It's Monday 3/20! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Happy First Day of Spring! Here in the northern hemisphere, spring officially begins at 5:24 pm eastern time today. Yay! Even though we had a relatively mild winter, with no snow and only a few brief cold snaps, I am ready for the vibrant colors and warmer temperatures in spring. I managed some short walks last week and enjoyed some early signs of spring, as well as the natural beauty of our area:

 

I was missing our sons for St. Patrick's Day on Friday, so we invited our closest friends over for our usual feast: corned beef with cabbage and vegetables, Irish soda bread, and Irish beer (and they brought dessert!). My apologies for the half-eaten food photos - I really need to become more patient when I have a lovely plate of food in front of me! lol

 

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On the Blog

TV Tuesday: Will Trent - a unique crime show with a sense of humor - we're loving it!

Fiction Review: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - outstanding classic novel about the life of a Black woman in 1930's Florida

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On Video

 The Song Tag - something different, all about what kinds of music I enjoy!

Friday Reads 3-17-23 and Weekend Getaway Vlog - my weekly update of what I'm reading, plus photos and videos of our weekend away

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What We're Reading

I am currently reading We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer, my first book for Booktopia 2023! That's a fabulous annual book event held in Vermont the first weekend in May, where readers and authors hang out together--tickets are still available! (Click Events and scroll down to the bottom.) Here's my summary from Booktopia 2022. The booksellers choose about 8 authors with new books coming out each year. This one is a thriller that will be released on April 25. It's about a home renovation reality show featuring Robert and Holly, who purchased property in Vermont super-cheap, and are creating an expensive, eco-friendly mansion there. Unfortunately, the previous owner who was evicted isn't too happy about that. And now the two TV/social media stars are missing ... or are they? Good so far, and the suspense keeps ramping up!

 

I finished listening to the middle-grade audio book, Can You See Me? by Libby Scott and Rebecca Westcott. It's about an autistic eleven-year-old girl named Tally who is experiencing the challenges of starting middle-school. Tally has supportive parents and an older sister, plus a best friend who knows about her diagnosis, but no one else at school knows. The story is told from Tally's perspective and is interesting and engaging and provides a great inside look at what it's like to live with autism. It was excellent. Listen to more details in my Friday Reads video, including how a nine-year-old girl came to co-author it!

 

I am continuing to enjoy Middle-Grade March with another middle-grade audio, It's the End of the World and I'm in My Bathing Suit by  Justin A. Reynolds. So far, it's a story about a pretty typical twelve-year-old boy named Eddie, who is grounded and can't go to the beach with his family because he hasn't done his laundry in 40 days, since school ended! But I know there is something creepy and weird coming up ...

 

My husband, Ken, finished reading Upgrade by Blake Crouch (which I want to read, too) and has moved onto another Christmas gift book, Across the Sand, book two in a post-apocalyptic series by Hugh Howey. We both absolutely loved Howey's Silo trilogy: Wool, Shift, and Dust. If you haven't read it yet, you should! He says this newer series is just as good.

 

So, last week, I reported that our son, 28, was reading Hurricane, book two in the Street Rats of Aramoor series by Michael Wiseheart. When I checked in today, he said he has now finished books 3 and 4, Rockslide and Sandstorm, and is in the middle of book 5, Wildfire. And he was busy all weekend visiting an old friend! When I laughed about how much he read, he said, "These weren't really big books, Mom, like I usually read. Each one was only about 530 pages"!! He's getting all his reading in before he starts his new job next week :)

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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