It's Monday 11/13! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Not much to report here because my chronic illness is still flared up. I did see a friend for a walk on Tuesday, which was wonderful and long-overdue but was definitely too much for me. Otherwise, I spent the week and weekend "aggressively resting." That's my oxymoron term for what's needed in my disease when we "crash" like this. So, I spent lots of time flat on the couch, but we did have lovely fall weather last week. It's been cooler but sunny and beautiful, so I spent as much time as possible in my reclining chair out on the back deck. Being outdoors always lifts my spirits! Here are some of my various views from the deck last week.

Enjoying the sunshine

Early but beautiful sunset

Lovely fall day on the deck!

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On the Blog

 TV Tuesday: The Lincoln Lawyer - another excellent TV adaptation of Michael Connelly's novels

Middle-Grade Review: Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith and Boulet - fabulous graphic novel based on the classic - clever, smart, funny!

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On Video

Nonfiction November 2023 - a short video with my "pile of possibilities" for nonfiction reads this month.

Friday Reads 11-12-23 - my weekly recap of what I am currently reading.

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 What We're Reading

 

 

I did it! I finally finished The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, a book I bought years ago and started in January. My slowness was no reflection of the book; I was trying to read it at the same time as novels, and that just doesn't work for me! I'm a huge fan of her podcast, Happier, and enjoyed the book very much. She spent a year focusing on improving her happiness, one small step at a time, with each month focused on a different aspect of her life. It's intriguing, entertaining, and inspirational, with lots of food for thought.

 

 

I am now reading The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman, a book I've been meaning to read since its release in 2007. I'd heard great things about this nonfiction book back then, so when I spotted it in a Little Free Library last year, I grabbed it (even though I was only supposed to be dropping off!).  It's the true story of a husband and wife who ran a zoo in Warsaw, Poland, and saved hundreds of people from the Nazis during WWII. I've only just started it, but I'm already enjoying the descriptions of the zoo and its unique animals (the author used a lot of primary sources like diaries and letters).

 

 

I'm also reading another graphic memoir, Dreamer by Akim Alui, Greg Anderson Elysee, and Karen de la Vega (illustrator). Akim is one of very few Black professional hockey players, and this is his memoir of his childhood, which is fascinating. His mother is Ukrainian, his father is Nigerian, and they lived in both places but neither was very welcoming to a biracial family. They moved to Canada to provide better opportunities for Akim and his brother. It's excellent so far. You don't often see the phrase Nigerian-Ukrainian-Canadian, and I'm extra-interested since my family is Ukrainian, too.

 

I'm still listening to the memoir How to Forget by Kate Mulgrew, an actress famous for her roles as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager and as Red in Orange is the New Black. This is her second memoir, this one focusing on being with and caring for her parents, as her father died of cancer and her mother was lost in dementia. This one has been tough for me at times, as my dad died of cancer eight years ago, and we cared for my father-in-law with dementia until he died last year. It's excellent so far--moving, warm, and funny--and she reads it herself in that familiar voice.

 

 

My husband, Ken, is also reading for Nonfiction November, starting with a book I gave him for Father's Day, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. This is a big one (obviously), and he is enjoying it, reading interesting facts out loud to me. 

 

 

 

Our son, 29, has been rereading Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series. He finished book 1, The Final Empire, and is now rereading book 2, For his birthday last year, I signed him up for Sanderson's big Kickstarter, so he just received the fourth book from that, The Sunlight Man, which is set in the Mistborn world. He is very much looking forward to diving into the new book. 

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What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week? 

 

Middle-Grade Review: Bea Wolf

I was intrigued by the title and cover of middle-grade graphic novel Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith, illustrated by Boulet, and I absolutely loved this smart, clever, funny riff on the Old English classic Beowulf.

The graphic novel begins with a short history lesson, about a long succession of child kings (and queens), going back generations, ruling benevolently over the other kids in the suburban neighborhood, ensuring there was plenty of candy, toys, and fun for all:

"Listen to the lives of the long-ago kids, the world-fighters,
the parent-unminding kids, the improper, the politeness-proof,
the unbowed bully-crushers,
the bedtime-breakers, the raspberry-blowers,
fighters of fun-killers, fearing nothing, fated for fame."

We learn about each of these renowned child leaders, including the famed Carl, who eventually succumbed to teendom: "Lament not his low fate. Time lingers for no kid." Finally, we get to the current kid king, Roger:

"Kids who knew the crown-line of Carl flocked to their cause.
So that by the reign of Roger, so rich was the candy cache,
so much bully-gold was berthed, so well-betoyed were boy and girl,
that Roger, game-giver and toy-sharer,
turned his thoughts to treehouses."

Roger and the other kids build an amazing treehouse, which comes to be known as Treeheart and provides a place for raucous, unfettered, un-chaperoned kid fun. But Mr. Grindle watches all this unbridled chaotic joy from his yard:

"He would stride the starless dark, staring over hedge, stirring his temper,
harrowing his hearing, hating the gum-smacking, the blowing of bubbles,
the butt-jokes and belching laughter, the bursting of bang snaps,
the vast-volumed video games of no educational value whatsoever!"

Mr. Grindle, "the fun-grinder, the grim-faced joy-gobbler," won't stand for such unproductive, noisy activity, and he attacks Treeheart, with his cleaning supplies and educational materials. Things become sad and hopeless for the kids for a while, until Bea Wolf, a five-year-old cousin of Carl, who lives upriver in Heidi's domain, comes to save them.

I just had to include several quotes from this book because the text is so delightfully clever and fun! Every page is like that, as the author mimics the cadence, rhyming, and alliteration of the original Beowulf. I never read the epic poem myself (so you don't need to know it to appreciate this wonderful book), but I remembered my son studying it in Brit Lit, and I looked it up while reading this graphic novel to further enhance my enjoyment. I knew about Beowulf and Grindle, but Weinersmith also takes some other character names from the original, like King Hrothgar (Roger), as well as the general storyline. But the writing is only half of the fun here! The fabulous illustrations are just as enchanting, and I often took my time to reread the text and enjoy the pictures before turning the page.

When my sons were young, they would have loved this joyful, witty, ingenious book! I'm sure we would have read and reread it, as they said, "again!" and I can just see them poring over each detailed illustration intensely. This is the best kind of book for kids--the kind that adults will love, too.

208 pages, First Second

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge
R.I.P. Challenge

 

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!

    
  

TV Tuesday: The Lincoln Lawyer

One of the shows my husband and I have been enjoying this fall is The Lincoln Lawyer, the latest adaptation of mega-best-seller Michael Connelly's books. We love the TV adaptation Bosch, featuring one of our favorite fictional detectives. The Lincoln Lawyer aka Mickey Haller was featured in a book I read this summer, The Night Fire, which included all three of Connelly's most famous characters: Harry Bosch, Rene Ballard, and Mickey Haller. Mickey was previously featured in a movie adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer, played by Matthew McConaughey. In this new (2022) TV adaptation, there is a different twist, as the famous Lincoln Lawyer is given a Hispanic background.

As in the books, Mickey Haller aka the Lincoln Lawyer, played here by Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, is so-named because he runs his law practice out of his Lincoln Town Car, and he is a fervent idealist, fully believing in every person's right to a strong defense. He's also very, very good at his job. Two of the contacts in his phone are labelled Wife #1 and Wife #2. He's still in love with wife #1, Maggie, played by Neve Campbell, and they both adore their teen daughter, Hayley (played by Krista Warner). Wife #2, Lorna, played by Becki Newton, works as his office manager and legal assistant. She is dating Mickey's long-time investigator, Cisco, played by Angus Sampson. At the start of the first episode, Mickey finds out that a big-time lawyer who recently died left his entire practice and all his clients to Mickey, so the team moves into the fancy law office left to him, though Mickey still does his best thinking in the car. Also in that first episode, he successfully defends a young woman named Izzy, played by Jazz Raycole, and hires her to be his driver. The biggest and most infamous client he has inherited from the other lawyer is a tech billionaire named Trevor Elliot, played by Christopher Gorham, who's been accused of killing his wife and her lover. That big case is the focus of much of season 1, while Mickey and Lorna sort through the practice and clients left to him. As season 2 begins, Mickey is focused on clearing the name of a man who was unjustly accused of murder, serving time in prison after Mickey lost his case. That loss and imprisonment of an innocent man weighs heavily on Mickey. He also ends up defending a woman accused of murder, whom he recently slept with.

My husband and I are halfway through season 2 and are both really enjoying this show. The casting works perfectly, and Garcia-Rulfo is excellent as Mickey. The mysteries/cases he's working on are twisty and surprising, with lots of suspense. Alongside the tension, there is plenty of humor, which we always appreciate in a TV show or movie, and even a bit of romance as Mickey tries to move on while still caring so much for Maggie, and Lorna and Cisco grow closer. We usually juggle a dozen or so shows at a time, and when I recently asked my husband which one he's enjoying the most, without hesitation he answered, The Lincoln Lawyer. It's a great adaptation of the novels of one of our all-time favorite mystery/suspense authors. Now, I'm waiting for an adaptation of the Rene Ballard books!

The Lincoln Lawyer is currently available with subscription on Netflix and Apple TV, as well as for a fee on various other services, including Amazon Prime ($1.99 an episode; first episode free).

It's Monday 11/6! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

We had a quiet week here, catching up after our wonderful vacation in Virginia. We were thrilled and shocked to get a bunch of trick-or-treaters on Halloween. It's just been 2-3 kids each year for the past decade or so. Turns out some new families moved into our neighborhood and brought friends along. We loved seeing the kids in their costumes and miss the days of such huge excitement and anticipation with our own sons and their friends.

Ready for trick-or-treaters

On my way home from a doctor's appointment Wednesday, I couldn't resist such a beautiful fall day, so I stopped at a local state park and enjoyed the last fall colors here.

Unfortunately, I "crashed" later in the week (a sudden flare-up of my chronic illness). No idea why this time, but I had to just lie low and rest a lot. Luckily, the weather was nice, so I spent several afternoons after my nap out on the deck, enjoying those last late sunny days. I went out on the deck Sunday afternoon, but the sun was behind the trees by 4 pm!

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On the Blog

 Fiction Review: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan - outstanding dystopian thriller by the award-winning author

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On Video

Virginia Fall Camping Vlog - Come along on our recent vacation, with hiking, kayaking, and vibrant fall foliage!

 October Reading Wrap-Up - I read/listened to 9 books last month and enjoyed them all, including mystery, suspense, thrillers, fantasy, YA, and middle-grade

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 What We're Reading

Last week, I finished up my reading for the R.I.P. Challenge and jumped into Nonfiction November!

 

 

I finished Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley, an author I always enjoy. I read the first book of his Easy Rawlins mystery series, Devil in a Blue Dress, and absolutely loved The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, a moving, powerful novel about memory and family. This novel is a mystery/thriller about an ex-cop named Joe King Oliver who, ten years ago, was falsely accused of sexual assault and removed from the NYPD. The 90 days he spent in Rikers prison forever changed him, but time with his daughter and working cases as a PI is helping him to heal, slowly. When a letter from his past arrives and he gets a new case possibly exposing recent police corruption, his past and the present begin to come together. He might even have a chance to clear his name. This was a dark, gritty thriller with lots of action and surprising twists.

 

 

I finished a middle-grade graphic novel, Bea Wolf, which I plan to review because I want to shout from the rooftops how great this book is! It's a retelling of the ancient classic poem Beowulf, about a grumpy man named Grendel who wants to ruin the neighborhood kids' fun and wreck their treehouse. It uses the same kinds of rhyming and alliteration as in the original. It is so clever, smart, and funny! 

 

 

 

Now, I have--embarrassingly--picked up a book I started back in January! Sigh ... this is why I read only one book at a time. This one was my attempt to read both fiction and nonfiction at the same time, and it didn't work. So, I am now about halfway through The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, a book I bought years ago (another problem of mine!). I'm a huge fan of her podcast, Happier, and am enjoying the book very much. Lots of food for thought.

 

 

 

I also started another graphic "novel" (memoir)--those I can read at the same time since I can read them in little 10-minute increments. I am very much enjoying Layers by Pénélope Bagieu, a YA graphic memoir. It's made up of 15 short stories, based on her diary entries from childhood through her teen years and into young adulthood. The result is a warm, funny, poignant coming-of-age memoir with lots of relatable stories.

 

 

 

On audio, I finished The Stars Did Wander Darkling by Colin Meloy, a middle-grade fantasy/horror novel that was perfect for the end of October. Four friends in the 1980's encounter strange happenings in their quiet seaside Oregon town. Even their parents seem different, as an ancient, long-buried evil is unleashed. I really enjoyed this suspenseful horror thriller that feels like a cross between The Goonies, Stranger Things, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

 

 

 

My first nonfiction audio for November is How to Forget by Kate Mulgrew, an actress famous for her roles as Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager and as Red in Orange is the New Black. This is her second memoir, this one focusing on being with and caring for her parents, as her father died of cancer and her mother was lost in dementia. This one might get tough for me, as my dad died of cancer eight years ago, and we cared for my father-in-law with dementia until he died last year. It's excellent so far, and she reads it herself in that familiar voice. 

 

 

 

My husband, Ken finished November Road by Lou Berney, a road trip thriller set in the 1960's around Kennedy's assassination. It starts in New Orleans (where we used to live) and Stephen King gave it a rave review, so I knew Ken would enjoy it. He loved it! Normally, the most I can get out of him about a book is "it was good." This time, he smiled and said, "It was good--really, really, really good!"

 

 

He is now also reading for Nonfiction November, starting with a book I gave him for Father's Day, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. This is a big one (obviously), and he is already enjoying it, reading interesting facts out loud to me.

 

 

Our son, 29, finished reading The Helm of Midnight by Marina Holstetter, book one in The Five Penalties series, which he enjoyed. For his birthday last year, I signed him up for Brandon Sanderson's big Kickstarter, so he just received the fourth book from that, The Sunlight Man, which he is very much looking forward to. But first--him being him--he is rereading Sanderson's Mistborn series, to get back into that world.

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What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.  

What are you and your family reading this week? 

  

Fiction Review: When She Woke

Back in 2010, I read Mudbound, an award-winning historical novel by Hillary Jordan and loved it (and read it again for book group in 2019 - review here). So when Jordan published a second novel, When She Woke, I got it in 2011 as soon as it came out in paperback. And then ... it sat on my shelf! I can't explain why it took me so long to finally read it, but I'm glad I did. This future dystopian novel that riffs on A Scarlet Letter, with hints of The Handmaid's Tale, is entirely different than Mudbound but just as compelling and well-written.

"When she woke, she was red."

So begins the story of Hannah, a young woman in near-future Texas. In her society, all but the most violent criminals get their skin dyed a color to match their crime, to relieve prison overcrowding. Red means murder. Hannah spends her first month as a "red" in a small, transparent cell, with a live feed that people watch for entertainment, as she tries not to go mad from the isolation and boredom. While there, Hannah thinks back to the events that landed her there: her illicit love affair with a married man and her illegal abortion to protect his identity in a world where genetic testing is routinely carried out so that fathers will support their children. She also remembers her innocent past before she met the man, growing up in a very sheltered family, among a strict religious community. She is a seamstress who used to work for a bridal salon, and before the affair, her worst crime was secretly sewing beautiful (but not properly modest) dresses for herself, to wear in private. Now, after a month in the cell, she is released to the wider world, to begin her new life with red skin. Her mother refuses to speak with her, and her sister's controlling boyfriend won't let her contact Hannah, so she is almost alone in the world. Strangers avoid her on the street or openly harass her. Her father tries to help by sending her to a sort of halfway house, focused on reforming its female criminal residents. Hannah has a long road ahead of her, making a new life for herself and considering for the first time ever, what she thinks, apart from her family and church.

That's just the very beginning of the novel because I don't want to spoil this gripping tale filled with so many unexpected twists and turns. It is suspenseful and compelling but also immersive, as the reader inhabits Hannah's mind and sees everything through her eyes. Jordan has created an imaginative dystopian world here that, like the best dystopian fiction, is firmly rooted in our real world. Chillingly, some of the details she includes--like the pervasiveness of reality TV and the overturning of Roe v. Wade--have come to pass in our real world in the 12 years since the book was published. That rooting in the real world makes this novel very thought-provoking; it would be perfect for an open-minded book group discussion. Hannah is an absorbing main character and heroine, struggling against not only her sentence but over 20 years of indoctrination and being told not to think for herself. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this engrossing, original novel--it was worth the wait!

341 pages, Algonquin Books

Highbridge, Recorded Books

This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge (this should count extra after sitting on my shelf for 12 years!)

Diversity Reading Challenge

Literary Escapes Challenge - Texas

R.I.P. Challenge
 

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Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

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 (audio sample here, too).

 

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!