It's Monday 7/29! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 Life

I am still down and out from COVID, which hit me a little over two weeks ago. It's a known trigger for my chronic illness, an immune disorder called ME/CFS, so I knew I was in for a long haul. Last time I got COVID, in January 2022 from my father-in-law's nursing home, I was extremely sick for a month, and it took me six months to recover back to my "normal" baseline. I was able to get Paxlovid this time, so I am hoping that will shorten my recovery time, but we'll see. So far, about 16 days in, my sore throat is gone, I still have lots of mucus (never really got congested, just lots of extra mucus in sinuses and chest - sorry for the TMI!). My biggest issue is still--and likely will be for awhile--a complete lack of energy and very little stamina. I am now able to sit up for short periods of time during the day, I managed a few short, very slow walks around the cul-de-sac in front of our house, and I can spend a little more time on my laptop. But I am still living life from my "nest" on the couch!

Last week did include a few high points. I turned 59 on Tuesday, and I enjoyed a nice, low-key celebration with my husband and son. We had a delicious dinner together (I even sat at the table!), they showered me with gifts (including a Little Free Library!!), and I enjoyed their company.

Celebrating my birthday

My husband's going to build me a Little Free Library!

Books for my birthday, too!

We had beautiful weather this weekend, with rare low humidity and temperatures "only" in the mid-80's, so my husband drove me to a local state park where we sat by the river and read our books for an hour. It was lovely there and so nice to get out of the house and spend time outdoors. This was my consolation for having to cancel our two-week camping vacation to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (we were supposed to leave this weekend). I hope to re-plan that trip for next summer.

Beautiful summer day by the river

Reading in the park

Enjoying Big Book Summer by the Water

Sunday evening, we enjoyed the birthday gift my son gave to me: a fun night in! He picked up takeout from a wonderful local restaurant, and we played a new trivia game he gave me for Mother's Day--from the couches and recliners! I love to play games and rarely have the opportunity, so it was a lot of fun. He actually beat both my husband and I in the first game, but I managed to win the second game (one of my answers was Shaggy's (from Scooby Doo) "real name"! ha ha).

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On Video

I got back on Booktube last week!

Friday Reads 7-26-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to

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 What We're Reading

I am almost finished with the biggest of my books for #BigBookSummer, Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon. I'm so grateful for this enormous, epic story to lose myself in! This is book 4 in the Outlander series, and though last summer I said that book 3, Voyager, was my favorite so far, this one is giving it some stiff competition! Much of it is set in America, in western North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains, an area we have visited and love for its natural beauty. Jamie and Claire are basically homesteading there, in the wilderness, and I am loving the descriptions of that familiar natural world, as well as the historical details and plot twists inherent in this series. And there have been some big time-travel-related surprises that made me squeal in delight! I only have 30 pages to go and am very upset with Jamie and Claire right now for something they did (especially Claire because it was so out of character), so I hope the characters redeem themselves by the end! This has been a twisty, suspenseful, exciting ride and the perfect antidote for sick days.

I finally started a new audio book, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Yes, I somehow missed this very popular novel, though I enjoyed Under the Whispering Door. What finally pushed me to read it is that the publisher (Macmillan) reached out to ask if I wanted an early audio review copy of the sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I said yes, figuring I could just request the first book from Libby and listen to it first. There's an 11-week wait! I rarely (never?) buy audio books because I get them from publishers and the library, but I finally bit the bullet and bought this one. It's an intriguing story so far, about a quiet man named Linus Baker who is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DCMY). He is assigned to visit and assess a top secret facility (clearly, the title house). I only just started it this weekend, but I'm enjoying it so far, even though I don't normally read much fantasy.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading Lonesome Dove. He immediately dove into that amazing novel as soon as he returned from his trip (my review at the link). We are able to read together at night again, and he said he's enjoying it. The crew has just left Lonesome Dove on the cattle drive.

I finally had a chance to ask our older son, 29, last night, and he said he's still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come since he started a new job last month and hasn't had any reading time! He's loving his new job so far.

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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 7/22! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

This will be a very brief post because I am still very sick. It was COVID--I finally tested positive last Tuesday. COVID is very dangerous for my immune disorder (ME/CFS), often triggering a worsening that can last for months or years. The last time I caught it, in January 2022 from my father-in-law's nursing home, I was very sick for about a month and my ME/CFS was worse for about six months. This time, I was able to get Paxlovid (it wasn't available last time), which has been shown to reduce the chances of lingering effects, so I am hoping that will make a difference. At this point, though, 10 days in, my energy is still pretty much zero. Sitting up for any period of time does me in (hence, today's short post), so I've been spending my days lying flat on the couch--thank goodness for reading! My sore throat is much better (not fully gone yet but almost), though the sinus and chest congestion feel just a bit worse today. Because of my immune dysfunction, I am very prone to bronchitis, so I'm hoping to stave that off. The good news is that I tested negative today, so hopefully, my family is safe now! My view this past week:

My cozy nest on the couch!

I try to get out on our screened porch when I can

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 What We're Reading

 

 

 

I am reading the biggest of my books for #BigBookSummer, Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon. I'm so grateful for this enormous, epic story to lose myself in! This is book 4 in the Outlander series, and though last summer I said that book 3, Voyager, was my favorite so far, this one is giving it some stiff competition! Much of it is set in America, in western North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains, an area we have visited and love for its natural beauty. Jamie and Claire are basically homesteading there, in the wilderness, and I am loving the descriptions of that familiar natural world, as well as the historical details and plot twists inherent in this series. And there have been some big time travel-related surprises that made me squeal in delight! Thank you, Diana, for giving me this fabulous world to escape to!

 

On audio, I finished listening to Hereafter by Tara Hudson, another book for #BigBookSummer Challenge. This is a YA novel about Amelia, who is dead--well, technically, a ghost. She is in the river, where she has once again had what she thinks of as a nightmare (though, of course, she doesn't sleep) where she has relived her terrifying death by drowning. Still shaken, she notices a car with its headlights on, slowly sinking, and next to it a boy who is also sinking. Although she can not normally touch or affect living people, she somehow manages to save his life. When he is pulled from the water and is being wheeled into an ambulance, she goes to him to make sure he is OK ... and he sees her! This has never happened before, and it affects them both deeply. There is a bit of a love story here (YA, after all), but also some fascinating afterlife details and even a war between good and evil. I enjoy a good ghost story, and this one was good!

 

As soon as my husband got home from his trip last week, he said, "Are you done with Lonesome Dove?" He immediately dove into that amazing novel. I think he's enjoying it, though we haven't been able to read next to each other in bed this past week since I've been isolating. (my review at the link.)

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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?