Monday, June 02, 2025

It's Monday 6/2! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date


Life

 I finally had a full week at home, with no travel or family obligations, but it was a super busy catch-up week! I had two medical appointments and a haircut (and it was only a 4-day week), so that kept me out of the house more than usual. But the haircut was overdue, and I finally got my new sets of Invisiline (at my last check-up, the orthodontist said they weren't fitting right, so they rescanned me and ordered new ones). The good news is that these definitely fit better and don't affect my speech as much (it was getting pretty bad!), but the bad news is that now I have another 13 weeks to go, instead of just four more. So, I was upset about the extended time, but I'm glad they fit better. Making videos with a bad lisp was getting challenging!

 


I fit in a stock-up trip to Trader Joe's after the orthodontist (I rarely go food shopping anymore, so this was a treat!).

 


After before my massage therapy appointment, I squeezed in a quick walk in a beautiful area tucked into the middle of the suburbs--even just 15 minutes spent surrounded by birdsong and lush greenery is rejuvenating!

 



Saturday morning at 4 am (!), my husband left for his annual golf week in his hometown with his two best friends from high school. He already arrived last night (record time for driving from Delaware to Oklahoma!), and they're heading out for their first round this morning. He looks forward to this all year. And so do I! We spend a lot of time together, so I appreciate a week of quiet solitude to myself. As usual, I planned WAY too much for myself, thinking I could get SO much done home alone--I never learn! I had a good, productive weekend, but I definitely pushed myself a bit too hard and was wiped out by last night. On the plus side, I learned to use my new Go Pro and tested it out on a hiking trail yesterday, so I'll share the video next week. And today, I am meeting a good friend that I haven't seen in over a year for a walk at a local park. 

Just a reminder that we are now a week into the 2025 Big Book Summer Challenge! We've already got over 50 participants in our Goodreads group, about 40 in the Storygraph group, about 30 Booktubers, and a half dozen bloggers. If you're not on any of those platforms, no worries; you can post updates on any social media using #BigBookSummer. Everyone is welcome to participate, and you only need to read one book (though you can read more) of 400 or more pages by September 1 to join the fun! Details on the Big Book Summer page

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On Video
 
The Booktuber Bio Tag - in this fun tag, I answer questions not just about my Booktube channel and some of my favorite books but also personal background about myself.
 
Friday Reads 5-30-25: Starting My Big Book Summer Reading - in this brief recap of my reading week, I talk about 4 excellent novels: two that I just finished (and loved!) and the two books (in print and on audio) that are kicking off my own Big Book Summer.
 
2-Minute Review of The Road to Roswell - in this mini review, I talk about this wonderful novel by Connie Willis. 
 
Immersed in Nature in the Middle of the Suburbs - Turn up the volume and enjoy this 1-minute nature respite, with birdsong and a babbling creek.

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 What We're Reading
 
 
 
I'm still reading my first book for Big Book Summer, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, a classic I've been meaning to read for years (that's the best part about Big Book Summer). It begins with a man named Charles Bovary who is just an average, ordinary man in many ways: brought up on a farm, in the middle of his class at school, not especially charming or ambitious. He manages to become a doctor in a small town in Normandy, France, in the 1800's. The title character, Emma, is a young woman Charles meets while tending to her father's broken leg. The two are drawn to each other and marry, but Emma soon realizes her motivation was to simply escape her dull home life. Based on reading a lot of novels, Emma concludes she's not in love with Charles and wants real love in her life, romantic love, but she finds her new life with Charles just as routine and boring as her old life. She embarks on a series of affairs but is never happy for long. I have about 100 pages left in the novel now. While I find Emma really frustrating and not at all sympathetic, the novel is well-written and engrossing. I suspect Emma will not come to a happy ending!
 
 
 

 On audio, I started Big Book Summer with a YA historical novel, Artifice by Sharon Cameron. It's set during World War II in Amsterdam, and while I often think I have read about every possible aspect of WWII, I have once again been surprised to learn of a whole different piece of the war that I knew little about. A young woman named Isa was brought up surrounded by art and artists in her parents' small art gallery, where they both painted and collected works of art. The Nazis occupy The Netherlands and are confiscating as much Dutch art as they can find. Desperate to pay the taxes so she and her father don't lose their home in the closed gallery, Isa sells a fake Rembrandt, painted by her talented father, to the Nazis. The success of the exchange, plus finding out that her best friend is involved in the Dutch resistance, put Isa on a dangerous path involving forgery, the resistance, and a young Nazi soldier who says he wants to defect. This is not only excellent historical fiction, but the novel is full of action and suspense, as Isa and her friends try to stay safe and help their beloved country. It's very good on audio, and I can't wait to hear what happens next.
 
 
 

My husband, Ken, has been reading his first Big Book of the summer (yes, he participates, too!), Hunter by Tana French. She's one of our favorite authors, and he loves this new series of hers (book 1 was The Searcher and is now on my side of the to-be-read bookcase). However, I doubt he'll read much this week, while on his golf trip!

 

 Our son, 30, is still rereading the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks, an old favorite of his, in preparation for the latest book (Beyond the Shadows). So, he's rereading book 1, The Way of Shadows, and will then reread book 2, The Shadow's Way. He hasn't had much reading time lately, but he trained someone new at work, which should give him more weekends off and more time to read!

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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:
 

  What are you and your family reading this week?

Monday, May 26, 2025

It's Monday 5/26! What Are You Reading?


Hosted by The Book Date

 Life

 Big Book Summer 2025 is here!!

My annual reading challenge, now in its 13th year, officially kicked off on Friday and is already in full swing! I simplified it this year, with no sign-ups required--all the fun with less fuss. A Big Book is any book--any kind, any format--with 400 or more pages, you set your own goals even if that's just one Big Book, and you have all summer to meet them! 

And I added a co-host, Melinda at A Web of Stories, who many of you may remember from her 15 years in the book blogging world (first as West Metro Mommy before she updated her blog--and now YouTube channel--to the new name). I needed the help because this fun summer reading challenge just keeps growing! This year, we also have a Storygraph group as well as the usual Goodreads group, so there are multiple ways to join the fun. 

You can find all the details in my Big Book Summer blog post or my Big Book Summer video (or in Melinda's video).

 

So, that's what I did this Memorial Day weekend! My husband and I mostly stayed home and hibernated (with an exciting trip to REI and Home Depot yesterday) after a grueling two weeks of travel for family events. As I explained last week, we enjoyed a fun weekend with my whole extended family in the Catskills (was that just last weekend?). We came home Sunday night, and Tuesday morning, we drove back to New York State!

We drove to Long Island to help celebrate our son's girlfriend's graduation from SUNY Old Westbury. She actually finished her BS in Accounting in December and is already working on her MS in Forensic Accounting, but the graduation ceremony was in May, with the rest of the graduating students. I managed most of the 3+ hour ceremony, went back to our Airbnb for a nap, and then we went to her parents' house for a delicious dinner with friends and family to celebrate. We were thrilled to be a part of her special day, after all her hard work and determination, overcoming many challenges.

 

But, after the back-to-back trips, we were so happy to be home! Back on my comfy couch - ahhh!


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On the Blog

 Big Book Summer 2025 - the official kick-off to this fun annual reading challenge. You can read all the details here, with links to the discussion groups, some great Big Book Recommendations, fun Big Book Summer swag, and more.

My 2025 Big Book Summer Plans - My own "pile of possibilities" for the summer. You only need to read ONE Big Book to participate, but I usually devote my whole summer to reading bigger books. 

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On Video

 The Phenomenal Woman Book Tag - a quick video about my picks for phenomenal women authors and characters, including some of my all-time favorite books

 The 2025 #BigBookSummer Reading Challenge! Join the Fun! - all the details about Big Book Summer, including how it started, how to participate, and what I plan to read this summer.

 

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 What We're Watching

 

Wicked - We finally watched this amazing musical Saturday night! It did not disappoint. It is an eye-popping spectacle of a movie, filled with gorgeous costumes, stunning sets, and of course, huge talents. I've read the book and seen the Broadway show, but my husband was new to the story. We both loved the drama, the music, and the humor. Just outstanding! It must have been incredible on the big screen!

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 What We're Reading
 

 I finished reading The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis. I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I also love Willis' Oxford Time Travel series, especially Doomsday Book, Blackout, and All Clear (those last two are a two-book series). Those are among some of my all-time favorite books; my reviews are at the links. This newer novel is not part of the time travel series. It's premise sounds pretty silly: a real alien abducts a bunch of people in and near Roswell during a UFO Festival and makes them drive him (?) somewhere. But, in Connie Willis' capable writing hands, it's a gripping story with equal parts suspense and humor. As each new person is added to the group, there are unexpected twists to the story. The alien is, of course, nothing like what we've come to expect from movies, and the tone is somewhat farcical at times (as are some of the characters), but with an undercurrent of warmth, kindness, and suspense. It was a gripping novel that I read in record time, staying up much too late every night because I just had to know what happened next. And from the ending (which made me squeal out loud!), I think there might be a sequel. Perfect for fans of Project Hail Mary, another one of my favorite books.

 

This weekend, I started my first book for Big Book Summer, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, a classic I've been meaning to read for years (that's the best part about Big Book Summer). I'm not very far into it yet, but it begins with a man named Charles Bovary who is just an average, ordinary man in many ways: brought up on a farm, in the middle of his class at school, not especially charming. He manages to become a doctor in a small town in Normandy, France in the 1800's. The title character, Emma, is a young woman Charles meets while tending to her father's broken leg. The two are drawn to each other and marry, but Emma soon realizes her motivation was not love after all, but to simply escape her dull home life. From novels and stories from other women, Emma wants real love in her life, romantic love, but she finds her new life with Charles just as routine and boring as her old life. I don't think this will be an uplifting novel, but I'm enjoying the story so far.

 

I finished listening to Anxious People by Fredrik Backman on audio. I very much enjoyed Backman's A Man Called Ove on audio and Beartown in print (very different books!), but I haven't read any of his other novels, so I was looking forward to this one. The basic plot is about a bank robber who ends up taking a group of people at an apartment open house hostage, but the focus in this novel is solidly on the characters: the older and younger police officers investigating and searching for the escaped robber, the highly excitable real estate agent who never stops selling, each of the other hostages, and the bank robber. Each of them has a complex backstory that helps to explain their behavior. As is typical of Backman, there is a warmth and poignancy to the story, though it is also funny at times. It's a story about seeing past first impressions--of the crime scene and also of people. I was surprised by the many plot twists, and I enjoyed this novel on audio very much.

 

My husband, Ken, finished reading his Robert Crais novel that we picked up in a used bookstore on our road trip, Suspect. He's been enjoying getting reacquainted with this author and wants to read more from him. Now, he has started his first Big Book of the summer (yes, he participates, too!), Hunter by Tana French. She's one of our favorite authors, and he loves this new series of hers (book 1 was The Searcher and is now on my side of the to-be-read bookcase).

 

 I finally had a chance to catch up with our son, 30, about books! He is still rereading the Night Angel trilogy by Brent Weeks, an old favorite of his, in preparation for the latest book (Beyond the Shadows). So, he's rereading book 1, The Way of Shadows, and will then reread book 2, The Shadow's Way. He hasn't had much reading time lately, but he trained someone new at work, which should give him more weekends off and more time to read!

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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?