Monday, December 19, 2011

It's Monday 12/19! What Are You Reading?

Fa la la la la!  Holiday time and very busy, like everyone else!  We spent the weekend in Pennsylvania with my family, celebrating an early Christmas, plus two birthdays.  It was great to see everyone and start to enjoy the season (as opposed to just running around like crazy), and I got to spend lots of time with my niece and nephew.  I hope you are beginning to enjoy the holiday season, too.

Lots of good books this week:
  • I finished Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King,  book one of a new series, The Guardians, by children's book veterans William Joyce and Laura Geringer.  I enjoyed this seasonal fantasy and reviewed it last week.
  • Next, I read another middle-grade novel, After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, with a very different tone.  It's the engrossing, warm story of an eighth grade boy who is struggling with the after-effects of cancer treatment in addition to the usual middle school angst.
  • Now, I am treating myself to a light-hearted holiday book, Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', a warm and funny novel narrated by a fifth-grade boy in 1965.  It's great so far - lots of fun.
  • I'm still listening to Breadcrumbs, a wonderful, magical middle-grade novel written by Anne Ursu, and gave a copy to my niece this weekend for Christmas.
  • My husband, Ken, finished Stephen King's new release, 11/22/63: A Novel, about someone who time travels back to 1963 to try to prevent Kennedy's assassination, and enjoyed it very much.
  • Ken is now reading Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen, based on my recommendation.  I absolutely loved this book, and he is also enjoying reading about our favorite city and favorite foods.  We've also been watching Treme on DVD, so he is immersed in New Orleans culture right now!
  • Jamie, 17, is reading a favorite trilogy, The Icemark Chronicles by Stuart Hill.  He finished The Cry of the Icemark and Blade of Fire and is now reading the final book, Last Battle of the Icemark.  He says this is one of the best series he has ever read...and that's saying a lot!
  • Jamie is also reading The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga for his World Lit class.  He says it's pretty good (high praise for required reading).
  •  Craig, 13, is reading The Last Apprentice series by Joseph Delaney - he's currently on Book Two: Curse of the Bane and hopes to finish it this week.
I didn't have much time for blogging last week, with all the holiday preparations, but managed to post a review of  Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce and Laura Geringer, a unique fantasy novel that tells of the origin of St. Nick.  I also posted my response to the last question in the Fall Into Reading Challenge, about what books I would like to receive for Christmas (easy one!).


What are you and your family reading this week?


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

4 comments:

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

I was happy to hear William Joyce speak at the Texas Book Festival last fall. He told us some of the things he's been up to in the last few years, including this new book series. I'm intrigued.

Here's my It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Kellee said...

Thank you so much for linking up at the kid lit to YA It's Monday post- we appreciate your participation.

How is the audiobook for BreadCrumbs? I loved the book- it is so magical.

Sue Jackson said...

Deb - I bet that was great, hearing William Joyce speak! He has such an amazing imagination! My boys LOVED Dinosaur Bob when they were little (and we do sometimes still sing the song here, even though they are teens now!)

Kellee -
I really enjoyed Breadcrumbs on audio - so much so that I bought a copy of the book for my niece for Christmas and gave it to her this weekend. It's a bit longer tan what she usually reads, but she was really intrigued by it - flipped through to look at all the illustrations, looked underneath the jacket at the beautiful snowflakes embossed on the cover. She usually reads realistic fiction, but I think she will love this.

Sue

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