Monday, February 21, 2011

It's Monday 2/21! What Are You Reading?

Happy President's Day!

I had another rough week last week (no new reviews posted!), but this one is starting out better.  My son had a severe flare-up of his chronic illness last week, I had a moderate flare-up, and it was another hectic, overwhelming week.  I spent Friday marshaling my limited energy to pack for another weekend away, which I was dreading.  Then things turned around.  We drove to my mom's house to spend the weekend with her and her husband.  Jamie and I still felt crummy, but there was nothing to do there but rest and relax.   Craig got to go snowboarding, and my husband, Ken, went skiing for the first time in 22 years!  We all had a nice time, and now I feel rested and ready to face another full week.

Most of us are still working on the long books we were reading last week, except for Jamie.  While he was sick last week, he read four books!  That's my boy...
  • I am almost finished with the 700-page novel, The Hour I First Believed, by Wally Lamb.  It's a good thing last week's book group was postponed!  It's quite an epic, starting in the 80's and going forward to the present and backward to the Civil War.  I always enjoy Lamb's writing.
  • Ken, my husband, is still working his way through the 1000+-page Under the Dome by Stephen King.  He's enjoying it, though he's getting sick of carrying such a huge brick around with him!
  • Craig, 13, has finished reading for his upcoming book presentation and now gone back to The Last Hunt by Bruce Coville, the final book in his favorite series, The Unicorn Chronicles.
  • And then there's Jamie, 16.  He finished reading The Books of Umber 3: The End of Time by P.W. Catanese - he really enjoys that series.
  • Next, on his first sick day, Jamie spotted an old favorite on his book shelf, The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell, one of his favorite authors, and decided to re-read it.  The equivalent of comfort food for him.
  • By now, clearly too sick for school, he piled up a big stack of books he's been meaning to read and started in!   He read Closer, Book 4 of the teen/YA Tunnels series by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams, about a hidden, underground world.  I've only read the first book so far, but Jamie says it's one of the best series he's ever read, so I think I need to catch up.
  • Next, he read Sabotaged, Book 3 of The Missing series by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  Both he and I have been enjoying this fast-paced middle-grade time travel series.
  • Now, he's reading The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  He recently bought it with a Christmas gift card.
What are you and your family reading this week?


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

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry you had such a rough week...chronic illness is not for sissies!!! Your boys are reading some great series books!!! Haddix's Missing books are GOOD!!! I have the Tunnels and Percy Jackson books on my TBR! I think I will start posting "What are you reading Monday"...you've inspired me!!!

Curling up by the Fire said...

Sorry to hear about your week. Glad to hear things are getting better! I need to pull out those Tunnel books and start reading them; they've been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now.

Have a better week!

Andrea said...

Glad to hear your rest did some good! I hope your son liked The Last Olympian. I liked it a lot.
Happy reading to you all!

Jan von Harz said...

Sorry to hear you are still not up to par, but sounds like you id have a restful weekend despite being away. Hope this week is better for the whole family. Look forward to reviews this week!

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

So glad you had a little down time to rest and relax! AND looks like you got a little reading in too :)