It's Monday 7/8! What Are You Reading?

Book By Book

Things finally settled down a bit around here last week – no new crises (though the old ones continue)! The holiday mid-week messed me up a bit – I kept thinking it was Saturday when it wasn’t yet. We had some old friends over for 4th of July, and it was great to get caught up and laugh! Both our sons returned from their own holiday fun in time for a family dinner Sunday with my father-in-law here, too, and in between, my husband and I had some quiet time to recuperate. We were both still pretty exhausted this week from all the stress and chaos, and the start of the week was more of that. And – minor miracle – I actually had some quiet time to myself Friday when my husband and son went golfing together, so I unexpectedly had some writing time, and I’ve found an editor for my new book!

Here’s what we’ve been reading this past week:

Having finally finished Gone with the Wind, I moved onto my 2nd Big Book of the Summer, Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge. It’s a middle-grade fantasy novel that has been on my shelf for a loooong time – since its release in 2008! It’s set in a world where books are banned and few people know how to read, but orphan Mosca was secretly taught to read by her father. She runs away from her cruel uncle and pairs up with a conman named Eponymous Clent. Mosca is very smart but also very naive, having grown up in a small, remote village. It took me a while to get into this one, mainly because I’m not a huge fan of fantasies set in made-up worlds, but I am enjoying it now that I’ve gotten used to its eccentricities. It’s clever, action-packed, and funny. But, I had to set it aside temporarily…

I realized I was running out of time to read a book for my next book group (I told you the holiday messed up my timing last week!), so I also started my 3rd Big Book of the Summer, a re-read of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Besides reading it to discuss next week in book group, this also happens to be one of my Top 5 Books Of All Time (don’t ask me to name all five because they keep changing, but this one is always up there!). I LOVE this unique novel with all my heart, and as soon as I began reading it again, I remembered why. It is warm and sweet and clever and smart and joyful and sad. I am a huge fan of time travel novels to begin with, but this one is my favorite and so beautifully written. I think it’s been at least 10 years since I first read it, and I am enjoying it just as much the second time and staying up much too late every night because I hate to set it down.

On audio, I finished listening to a middle-grade/teen novel (and another Big Book) from 2004, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, an author that we and our sons enjoyed when they were younger (his Silverwing collection was a favorite here). Airborn was nominated for a bunch of awards – and won quite a few of them – when it was first released. It’s a fast-paced story that combines adventure, steampunk, and fantasy, set in a world that is ours…but not. Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on a huge airship that carries wealthy passengers several hundred feet above the ocean, from city to city. With pirates, a dying scientist, a mysterious island, and a never-before-seen creature, it is packed with action and excitement. It’s a full-cast audio, so it was lots of fun to listen to.

I chose another Big Book for my next audio: The Book of M by Peng Shepherd, a novel that was released about a year ago that I have wanted to read ever since I heard about it. It’s a post-apocalyptic tale about a mysterious virus that quickly spreads across the world. It causes people to lose their shadows, which oddly also causes them to gradually lose their memories. I’m still at the very beginning, as the later stages of this catastrophe are experienced by multiple narrators trying to escape its effects. This novel made it on a bunch of Best of 2018 lists and has been compared to The Passage and Station Eleven, two books I loved. It’s already gripping, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!


My husband, Ken, is reading his third Big Book of the summer, The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund, which I picked out for him at Northshire Books (recommended by the booksellers there) at Booktopia this year. It’s a Swedish thriller about a serial killer. On the cover, it says, “the most disturbing book you’ll read this year,” and he says that so far that is absolutely true! He says it makes it sound as if most of Sweden’s citizens are child abusers; I didn’t realize this one dealt with kids or I might have chosen something different, but he is sticking with it. At 866 pages, it might take him a little longer.

Our son, Jamie, 24, is now reading a new-to-him series, An Assassin’s Blade trilogy by Justin DePaoli, described as a dark epic fantasy. He says the books are shorter than what he usually reads and not as well-written as his favorites, but he’s enjoying it.

Blog posts last week:

Movie Monday: Yesterday – a warm, funny, uplifting music-filled movie – lot of fun!

Summary of my Books Read in May – another good reading month


Celebrate 4th of July with Books! – two wonderful novels about the great women behind our founding fathers

Fiction Review: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – I finished! Well-worth the five weeks it took me to read it – I loved it!

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?

Remember to sign up for the Big Book Summer Challenge! It’s easy-going, like summer – you only have to read one book of 400 or more pages between now and September (though you can, of course, read more!) It’s lots of fun and a great way to add extra enjoyment to your summer! All the details are at the link – you can sign up there if you have a blog or, if not, just leave a comment on that page or sign up at the Goodreads group linked from that page. Join the fun!