It's Monday 1/2! What Are You Reading?

Happy New Year!!  I hope you have all had an enjoyable holiday week with your families.  We just returned last night from a trip to Oklahoma to visit my father-in-law.  It was a nice visit (and great weather!), but it is wonderful to be back home now.  Jamie, our 17-year old son, was very ill all week with a flare-up of his chronic illnesses, so that marred the week.  On the upside, it is quiet and low-key there, so we all had plenty of time to read:

• I finished Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, a coming-of-age teen book about a young man with an Asperger's-like condition who is trying to fit into the "real world" per his father's request.  It was excellent - just as good as I'd heard.
• Now I am reading one of my Christmas gifts, Great House by Nicole Krauss.  I loved her novel, A History of Love.  This one took a bit of time to get into, but after reading on airplanes all day yesterday, I am enjoying it.
• My husband, Ken, brought his new Kindle Fire on the trip and spent a lot of time playing with it!  He's also been reading his first e-book download, The Breach by Patrick Lee, a suspense novel, though he watched movies on the flights - I think he's enjoying his new toy!
• Jamie, 17, read most of his Christmas gifts this week since he was sick!  He lugged the hefty Inheritance by Christopher Paolini all the way to Oklahoma and finished in in just days.  He said it was a different ending than he'd expected, a bit sad, but he loved the book.
• Next, he read I Am Number Four and The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore.  We'd watched the Number Four movie adaptation a couple of months ago, and he wanted to read the book and its sequel.  He enjoyed both very much.
• Now he is reading another hefty and long-awaited novel, The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.  It kept him happily occupied through hours of flight yesterday.
• Craig, 13, got a laptop for Christmas, so he spent a lot of time this week playing with his new toy and watched movies on the planes, but he and I enjoyed reading Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted at bedtime all week.  He was reluctant to read it (because I had recommended it!) but is enjoying it.

I don't normally travel with my laptop, but I brought it along this week specifically to catch up on my book blogs!  Here's what I posted:

• Books we got and gave for Christmas
• Kids/teen books we got and gave for Christmas
• Review of After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, a wonderful middle-grade/teen book about a boy getting on with his life after cancer treatment.
• Review of Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, an excellent teen/YA coming-of-age novel (see above).
• Review of Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb.
• Wrap-up of the Fall Into Reading Challenge for Kids and Teens/YA Books
• Wrap-up of the Fall Into Reading Challenge (grown-up books)

Ah, it's nice to start the new year off all caught up!


What are you and your family reading this week?


(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.)

Happy New Year!