It's Monday 9/25! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

I am just now back from a 10-day period of three separate trips! It's been a whirlwind, and we're glad to be home, but we had a lot of fun.

Last weekend, we drove to Connecticut to stay with my mother and her husband, help them out, and enjoy their company. And, even though it seemed a little crazy, we left their house about noon on Sunday, drove through NYC traffic, got home at about 4 pm, and turned around and left again! After quickly unpacking, showering, repacking, and having a quick dinner with our son, we hooked up our camper and went to our favorite waterfront campsite at Elk Neck State Park in Maryland, less than an hour from home. It was pouring rain, but by afternoon the next day, the rain ended, and we enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful two-night camping trip. I just love being near the water!

 

Within the park, we walked to the Turkey Point Lighthouse, on the Chesapeake Bay. It rained again on us, but it was still a nice walk with beautiful views.

 

After a relaxing evening and campfire, the next morning we walked down to the little private beach on the Elk River (which feeds into the Chesapeake), very close to our campsite. Then, we packed up and came home to do laundry and clean up. 

Two days later, on Friday morning, we drive to northern New Jersey to a lake house I rented for us and our sons and their girlfriends (one girlfriend had surgery recently so couldn't make it). Friday evening was beautiful, and we crammed in all our outdoor activities: kayaking, enjoying the deck, and having a fire in the firepit. We also saw the most magnificent sunset I've ever seen!

By morning, the rain had started, and Tropical Storm Ophelia sat right on top of the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region for the past three days! But you know what? It didn't matter. We hunkered down in our lovely rental house, played games, ate, talked, and laughed a lot. It was a very relaxing weekend and such a treat to just hang out with our family. My heart feels full. They all left yesterday afternoon, and my husband and I drove home today (through more rain!).

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On the Blog

 Movie Monday: Air - We were both very entertained by the all-star cast; clever, funny writing; and '80's setting and soundtrack.

TV Tuesday: Daisy Jones and the Six - I loved the book, and my husband hasn't read it, but we both thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation about a '70's rock band and its damaged lead singers.

Nonfiction Review: Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard - my book group was engrossed by this gripping story of President Garfield and his assassination, by a talented author of narrative nonfiction.

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On Video

Friday Reads 9-14-23 (The Last Policeman, Countdown City, Destiny of the Republic)

Behind the BookTube Tag - a short video about my YouTube channel: content, subscribers, comments, and future plans

Friday Reads 9-22-23 - my most recent update on what I'm reading

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 What We're Reading

I am reading for the R.I.P. Challenge and for Series September this month.

This is a two-week catch-up:

I finished Countdown City by Ben H. Winters, book 2 in his The Last Policeman trilogy. This is a unique mystery series about a (now retired) police detective still working cases even though the end of the world is quickly approaching. A giant asteroid is barreling toward Earth, with no way to stop it. Many people have reacted by "going bucket list" or otherwise running away, but Hank Palace still feels a commitment to police work, even though his city's police department is now run by the Department of Justice, with no investigation work going on. In this novel, his childhood babysitter, Martha, calls him  to ask him to find her missing husband. In a world with so many missing people who have just left their real lives behind, how will Henry possibly find this one man? It's a classic mystery/detective story set against a unique backdrop, and like the first book, this one was excellent. My husband and I will both read the last book of the trilogy.

This weekend, I finished reading A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson, the first book in her wilderness thriller series featuring wildlife biologist Alex Carter. Alex has been living in Boston but is feeling suffocated by the city (and upset by the end of her long-time relationship with her boyfriend). At the opening ceremony for a new wildlife refuge she helped to create, a shooter comes after her and others for stopping the development project slated for the area. So, when her old professor calls to offer her a position conducting a population study of wolverines in northern Montana, she's thrilled, even though she has to jump on a plane that night. She starts to feel better being outdoors on the huge plot of land that used to be a ski resort. But not everyone is happy about the land being protected or about her presence there, and the threats begin almost immediately. The setting and information about wolverines was fascinating, and the action kicks off right from the first pages in this gripping page-turner! I can't wait to read book two, A Blizzard of Polar Bears.

And I just started reading Bang by Lisa McMann, book 2 in her Visions trilogy. I read book 1, Crash, earlier this month. Lisa McMann is an old favorite author of mine (YA series Wake, standalone Cryer's Cross, and middle-grade series The Unwanteds, links to my reviews). This YA paranormal thriller trilogy is another engrossing hit! In the first book, sixteen-year-old Jules was experiencing strange, terrifying visions of a horrific accident where a snow plow hits a restaurant, and the whole place explodes. Her vision--which she saw everywhere--ended with eight body bags in the snow. She had to figure out what was going to happen, and where and when, to try to stop the tragedy before the visions drove her crazy. Now, in book two, someone else Jules knows is seeing different--but equally horrifying--visions, and the two of them are caught up in the same kind of nightmare again. As with McMann's other books, this trilogy is fast-paced, unique, and completely engrossing.

 

On audio, after finishing Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard (my review at the link) for my book group last week, I chose Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie, since it fits for both the R.I.P. Challenge and Series September. Luke Fitzwilliam is traveling to visit a friend. He sits near an older woman on the train, who introduces herself as Mrs. Pinkerton and is quite chatty. She tells Luke that she thinks a murderer is at work in her quiet English village of Wychwood. Luke doesn't put much credence in the woman's wild stories of multiple suspicious deaths or her prediction that the local doctor will be next. Soon, though, Luke reads in the newspaper that Wychwood's Dr. Humbleby has died ... and that Mrs. Pinkerton was killed by an automobile in a hit and run. Luke goes to the village to investigate. I'm not very far into it yet, but it's a great set-up for a twisty Christie mystery.

My husband, Ken, got into the spirit of the season and the R.I.P. Challenge by reading The Sleepwalker by Chris Bohjalian (my review at the link), a novel I've been telling him to read for years! He very much enjoyed this creepy story of a sleepwalker who goes missing in a quiet Vermont town. Bohjalian's novels are always a hit!

Ken brought And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (my review at the link), another one I've been telling him he'd like, with him this weekend, but I don't think he read much. He's just read about the set-up, with ten people receiving a strange invitation to spend a weekend on an island. I think this closed-room mystery is one of Christie's best!

I was able to catch up with our son, 29, in person this weekend for a change! He's been busy caring for his girlfriend after her surgery, but he's enjoying the Art of the Adept series by Michael G. Manning. He finished re-reading book 3, Scholar of Magic; book 4, Disciple of War; and is now reading the newest book, #5, The Wizard's Crown.

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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?