It's Monday 7/30! What Are You Reading?

Well, my week of quiet solitude is over!  On Saturday, we picked up our two teen sons from their week of sailing with their grandparents.  All of them were exhausted when we met up with them!  Though I wasn't happy to have the TV on all day yesterday, it is nice to have the boys back home.  Now it is almost August, and school starts four weeks from today - the summer is flying by!

We all enjoyed some good books last week:

• I am still reading Sharp North by Patrick Cave, a teen/YA dystopian novel and one of my Big Book Summer Challenge choices.  It's interesting and engaging so far, a unique story set in the UK years after disastrous flooding has changed the world.  My son, Jamie, loved it and recommended it to me.
• I am still listening to Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, a middle-grade audio book that won the Odyssey Award for Audio Book Excellence...with good reason!  It is wonderful, and I am enjoying it very much.
• I also read Book 5: Prince of the Elves in the popular Amulet graphic novel series.  The drawings were good, but I had no idea what was happening throughout the entire book - obviously the result of starting with Book 5!  From what I've heard, it's been a bestseller, so we will have to try starting with Book 1 to see for ourselves.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings, Book 2 in this popular series of huge books!
• While on the boat last week, Jamie, 17, read The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques, part of the Redwall series which was Jamie's favorite when he was younger.  He's not sure how he missed this one, but he thoroughly enjoyed this bit of comfort reading!
• When he returned from the boat, I convinced Jamie to try Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  He read for hours yesterday and is LOVING it (as I knew he would!).  It's just such a fun, unique novel, filled with 80's pop culture references that I knew Jamie would enjoy.
• Craig, 14, took a break from reading while on his trip, but yesterday he reluctantly started his second required book for the summer, In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez.  He has been dreading this one!  To him, it looks like a "girly" novel.  According to the Amazon description, the story goes "...from hair ribbons and secret crushes to gunrunning and prison torture," so hopefully, he can tolerate the hair ribbons and crushes parts and enjoy the action and suspense!

Even though the kids were gone last week, I still had a very busy week with not nearly as much time for writing as I'd hoped, so I posted just one new review: Liesl and Po, a wonderful middle-grade audio book.  I also posted a link to a hilarious blog post, where a writer mom asked her 6-year old daughter to explain what various classic novels were about, from looking at their covers - lots of fun!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Judging a Book By Its Cover

Photo by Sunny Chanel at Strollerderby

It turns out you CAN judge a book by its cover!

In this blog post from Strollerderby, the author, Sunny Chanel, presents some classic novel covers to her 6-year old daughter and asks her to explain what she thinks each book is about.  The results are hilarious...and sometimes startlingly insightful!

Hope you enjoy this bit of Friday fun!

It's Monday 7/23! What Are You Reading?

Today is my birthday!  Happy Birthday to me - ha ha.  I am celebrating by relaxing alone at home - ahhhh!  My sons are off on their grandparents' sailboat for a week, so my husband and I are enjoying a rare bit of peace and quiet.  Life is so easy with just the two of us - we haven't run the dishwasher in 2 days, and it's still not full!

My 8th birthday!

We had a good reading week:

•  I finished reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and I LOVED this unique novel!  It is just so much fun but has some depth to it as well.  I found myself thinking about the characters days after I'd finished the book - always the sign of a good novel.  I can't wait to listen to the book discussion of it on The Readers, one of my favorite book podcasts.  And my husband and son will love this book, too!
• Now I am reading Sharp North by Patrick Cave, a teen/YA dystopian novel that has been sitting on my TBR shelf for far too long.  My Big Book Summer Challenge motivated me to finally read it.
• I am listening to Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt, a middle-grade audio book that won an Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audio Book Production.  I can see why it won an award - I am loving it so far and hoping to have more time to listen with the kids gone this week!
• I also read another graphic novel that Scholastic sent me: Drama by Raina Telgemeier. I really enjoyed this story about a middle school musical production, especially since my son had the lead role in his middle school's musical this spring!
• My husband, Ken, is still reading George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings (Book 2).  He wants to read Ready Player One before I return it to the library but is too immersed in this hefty tome for now!
• Jamie, 17, finished The Sapphire Rose, Book 3 in David Eddings' Elenium Trilogy.  He really enjoyed this fantasy series that his Dad recommended.
• Jamie told me on the phone this morning that he is now reading The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques.  He LOVED the Redwall series when he was younger and just discovered this one title that he'd never read before.  It was his first-ever purchase at his college bookstore!  And he loves to read books about sailing or the ocean while he is on the sailboat.
• Craig, 14, finished the first of two required summer reading books this week, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  He found it interesting, and is now enjoying a break from reading during his vacation (yes, I have one son who brings an extra bag full of books on vacation and another who doesn't read at all on vacation!).

I posted two reviews last week:  The Postmistress by Sarah Blake and Cardboard, a middle-grade graphic novel by Doug Tennepel.

My Big Book Summer Challenge is well underway, but there is still time to participate if you have a big book (or two) that you'd like to read this summer.  Check out the challenge and the links to some big book reviews!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kids/teen version hosted at Teach Mentor Texts.)

Fiction Review: The Postmistress

Summer is usually my no-book-group time, when I have no reading obligations because both of my regular book groups take the summer off, but my library’s pick for its July discussion prompted me to set aside my Big Book Summer Challenge for a while.  I’m glad I did.  The group read The Postmistress by Sarah Blake; I enjoyed both the novel and the discussion very much.

The Postmistress is set at the very start of World War II, before the United States has gotten involved.  I’ve read a lot of novels about World War II, but this one covered aspects I knew little about – the U.S.’s apathy at the beginning of the war , the extensive bombing of London, and the world’s ignorance of what was really going on.

There are three main characters at the heart of the book, whose stories are initially separate but gradually come together (I love that in a novel!).  Iris James is the Postmaster in Franklin, MA, a tiny town on the tip of Cape Cod.  She’s been single all her life but now is falling for Harry Vale, the town mechanic who worries they may be in a vulnerable position if the Germans cross the Atlantic.  Emma Fitch has just moved to town, newly married to the town’s doctor, and feeling happy for the first time in her difficult life.  And Frankie Bard is an American woman, reporting live on the war from London.  Emma, Iris, and Harry – as well as the rest of America – all listen to Frankie’s lively radio reports.

Frankie is in the midst of nonstop bombing by the Germans.  I knew London had been bombed during the war, but I had no idea of the extent of the bombing nor how long it went on.  Frankie and other London residents spend every night in underground shelters (many of them just Tube stations), huddled on the hard ground with a blanket and listening to the bombing above.  They emerge each morning to discover whole sections of the city gone.  Frankie tries to convey to her American audience not only the severity of the bombing but also the significance of the war and what is happening to the Jews; she wants the United States to wake up to what is going on in Europe and get involved.

The story unfolds from all three women’s perspectives as the war worsens and their lives each begin to unravel in unforeseen ways.  Eventually, their lives entwine, as one of them waits desperately for news and the other two find themselves unable to deliver a critical bit of news.  The action alternates between Frankie’s observation of (and involvement in) the horrible things going on in Europe and the ordinary lives continuing in the U.S. as if nothing is happening.

I really loved this book, especially the way the disparate stories slowly came together.  The historical backdrop was fascinating, the characters were interesting and sympathetic, and the plot was unique and surprising.  This is an excellent book group pick; our discussion was in-depth and covered many diverse topics, from details of this period in history to the ethics of certain characters’ actions to the parallels with what is happening in the world today.

318 pages, Amy Einhorn Books

It's Monday 7/16! What Are You Reading?

Whew, another crazy busy week.  I literally had appointments every single day last week - run, run, run!  Fortunately, all that time in waiting rooms gave me some extra reading time...a silver lining!

Here's what we read last week:

• I finished The Postmistress by Sarah Blake...almost in time for the book discussion at my library!  I had 10 pages to go when it was time for the meeting, so I finished it right afterward.  It was a good book, and it sparked some great discussions!  I'll post a review this week.
• Although I normally alternate between kids' books and grown-up books, I had another library book/discussion book that I couldn't wait to read!  I am reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline to prepare for a book discussion on one of my favorite podcasts, The Readers.  I've been hearing great things about this novel since it was published a year ago and am so glad I finally got to it.  It is really, really good, a story about a teen in 2045 who is competing in a huge worldwide online game inside the virtual reality world where most of Earth's human residents now spend their waking hours.  The game's creator (a sort of Gates/Zuckerberg geek success) was obsessed with the 80's, so the novel - and the game - are filled with 80's pop culture references.  It's a great story and lots of fun!
• My husband, Ken, is still reading George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings (Book 2)...and will be for a while!  He's enjoying this hefty book.
• Jamie, 17, is busy with school work but found time to continue reading David Eddings' The Elenium Trilogy.  He finished book 2, The Ruby Knight, and is now reading book 3, The Sapphire Rose.  He seems to be enjoying this series by one of his dad's favorite authors!
• Craig, 14, is still reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, one of his required reading books for the summer.  He's enjoying it and finding it interesting, but he'd rather be out with his friends than reading!

I lugged my laptop along to several appointments last week, so I also had time to catch up on a few reviews while sitting in waiting rooms!  I reviewed two of my Big Book Summer reads:  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Blood Red Road by Moira Young, a teen/YA post-apocalyptic novel.  I also posted a summary of Books Read in June (better late than never!).

There are eight of us now participating in the Big Book Summer Challenge, and reviews are being posted, so check it out.  There's still plenty of time left in the summer to read a big book, so join the fun!  And if you are already participating, be sure to add your own big book review links!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Fiction Review: Outlander

For years – and years! – I have been hearing good things about Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and its sequels. I bought myself a copy a very long time ago, and it sat on my bookshelf collecting dust. I really did want to read it, but it’s hard to find time for an 850-page epic.  That’s the beauty of my Big Book Summer Challenge; with both of my regular book groups taking the summer off, I have no reading obligations and plenty of time to tackle hefty books like this one that I have been wanting to read. 

I read Outlander over a 3-week period while we were on vacation, and it more than lived up to all the hype I’d heard.  It was perfect vacation reading: the story pulled me in and kept me reading – yes, through all 850 pages!

It’s the story of a young British woman named Claire who, in 1945, is vacationing with her husband, Frank, in Scotland after the end of the war.  Frank worked in intelligence during the war, and Claire worked as a nurse, so they are reuniting after a long separation.  Frank is into genealogy and is taking advantage of their time in Scotland to gather more information about his ancestors.  

 

The excitement begins when Claire visits an ancient stone circle in the area and is somehow pulled into the past: far into the past.  Stuck in the 1730’s, Claire does her best to survive and blend in.  She meets one of her husband’s ancestors whom Frank had been studying, Jonathan Randall, and he turns out to be a nasty, sadistic British officer.  She also meets a young Scot named Jamie who has inadvertently made himself Randall’s greatest enemy.  Of course, Claire’s modern medical training is extremely useful in the 1730’s, though as a woman, she is viewed with suspicion as much as gratitude. 

 

This is an epic novel, filled with battles, castles, warriors, heroes and villains, and romance.  It is also a very graphic novel, with some exceptional violence and explicit love scenes (and, disturbingly, sometimes the two intersect).  In fact, my husband read Outlander a few years ago and found a scene toward the end just too disturbing – that kind of ruined the book for him.  As for me, I’m no fan of violence, but I enjoyed this compelling novel in spite of its graphic nature (I do understand that violence was a part of life during that time in history).  I came to really care about Claire, caught between two worlds, and I was rooting for her.  I often enjoy time travel stories, but this one is also so much more.  I think I need to find time to read book 2!

 

850 pages, Bantam Dell

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

Books Read in June

Me and my two sons in Badlands National Park

We spent most of June on a 3-week long cross-country road trip (and the week before that immersed in graduation festivities), so it was an unusual month in many ways, including reading and blogging.  I did pretty much no blogging at all, and my reading was concentrated on a few long books, in line with my Big Book Summer Challenge.


Here's what I read in June:

• Blood Red Road by Moira Young, a teen/YA dystopian novel.
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, a sweeping epic of a time travel novel.
• Revived by Cat Patrick, a teen/YA sci fi/romance audio book.

And that's it!  The first two books were part of my goals for my Big Book Summer, at 459 pages and 850 pages, respectively.  Outlander was my favorite book of the month and lasted me through our entire 3-week vacation!  That brings my mid-year total up to 33 books.

For my 2012 Challenges, I added one state, Nebraska, and one country, Scotland, to my Where Are You Reading 2012 Challenge, which brings my mid-year totals to 18 states and 5 countries. I added Blood Red Road to my Dystopian Challenge, bringing my total to 4 dystopian novels so far this year.  For my 12 in '12 Challenge, I read another book off my TBR shelf, Outlander, bringing my total to 4 for the year so far (though this one should count for more than one, since it is so long and it has been sitting on my shelf gathering dust for so long!).  I better get crackin' on this challenge!

And my own first hosted challenge, the Big Book Summer Challenge, is in full swing.  There is still time to join the fun - you only need to read 1 book over 400 pages before Labor Day to qualify, so check it out!

What was your favorite book read in June?

It's Monday 7/9! What Are You Reading?

I'm a little late posting today - spent all morning running errands and going to appointments.  Whatever happened to the lazy days of summer??

In fact, I was insanely busy all last week - post-vacation catch-up!  I am making progress, slowly but surely.  I am down to just 100 unread e-mails now (I started with 1000!).  So, little time for either reading or blogging last week, but I am hoping to get back to normal this week. 

Here's what we read last week:

• I finished Outlander by Diana Galbaldon.  I enjoyed it very much and would definitely read another in the series...when  have a few weeks to devote to it!
• I am diverting briefly from my Big Book Summer focus to read a novel for my library's book group, The Postmistress by Sarah Blake.  I don't know if I'll be able to finish in time for the discussion on Wednesday, but I am enjoying the book.
• I started a new audio, the middle-grade novel, Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt.  I have only finished disk 1, but I am loving it already.
• In a few spare moments (OK, I admit it, in the bathroom), I read a new middle-grade graphic novel, Cardboard by Doug Tennapel.  I liked it more than I expected to - it's a unique premise and a very clever story about magic cardboard that gets out of hand.
• My husband, Ken, finally got his turn with George R.R. Martin's A Clash of Kings (Book 2) now that our son finished the first three books!
• Jamie, 17, had to get back to work upon returning home (he still has 2 classes to finish this summer), so he's not reading as much as he'd like to, but he is continuing to enjoy David Eddings' The Elenium Trilogy with the second book, The Ruby Knight.

Two more bloggers signed up for the Big Book Summer Challenge last week - welcome!  Join the fun - there's still plenty of time to read a big book this summer (or two).

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a middle-grade/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Books.)

Snapshot Saturday 7/7

At Home with Books hosts Saturday Snapshot.

This is a photo from our recent cross-country road trip, of a storm approaching at sunset in Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  We were out hiking (it was too hot to hike during the day!) among the amazing rock formations - we love the Badlands!  We got back to our pop-up camper just in time for the storm to hit.  And what a storm it was - we thought our camper would blow away!  In fact, the next morning, we found that the wind had blown our gas grill several feet and had blown the wooden chocks out from under the tires of the camper.

All in all, it was a great trip!  Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

It's Monday 7/2! What Are You Reading?

No, don't worry, I didn't enter Witness Protection.  I disappeared for a few weeks because we were on vacation!  Our vacations are mostly tech-free - long road trips cross country, camping along the way.  We drove to South Dakota's Black Hills - one of our favorite places on earth! - to visit family and enjoy all the amazing scenery, and we made lots of fun stops along the way.  Although I did miss interacting with friends online, I have to admit that I didn't miss all the obligations and responsibilities - of course, now I have 950 e-mail messages to wade through!

So, we read lots of great books over the past 3 weeks (it's actually been a full month since my last Monday update).  We read far fewer than usual, though, because all of us were focused on some really BIG books - perfect for my Big Book Summer Challenge!  Here's the run-down:

• Before we left, I finished Blood Red Road by Moira Young, a teen dystopian novel and my first Big Book of the summer, at 459 pages.  It's an unusual novel, written in a unique style, but it grew on me - the story was gripping.
• During our trip, I read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  At 850 pages, it lasted our entire trip (and I am still working on finishing it!).  I am loving it - it is just as good as everyone has told me for years - an epic story about a woman in Scotland in 1945 who gets sent back in time to the 1700's.
• My husband, Ken, finished reading George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.  He loved it but very kindly held off on starting Book 2 because he knew our son would fly through both books (he was right!).  
• Next, Ken read Running Blind by one of his favorite authors, Lee Child.
• Jamie, 17, started the trip by reading and enjoying The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, a recent re-release by favorite author Nancy Farmer, while he waited (rather impatiently!) for Ken to finish Martin's novel! 
• Next, as predicted, Jamie flew through George R.R. Martin's series, reading A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, and A Storm of Swords (which we gave to Ken for Father's Day while we were away!).  He loved the series and can't wait to read Book 4!
• After polishing off those three enormous novels, Jamie delved into the duffel bag of books he brought with him (he reads a LOT on our trips!) and started The Diamond Throne by David Eddings, Book 1 of The Elenium trilogy.  Eddings is an old favorite author of my husband's, so he picked up two of his trilogies at the used bookstore for our son before we left.
• Craig, 14, started his assigned summer reading for school while we were gone with Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and was surprised to find it fascinating!
• In the car, we listened to a new teen audio book, Revived by Cat Patrick, a creepy sci fi/romance about a girl who is part of a secret government program to test a new drug that can revive people who have died.  Ken and Jamie thought there was too much romance and not enough action, but we all enjoyed the intriguing and unique story.

So, that's about it.  I did manage to post two new reviews before we left:  The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern and The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez, a teen memoir.  I also posted a summary of Books Read in May...and now it's already time to summarize June!

It's still early in the summer - plenty of time left to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge if you haven't yet!  It's an easy-breezy challenge - you only need to read one big book (over 400 pages) this summer to participate.  Sign up today and join the fun!  Here are a few pictures from our trip.  If you are interested, you can see more at our trip blog.

Ken and I at Sylvan Lake, Custer State Park, SD

Craig and Jamie at Mount Rushmore

All of us at Devil's Lake State Park, Wisconsin

Books Read in May

Whew - May went by in a flash!  A Very busy month for us, getting ready for two graduations, proms and formals, lots of school activities, and hosting lots of guests.  I did find time to read some good books in May:

• Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson, an original and suspenseful psychological thriller, read for one of my book groups.
• Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight, a warm and tender middle-grade/teen novel.
• Faith by Jennifer Haigh, a thought-provoking novel by one of my favorite authors, read for my other book group.
• Leisl and Po by Lauren Oliver, a fun and adventurous middle-grade audio book about a girl who befriends a ghost.
• Dead To You by Lisa McMann, a compelling teen/YA novel about a boy who was abducted years ago and returned to his family.
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, a magical, thoroughly unique novel.
• The Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez, a fascinating teen/YA memoir.

Wow, I read 7 books last month - that's actually more than I usually fit in!  I read three grown-up novels, two middle-grade novels (one read and one audio), and two teen/YA books, one a novel and the other a memoir - that's a pretty good mix for a single month!

All of these books were good.  In fact, they were all excellent; I don't think I can pick a favorite this month.  OK, if you twist my arm, Dead To You was probably my favorite among favorites, with Before I Go To Sleep a close second.

For my 2012 Challenges, I added only 1 new state, Maryland, to my Where Are You Reading 2012 list.  The rest were all repeats (still reading lots of books set in England!).  I read nothing at all from my TBR shelves this month - all library books and new review books.  And no dystopian novels (though June will take care of that!).  I squeezed in one memoir just before the end of the month, though.  And I started my own first-ever challenge, Big Book Summer Challenge, so check it out and sign up!

What were your favorite books read in May?

Fiction Review: The Night Circus

When The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was first published, I heard one gushing, complimentary review after another, but it sounded like a strange book to me, a story about a unique circus that is only open at night.  I wasn’t all that interested in the topic (I should have learned my lesson with Water for Elephants), but the rave reviews won out.  I bought the novel for my mother for Christmas and then borrowed it after she finished it (and also raved about it!).  Well, it is an excellent, engaging novel…and, yes, it is also strange, but in a good way.

I hardly know where to start because this is one of those novels where describing the plot doesn’t begin to explain why the book is so special.  At its heart, it is about a competition between two very old…uh…magicians?  I suppose that is the right word.  Each of them has chosen and trained a young apprentice to carry out this competition on their behalf.  Celia and Marco both know that they are part of an unusual contest, but they know very little else – not the scope of their competition nor its stakes nor even, at first, who their competitor is.

The setting for this mysterious competition is Le Cirque de Rêves (literally, the Circus of Dreams).  This unique circus is open only at night and features acts and attractions unlike any that have ever been seen before.  Even many of the circus’ performers are unaware that it is really the stage for Celia and Marco’s competition.  It moves without warning from one location to another, all over the world, attracting legions of ardent followers.

Some of the most fascinating passages in the novel are those that describe the circus in all its one-of-a-kind black and white glory.  You will wish you could walk through the tents of the circus yourself and experience its stunning acts first-hand.  Morgenstern’s descriptions pull you in, making the circus and its inhabitants feel real.  You will smell the caramel and see the white flames of the bonfire in your mind.

But this novel has much more depth than just a collection of sensory images.  At its heart, it is a love story, and I came to care for its main characters, especially Celia and Marco, Bailey, and the red-headed twins born on the circus’ opening night, Widget and Poppet.  My only complaint (and it is a minor one) was that the chronology of the novel is sometimes confusing, as each chapter bounces back and forth through time.  As long as you read the chapter headings closely and take note of when they take place, it’s not too distracting, though it might be hard to keep track of on audio.  Eventually, all the disparate threads of the story come together.  It is a magical journey you won’t want to miss.

387 pages, Random House 

 

It's Monday 6/4! What Are You Reading?

Wow, last week was just a nonstop whirlwind of activity, but I survived!  Our oldest son, Jamie, graduated with honors from high school this weekend.  We are so proud of him!

So, amid all the preparations, house guests, graduation activities, and party, none of us had much time for reading, and I had no time at all for writing blog posts or book reviews.  I don't expect it to get much better this week:  we have more house guests, our son's 8th grade graduation, and lots of vacation preparation.

Still, we did squeeze in a little reading:

• I read The Pregnancy Project: A Memoir by Gaby Rodriguez, a very unique teen/YA memoir written by a young woman who pretended to be pregnant during her senior year in high school in order to observe how friends, peers, family, and teachers treated her and explore stereotypes of pregnant teens.  It was a fascinating memoir.  I'd like to see the Lifetime movie made from her book.
• Next, I decided to get started on My Big Book Summer Challenge with an easy one, Blood Red Road by Moira Young, a dystopian teen/YA novel.  It is written in a very unusual style with sparse prose and no quotation marks, but the story is so engaging that is has grown on me.  It's getting hard to put down now!
• My husband, Ken, is still reading A Game of Thorns by George R.R. Martin, but he says he only has 150 pages to go now!  He's really enjoying it.  He was already perusing the TBR shelves last night, trying to decide what to read next while we're on vacation. 
• Jamie, 17, had a very busy week, filled with all sorts of senior activities at school, plus trying to finish his work (he was sick a lot this year so has some work to finish over the summer), but when he needed a break, he read Spiral by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, Book 5 in the Tunnels series.  Talk about Big Books - these are all huge!  Jamie loves this series and says it just keeps getting better.
• Craig, 14, finished Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen, part of his series that begins with Hatchet, a favorite in our family.  We'd listened to the audio many years ago, but Craig enjoyed reading the book.  He is now finished with his reading requirements for middle school!  Thank goodness he has some required summer reading for his new high school or he'd probably not read at all during the summer!

 Remember to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge - in keeping with the easy-going nature of summer, there are few requirements - just read one book over 400 pages (or as many big books as you like!).  Check out my own stack of big books I hope to read this summer and sign up yourself!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

It's Monday 5/28! What Are You Reading?

Happy Memorial Day!  These Monday holidays always feel strange, to not have to get up to the alarm and run around first thing on a Monday morning - not that I'm complaining!  My younger son has been in Connecticut with his grandparents this weekend, and my husband, older son, and I have been taking it easy, trying to recover a bit from our hectic weeks.  And there is lots more to come!  This week, we have a raft of school functions, leading up to Jamie's high school graduation on Friday and Craig's "graduation" from middle school next Wednesday, accompanied by lots of family visits!

So, not a lot of time for reading this week, but we all managed some:

• I am almost...wait a minute...OK.  I have just now finished The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern.  This completely unique novel grew on me, pulled me in until I felt I was part of it and came to care about the characters.  I'm sorry it is over now.
• I am still listening to Ghost Knight, a middle-grade novel by Cornelia Funke.  It's very good so far.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and enjoying it.  He thinks our oldest son would probably like it, too.
• Jamie, 17, has been reading Spiral by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, Book 5 of the Tunnels series.  He says the books just get better and better, and the authors have amazing imaginations!  I've only read the first one, so I will have to check out the rest of the series one of these days.
• Craig, 14, has been reading Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen, one of many sequels to The Hatchet, a favorite in our family.

I did finally find time to write a couple of reviews last week (while in medical waiting rooms!):  Faith by Jennifer Haigh, a hit with my book group, and the teen/YA novel Dead To You by Lisa McMann which I loved.

But the big news here is that I am hosting my first-ever reading challenge!  Big Book Summer Challenge is an easy, laid-back challenge perfect for the relaxed summer months, a chance to tackle one or more of the long books you've been meaning to read but never seem to find time for.  Check it out and sign up!  Here are my own big book goals for the summer.

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

My Big Book Summer

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I have just announced my first-ever hosted challenge, Big Book Summer Challenge, so I guess I should be the first to sign up!

I really enjoyed tackling some big books last summer, and I'm looking forward to doing it again and finally reading some of these bricks that have been collecting dust on my shelf!

I don't know if I will get to all of these, but I like to have some options to choose from.  These are all currently on my shelves, waiting patiently to be read:

• 11/22/63 by Stephen King, 849 pages
• Outlander by Diane Gabaldon, 850 pages
• Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, 562 pages
• Blood Red Road by Moira Young, 459 pages
• Sharp North by Patrick Cave, 518 pages

Those last two are teen/YA novels - I like to alternate between grown-up books and kids/teen books.  These are all books I've been meaning to read for a while.  We'll see how many of them I get to!

How about you?  Are you up for tackling a Big Book (or two) this summer?  Join me and sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge!

Big Book Summer Challenge!

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Last year, I came up with the idea to use the relaxed freedom of summer to tackle some of the biggest books on my TBR shelf that I'd been wanting to read but never seemed to have the time for.  Both of my book groups take time off during the summer, so with no interfering commitments, I declared it The Summer of the Big Book and really enjoyed delving into some hefty tomes, like The Passage and Pillars of the Earth.

It was so much fun that I thought I'd share the idea this summer and invite YOU to join me!

I have never hosted a challenge before, but I think I have figured out designing the button (see above) and how to add a links list (we'll see how this goes!)...so let's give this a try!

The Details:
Hey, it's summer, so we'll keep this low-key and easy!

• Anything over 400 pages qualifies as a big book.
• The challenge will run from Memorial Day weekend (yeah, I'm running a bit late already, but it's summer!) through Labor Day weekend.
• Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal.
• Choose from what's on your shelves already or a big book you've been meaning to read for ages or anything that catches your eye in the library - whatever peaks your interest!
• Sign up on the links list below or on the Big Book Summer Challenge page.
• Write a post to kick things off - you can list the exact big books you plan to read or just publish your intent to participate, but be sure to include the Big Book Summer Challenge pic above, with a link back to this blog.
• Write a post to wrap up at the end, listing the big books you read during the summer.
• You can write progress posts if you want to and/or reviews of the big books you've read...but you don't have to!  There will be a separate links list for big book review posts.

That's it!  Go check out your shelves and your TBR list and sign up below!

(Don't have a blog?  No problem!  You can still participate in the challenge - just leave a comment in the Comment section, stating your goals for the Big Book Summer Challenge.)

Be sure to include a link to your kick off blog post (not your homepage):

Fiction Review: Faith

Jennifer Haigh has become one of my favorite authors.  Years ago, my neighbor lent me Baker Towers, and, although it didn’t sound like something I’d like, I read it out of a sense of obligation.  I loved it so much that I convinced one of my book groups to select it…and then read it again!  I borrowed my mom’s copy of Mrs. Kimble and enjoyed that as well.  Last summer, I borrowed The Condition (from the same neighbor!) and became wrapped up in that story also.  Haigh has a talent for describing the intricate and complex relationships between family members through interesting and compelling stories.      
 

Faith is set in Boston during the peak of the priest molestation scandal in 2002.  Sheila McGann, brought up in an Irish Catholic family that she escaped years before to move to Philadelphia, tells her family’s story.  Her older brother, Art, chose the priesthood at age 14 and has lived happily within its confines for many decades.  His family is shocked when Art is accused of molesting a young boy, like so many of his colleagues.  Sheila hurries home to Boston to find out the truth about what happened, but she quickly realizes that truth is a complicated and elusive goal.    
 

Art doesn’t answer Sheila’s questions directly and doesn’t defend himself the way that Sheila thinks he should.  Their younger brother, Mike, who barely knew Art as a child, seems to believe the accusations and makes moves to shield his own sons from Art.  Sheila’s mother just wants to pretend that none of this is happening.  As Sheila digs deeper into the details of what’s been going on since she left town – and discovers some long-held secrets within her family – the truth seems even more complex than she ever could have imagined.

Merely describing the plot doesn’t do any of Haigh’s books justice because they delve into the intricacies of family life.  Faith is no different; it is about truth and loyalty, love and family, and of course, faith.  As with The Condition, this new novel also deals with family secrets and the tendency of family members not to communicate with each other, in spite of their love.  It is a thoughtful and thought-provoking book filled with insights into family relationships and spiked with suspense and surprises.  Faith is an excellent choice for book groups; our neighborhood group delved into its complexities for hours.    

318 pages, HarperCollins  

 

     

Faith by Jennifer HaighTrade Paperback

 

It's Monday 5/21! What Are You Reading?

Our crazy, hectic season continues!  Last week was a rough one for me - my husband was away on business, my mom came to visit, my son finished high school, more houseguests came for the weekend, and my younger son had the lead in his school musical!  We went to both shows, Friday and Saturday night, and Craig did an outstanding job as Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (check out his photo below).  Lots of activity and excitement for all of us!

So, I had no time at all for reading blogs last week or for writing my own reviews or blog posts.  None of us had much reading time, either, though I squeezed in a bit in doctor's waiting rooms last week:

• I finished the teen/YA novel Dead To You by Lisa McMann in record time.  I could hardly bear to set it down - it was absolutely compelling and original, about a teen boy who is returned to his family at 16, after being abducted at 9, and the conflicts that arise as he tries to readjust to his long-lost family.  Amazing book.
• Now I am reading The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, a novel I borrowed from my mom a few months ago and have been dying to read.  It's a very strange book - unique and magical - but I am becoming immersed in its characters and plot.
• I started a new audio book last week, Ghost Knight by Cornelia Funke, a middle-grade novel about a British boy away at boarding school for the first time who encounters murderous ghosts and must enlist the help of a ghost knight to help fend them off.  It's very good so far.
• My husband, Ken, is still reading George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones.  He says the beginning is very confusing, with dozens of different characters to keep track of; he's appreciating the lists and charts at the end!
• Jamie, 17, finished re-reading an old favorite, Peter Raven Under Fire by Michael Molloy, a middle-grade pirate adventure.
• Jamie also re-read The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima, Book 3 of the Seven Realms series.  He loves this series and can't wait for the release of The Crimson Crown this fall!
• Craig, 14, finished Attack of the Fiend, Book 4 in The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.  He needs to read one more book before the end of the school year - I'm not sure what he's chosen for his next one.

As I said, no time for writing reviews or other blog posts last week.  Hopefully, things will be a bit less hectic this week!

What are you and your family reading this week?

What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.

Craig as Frederic (in the striped shirt) in The Pirates of Penzance.

It's Monday 5/14! What Are You Reading?

Just another Manic Monday...

Life continues to be insanely busy, as we hurtle toward the end of the school year and graduation.  Last week, we had play rehearsals, doctor's appointments, physical therapy, soccer, school, and Craig's 8th Grade Semi-Formal Dance (see photo below).  I enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day yesterday - just a quiet day at home with my family (we are usually traveling to spend the weekend with my mom, but she's coming down this week instead).  My husband and sons cooked breakfast for me, gave me flowers and gifts, and took me out for a very nice dinner.  And I finally had some time to start planning our vacation (which is good because it's less than a month away!)  Up this week...lots of houseguests, more doctor's appointments, book group, and Craig's musical (he has the lead in Pirates of Penzance).

So...busy, busy, busy.  Our books provide a brief respite from all the activity:

• I finished Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight and really enjoyed the warm and tender coming-of-age novel for middle-grade readers and teens.  You can read my review here.
• I also finished Leisl and Po by Lauren Oliver, a wonderful audio book, read by Jim Dale, about a girl who befriends a ghost.
• I just finished reading Faith by Jennifer Haigh for this week's neighborhood book group.  Haigh is one of my favorite authors, and this novel did not disappoint.  It's about a family's reaction when their son/brother, a Catholic priest, is accused of molesting a young boy during the flurry of such accusations in Boston about ten years ago.  It is haunting and thought-provoking.
• Last night, I started a new teen/YA novel, Dead to You by Lisa McMann.  I loved McMann's Wake trilogy and her novel, Cryer's Cross.  Although I just started it, this novel about an abducted teen returned to his family after 9 years, already has me in its grip.
• My husband, Ken, finished Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson and enjoyed the psychological thriller about a woman with amnesia.
• Ken is now reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, a gift I gave him for Easter.  Neither of us have read this popular series (or watched its spin-off TV show), but I thought it sounded like something he'd really like.  He says it is very complicated, with lots of characters, so it takes a while to get into, but he's enjoying it so far.
• Jamie, 17, finished re-reading The Exiled Queen, Book 2 in the Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams, one of his new favorites.
• While he is waiting for Book 3 from the library, Jamie picked up another old favorite, Peter Raven Under Fire by Michael Molloy, a middle-grade pirate adventure that he has probably read at least four times before!  This is his version of comfort food.
• Craig, 14, is almost finished with Attack of the Fiend, Book 4 in The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney.  He loves this series!

I managed to write two book reviews last week:  Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson and Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voight, a middle-grade/teen novel.  I also posted a clip from the news about Little Libraries, an idea I just loved!

What are you and your family reading this week?

(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey with a kids/teen version hosted by Teach Mentor Texts.)

Craig and his friends ready for their semi-formal (Craig is in the middle, in black)

Fiction Review: Before I Go To Sleep

I had heard great things about the psychological thriller Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson, so I was excited when one of my book groups chose it for our May selection.  It more than fulfilled my expectations with mystery and suspense that kept me turning the pages way past my usual bedtime.

This novel with the unique peek-a-boo cover (you have to check this out!) also has a unique plot.  The main character, Christine, has a form of amnesia where she loses each day’s memories every night while she sleeps.  In fact, she can remember nothing of her life since the accident that caused her amnesia over 20 years ago.  So, she wakes up every morning, thinking she is twenty-something, not recognizing where she is or who is sleeping next to her.  Each morning, after a panicked run to the bathroom where she confronts a disturbingly older image in the mirror than she expected and dozens of photographs on the walls, her husband, Ben, patiently reminds her of who she is and who he is.

As you can imagine, it is a confusing and frustrating way to live.  Then, one morning, after her husband, Ben, has left for work, Christine gets a phone call from a doctor who explains that he has been working with her to restore her memory and that she has been keeping a journal hidden in her closet that will explain more.  Christine goes to the closet, finds the journal, and discovers that the first page says, “Don’t trust Ben.”

Chilling, right?  She is shocked by this self-warning not to trust the one person she is relying on for everything.  And that’s just the beginning!  Most of the novel is in the form of Christine’s journal that she has been adding to every day with reminders from her doctor, allowing herself to finally recall certain facts from one day to the next.  As brief flashes of memory begin to come back to her and each day’s journal entry builds on the last, an alarming pattern begins to emerge, indicating that Ben is lying to her about certain things.

The reader flips through each page as urgently as Christine herself does, learning more with each days’ entry as a sense of foreboding builds, until the novel’s nail-biting final scene.  This gripping novel makes you want to carry the book everywhere with you and rush through the pages.  It’s like the book version of a really clever and suspenseful movie (one reviewer compared it to Momento).  I enjoyed every minute of this book, as did the other members of my book group, and my husband, who picked it up as soon as I finished it! 

358 pages, HarperCollins

NOTE: Christine's form of amnesia is not merely a fictional construct; there really are people whose memory "resets" after a short period of time.  Oliver Sacks told of several such cases, including one man whose memory reset every 7 minutes, in his nonfiction book, Musicophilia, which I read last year.  It is truly fascinating (and horrifying).