It's Monday 5/10! What Are You Reading?

Book By Book

My big news from last week is that I had the best week health-wise that I’ve had in over 14 months! I actually felt good every single day, was able to be active, and didn’t “crash” or have a bad day even once (my immune disorder’s primary characteristic is that exertion or activity makes me worse). I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s possible that my awful relapse that started in March 2020 might finally be over! I feel back to my usual “normal” for the first time since then. I’m hoping it lasts!

As planned, my husband and I managed a short, local getaway last week, camping for two days at lovely Elk Neck State Park in Maryland. It was a short trip, and we were close enough that we could get to my father-in-law if he needed us, but it was wonderfully relaxing to just spend two days outdoors. The campground during the week is almost empty, so it was nice and quiet, and we spent our time just relaxing by the fire (and reading, of course!).

We were on one of our favorite sites, with gorgeous water views, where we fall asleep to the sound of the water lapping at the rocks below (it’s on the Elk River, just before it feeds into the Chesapeake Bay).

There’s a short trail leading from our campsite down to a secluded, beautiful beach, so we walked down there on Monday and enjoyed the peace, solitude, and nature. We saw two bald eagles, geese (including one sitting on her nest a foot off the trail!), a pileated woodpecker, and several varieties of swallowtail butterflies. All in all, it was just what we needed!

You can see some video footage of our camping trip in my Friday Reads video. 

And we ended our week with a nice Mother’s Day celebration yesterday. Our older son came home on Saturday, and our younger son (who lives locally) joined us for dinner last night. I opened a stack of gifts from my generous family, we enjoyed a take-out dinner, and we watched Wonder Woman 1984 (good but a bit too long). We always enjoy when the four of us can just hang out together again.

So, a great week for me! Here’s what we’ve all been reading this past week:

I finished reading Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline. I gave this book to my husband for Christmas and he recently read it, and then it was my turn! (Best kind of gifts, right?) My husband, son, and I all loved the original (and the movie) and have been looking forward to the sequel. It was a slowish start for me, with a dismal outlook for Wade and the rest of the world. He has not handled fame and fortune well, and a new technology that Halliday left for him is again changing the world, not necessarily in good ways. But by around page 100, the action really picks up, both in the virtual world of OASIS, with a new quest, and in the real world. The sequel follows much the same formula as the first book, with Wade and his friends trying to complete a complex quest, but this time, the fate of the world is at stake and they have very limited time. The author also weaves in some ethical issues about technology advances and A.I., which makes this novel a bit more thought-provoking. My favorite virtual world in OASIS was the one based on John Hughes’ movies; having been a teen in the 80′s, I recognized just about everything there and enjoyed a lot of laughs during that part. I enjoyed this fun, fast-paced novel.

Next, I moved onto a novel that a friend dropped off to me last week when she heard I wanted to read it (I’m lucky to have friends like her!): The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. This highly-acclaimed novel is a finalist for the 2021 Women’s Fiction Prize, and for good reason. It takes place in the fictional town of Mallard, Louisiana, which is described as more of an idea than a place. Its founder started the town in 1848 as a safe haven for lighter-skinned Blacks, where they could escape from being labelled and harassed by whites. In 1954, a pair of beautiful sixteen-year-old twin girls goes missing; the sisters escape to New Orleans where they find jobs and a place to live. The novel opens in 1968, as one of the sisters, Desiree, returns home to Mallard with a very dark-skinned daughter, which creates a stir in the town. The other twin, Stella, seems to have completely disappeared. The reader knows that Stella has been passing for white and is living an entirely different kind of life. Years later, the twins’ daughters’ lives intersect, causing ripples through both sides of the family. It’s an intriguing, engrossing story that I could hardly bear to set down! It also delves into the fascinating subtleties of racism at different time periods. I just finished it yesterday and loved it.

Now, I have already started one of my Mother’s Day gifts from my son, Clock Dance by Anne Tyler. My husband and I both enjoyed some of Tyler’s earliest novels but then sort of lost track of her, so I’ve been wanting to read her more recent novels. I only just started it last night, so I don’t know much yet. The novel opens to the story of a young girl growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, with a little sister, a kind father, and an unreliable mother. Apparently, the novel revisits Willa’s life at four different points–1967, 1977, 1997, and 2017–and Willa has a chance to change her life at each of these major turning points. I’m already enjoying it, immersed in Willa’s world through Tyler’s wonderful writing, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

On audio, I’ve been re-listening to Becoming by Michelle Obama. One of my book groups chose it for our May selection (discussion on Zoom later this week), and since it was still on my iPod, I thought I’d just re-listen to some parts of it to remind me of the details. Well, I am still listening! This is not a political book; it’s the very personal story of Michelle’s own life, from her childhood through to 2017, as they leave the White House. It covers her experiences growing up on the South Side of Chicago, going to Princeton and Harvard as one of few Black students in the 1980′s, her zigzagging career path as she tries to figure out what to do with her life, her experiences as a mother, and yes, her support of Barack’s political career, as he strives to find bigger and better ways to make a difference in the world. Despite the fact that she was a First Lady, her tone (the audio is read by her) is warm and friendly, and her story is surprisingly relatable. I am only one year younger than her, so I could especially relate to many of her experiences. I’m loving this audio all over again! It’s like listening to a good friend tell you about her life.

My husband, Ken, is now reading A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, a novel which garnered multiple awards and accolades when it was released in 2013. I read this book back in 2015 with one of my book groups and loved it (my review). A friend I lent it to recently returned it, so my husband decided to read it, though it is quite a departure from his usual thrillers. It takes place during the Chechnyan wars. A newly orphaned eight-year-old girl is taken by a kind neighbor to the local hospital, which is mostly bombed out. A doctor named Sonja remains there, working by herself day and night to care for anyone who manages to find their way there. The girl and the neighbor are still in danger from those who killed her parents, and they hide out at the hospital (he is a doctor so pledges to help Sonja in return). It’s all about connections between people and how love and hope can survive in the worst circumstances. It’s a powerful, moving novel, so I hope he enjoys it as much as I did.

Our 26-year-old son is immersed in one of his favorite series, Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. He’s now onto book 4, Rhythm of War, which is a mere 1232 pages … and hardcover! He brought this one home with him this weekend–just a bit of light reading for travel. He loves epic fantasy, the longer the better, and he thinks my annual Big Book Summer Challenge (coming up next month!) where I read 400+ page books each summer is pretty funny. When he was twelve, we were halfway across the country on a day-long journey through airports when we realized he’d stuffed the hardcover edition of the complete works of Arthur Conan Doyle into his backpack for the trip! 

Blog posts from last week:

TV Tuesday: Resident Alien – a fun murder mystery/small town drama/sci fi alien story we loved!

Fiction Review: Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote – I enjoyed this classic novella and 3 short stories

Nonfiction Review: Nature’s Best Hope by Doug Tallamy – fascinating book about why planting native plants in our own yards is so important

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?