It's Monday 12/16! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 

 

Life

My chronic illness is still badly flared up, with some really severe days last week, though I've been a bit better yesterday and so far today. But the holidays are coming, no matter how I feel! So, I did a lot of holiday prep from my nest on the couch, shopping from my laptop while lying down and sending my husband out to do all the stuff I can't. He always does a lot for me and for our family and home, but he's been really great lately. On a particularly bad day last week, he not only did the grocery shopping but brought home flowers to cheer me up! We're behind with decorating, though I did manage some little touches here and there.

 

I was hugely relieved that I felt a little better yesterday and could participate in and enjoy decorating our tree with our son and his girlfriend. She helped me with dinner, and we had a nice evening with them. Our ornaments are all memories, of our sons' childhoods (and ours!), of family no longer with us, and of wonderful places we've traveled to together. We always enjoy unpacking all these special ornaments and putting them on the tree.

I took care of the low stuff!

The family and the tree!

The finished tree (I don't love the new LED lights but they

're much safer!)

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On Video

I've had to record my videos from the couch lately, but I did manage a couple of fun short ones last week:

The End of the Year Book Tag - this annual one features some fun questions about my reading plans for the end of the year and the beginning of the new year.

Friday Reads 12-13-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to.

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 What We're Reading

I am reading a book that's been on my shelf for much too long, The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara. Most people know this author for her best-selling novel, A Little Life, but her debut novel was The People in the Trees. My mother read it back in 2015 or so and still says it's one of her all-time favorites. She bought me a copy ... and it took me much too long to finally read it! It's the immersive story of a doctor, Norton Perina, who goes on an expedition with an anthropologist in 1950 where they discover a "lost tribe" on a remote Pacific island. Some members of the tribe appear to be astoundingly old and physically robust, though with diminished mental faculties (that's all revealed on page 1). His quest to discover this "fountain of youth" leads to all kinds of unintended consequences, including his conviction for sexual assault (still page 1!). Most of the book is Dr. Perina's memoir, written from prison, and the story of the original expedition and his discoveries that followed is engrossing and fascinating. Though you know the general outline of what will happen from the start, it is still a tense and gripping read, with some extremely thought-provoking moral questions. Mom was right!

 

On audio, I am listening to The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. I was so excited when my Libby request came through sooner than expected! Erdrich is one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to read this one which focuses on a small farming community in North Dakota. Crystal drives a truck for the local sugar beet farms. Her eighteen-year-old daughter, Kismet, is smart and planning to go to college, but her sometimes-hook-up, Gary, has other plans. Gary is a football star in their high school and asks Kismet to marry him. Kismet is also seeing Hugo, a brilliant guy who's homeschooled and is also in love with her. Besides this love triangle, the novel is about the community, the farming life, and family. As always, Erdrich has created fabulous characters that leap off the page (or audio) and an engaging story about ordinary people.

My husband, Ken, is reading a book I gave him for his birthday, An Honest Man by Michael Koryta. This is his first book by best-selling author Koryta, and this one is described as a "breath-taking thriller." Plus, Stephen King said it was the author's best book, so I figured it was a good place to start. He's enjoying it, though he's still watching a lot of football!

 

Our son, 30, was reading book 16 (!) of the The Spellmonger series, Preceptor, by Terry Mancour over Thanksgiving. I did text with him this weekend but forgot to ask what he was reading, though I know he's been very busy.

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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?

It's Monday 12/9! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

It was a rough week for me, as the relapse of my chronic illness continued (and maybe even worsened, from all the activity Thanksgiving weekend). I did manage to co-host our book group; a wonderful friend offered to host at her house, with me as official "host," so I could make the dessert and choose the book selections. I'm glad I went ... but I shouldn't have! I wasn't feeling well that day, and some even worse days followed the exertion. I rested the rest of the week so I could manage our annual visit to the Christmas tree farm with our younger son and his girlfriend. It's one of our favorite holiday traditions, and I enjoyed the time with them.

After ruling out some behind-the-scenes medical issues and trying several treatments that have worked in the past, I decided to try a very short round of steroids. This is not usually a good idea with my immune disorder because steroids suppress the entire immune system, and this disease is characterized by some aspects of the immune system being over-active but others being under-active. In the past, this approach worked well for me once--and didn't work three other times. So, the odds aren't great, but I feel like I tried everything else first this time and avoided some past mistakes. Also, the main symptom of this relapse has been constant flu-like aches (sign of immune activation), so the steroids might help to calm things down. Fingers crossed. Felt pretty good yesterday and really awful today. For now, I am in my comfy nest on the couch, lying down. And it was almost 60 yesterday, so I got to lie outside on our deck!

Wearing a parka on Saturday and a t-shirt on Sunday!

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On Video

Nonfiction November Wrap-Up - a quick recap of the 5 excellent nonfiction books I read last month.

Friday Reads 12-6-24 - I had to record from the couch, but I managed a brief update of what I am reading and listening to - two books highly recommended!

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 What We're Reading

I finished reading Tell Me More: Stories about the Twelve Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan, a book of memoir essays. I've heard Kelly on several of my favorite podcasts (including her own) and always enjoy listening to her. Her book is similar. She digs in deep, talking about motherhood, marriage, living through cancer, and the losses of her father (which I relate to) and a good friend. In her signature style, she is honest, warm, and often funny, which helps when you're reading about such difficult topics. The book made me tear up several times and laugh out loud as well, and my copy is filled with tabbed pages of passages and quotes I loved.

 

I had to set that book aside after Thanksgiving to "cram" our book group selection, Chicago by Brian Doyle. My library copy was still not available when we returned from our trip last Sunday night, so I broke down and bought the audio (and my friend dropped off her library copy so I could double-time it with both print and audio). No surprise that I didn't finish it by Wednesday, but I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming, uplifting, beautifully-written novel that was excellent on audio. It's a coming-of-age story set in 1976 about a young man, fresh out of college, settling into Chicago for his first real job. But, even more than that, it is about community. He moves to the city not knowing anyone, and as the story progresses, he gradually gets to know--and become good friends with--the varied assortment of people in his apartment building and all over the city. My book group (who rarely all agree on a book!) gave it a rating of 8.8 out of 10, a tie for our best rating ever! Melinda at A Web of Stories, a long-time book-blogger and now Booktuber friend, has been raving about another of Doyle's novels, Mink River, all year.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading a book I gave him for his birthday, An Honest Man by Michael Koryta. This is his first book by best-selling author Koryta, and this one is described as a "breath-taking thriller." Plus, Stephen King said it was the author's best book, so I figured it was a good place to start. He's not very far into it yet (football season!), but he said it's intriguing so far.

 

Our son, 30, was reading book 16 (!) of the The Spellmonger series, Preceptor, by Terry Mancour when I checked last week. He loves this series. I'm so glad he's making time to read again!

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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?

It's Monday 12/2! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 

 

Life

It's Cyber Monday, my biggest shopping day of the year, so I'll keep this short today! My health is still not great, but my doctor started me on an antiviral that has helped in the past, so I am hoping it will improve things. I seem to be a little better, but it's been hard to tell with the busy chaos of Thanksgiving weekend!

We drove to my hometown, Rochester, NY, for the long weekend and got caught in that awful traffic Wednesday. As usual, our holiday weekend was packed full of family visits. My stamina is still very low, but with lots of naps and extra rest, I enjoyed being with family and friends as much as I could. We stayed with my step-mom; she is a wonderful host, and we enjoy her company. On Thanksgiving, we were with my mom's side of the family at my aunt and uncle's house. Friday, we met one of my oldest friends and her son (who is friends with our sons) for breakfast with lots of laughs and old stories, as well as catching up. Friday evening, we met up with my cousins (and their kids) on my dad's side of the family. All of us cousins there have lost our dads, so we enjoyed the usual reminiscing but also had a great conversation about our dads and uncles. We even heard some stories we'd never heard before! Saturday we were back with my aunt and uncle's house for leftovers and a relaxed, casual hang out. The weekend took a lot out of me, and I was in rough shape at some points (especially by Saturday), but I so enjoyed catching up with family, sharing old stories, and lots of laughter. And it's wonderful to be with other people who knew my dad and how special he was.

The whole gang on Thanksgiving!

My husband and I with my step-mom

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On Video

 

 Just one video, before we left on our trip:

Diets for Chronic Illness: Paleo, Keto, Carnivore - I explain what each of these diets is, why it is often recommended for those with chronic illness (especially immune disorders or any medical condition involving inflammation), and tips and ideas on what/how to eat with each. It's focused on those with chronic illness but should be informative for anyone interested in what any of these diets entails. I've been eating keto and carnivore (at various times) all year due to my illness, and my cholesterol and triglycerides are the lowest they've ever been, by a lot!

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 What We're Reading

I finished Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson, a book that's been in my Nonfiction November stack for several years. It's the story of a German submarine sinking a huge passenger ship during WWI, but as always, Larson digs deep into the story to bring us details and aspects that we never learned in history class. We not only get to know some of the passengers and crew of the Lusitania on that fateful voyage but also the captain and crew of the German U-boat. Larson's books are always fascinating and informative, and this one is no different. The investigation of why this disaster happened and all the factors that allowed it to occur, as well as what made it worse, is intriguing and horrifying. I learned a lot, but it's also a gripping story.

 

 

 

Now I am reading Tell Me More: Stories about the Twelve Hardest Things I'm Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan, a book of memoir essays. I've heard Kelly on several of my favorite podcasts (including her own) and always enjoy listening to her. Her book is similar. She digs in deep, talking about motherhood, marriage, living through cancer, and the losses of her father (which, of course, I relate to) and a good friend. In her signature style, she is honest, warm, and often funny, which helps when you're reading about such difficult topics. So far, the book has made me tear up and laugh out loud.

 

On audio, I listened to Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life by Brianna Madia. This memoir describes the author's unique lifestyle of traveling all over the American West while living in a van (not a fancy new-style RV, either!). She goes back to her childhood and examines what led to her unusual lifestyle choices and how she and her husband (who lived in the van with her) met and ended up living this way with their two dogs. It's an engrossing and fascinating story, and she reads it herself (which I always enjoy with a memoir), so I enjoyed it very much. 

 

 

My husband, Ken, finished Burn by Peter Heller, one of our favorite authors of outdoor thrillers. This novel is a bit of a departure for Heller, as it's post-apocaylptic. He said it was excellent. Now, he is reading another book I gave to him for his birthday, An Honest Man by Michael Koryta. This is his first book by best-selling author Koryta, and this one is described as a "breath-taking thriller." Plus, Stephen King said it was the author's best book, so I figured it was a good place to start.

 

 

I was able to catch up on my son's (age 30) reading this weekend! After a long period in his new job with little time for reading, he said he is newly committed to get back to it, since he enjoys reading so much. He saw that book 5 in the Arcane Ascension, When Wizards Follow Fools, was out, so, as he often does, he went back and first reread book 4, The Silence of Unworthy Gods, before reading the latest. Now, he is reading book 16 (!) of the The Spellmonger series, Preceptor, by Terry Mancour. He loves this series. I'm so glad he's making time to read again!

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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?