Monday, April 14, 2014

It's Monday 4/14! What Are You Reading?


Wow, 80 degrees here yesterday and today - we seemed to have gone from snow and winter right to summer and skipped the nice part where it's in the 50's and 60's entirely!

I had another very busy week (are there any other kinds?) but managed to do quite a bit of writing...but not book reviews. So, I hope to catch up on those this week.

We enjoyed our books last week:
  • I finished Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick and loved it! The movie was great, but the book is even better, with more emotional depth. It is filled with both joy and heartbreak. Not everyone in my library's book discussion agreed - some didn't like the book. Unfortunately, I used up all of my limited energy going to book groups on Wednesday (that one and my neighborhood one in the evening), so I didn't feel well enough to go and hear Quick speak Thursday evening. I was sorry to miss that, but I watched a few videos of him on Youtube - it's hard to find interviews and videos specifically about the book - most are about the movie!
  • After plowing through three book group books in a row, I was ready to enjoy a teen/YA novel, so I picked up Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, a Christmas gift from my husband. I was blown away by her first novel, Between Shades of Gray, and this one is set in New Orleans, where we used to live, so I am loving it so far.
  • I also started a new teen/YA novel on audio, Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin. It's excellent so far, about a teen girl recovering from an accident and slowly regaining her memory of what happened in the six weeks before. I'm hooked!
  • I am still reading a nonfiction book, Time Management from the Inside Out: The Foolproof System for Taking Control of Your Schedule - and Your Life by Julie Morganstern. I had to return the library's copy, but I ordered my own (updated version) with an amazon gift card from Christmas. I am currently following its advice, trying to get better at estimating how long tasks will take me (something I am finding I'm not very good at!).
  • My husband, Ken, has been reading Brilliance, a suspense novel, by Marcus Sakey on his Kindle.
  • My son, Jamie, 19, returned to school from spring break, so his reading slowed down a little bit, but now that he has the reading bug again,  he's trying to keep it up! He read book 2, The Lost Heiress, of Catherine Fisher's The Relic Master series.
  • Now he is reading The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemison, a book I gave him as a gift last year, recommended by a fellow book blogger!
  • Craig, 15, is still reading MacBeth for Brit Lit.
No blog posts at all last week, other than the Monday posts - I really wasn't exaggerating about having no time for book reviews! Look for some reviews this week, plus other goodies.

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kid/teen version hosted by Unleashing Readers.   

5 comments:

Brunette Librarian said...

It's crazy when life gets in the way of books isn't it? :)

Happy reading this week! The Brunette Librarian's Blog

Lindsey said...

I hope your week is a little quieter than the last one! Thanks for the reminder to read a book by Sepetys. I've been meaning to do that forever!

Ricki Ginsberg at Unleashing Readers said...

Out of the Easy is FANTASTIC. Have you been to the ALAN workshop? She has spoken there about the power of historical fiction. I LOVE Ruta Sepetys. She is one of the kindest, warmest people I have ever met.

Sue Jackson said...

How amazing you got to meet her, Ricki!! I would love to have that chance. I gave Between Shades of Gray to my young cousin who likes historical fiction, and she and I were both totally blown away by the emotional power of that book. And I finished Out of the Easy last night and LOVED it. We used to live in New Orleans, so I loved the setting and Jo was an amazing main character.

Sue

GatheringBooks said...

I am definitely intrigued by Silver Linings Playbook - looks like Matthew Quick is an author to look out for. I've been reading a lot of awesome reviews about his novels. I visited New Orleans sometime in 2009 and fell in love with the city. Great to hear that you used to live there.