It's Monday 3/29! What Are You Reading?

Book By Book

It was a very rough week for me, emotionally and physically, due to some family conflict causing lots of stress, so I feel like the week passed in a blur, and I didn’t get much of anything done. 

I did get around to some blog visits Monday and again last night (nothing like last-minute!), and I finally managed one review post this weekend.

On the plus side, my husband and I have been trying to get away for a day trip to the beach for ages, and on Friday, the stars finally aligned! His work schedule was clear (nonstop meetings since working from home), his dad’s aide was visiting, and the weather at the beach was decent. 

Well, we did have 25+ mph winds, but otherwise it was nice! Our quiet walk on the beach wasn’t quite as peaceful as usual, with the wind whipping sand at us. The sunscreen made a nice layer of glue, so the sand really stuck everywhere. But, we enjoyed our little escape. We got donuts from this amazing place down there, took our beach walk, and had lunch on an outdoor deck. Even the 90-minute drive was relaxing–we miss our road trips! And we were back in our own area by 4 pm to help his dad get ready for dinner. We did return home to a neighborhood without power for the next 5 hours, but that was OK–just made the vacation feeling last a bit longer and kept us off our laptops!

Here’s what we were all reading last week:

I am still reading one of my Christmas gifts from my husband, Rabbit, Run by John Updike. I’ve never read Updike before, so I’ve been eager to read this modern classic. It’s about a twenty-six-year-old man named Harry Angstrom, who goes by the nickname Rabbit. Rabbit was a high school basketball star and now lives in his small hometown in Pennsylvania with his wife and young son, working as a sales rep for a home goods company. One day, Rabbit is suddenly dissatisfied with his life and does something pretty drastic. The novel is, of course, well-written and interesting (it’s been popular for a long time for a reason!), though I have to admit that I don’t like the main character much. It was written in 1960, which is both fun, for the pop culture references, and problematic, for gender roles, racial stereotypes, and other standards of the time. It’s also quite misogynistic, but I can’t figure out if that’s the character or the author! I keep hoping Rabbit will redeem himself, and now, at the end of the book, he’s a little bit better. It is an engrossing story, though, and well-written.

I just started another middle-grade graphic novel (I read graphic novels sort of between the cracks of other books, reading a few pages here and there), Twins by Varian Johnson and Shannon Wright. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this one and have been looking forward to it. It’s about a set of identical twins, Francine and Maureen, who are starting middle school (6th grade). They’ve been inseparable their whole lives but now Francine (who suddenly wants to be called Fran) wants to create her own separate identity. Maureen, of course, feels abandoned and left out. I’ve just started it, but it’s already interesting and engaging, and I’m enjoying the full-color illustrations. I also enjoyed The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson on audio.

And on audio, I just finished The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart, a middle-grade novel I have been waiting to read since its 2019 release (thanks for the reminder, Unleashing Readers!). I always enjoy Gemeinhart’s novels (The Honest Truth is especially good), but this is definitely my new favorite! It’s about a twelve-year-old girl named Coyote who lives and travels in a refurbished school bus with her dad, Rodeo (yeah, he’s a bit of a hippie). They’ve been living in the bus and on the road for five years now, since a tragedy occurred in their lives that Rodeo doesn’t want to talk about. But on one of her weekly calls to her grandma, Coyote learns that something is about to happen in their hometown the following week. She needs to get back there to rescue some precious memories, but Rodeo has refused to return for five years. Coyote must somehow get him to drive four days straight, across the entire country, to get there … without him knowing their true destination! Along the way, they pick up some stray travelers who both complicate the situation and improve it. As with all of Gemeinhart’s novels, he address serious issues with warmth and plenty of humor. All that plus a road trip plot? I’m in! I absolutely loved every moment of this novel, and it was excellent on audio.

My husband, Ken, finished reading Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline, which we have both been looking forward to! I gave it to him for Christmas (the best kind of gift, the kind I can enjoy, too). He, I, and our son all loved Ready Player One when it came out (and we all enjoyed the movie, too), so we’ve been happily anticipating the sequel. According to the cover blurb, this book begins just after the events in the first book ended. Wade is now in charge of OASIS and the empire left by genius creator James Halliday (kind of a Willy Wonka-like set-up!) and discovers a new secret in his vaults, a brand-new technology that could change OASIS and the real world dramatically. Apparently, there is a a new riddle, a new quest, and. … a new evil villain ready to thwart Wade and his friends. Ken says it is very much like the first book, which makes it enjoyable, though no longer the novelty that the first book was when it made such a huge splash. He enjoyed it–I’m next!

Now, Ken has started reading The Night Fire by Michael Connelly. This is book three in the Renee Ballard series, and the second one that teams up Ballard with classic Connelly character Harry Bosch. My husband and I both love Connelly’s books and the Harry Bosch series. Ballard has been an excellent addition to Connelly’s thrillers, as a younger, female lead character. We both enjoyed her debut in The Late Show, and my husband also read book two, Dark Sacred Night (I have some catching up to do). In this book, Bosch and Ballard team up again to tackle a cold case that was important to Bosch’s mentor who just died. Apparently, the two of them begin to really come together as a team in this novel, so that sounds great to us! Ken’s already enjoying it. Thrillers are his favorite kind of book, and it’s so much fun to just get sucked right into a gripping story.

Our son, 26, is re-reading Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, book three in the Stormlight Archive series, in preparation for book four, which his girlfriend just got for him (released in November)! I love how she understands his love of reading and of favorite book series, even though she’s not a big book lover herself. This is one of his favorite authors, and he loves this series! I texted my son last week to ask if he’s still reading this, and he, “Of course, Mom – it’s 1230 pages!” ha ha This is pretty typical for him; he routinely reads huge epic novels and thinks my Big Book Summer Challenge is funny!

Two new blog posts last week:

Movie Monday: Palmer - we both loved this poignant, uplifting film that had me both laughing and crying!

Fiction Review: Whisky for Breakfast by Christopher P. Mooney – collection of smart, thought-provoking & engrossing short stories

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.

What are you and your family reading this week?