2023 Big Book Summer Wrap-Up

The 2023 Big Book Summer Challenge officially wrapped up on September 4, ending its 11th year! I host this challenge every summer and always enjoy participating in it myself. You can read all the details at the challenge page linked above, but the basic idea is to read books of 400 pages or longer between the end of May and the beginning of September - just one or a few or as many as you want!  First, I'll wrap-up the whole challenge here and then tell you about my Big Book Summer. You can also watch my Big Book Summer Wrap-Up Video.

Participants in the Big Book Summer Challenge:

We had a record number of 60 participants this year! Of those, 23 people participated through their blogs and YouTube channels, and 37 readers participated through the Goodreads group, though everyone enjoyed the book discussions on Goodreads all summer long. You can still visit the group to see what everyone else read for their Big Book Summers. There's a Wrap-Up thread there, if you want to share what you read. And if you have a blog or YouTube channel, the links list on the challenge page is still open for reviews or wrap-ups.

The winner of the annual Big Book Summer Giveaway is ...

Greg of Another Bibliophile Reads YouTube channel

He will be receiving a gift certificate from Bookshop.org, a great website where you can buy books conveniently online while supporting indie bookstores.

Congratulations, Greg!

And a Big Book Congratulations to everyone who participated in the challenge this year! 

Whether your goal was to read one Big Book or as many as possible, I hope you had fun reading and sharing your reading adventures through the challenge. If you missed it this year, you can sign up for Big Book Summer 2024 next May 24! 

My Big Book Summer:

I look forward to Big Book Summer all year and devote my entire summer to reading bigger books. This year, I read a total of fourteen Big Books (a new record for me), half in print and half on audio (links go to my reviews):

• Billy Summers by Stephen King (528 pages)
• The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara (416 pages) - audio
• Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (870 pages)
• The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix (433 pages) - audio
• Scythe by Neal Schusterman (464 pages)
• Everything the Light Touches by Janice Pariat (512 pages) - audio
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (455 pages)
• The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (400 pages) - audio
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (576 pages)
• Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen (400 pages) - audio
• Afterland by Lauren Beukes (404 pages)
• First Cut (at 7:10 in the linked video) by Judy Melinek and T.J. Mitchell (400 pages) - audio
• The Night Fire (at 4:00 in linked video) by Michael Connelly (448 pages)
• A World of Curiosities (at 6:08 in linked video) by Louise Penny (400 pages)

How was YOUR summer reading?

Fiction Review: Afterland

My husband and I both loved The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes' suspenseful, creepy novel about a time-traveling serial killer (and its fabulous TV adaptation). So, when I saw Beukes' name while book shopping for my husband last year, I picked up her novel Afterland, another action-packed sci fi thriller.

Chillingly, this dystopian and post-apocaylptic novel begins in June 2023 in a world that looks very different from our own present. In the aftermath of a new, unique pandemic that only affects those with a Y chromosome, more than 99% of the males around the globe have died. In this new post-pandemic world inhabited mainly by women, the few remaining boys and men have become much sought-after. As the novel opens, a woman named Cole escapes with her twelve-year-old son, Miles. They are on the run from the U.S. government, from their latest luxurious but stifling protected custody, and even from Cole's own sister, Billy. Everyone wants something from Miles, and Cole's instinct as a mother is to keep him safe from all of it. They got stuck in the U.S. during the pandemic when her American husband died, but now Cole desperately wants to get herself and Miles back home to South Africa, and away from the U.S. government. As they travel across the country, switching cars and hiding in various abandoned homes, Miles dresses like a girl and pretends to be Mila. In escaping from Billy's horrible scheme involving Miles, Coles is worried she may have actually killed her sister. They encounter groups of women along the way--including artists in a communal-living home in Salt Lake City and some crazy female church group all dressed in neon-colored robes in Colorado--but Cole doesn't know who she can trust. Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, Billy is reluctantly teamed up with some really rough characters chasing after Cole and Miles, to make sure Billy keeps her promise to deliver the precious boy to the highest bidder.

The suspense never lets up here, as Cole and Miles/Mila travel across the U.S., trying to stay safe, keep Miles' real identity a secret, and make it to the East Coast so they can find a ship to take them back home. Beukes' world-building here is creative and immersive in this post-apocalyptic all-female world that is still new and unstable.  With Billy and her criminal handlers hot on the trail, the danger to Cole and Miles is very real and imminent, keeping the narrative moving at a fast pace and the tension high. It's a pulse-pounding, action-packed thriller set against a fascinating, unique backdrop. I very much enjoyed the ride.

404 pages, Mulholland Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Diversity Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Utah

Big Book Summer Challenge

 

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It sounds like a great audio production.

 

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!

    
  

It's Monday 9/4! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Happy Labor Day to those in the US! We are doing what we do most holiday weekends--staying at home and avoiding the crowds. I know, we're wild and crazy!

We needed this quiet weekend because last week was packed full. Well, my husband golfed three times, but I had medical appointments almost every day. I did manage to squeeze in a walk and picnic lunch with a friend at our local nature center. She and I have been trying to get together for about six months, and we talked nonstop! Her sons were in my sons' grades/classes all through school, so we've known each other a long time, and it was great to catch up. I took my photos of our beautiful surroundings but forgot to take a photo of us.

Butterfly garden is working!

Lovely creek on a summer day

Gorgeous scenery

This weekend, my husband and I have been doing some long overdue things around the house. We were out in the yard, mowing and weeding on Saturday before our heat and humidity returned (mid 90's all this week!). Yesterday, we finally got a start in clearing out and cleaning up our home office, which is right near the garage door and so is a dumping ground for everything. To give you an idea of the age of the stuff we were going through, we threw away a bunch of floppy discs!! We still need to get rid of our sons' old PC computer in there.

We also enjoyed watching the movie Air last night (review coming soon), which was excellent. We've been walking in our neighborhood and admiring the flowers. And I've been reading out on our screened porch.

My namesake

Finishing my last Big Book Summer read

__________

On the Blog

Movie Review: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. - I watched this wonderfully nostalgic, fun adaptation with my childhood best friend, which was perfect! 

Middle-Grade Review Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen - outstanding novel set during WWI, following 5 young people in different countries. Engrossing story, and I learned a lot. 

And, today is the LAST day of Big Book Summer 2023! Finish up those last Big Books (I'm finishing one in print and one on audio today), and share your wrap-up on the challenge page or in the Goodreads group (I started a Wrap-Up thread there), if you'd like. Later this week, I'll be posting both my Big Book Summer Wrap-Up video and a blog post, including the name of the giveaway winner!

Whether or not you participated in Big Book Summer this year, you can check out the Big Book reviews and wrap-up posts/videos on the challenge page or in the Goodreads group.

I feel like we need a Big Book Summer parade ... or at least some fireworks! 

__________

On Video

 My Big Book Summer - A Quick Recap - this very short video (under 1 min) shows the Big Books in print I enjoyed reading this summer and the one I am finishing today.

R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge - Fall Reading - The end of Big Book Summer means the start of R.I.P. season! I love this time of year for many reasons, including reading darker stuff. See my massive pile of possibilities for the next two months!

__________

 What We're Reading

 As usual, my last book read for Big Book Summer is also my first book for the R.I.P. Challenge (which started September 1): The Night Fire by Michael Connelly, book 3 in the Renee Ballard series (and book 22 in the Harry Bosch series. I love this new female LAPD detective Connelly created, and I enjoyed book 1, The Late Show, and really loved him bringing the two detectives together in book 2, Dark Sacred Night. This novel is a triple-header and includes Ballard, Bosch, and Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. Ballard and Bosch are working a very cold case together, as Ballard also works on a current case. As usual, Connelly's writing is top-notch, and the suspense and unexpected twists are plentiful.

I do the same on audio, so my last choice for Big Book Summer also counts for R.I.P. Challenge: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny, book 18 in her Inspector Gamache series. I was late to this series and have only read #1, Still Life, #15 A Better Man, and #17, The Madness of Crowds, but I enjoy these books on audio very much. This one goes back to when Jean-Guy and Inspector Gamache first met, working a horrific case involving murder and child abuse, and that case's continuing repercussions today. Then they find a mysterious hidden painting, and some modern-day murders come to light. It's been excellent, with emotional depth, an intriguing, complex mystery, and lots of surprises!

My husband, Ken, is reading Open Season by Archer Mayor, book one in the Joe Gunther series, a mystery series set in Vermont. He's enjoying it so far.

 

 

Our son is reading book 12, Arcanist, of the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour. This one is a mere 845 pages! He's loving this series and has been reading nothing else for months. 

 __________

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?

 

Middle-Grade Review: Lines of Courage

One of the audiobooks I listened to in August for the #BigBookSummer Challenge was Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen, a middle-grade historical novel about WWI.  It was not only a gripping story with wonderful characters, but I learned a lot!

In June 1914, twelve-year-old Felix is proud to be a part of Austria-Hungary, one of the oldest and largest empires in the world. He and his parents visit Sarajevo, and while there, Felix sees a gunman on the crowded streets kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife as they drive through the streets waving from the back of a convertible. It's a moment Felix won't ever forget. Back home, family friends visit from Germany, including their eleven-year-old daughter, Elsa. Felix isn't thrilled to be entertaining the chatty younger girl, but Elsa is excited to tell him all about the homing pigeons she trains. She hopes they can become pen pals. As the war moves forward, and Felix's father goes to the front, Felix and his mother struggle to remain safe, as Jews living in Austria-Hungary. In Britain, as the war begins, Kara goes along with her mother, who is a Red Cross nurse, on a hospital train. They travel throughout France and England, picking up wounded soldiers, caring for them, and transporting them to hospitals for full care. Kara yearns to be old enough to help, earn a Red Cross pin herself, and maybe even someday become a nurse or a doctor. In France, Juliette is fleeing her small town with her mother and little brothers, as the Germans move into town. Her father has been imprisoned, and Juliette wants to help her mother, but she gets separated from her family. Dimitri comes from a poor farming family in Russia and joined the military in order to earn money to send back home. He's only a teenager and is sent to the front without a weapon. He just wants to survive and continue to support his family, but being in the midst of the fighting is a horrifying experience. 

Each of these five young people is experiencing different parts of the war in different parts of Europe, though their paths will all cross at one point or another. In this way, the reader gets an inside look at what it was like for families during WWI, dealing with starvation, being put out of their homes, fearing for their lives and their fathers' lives, and even, as the story moves forward, being immersed in the battles themselves in the later years of the war. The narrative moves through the different characters' perspectives and shows that war isn't a clear case of the good guys and the bad guys but all shades of gray and suffering on all sides. These brave and remarkable (yet ordinary) young people show caring, courage, and friendship as they strive to stay safe and help others. The audio production was very well done and provided an immersive experience. I've read many books about WWII, both fiction and nonfiction, but I knew very little about WWI. This middle-grade novel was suspenseful, engrossing, and very informative.

400 pages, Scholastic

Scholastic Audio

Note: The novel covers the full period of WWI, from 1914-18, so the characters age into their mid- to late teens as the narrative moves along. It is appropriate for middle-grade or teen readers.

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge

Travel the World in Books - England, France, Germany, Austria/Hungary, Russia

Big Book Summer Challenge

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. The sample is from a chapter where the Russians have begun to come to Felix's village, and Jewish families have begun to disappear.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores. You can hear that same audio sample here.

 

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!

 
  

Movie Monday: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.

Back in July, while my husband was in his hometown in Oklahoma golfing with his two closest high school friends, I invited my own childhood friend, Michelle, to visit for the weekend. We talked nonstop and had a great time being back together. In the evening, we thoroughly enjoyed revisiting our shared childhood with the movie adaptation of Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, that coming-of-age classic novel by Judy Blume for every girl born after 1950.

In case you somehow missed this childhood rite of passage, as the story opens in 1970, eleven-year-old Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) is devastated to come home from summer camp to find out she and her parents are moving from their New York City apartment to a home in New Jersey. Margaret's Jewish grandmother, Silvia (played by Kathy Bates), is even more upset because she and Margaret are close and spend a lot of time together. As her dad, played by Benny Safdie, and her mom, played by Rachel McAdams, unpack boxes in their new suburban home, Margaret begins to meet some of the kids her age in the neighborhood. Nancy, played by Elle Graham, is a little overwhelming at first, but she's very welcoming to Margaret, saying she can be the fourth in their group of best friends, and Margaret is both impressed and intimidated by Nancy's confidence and sophistication. As Margaret's mom, who is an artist, struggles to fit in with the other suburban mothers, Margaret experiences all kinds of firsts--first bra, first boy-girl party, first kiss, first period--along with the exciting and frightening onset of adolescence. She visits her beloved grandma in New York, and she struggles to figure out what religion she wants to be (her mom was brought up Christian, so they say it is Margaret's decision). All of these classic coming-of-age moments are set against the nostalgic backdrop of 1970's suburbia.

This novel was first published in 1960, and it seems like Judy Blume made the right decision to wait until now for a film adaptation. Director Kelly Fremon Craig does an outstanding job of bringing this beloved icon of adolescence to the screen. The 1970's fashions, furnishings, hairdo's, music, and sets bring that era to Technicolor life with great authenticity. It's the perfect backdrop for Margaret's struggles with growing up, which girls today can still relate to. The cast is wonderful, with young Abby creating a Margaret who is exactly as we imagined. Rachel McAdams is excellent as a mom struggling to fit in with the other parents (I don't recall if that was a part of novel, but it works perfectly here, with all us grown-ups watching the film), and Kathy Bates is her usual fabulous self as Grandma Sylvia. The adaptation is faithful to the original book (as best as I remember, anyway), including the important focus on Margaret's struggles with religion, as she talks to God in her own way. My friend and I were delighted with this nostalgic step back in time and recreation of one of our favorite books. It was fun, joyful, funny, and worth the decades-long wait!

I highly recommend inviting your childhood best friend over to watch this movie--or calling her up to watch at the same time while on the phone.

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret. is currently available to rent on Amazon and several other streaming services.

Michelle and I as kids in 1971, and last month when she came to visit:

It's Monday 8/28! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

We had a fairly quiet week here. I had a painful procedure at the podiatrist on my toe, but it wasn't as bad as it's been previously. I was actually able to take a short walk the day after, and it's healing well, so that was a pleasant surprise. My energy and stamina are still lower than what I consider normal for me, due to some issues flaring up in my chronic illness, but I did manage several short walks in our neighborhood. On Sunday, I suggested to my husband that we take a walk, and he said, "Beyond the cul-de-sac?" So, we enjoyed a lovely walk along a creek on our favorite nearby trail. The humidity had dropped (back up now), so it was comfortable out, and this place to me is just the epitome of an idyllic summer day! I said that next time we should brings chairs and books and just set up by the creek for a while.

Cool, shady trail through the trees

My husband looking at the fish in the creek

 

My husband and I in our favorite spot!

Perfect summer day!

__________

On the Blog

  TV Tuesday: Togetherness - I really enjoyed this funny drama with a great cast and excellent writing, about four adults (in their 40's, I think) trying to figure out their lives. My review and the trailer at the link.

Fiction Review: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - I loved this delightful coming-of-age story about the heroes' journeys of three young men and an 8-year-old boy on a road trip in 1954. I;m still thinking about it more than a week later!

NOTE: The 2023 #BigBookSummer Challenge officially ends a week from today, on Monday, September 4. If you've been participating this summer, you are welcome to write or record a wrap-up post/video (not required) and add your link to the second links list (for Reviews and Updates) on the #BigBookSummer Challenge page. If you don't have a blog or YouTube channel (or even if you do), you can leave a comment on the challenge page or leave a comment in the Big Book Summer Goodreads group - I added a Wrap-Up discussion thread.

__________

On Video

Currently Reading Tag - this fun video is all about how and where I read. Check it out and tell me about YOUR reading habits! 

Friday Reads 8-25-23 - my brief weekly update of what I am currently reading and listening to

__________

 What We're Reading

 

I finished what is probably my last print book for the #BigBookSummer Challenge, Afterland by Lauren Beukes, author of The Shining Girls, which I loved. I bought this one for my husband last year. It's both post-apocalyptic and dystopian, chillingly set in 2023, about the aftermath of a pandemic that killed off more than 99% of the males in the world. Those who are left, many of them just boys, are in high demand, especially for reproductive purposes on the black market (in defiance of Reprohibition laws). A South African mom named Cole is stuck in the U.S. after her American husband dies. She is on the run with her twelve-year-old son, Milo (now in disguise as a girl named Mila), trying desperately to keep him safe from government research, black market criminals, and even her own sister. There is plenty of tension and suspense, and the world-building of this unique post-pandemic world is detailed and immersive. I finished it last night and enjoyed the very satisfying ending.

 

 

 

I am shifting my focus to the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge for fall! It starts September 1 and runs through the end of October and simply means reading darker stuff for fall. So, the book I am starting today fits for both Big Book Summer and R.I.P., but I probably won't finish it by next Monday for Big Book Summer. I have a HUGE stack picked out for R.I.P., but I am starting with The Night Fire by Michael Connelly, book 3 in the Renee Ballard series (and book 22 in the Harry Bosch series. I love this new female LAPD detective Connelly created, and I enjoyed book 1, The Late Show, and really loved bringing the two detectives together in book 2, Dark Sacred Night. I'm ready for a dark, creepy, and suspenseful fall!

 

 

 

I do the same on audio, so my last choice for Big Book Summer also counts for R.I.P. Challenge: A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny, book 18 in her Inspector Gamache series. I was late to this series and have only read #1, Still Life, #15 A Better Man, and #17, The Madness of Crowds, but I enjoy these books on audio very much. This one goes back to when Jean-Guy and Inspector Gamache first met, working a horrific case involving murder and child abuse, and that case's continuing repercussions today. I suspect a modern-day murder is coming soon, too! It's excellent so far.

 

 

 

My husband, Ken, finished reading Breathless by Amy McCulloch, a book I gave him for Father's Day. This one is an outdoor adventure thriller, about  series of murders that occur on a remote mountaintop during a record-breaking climb of a series of summits. It sounds like a gripping and original story. He said it was very good, made even better by the fact that the author had climbed the mountain where the book takes place. Last night, Ken just started Open Season by Archer Mayor, book one in the Joe Gunther series, a mystery series set in Vermont.

 

 

Our son is reading book 12, Arcanist, of the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour. This one is a mere 845 pages! He's loving this series and has been reading nothing else for months. 

 __________

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?