Monday, April 16, 2012

It's Monday 4/16! What Are You Reading?


We are back home from spring break, after visiting my father-in-law in Oklahoma last week.  It was a good visit but a loooong drive home (mostly in the rain) this weekend.  The weather was so bad, we weren't even able to camp; we had to stay in hotels on the way home.  But now we're home...and facing lots of unpacking and catching up today.


We enjoyed some good books while we were away:
  • I have been reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.  I absolutely LOVE this novel about two children separated by the Japanese internment during World War II.  I just want to keep reading and hate to set it down!  The author is speaking here in my town this week, so I am hoping to attend his talk (this is our County Reads selection).
  • My husband, Ken, is still reading Black Hills, a historical novel by Dan Simmons set in one of our favorite places, where he has family.
  • After finishing The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell, Jamie, 17, re-read one of his all-time favorite novels, Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy.
  • Craig, 14, is reading Book 4 of The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney, Attack of the Fiend.  I read some of it with him during our trip.  He loves this series!
  • In the car, we finished listening to Ship Breaker by award-winning author Paolo Bagicalupi, a  teen/YA dystopian novel (and a Printz honor winner) that we all enjoyed.  It was dark, action-packed, and gripping.
  • And I read a big stack of magazines in the car.  That's my guilty pleasure for long car rides!  I never have time to look through magazines normally, so they just stack up.  I can't read books in the car without getting sick, but I can manage flipping through magazines, so I enjoyed that little break.
On vacation last week at my father-in-law's, I had plenty of time away from my to-do lists, so I wrote two book reviews:  the audio book Falling Together by Marisa De los Santos and the wonderful middle-grade novel Glory Be by Augusta Scattergood.  I also posted a discussion of the movie The Hunger Games which we finally had a chance to see while we were on vacation!

What are you and your  family reading this week?


(What are you reading Monday is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, with a kids/teen version hosted at Teach Mentor Texts.)



Enjoying a campfire in Tennessee

5 comments:

Jen Vincent said...

I had Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet when I was on maternity leave about a year and a half ago. I liked it but I remember feeling really disjointed...probably because I was distracted or overtired with a baby. I should try it again, especially since you so thoroughly enjoyed it.

I love camping! We usually go once a year because my husband is a hotel-lover. When I was little we camped a lot. :)

Hannahlily said...

Good to know Ship Breaker is a good audio. I was thinking of re-reading it via audiobook before I start on The Drowned Cities which I think is not a direct sequel but more like a companion book.

Lorna (@notforlunch) said...

I too enjoyed Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which was particularly interesting for me living in Seattle. I look forward to reading more from Jamie Ford!

-Lorna (@notforlunch)

Sue Jackson said...

Jen - I would definitely give it another try - I stuck mainly to fast-paced mysteries in those early infant days when I was so sleep-deprived!

Hannahilly - I just read that The Drowned Cities is a stand-alone novel with different characters. I would definitely recommend the Ship Breaker audio - it was well-done.

Lorna - Oh, that would be a great novel to read if you lived in Seattle! I have never been there but would love to visit.

Sue

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was one I adored as well!