It's Monday 1/3! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

It's 2022! Doesn't that sound like something from science fiction? We flew right past 1984 and 2001: A Space Odyssey and partied like it was 1989, and now here we are in the future! Crazy.

So after our crisis-filled Christmas (96-year-old father-in-law breaking a hip and a COVID scare the day after Christmas that cleared our house of guests in minutes), we had a relatively quiet holiday week. Our annual Cookie/Grinch party with our oldest friends had to go virtual, but we still enjoyed decorating cookies and watching the Grinch (the original, of course) "together" over Zoom. 

Our cookie creations!

Watching the Grinch together in the virtual living room

We got my father-in-law discharged from the hospital and set up in a rehab/nursing home facility that is just a mile from our house. My husband, son, and I have each been visiting him every day. He's been quite confused due to his dementia by the sudden change in surroundings and circumstances, but he was doing better, starting PT and enjoying our visits and getting his appetite back. Then, last night, we got the news that he tested positive for COVID. 

I don't know what it's like where you are, but it's been crazy in our region, with most families having a COVID scare like ours over Christmas, lines a mile long in the rain for temporary testing sites, and it being almost impossible to find at-home test kits anywhere (I ordered a bunch before the holidays, thank goodness). So, this is not a surprise but still a huge concern, for him and for us. We think it's not just him, but a good-sized breakout in the facility; they are meeting this morning to make a plan.

I spent 90 minutes with him yesterday and actually fed him his lunch, which I brought from home (now I understand why he seemed so lethargic and had no appetite). Of course, we've all been wearing masks there, but we are worried about him--and about me because recent tests showed that I didn't make many antibodies from the vaccines due to my immune disorder. We're in wait-and-see mode now, waiting to hear from the facility (we're hoping my husband can still visit because with the dementia, his dad really needs to see family to stay connected and lucid) and waiting until 3 days have passed to do our at-home tests. Not a great start to the new year, but I know many people are in similar situations.

So, let's get to the good stuff--books! I posted two short videos last week:

• A Very Bookish Christmas - hear about the books we gave and received
• Friday Reads and Happy New Year! - the books I just finished and just started

And here's what we've each been reading this past week (more about the first four in my Friday Reads video, above): 

 

I finished A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet, and wow, what a unique and engaging novel! It's about twelve kids and teens left on their own after an apocalyptic storm hits, and it's funny, suspenseful, and thought-provoking. It's hard to describe, so take a look at my review at the link!

 

I suddenly realized I have book group January 4! Luckily, I was able to borrow a library copy from a friend and am enjoying Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein, a nonfiction book about a town in WI that came back to life after a devastating GM plant closure.

 

I finished my last audio of the year, Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan, a YA novel about racial prejudice, immigration, and a teen girl just trying to live like any other American teen. It was excellent, and I enjoyed it very much.

 

My first audiobook of 2021 is one I have been eagerly anticipating: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. I love her novels, especially on audio since she reads them herself. In this one, a Native American woman named Tookie spent years in prison and is now working in a bookstore where she sees the ghost of a former customer.

 

My husband, Ken, is still reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, book one of The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, a fantasy novel recommended by our son. Once again, he didn't have much reading time this week!

 

Our son, 27, is almost finished reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak, a follow-up to Uprooted, which he loved. He said he'll probably finish it today.

I hate starting the new year already behind, so I wrote a lot of book reviews last week to catch up! As another simplification for 2021, I decided not to post monthly summaries anymore, so there won't be one for December, but I should be able to get my 2021 Year End Summary up later this week. Here are my posts from last week:

My Summary of Books Read in November - a great reading month for Nonfiction November!

Fiction Review: All Clear by Connie Willis - outstanding! One of my best books of the year and of all-time.

Fiction Review: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune - funny, poignant, unique novel.

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: Friends Forever by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham - graphic memoir that finishes the trilogy - excellent!

Fiction Review: A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet - original, engrossing, funny, suspenseful, and thought-provoking. More in my Friday Reads video.

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?

 

Fiction Review: A Children's Bible

The novel, A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet, has an unusual name, but I asked for it as a gift because I'd read good reviews of it--I probably initially heard about it from another book blogger! I also noticed it was nominated for the 2020 National Book Award for fiction and that the author was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Since it's a short novel, I was able to fit it in during the last, hectic week of the year, and I'm so glad I did. It's a unique novel (to match its unique title), but it was engrossing, funny, and thought-provoking.

Evie, a teen girl, and her little brother, Jack (who is about ten), are stuck hanging out with a bunch of strangers for the summer. Their parents have gotten together with their old college friends, renting a big house on a lake together, so all the kids and teens also have to spend the summer together, all sleeping in a large attic room. The two groups mostly stay away from each other, with the parents drinking heavily every day, beginning with their morning Bloody Marys and moving onto beers with lunch until it is finally 4 pm, "drinking and talking time." The teens have no desire to be in any way connected with their parents, so they decide to play a game for the summer, trying to keep their parents' identities secret from the other kids. This actually works pretty easily, since their parents mostly ignore them all summer. The kids hang out in the lake and up in the cool treehouses in the surrounding woods. They even spend a few days camping on the nearby beach, reached by taking canoes across the lake and down a stream to the ocean. There are hints that disaster is coming, though, as in this passage from Evie:

"At that time in my personal life, I was coming to grips with the end of the world. The familiar world, anyway. Many of us were.

Scientists said it was ending now, philosophers said it had always been ending.

Historians said there'd been dark ages before. It all came out in the wash, because eventually, if you were patient, enlightenment arrived and then a wide array of Apple devices.

Politicians claimed everything would be fine. Adjustments were being made. Much as our human ingenuity had got us into this fine mess, so would it neatly get us out. Maybe more cars would switch to electric.

That was how we could tell it was serious. Because they were obviously lying.

We knew who was responsible, of course: it had been a done deal before we were born."

During that summer at the lake house, disaster finally does strike. As might be expected, the parents are completely useless in a crisis. Worse, really, because they don't actually do anything, except drink more and start taking drugs to escape. So, the kids leave the house, which has been badly damaged and flooded in the devastating storm. They take some of their parents' cars and head out to find safety. A man named Burl--the sole adult in their party--was the caretaker of the property, so he comes with them and guides them to a farm in rural Pennsylvania when their first plan fails. There, they create a safe haven for themselves, though they still have plenty of challenges ahead.

The writing style in this novel is somewhat unique. Evie is the narrator, but she often speaks as "we" and "our," representing the whole group of young people (listen to the audio sample below to hear the writing style). The book is sometimes quite funny (I love that line about Apple devices in the above passage), but it turns serious. Though I wrote a fairly detailed plot summary here, that's still only about the first half of the book: so much more happens after the disaster, which turns out to be truly apocalyptic, with services out, supplies unavailable, and looting and violence rampant. Parts of the novel are even suspenseful, as the kids tackle one crisis after another. Underlying this engaging story, of course, is a cautionary tale, but it never felt preachy. In fact, it was quite entertaining and even amusing at times. This is a completely original and thought-provoking novel that I think will stay with me, as I am still thinking about Evie and Jack and the other kids, five days after finishing the book. I can see why it was a finalist for the National Book Award.

224 pages, W.W. Norton & Company

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.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, a passage from the beginning of the book describing the house, the kids, and their neglectful parents, and/or download it from Audible. The audio sounds great!

 

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!

  

Or you can order A Children's Bible from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

 

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: Friends Forever

I recently read and enjoyed the middle-grade/teen graphic memoir, Friends Forever by Shannon Hale, with illustrations by LeUyen Pham. It is the third book in the trilogy of graphic memoirs that started with Real Friends and Best Friends. Like those first two books, this book is a warm, fun story of the author's middle school years, tackling several serious issues that many young teens face.

In this third book, Shannon is now in eighth grade. As the oldest ones in the school, Shannon expected this to be a great year, but she doesn't feel great. All of her friends are interested in boys (and vice-versa), but no boys seem to be interested in her. Besides, as much as she yearns for attention from boys, when they give it to her, it makes her feel uncomfortable. She wants to be perfect: successful and pretty and maybe even famous someday! But, instead she feels insecure and out of place and unsure of what she actually wants. Shannon is an high-achiever and a top student, but her Mormon upbringing (not mentioned by name in this book) keeps emphasizing that her only role as a woman is to get married and be a good wife and mother. She's just learned about the Equal Rights Amendment and thinks she might want more out of life. The one bright spot in her life is her drama class, which she loves, but what if she doesn't have what it takes to succeed even there? As Shannon's anxieties build and she dives into depression, she even drives away her friends and family. How will she resolve these problems and move forward into high school next year?

Sample pages from Friends Forever

As with the first two books in this trilogy, this last one is engaging, moving, and fun, though with some serious themes. Many of Shannon's difficulties--based on her own real experiences in eighth grade--mirror those of other young teens, struggling to figure out who they are in light of pressures from peers, parents, and society. The memoir takes place in 1987, but modern middle-schoolers and teens will certainly relate to Shannon's problems and stresses. Full-color drawings and lively dialogue bring Shannon and her friends to life on the page. There is a lot of fun woven into the story, alongside the issues and angst, much like real life for many teens. I enjoyed every volume of this outstanding trilogy, with this excellent wrap-up, and I can't wait to see what this team comes up with next!

304 pages, First Second

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

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.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

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!

 

 

Or you can order Friends Forever from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Fiction Review: Under the Whispering Door

For the past year and a half, I have been hearing rave reviews of The House on the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune, so I jumped at the chance to listen to and review the audiobook of Klune's latest novel, Under the Whispering Door. And when I heard one reviewer describe this new novel as "A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place," I was convinced. Now I see why everyone loves this author! This funny, tender novel about the afterlife was a completely unique reading/listening experience--and a very enjoyable one.

Wallace has not lived a good life. He has worked non-stop at his law firm, his marriage failed, and well, he's just not a very nice person. As the novel opens, he's firing his devoted assistant who's been going through a family crisis. Then, suddenly, Wallace dies of a heart attack. He finds himself sitting in a church at his own funeral--which is very poorly attended--dressed embarrassingly in the ragged jeans, old t-shirt, and flip-flops he had on when he died, when a young woman named Mei approaches him. She explains that he's dead and that she is his Reaper. After a lot of questions and anger, Wallace allows Mei to guide him away. She takes him to a strange-looking tea shop in a remote town. Hugo is the owner of the tea shop, and he tells Wallace that he is there to guide him to ... the next step. He will answer all of Wallace's questions, and when Wallace is ready, there is a door on the 4th floor of the building that he can walk through to whatever comes next. Hugo and Mei are both live people, but they can see and talk to Wallace because they have special abilities. The other two residents of the tea shop--Hugo's grandfather and his dog--are dead, like Wallace. The tea shop is a way-station for the recently died and also an ordinary tea shop during the day. As Wallace stays there with Hugo and his family, he slowly begins to discover all that he missed out on in his life and to grow and change.

I'm sure you can tell from the description that this book has a very original premise! There is so much more to it than this simple plot summary, but one of the best things about this novel is discovering its delights for yourself, with surprises around every corner. It's about life, the afterlife, and even love, and the story is told with warmth and humor. I often laughed out loud while listening, as Wallace and the others get to know each other, and Wallace gradually comes to terms with his death--and the way he lived his life. One scene when a "psychic" visits the cafe to record a video is particularly amusing, but there are laughs in almost every chapter. In spite of the humor, though, there is also deep emotion here and even love, as Wallace and the other characters explore what it means to be human. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this thoughtful, funny, delightful novel.

384 pages, Tor Books

Macmillan Audio

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

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.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible - this one is excellent on audio, narrated by Kirt Graves.

 

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!

 
 

 

Or you can order Under the Whispering Door from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Fiction Review: All Clear

Once again, author Connie Willis has leaped onto my Top Ten Books of All Time list (which is constantly changing) with her novel All Clear, winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It is book two of the two-book series that started with Blackout, which I read for Big Book Summer 2021. Both books are part of Willis' Oxford Time Travel series (hear more about it in this video), about a group of historians--grad students at Oxford--in 2060 who travel back in time in order to witness historical events firsthand. Since this is part two of a two-book series, I won't go into much detail with my plot summary, to avoid spoilers--I'll stick with the set-up.

In this two-book series, many of the Oxford historians have all been sent back to World War II in England, each with his or her own assignment in different parts of England and at different times during the war. So, Polly is in London in 1940 to witness the early days of the Blitz. She finds a job as a shopgirl and rents a room (both in locations that she knows from the historical record won't get bombed). Her goal is to see firsthand how ordinary citizens reacted under such extraordinary circumstances. Merope--who is using the name Elaine to fit in-- has also gone back to 1940 but to a rural part of England, where she is helping with (and observing) the evacuation of children from London to the country, including a particularly mischievous pair of siblings, the Hodbins. Meanwhile, their colleague, Michael, is posing as an American reporter named Mike, and has been sent to Dover to witness the evacuation from Dunkirk. His graduate thesis is about ordinary citizens becoming heroes unintentionally, so he wants to see this amazing event where regular people took their own small boats across the English Channel to save soldiers from Dunkirk in the midst of heavy fire. Other historians sent back to WWII include Mary, who is working as an ambulance driver in Kent in 1944, and Ernest, in the same time period but posing as a reporter working undercover as part of Fortitude South, a massive (and successful) undertaking by the Allies to fool the Germans into thinking they would attack at Pas de Calais later in the summer (as opposed to their actual goal of Normandy in the spring). All of these characters are introduced in the first book, where the time travel technology begins to glitch. By the time this second book opens, most of the historians have realized they are stuck in the 1940's and are unable to get home to their own time. This not only puts them each at great personal risk, but they worry that their longer-than-expected stays could have unintended consequences on history, perhaps even on the outcome of the war.

All of Willis' Oxford Time Travel series is outstanding (I especially enjoyed Doomsday Book during Big Book Summer 2020), but these two books--and especially this final volume--just blew me away. All Clear is 640 pages, and it never lagged for a moment; I was sorry when it ended (though it is an excellent ending). Willis has a talent for combining the mind-bending fun of time travel and the potential to change the future with intricate historical detail and gripping suspense, and all of that is in top form here. I sometimes think I've read everything about WWII, but I learned so much reading this novel! The courage and level-headness of regular British citizens in the face of nightly destruction of their city and homes gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Keep calm and carry on." And I was absolutely fascinated to learn about the massive effort to fool the Germans, with thousands of people in on it and managing to keep it secret. I am always up for a good time travel tale, and this one, especially in this second book, features all of the thought-provoking features I love about time travel. It's mind-boggling (in a good way) as the characters begin to think about how their actions might be changing the future. And the suspense! Wow. Almost every chapter in All Clear ends with a shocking twist that made me gasp aloud ... but then the narration moves to a different character in the next chapter, making the reader wait several chapters to find out what happens next. So, I was eager to read every single chapter and could not stop turning the pages, staying up much too late every night. And with all that peril, this book has a sense of humor, too! What more could you want from a book? In short, this was a nearly perfect reading experience. I wish I could experience it all over again, for the first time. This is a must-read.

641 pages, Ballantine Books

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.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, a section with Polly musing about the possibility of changing history through time travel, and/or download it from Audible.

 

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!

   

 

Or you can order All Clear from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Books Read in November

Whew, as you can see, I am REALLY far behind! It happens every year at this time. I usually read a lot in the fall and don't have as much time to write reviews as we move into the holiday season, so my reading outruns my writing! I may end up doing what I did last year and writing a single post with mini reviews for my December reading.

But, looking back at November, I had an excellent reading month! Here's my video November Reading Wrap-Up, which is different than this post. In the video, I talk about each of the books I read.

And here are the books I finished in November:

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (UK) - adult fiction

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System by Matt Richtel - nonfiction on audio

 

No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowler (NC) - nonfiction memoir

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (OR, Korea) - nonfiction memoir

 

The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen (Netherlands) - nonfiction history

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (CA) - nonfiction true crime

Other Boys by Damian Alexander - middle-grade/teen graphic memoir

Lift by Kelly Corrigan (CA) - nonfiction memoir

 

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson (MA) - adult fiction on audio

As you can see, I was mostly immersed in Nonfiction November (see my Challenges update below). I read nine books in November (which is a lot for me), and seven of them were nonfiction. Most of my books last month were for adults, with just one middle-grade/teen book, which was also my only graphic novel/memoir for the month. I listened to three of my books on audio and read the rest in print. Every one of these nine books was excellent, and I was pleased to read so much variety in my nonfiction. It's hard to pick a favorite among so many diverse choices, but there's a special place in my heart for No Cure For Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) by Kate Bowler, since I love listening to her podcast.

Progress in 2021 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link above. I have some fun ones going this year!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2021 - I read 5 books off my own shelves last month. November is always good for my TBR Challenge!

2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - November was In the Library with the Candlestick, and Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson was a mystery/thriller.

Back to the Classics 2021 - No new classic again in November!

2021 AtoZ Reading Challenge - Most of my spots are already filled (19 of 26), so I didn't have any more to fit in last month, but I did get the Mini Challenge for a book outside your normal genre: I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - this is a unique one, with 50 quirky categories. My list is getting pretty full now, but I added two more last month:

1. A book that won the Women's Prize for Fiction: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (2020)
2. A book from your TBR you associate with a favorite person, place, or thing: I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara (my son's girlfriend, who loves true crime!)
   

2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge - I read seven nonfiction books last month, bringing my annual total up to 13 so far, and I also fit four of my books into the categories provided.

Diversity Reading Challenge 2021 - Four of my nine were diverse books.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - I added Korea and the Netherlands last month.

2021 Literary Escapes Challenge - It's tough at this time of year, with so many states filled already, but I added Oregon and Massachusetts last month.

2021 Big Book Summer Challenge - Finished in September, with a total of 12 for summer 2021!

R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge - Finished in October, with a total of eleven for this year's challenge.

Nonfiction November - I read seven nonfiction books in November.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In November, I filled 15 spaces on my bingo card (a lot of the spaces are fiction-specific!).

Spaces Filled: 

Hamnet: library book, book club read, award-winning author

An Elegant Defense: not in a series

No Cure for Being Human: read a physical book

Crying in H Mart: cooking, food on the cover

Sisters of Auschwitz: audio book

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: made into a TV show/movie (documentary), multiple authors, character has an assistant

Other Boys: free book

Lift: shelf love

Eight Perfect Murders: FBI/police

Free Space

What was your favorite book read in November?

It's Monday 12/27! What Are You Reading?

We had a lovely Christmas Day with a few family members here at our house, but unfortunately, our holiday week was a bit too eventful. 

On Thursday, my 96-year-old father-in-law fell and broke his hip. They did surgery on Christmas Eve. He has severe spinal stenosis and ever-worsening dementia, so the broken bone is just the tip of the iceberg. It's tough to heal at that age under any circumstances, but he wasn't moving too well before the fall and surgery. Now, he's so confused in the hospital that he's not eating or taking his meds, and they haven't been able to get him out of bed to stand or walk yet. My husband is there now, hoping to coax him to at least eat and take the pills. Due to COVID, he is only allowed one visitor per DAY, so it was a pretty rotten holiday for him (though he's barely even aware of the holiday). And now we need to find a rehab facility for him.

Then, the day after Christmas, with our son and his girlfriend and my mom and her husband still visiting, we were enjoying a lovely, relaxing day together when we got the news that someone else, who spent Christmas Eve with two of our group, had a positive COVID test. In less than an hour, the two couples packed, loaded their cars, and left for home. It was an abrupt and worrying end to our time together! Several tests from our group have come back negative so far, but it is still pretty early after potential exposure. Our planned annual Cookie Decorating/Grinch party tonight with our oldest friends is now virtual (again).

So, things began and ended with too many upsetting surprises, but we did enjoy a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve was very quiet (which we needed after a full day of cooking and wrapping!), with just my husband, son, and I. We had a great seafood meal (takeout) and watched some favorite Christmas specials. 

Christmas morning was again quiet, with just the three of us, but with loads of gifts! We were laughing that none of us really ever buys anything for ourselves during the year, but we all tend to go overboard for Christmas and birthdays. 

By 4 pm, our older son and his girlfriend arrived and my mom and her husband (all from out of town), so we opened more gifts and had a wonderful Christmas dinner together. You can see the books we gave and received in my A Very Bookish Christmas post.

Just a note that I decided to make a slight adjustment to my Monday posts (starting today). They've gotten longer and longer, and that takes a lot of time for me to write ... and I suspect too much time for most people to read! So, my book update (and personal update, too, after this week) will be a bit more brief. This is the first step in trying to adjust things a bit for 2022 so that I don't constantly feel stressed and overloaded. Though I know my personal update this week was long!

I uploaded two new book videos last week:

• Your Answers Can't Be Books tag - learn more about my non-reading life!
• Friday Reads 12-24-21 - hear me gush about my current books

So, here's what we've all been reading this past week:

I finished All Clear by Connie Willis, which is book two of the two-book series that started with Blackout, both historical time travel with loads of suspense. OUTSTANDING!!! It won both the Hugo and Nebula prizes. Like her novel Doomsday Book (read for Big Book Summer 2020), this is now in my top 10 of all time (which is getting crowded).

 

Christmas Day, I started A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet, the last of my Mother's Day gifts (trying to catch up!). It's a short novel and unusual but very good so far, about twelve kids and teens left on their own when an apocalypse hits.

 

I finished reading the middle-grade/teen graphic memoir, Friends Forever by Shannon Hale, with illustrations by LeUyen Pham. This is the third book in their trilogy of graphic memoirs that started with Real Friends and Best Friends. This one was excellent!

 

I started a new audiobook, Zara Hossain Is Here by Sabina Khan. With just one week left to the month (and year), I am trying to squeeze one last audio in. This YA novel is about racial prejudice, immigration, and a teen girl just trying to live like any other American teen. It's great so far.

 

My husband is still reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, book one of The Malazan Book of the Fallen series, a fantasy novel recommended by our son. He didn't have much reading time this week!

 

Our 27-year-old son is still reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak, which was a finalist for both the Nebula and Hugo awards and on many Top Ten lists. I don't know if it is technically a sequel, but it is set in the same fairy tale world as Uprooted, another book he enjoyed reading. He has lots of new books to choose from now!

Blog posts last week:

Fiction Review: Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson - twisty book-related thriller!

Nonfiction Review: The Sisters of Auschwitz by Roxane van Iperen - visceral, fascinating story of two unsung heroes.

A Very Bookish Christmas - see which books we gave and received this year!

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?

A Very Bookish Christmas!

As usual, it was a very bookish Christmas at our house yesterday! Most of us are avid readers, so we love to exchange books. Here's what we gave and received - I hope you got books under your tree, too!

We gave our son:

• The Order War by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. (book 4 in the Saga of Recluce)
• The Great Bazaar and Brayan's Gold by Peter V. Brett - two short stories/novellas set in the world of the Demon Cycle)
• Quill by A.C. Cobble (book 1 of The Cartographer)
• The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen (book 1 of 2)

My husband got:

• Countdown City by Ben Winters (book 2 in The Last Policeman trilogy)
• A Blizzard of Polar Bears  by Alice Henderson (book 2 in the Alex Carter series)
  
• Never by Ken Follett
• Better Off Dead by Lee Child and Andrew Child (book 26 in the Jack Reacher series)

I gave my mom:

 

• Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller (a memoir)
• Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler (I love Anne Tyler, and my mom's a redhead!)

And, not shown (it was already packed), we gave her husband for his Christmas birthday: The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire by John Eisenberg. He loves both football and business, so this was a perfect fit!

And, I received:

• The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel (author of Station Eleven, which I loved)
  
• The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker (author of The Age of Miracles, which I also loved!)
• How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu - it wouldn't be a holiday for me without receiving some sort of time-twisting novel!
• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

I am so excited to read all of these!!

How about you? What book(s) did you receive or give for the holidays?