It's Monday 7/10! What Are You Reading?

Book By Book

Life

Last week was mostly a quiet week at home. I was just trying to remember what I did last week, and the answer is pretty boring! I did catch up on a lot of things I needed to do, both around the house and with my work. I scheduled a Zoom meeting for the local chronic illness support group I run. I booked a camping weekend for us and our sons (and one girlfriend). I RSVP’ed to a family wedding. And I invited a friend to come visit. So, I have a lot to look forward to!  

The big news here is that my husband left Saturday morning (at 4 am!) for an epic road trip, driving his dad’s old car (check out the photo – he bought that car at age 85) back to his hometown in Oklahoma to meet up with his two best friends from high school for a week of golfing on the newly renovated course they played on as teens. In other words, pretty much a dream week for him! He hasn’t even arrived yet and is already having a great time. I get it. There’s nothing like the freedom of a road trip and of being on your own.

Speaking of being on your own … I have 9 whole days to myself! As a wife and mother, this is a very rare thing. I had a fabulous weekend, even though I didn’t do anything special. I’ve been very productive, finally catching up on stuff that’s been on my to-do list for far too long, decluttering, repotting my houseplants, and watching TV and movies my husband would hate. My childhood best friend since age 5 is coming to visit this weekend, and I’ve scheduled a walk with a friend this week, so it should be a pretty great week for me, too!

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On the Blog

 Blogger finally decided my book review contained no objectionable material (insert big eye roll), so I posted two reviews last week, both Big Books and both excellent:

Fiction Review: The House of Impossible Beauties by Joseph Cassara – moving, funny, heartbreaking story of a group of gay and trans young people in ’80′s NYC finding home and family with each other, based on a true story.

 Fiction Review: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon – when you read 870 pages and are sorry it’s over, you know it’s an outstanding book! Fabulous historical fiction packed with action, adventure, suspense, and true love.

And, remember, there is still plenty of time to sign up for the Big Book Summer Reading Challenge! It runs until early September, and you only need to plan to read one 400+ page book between now and then to participate. There’s a whole community in our Goodreads group with fun Big Book chat all summer long.

Join the fun!   

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On Video

Friday Reads 7-6-23 - my brief weekly update on what I’m reading

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I have to admit to some serious book hangover after finishing Voyager. I wasn’t ready to leave that world, even after being immersed in it for a month! So, I chose my quickest Big Book for my next read: Scythe by Neal Schusterman. We are huge Schusterman fans at our house. My husband, son, and I all loved his Unwind series, which is original, brilliant, and compelling, and I’ve been hearing great things about Scythe for years. This YA dystopian novel takes place in a future world where life is perfect: there is no disease, no government, no middle seats on airplanes. Nanites in the body immediately heal any injury or pain and even protect humans from negative emotions like despair. In order to control population in an immortal world, some are chosen as Scythes who “glean” (i.e. kill) selected people. Two teens, Citra and Rowan, have been chosen to train as Scythe apprentices and learn all about the dark side of a perfect society. It’s excellent so far, as his books always are–gripping and thought-provoking.

 I also started a new Big Book on audio, Everything the Light Touches by Janice Pariat. This novel has been compared to Cloud Atlas and Cloud Cuckoo Land (also on my Big Book stack). It consists of four parts, stories of different people in different time periods, beginning in modern day India and moving back through time to Lapland in 1732. The connecting thread through all of the stories is the natural world, plants, botany, and human connections. It’s beautifully written and engrossing.

My husband, Ken, finished The Quiet Boy by Ben H. Winters, his third Big Book of the summer, before his trip. He said it was very good and entirely different from Winters’ The Last Policeman trilogy.  Now he’s reading A Time for Mercy by John Grisham, book 3 in his Jake Brigance series, another Father’s Day gift from me.We both loved the first two books, A Time to Kill and Sycamore Row featuring Jake, so this should be another good one. I don’t expect him to have much reading time this week!