his high school crush.

Fiction Review: A Furnace for Your Foe by Matty Dalrymple - book 4 in my favorite series about a woman who senses spirits, this time solving a murder on Mount Desert Island, Maine.

Middle-Grade Review: Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott - I LOVED this wonderful ghostly mystery, solved by twin brothers, one alive and one dead. Outstanding on audio!

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On Video

Nonfiction November 2022 - check out my "pile of possibilities" for this month!

Friday Reads 11-4-22 - the end of R.I.P. Challenge and the beginning of Nonfiction November

October 2022 Reading Wrap-Up - a great reading month for me, entirely immersed in books for the R.I.P. Challenge!

Outdoor Camping Vlog and Friday Reads 11-10-22 - Videos and photos from our camping trip, plus some reading updates

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What We're Reading

 

I finished reading The Hotel Neversink by Adam O'Fallon Price. This novel is set in the Catskills, at an old hotel on a hill overlooking the countryside. Children keep disappearing from the hotel and the nearby area, and the reader is aware from the start of possible ghost(s) on the hotel property. Each chapter takes place in a different year and from a different character's perspective, so the story moves gradually from 1950, when the first child disappears, to 2012. The changing characters, mostly staff and guests at the hotel, provide a wide range of perspectives. I really enjoyed this Edgar Award winner.

 

My first book for Nonfiction November is Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I was inspired to finally read it after enjoying Six Walks: In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck, a Booktopia author this spring. Walden is a dense book, so it's sometimes slow-going. As expected, I am loving the nature writing (I was reading this on our camping trip), but I was surprised to find that Thoreau also rants a lot about "modern" life, how other people choose to live, etc., especially in the beginning of the book. Once he moves into the cabin at Walden Pond, there's more observations of the natural world and fewer rants, so I am mostly enjoying it.

 

My last audio book for the R.I.P. Challenge was Denis Ever After by Tony Abbott, a middle-grade ghost story/mystery. Denis died five years ago at age seven. His body was found on the Georgia monument at Gettysburg after he was kidnapped, and the crime was never solved. Denis is enjoying Port Haven, a sort of interim place for the dead to gradually let go of the living world so they can move on, and hanging out with his great-grandmother, GeeGee, there. He left behind a twin brother, Matt, along with his mom and dad, and when Denis checks in on his family, he is upset to see they have not been able to let go of the horrible and mysterious circumstances of his death and move on. Denis shows himself to Matt--and endures great pain and repercussions--and the two boys set out to solve Denis's murder to save their family. This immersive, unique novel is wonderful, though as Denis gradually remembers his kidnapping and death, it is quite disturbing. Best for older middle-graders or young teens (or adults--it's excellent!).

 

My first audio book for Nonfiction November is These Precious Days by Ann Patchett, and I am absolutely loving it! It's a collection of essays about her life and her experiences. She's close to my age, so I can relate to much of what she writes about. Two of my favorites so far are Three Fathers and From the Doghouse (all about her childhood obsession with Snoopy and the Peanuts, which I could definitely relate to!). Of course, she writes beautifully; some parts are very moving and some make me laugh out loud!

 

My husband, Ken, is reading Holdout by Jeffrey Kluger, a novel I gave him for his birthday. I read about it in Parade magazine, which described it as "cinematic," and it was on a bunch of "best of" lists. An astronaut on the ISS takes a stand against something horrible happening down on Earth by refusing to leave the space station. She's doing the only thing she can to try to change things. Ken says it's good so far!

 

Our son, 28, finished reading Confessor, book 10 in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, and finally set that series aside, after plowing through a half dozen or so books! He's now reading Spellmonger by Terry Mancour, the first book in the Spellmonger series.

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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?