It's Monday 6/17! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Wow, what a week! 

Our older son and his girlfriend arrived here on Wednesday after a month on the road, driving all over the country, where they saw and did so many amazing things! (See the past month's Monday posts for photos.) They were tired but happy. We managed two family dinners with both of our sons (one dinner with all six of us, including girlfriends), a rarity these days! We loved hearing all about their epic road trip, though it was a hectic week, trying to deal with car troubles, a last-minute car rental, picking up our new camper, and getting ready for another trip.

Back home after a month on the road!

Our new camper!

Friday morning, we left for another busy weekend trip, this time to Virginia for the wedding of one of our older son's friends. They've been friends since kindergarten, and his mom is one of my closest friends. We were so happy they included us in their special day! It was a beautiful wedding, at a vineyard on top of a hill, overlooking the Virginia countryside with mountains all around. The guests included so many of our son's friends, from elementary school through high school and into college! My husband and I loved catching up with all of them (they're all about 30 now), and hearing what they're doing with their lives. We watched them all grow up! The wedding was a lot of fun. I've never seen so many people dance at a wedding--the dance floor was packed. I even got out there (wearing my heart rate monitor and being careful not to raise my arms too high - a challenge when "Shout!" came on! ha ha) and stayed up until midnight. That usually only happens on New Year's Eve when I'm mostly lying on my couch. And I felt OK the next day! More evidence of how much better I am doing this year. We had a great time, I loved being there to share in my friend's joy, and our son had an absolute blast with all his old friends.

Our son and his girlfriend

My husband and I

Fabulous views & a gorgeous setting!

Bride and groom had a spectacular first dance!

The four of us at the wedding

My friend (mother of the groom) and I

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On the Blog

TV Tuesday: Dark Matter - we are LOVING this new twisty sci fi thriller based on one of our favorite novels. After every episode, I yell, "It's SO gooood!"

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On Video

The Stay Gold Booktube Tag - this tag was inspired by The Outsiders (which I've never read--I know!!), but the questions are all about Booktube (i.e. YouTube for book lovers), with some of my favorite Booktubers, favorite book videos, and non-book channels & videos, too.

Friday Reads 6-14-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am currently reading (and my husband and son, too).

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 What We're Reading

Now (and probably until the end of the month!), I am reading my first print book for the #BigBookSummer Challenge, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. For years, I've been hearing readers rave about how wonderful this Western novel is, so I'm glad to finally be reading it for myself. It's set in 1870 with two older men, Augustus McCrae and Captain Woodrow Call, who are ex-Texas Rangers. They now own a small livery business in the tiny town of Lonesome Dove on the Mexico border, a desolate place. A small group of men live there and help them. Early in the novel, another ex-Ranger named Jake comes to visit, fresh from Montana, and Call gets the idea to put together a herd of cattle and drive them all the way to Montana. I'm about halfway now, and I'm enjoying it very much. They're not even out of Texas yet, but so much has already happened! The characters and setting are engaging, and it's got a great sense of humor (always a plus for me). My Friday Reads video includes a more in-depth discussion of what I am enjoying about it. So many other people participating in Big Book Summer were also reading this book that I made it our official readalong book, and I'm enjoying the discussions in the group on Goodreads.

 

After a massive book hangover from The Women by Kristin Hannah (so amazing!), I finally chose a new Big Book audio. Countdown by Deborah Wiles is middle-grade historical fiction, book one in her Sixties trilogy. In 2015, I read book 2, Revolution, which takes place in 1964 and is about the Freedom Summer in Mississippi. Countdown is set in 1962 and focuses on what was going on at that time: the Cold War, McCarthyism, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and fear of a nuclear bomb. The novel begins with 11-year-old Franny and her classmates enduring a terrifying "duck and cover" drill when the town's warning siren goes off during school. As with Revolution, Wiles has melded together real-life news reports, ads from the early 60's, radio broadcasts, and other documentary-style media with fictional kids experiencing it all. It's a very effective, powerful approach that shows Franny worrying about typical kid stuff while also afraid of being bombed at any moment. I read Revolution in print, which included all the real-life information in print (see my review at the link) in a scrapbook-like format. It's different on audio but equally engrossing and informative. I'm loving it so far!

 

My husband and I listened to more of our road trip audio (Big Book, of course) in the car this weekend:  Luminous Dead by Caitlyn Starling, a unique sci fi thriller. It's been compared to The Martian by Andy Weir (my review at the link) because it features only one character physically present, with a second monitoring from afar. The set-up here is a cave diver who signed up for a special expedition on a planet filled with caves. Gyre lied about her qualifications to get the job, but now she's on her own, well below ground, with only a voice, who says to call her Em, in her helmet to keep her company. Gyre expected a whole team to be backing her up, but she soon discovers it's just Em, who is keeping the reason for the expedition a secret. Em has full control over Gyre's high-tech suit, but Gyre doesn't like to give up control. As the mission gets more and more dangerous, Gyre must rely on Em, though she knows she's lied. Oh, and there's some sort of creature on this planet called a Tunneler who strikes fear into both women's hearts. It's good so far, different but very suspenseful and intriguing.

 

My husband's first Big Book for the summer (yes, he joins the challenge, too!) is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, one of my favorites from last summer (my review at the link). He's enjoying this suspenseful, funny, heartbreaking classic, and it's fun to be able to talk about it as he reads it.

 

Our son, 29, is still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come since he was pretty busy this past month! I saw the book while he was here, and it is definitely a Big Book. But my son thinks Big Book Summer is funny because all he reads are enormous epic fantasies anyway. He's enjoying this one, but he starts a new full-time job tomorrow, so he probably won't have a lot of reading time.

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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?

 

P.S. Apologies to all the wonderful book bloggers who've left comments here in the past two weeks! It's been crazy hectic, but I plan to catch up on blog visits this week!

TV Tuesday: Dark Matter

I absolutely love when a book I enjoyed is adapted into a TV show or movie, so I was incredibly excited to hear that Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (my review at the link) was going to air on Apple TV. This is one of my all-time favorite books, a twisty sci fi thriller, and so far, the TV adaptation, Dark Matter, is living up to its source material.

Jason Desson, played by Joel Edgerton, is happily married to Daniela, played by Jennifer Connelly, and they both adore their teen son, Charlie, played by Oakes Fegley. They live in Chicago, and Jason works as a physics professor at a small, local college. Daniela had dreams of being a professional artist, but she now works to help support their family. In the first episode, Daniela encourages Jason to go to a party at a local bar, honoring his best friend, Ryan (played by Jimmi Simpson), who just won a prestigious science award. From their conversation at the party, it's clear that Jason is just as talented but chose the path he did to support his family more reliably. Ryan asks Jason to join him in a new venture, but it would require moving to California, and Jason turns him down. Walking home, Jason is brooding over the path not taken when he is suddenly grabbed on the street and kidnapped. He's taken to a deserted warehouse by his masked captor and injected with something. The next thing he knows, he's waking up in a place he doesn't recognize, surrounded by people he doesn't know but that know him. They say he's been gone for over a year, and they're glad to see him. Jason finds out that this place has the technology to travel to parallel universes, a concept he understands because he himself did the initial research years ago, before he got married. He realizes that he is somehow in one of those parallel worlds, and he is desperate to get back to his wife and son ... but how?

As with the book, this TV show is based on a mind-blowing concept, that there are infinite worlds and that with every choice made or change in events, another variation splinters off. This isn't fantasy but science fiction, based on quantum mechanics (don't worry--it's all beyond my understanding, too!). Crouch put this fascinating concept to good use in this twisty, gripping, and thought-provoking thriller. My husband and I both loved this fabulous novel, and the TV show hews very closely to the book (much to our delight), probably due to the author being the one who created the show and did much of its writing to adapt it. Blake Crouch is adept at that, having written other TV shows, including Wayward Pines and Good Behavior (also based on his own novels). So, the writing is sharp and engaging. The actors all do a great job here, each portraying the same character in many different worlds, each one the same person but slightly different. And that plot! It's unique, suspenseful, and full of surprises. The cinematography is also outstanding for the small screen, as Jason visits Chicago in world after world (some of them apocalyptic). It's just an all-around outstanding TV show. Apple TV really seems to excel at science fiction shows (like their adaptation of Silo by Hugh Howey, coming back soon for season 2, and For All Mankind, an alternative history of the space program). We are loving this one and look forward to a new episode every week!

Dark Matter is currently airing on Apple TV. We've seen six of the nine episodes and will be watching #7 tonight. I can't wait!

I practically squealed in delight watching this trailer again:

It's Monday 6/10! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Whew, June is a busy month! Fortunately, I had a pretty low-key week last week, with no appointments, so I had a chance to catch up a bit and record more of my audio book. It's been hard to keep up with the amazing response to Big Book Summer this year! My one big outing last week, which could not be put off any longer, was to go shopping for a dress for the wedding we're attending this coming weekend in Virginia. Success! Shopping is a tough one with my chronic illness, but I found a dress I love in just one trip to one store and about 60 minutes of trying on dozens of dresses! Victory!

Ready for my shopping expedition!

This weekend, we drove to Connecticut for our nephew's graduation party (and a belated celebration for our niece, who graduated in 2020). It was about 12 hours of driving for about 5 hours with my family, but we're so glad we could go and celebrate with them! They are both amazing people.

 

My niece and I

My husband and I with our nephew

My sister held the party at a really cool place with all kinds of games, so both the kids and the adults had a lot of fun! My husband and I relived our youth with skeeball and pinball, and I played cornhole for the first time. My husband and I even won a round. It was great to just hang out with my family and have fun when it wasn't a holiday. I was in pretty bad shape yesterday (probably my worst day yet this year because I've been doing so well), but I had all day to rest in the car. I'm such a wimp these days that I actually had sore muscles from two rounds of cornhole - ha ha! But I'm doing well today.

My son and husband playing cornhole

Our nephew playing pool with his friends

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On the Blog

I didn't have time to write a review last week--it was Big Book Summer time all the time! You can check out the challenge page for links to about 20 great book blogs and Booktube channels participating (plus many more Booktubers who didn't add their links--it's amazing how fast it spread this year!). I've enjoyed discovering some new-to-me Booktube channels with great content. And the Big Book Summer Goodreads group now has 102 participants signed up! Lots of fun reading and chatting about books.

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On Video

Big Book Summer has added almost 500 new subscribers to my channel in the past month or so, which is stunning! Usually my subscriber count goes up by 10-12 a month. It's been fun finding so many new-to-me channels. My new videos last week:

May Reading Wrap-Up - an overview of the 7 books I read last month, all excellent. It was a great reading month!

Friday Reads 6-7-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to - last week, it was my two Big Books, on print and audio.

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 What We're Reading

 

Now (and probably for quite a few weeks to come!), I am reading my first Big Book of the summer, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. For years, I've been hearing readers rave about how wonderful this Western novel is, so I'm glad to finally be reading it for myself. It's set in 1870 with two older men, Augustus McCrae and Captain Woodrow Call, who are ex-Texas Rangers. They now own a small livery business in the tiny town of Lonesome Dove on the Mexico border, a desolate place. They have a small group of men who live there and help them. Early in the novel, another ex-Ranger named Jake comes to visit, fresh from Montana, and Call gets the idea to put together a herd of cattle and drive them all the way to Montana, even though they haven't done a cattle drive in years. I'm up to around page 270, and I'm enjoying it very much. The characters and setting are engaging, and it's got a great sense of humor (always a plus for me). So many other people participating in Big Book Summer were also reading this book that I made it our official readalong book, and I'm enjoying the discussions in the group on Goodreads.

I finished my first audio for Big Book Summer, The Women by Kristin Hannah. What a stunning novel! Perhaps my #1 of the year so far. Twenty-year-old Frankie, recently graduated from nursing school, has taken her family's dedication to service to heart and enlisted in the Army, to join her beloved brother, Finlay, in Vietnam. But her parents are horrified, especially after they are notified that Finlay was killed. After basic training, Frankie is shipped to Vietnam and immediately taken to a remote field hospital. It was all men on her flight, but in the field, she meets her roommates, Barb and Ethel, two other nurses. Her first day there, multiple helicopters carry in soldiers, wounded in horrible ways, and Frankie is immediately out of her depth. The novel follows Frankie and her friends not just during their horrific experiences in the war but through the aftermath of it and what the soldiers experienced upon returning to the U.S. Wow, this is such an amazing novel--completely engrossing and so powerful. It's also an important book, bringing to light the experiences of women in Vietnam, which were mostly overlooked. I need to pick my next audio Big Book, but I'm not ready to move on yet.

This weekend, my husband and I started an audio book (Big Book, of course) while traveling because we have 3 road trips planned in the next 3 weeks! We started listening to Luminous Dead by Caitlyn Starling, a unique sci fi thriller. It's been compared to The Martian by Andy Weir because it features only one character physically present, with a second monitoring from afar. The set-up here is a cave diver who signed up for a special expedition on a planet filled with caves. Gyre lied about her qualifications to get the job, but now she's on her own, well below ground, with only a voice, who says to call her Em, in her helmet to keep her company. Gyre expected a whole team to be backing her up, but she soon discovers it's just Em, who is keeping the reason for the expedition a secret. Em has full control over Gyre's high-tech suit, but Gyre doesn't like to give up control. As the mission gets more and more dangerous, Gyre must rely on Em, though she knows she's lied. Oh, and there's some sort of creature on this planet called a Tunneler who strikes fear into both women's hearts. It's good so far, different but very suspenseful and intriguing.

 

My husband's first Big Book for the summer (yes, he joins the challenge, too!) is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, one of my favorites from last summer (my review at the link). I hope he enjoys this suspenseful, funny, heartbreaking classic as much as I did. 

 

Our son, 29, is probably still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come since he was pretty busy this past week driving all over the US! When he was a kid, he'd bring an entire duffel bag stuffed full of books on our 3-week summer road trip, but he's trying to keep his girlfriend company when it's her turn to drive. They've had an amazing road trip so far and will be home on Wednesday. This past week, they explored Yellowstone, enjoyed the Black Hills and Badlands National Park in South Dakota (our family favorites), stopped in Iowa, Chicago, Cleveland, Indiana Dunes National Park, and are now in West Virginia, where they greatly enjoyed whitewater rafting yesterday. What an epic trip!

Badlands National Park

Mount Rushmore, SD

Whitewater Rafting

Yellowstone National Park

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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?