Monday, March 17, 2014

It's Monday 3/17! What Are You Reading?


Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

When I was in college, St. Patrick's Day was pretty much the biggest holiday of the year (with a big emphasis on green beer, of course), so it is still near and dear to my heart, even though I can no longer drink...or stay up late! I am wearing green, though, plus a lovely green nail polish (Minty Sprint!), and we had our big corned beef dinner last night when my college son was home, with plenty of leftovers for today. If you are looking for a really great corned beef recipe for today (or some other easy and tasty meal ideas), check out my Weekend Cooking post from yesterday.

And now, it is snowing again here today...sigh...yet another day with school cancelled! On the positive side, I have planned a little writing retreat for myself this week and am headed to the beach for a couple of quiet days to myself at a friend's condo. I am very much looking forward to the writing time and plenty of reading time, too!

Meanwhile, we have all enjoyed our books this week:
  • I am still reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, even though we had our book discussion on it last week. I am down to the last 50 pages or so (it's over 600 pages!). I was surprised to find that some people didn't like it because I love it more the more I read. These two characters and their story really pulled me in and grabbed me. I can't wait to find out what happens next but also don't want it to end!
  • I am also still listening to Allegiant by Veronica Roth, the third and final book in the Divergent trilogy. I like this one better than I liked the first two because it is delving into why this post-apocalyptic world is the way it is, so I am finding the story much more interesting and thought-provoking, more along the lines of Hunger Games or the Unwind series.
  • My husband, Ken, read The Drop by Michael Connelly this week and enjoyed it - he and I have always liked Connelly's novels.
  • Now Ken is reading Unsouled, the third book in the teen/YA Unwind trilogy by Neal Schusterman, which he, our college son, and I all love. This dystopian series is absolutely chilling because it is based on elements of our own current society taken to an extreme.
  • Jamie, 19, started a new Medieval fantasy series (his favorite kind of book), The Staff and the Sword by Patrick W. Carr. Last week, he read book one, A Cast of Stones, on his Kindle, and he is now reading book two, The Hero's Lot. He mentioned to me yesterday that getting sick the previous week (bronchitis) reminded him of how much he enjoys reading, so he's trying to read more, even while he's at school. That's my boy.
I tried to catch up a bit last week on my book blogs, so I posted:
Review of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier, a wonderful novel.

 Review of Thin Space by Jody Casella, a teen/YA realistic novel with a supernatural twist.

 Summary of Books Read in February and Challenge Progress.

Weekend Cooking, including easy and tasty weeknight dinners plus my favorite Corned Beef recipe.
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

2 comments:

Ricki Ginsberg at Unleashing Readers said...

Ah, I love the UNWIND trilogy, so I am glad your family enjoys it together. I still need to get my hands on ALLEGIANT. I hadn't considered getting it on audio, and now I am realizing that it would be a great idea. I usually listen to audio books in my car, so I would need to do a lot of driving around to finish it. :) Thanks for sharing all of these books with us this week. I hope you have a wonderful week!

GatheringBooks said...

Great to read your thoughts about Michael Chabon's novel, as I have it in my personal library but haven't had the chance to crack it open yet. One of those novels that I hope to read someday soon. haha. Enjoy the rest of your reading week.