Monday, March 24, 2014

It's Monday 3/24! What Are You Reading?


So glad it is Monday - the weekend really wiped me out! Pretty sad when you need to recover from your weekend, huh? And not because I had a wild fun time - just because I did too much around the house, with cooking, dishes, laundry, etc. I really need to fix that and add a little fun into my Sundays!

I did manage a 2-day "me retreat" last week at the beach, with plenty of reading and some writing catch-up, too. We all enjoyed our books last week:
  • I finally finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon and loved every one of its 600+ pages! The characters and the time and place really pulled me in, and I was sad to say good-bye to Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay.
  • Next, while I was away, I squeezed in a quick middle-grade novel, The Last Present by Wendy Mass. It turned out to be the last book in a 4-book series, and I only read the first one. So, I obviously missed some of the references to earlier events, but I knew enough to enjoy the book - Mass is an excellent writer for middle-grade readers, and it's a time travel story (my favorite kind!).
  • I recently started Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, the next selection for my online family book group. It's set in the rural Appalachians around the turn of the century, about a young girl who gets married and struggles to set up her own household in an isolated place.
  • On the way home from the beach, I finished listening to Allegiant by Veronica Roth, the final book in the Divergent trilogy. I reviewed it (and the second book, Insurgent) when I got home. The third book was my favorite - now I have to go see the new movie!
  • My husband, Ken, is reading Unsouled, the third book in the teen/YA Unwind series by Neal Schusterman, which he, our college son, and I all love. He's enjoying it so far - I can't wait to read it next!
  • Jamie, 19, finished the Medieval fantasy series he was reading, The Staff and the Sword, by Patrick W. Carr. He finished reading book two, The Hero's Lot, and book 3, A Draw of Kings.
  • Craig, 15, is reading MacBeth by Shakespeare for his Brit Lit class and said he did really well on last week's quiz!
I wrote a couple of reviews last week, plus other posts:

Review of The Good Sister by Wendy Corsi Staub, a thriller I listened to on audio.

Review of Insurgent and Allegiant by Veronica Roth, also listened to on audio.

Saturday Snapshot, with photos of my (cold) beach visit last week.

Weekend Cooking post, with several very tasty recipes, adaptable for a Paleo diet (or not)

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

8 comments:

Heidi’sbooks said...

I've read the first two books but I haven't read Allegiant. I'm looking forward to it.

Ricki Ginsberg at Unleashing Readers said...

Sue,
I have been hearing mixed reviews for ALLEGIANT, so I am glad to see you enjoyed it. I haven't read any of the others on your list! Thank you for sharing them with us. I hope you have a wonderful reading week!
Ricki

Sue Jackson said...

Heidi & Ricki -

I liked Allegiant BETTER than the first two books because it is much more thoughtful and provides the answers to all the questions from the first books about why and how the society came to be this way. Ricki, I think the mixed reviews are simply because some people are unhappy about one part of the ending, but the book overall was excellent!

Sue

Kellee Moye (@kelleemoye) said...

So, I should go back and finish Kavalier and Clay? Everyone who reads it loves it; I guess I need to jump on the bandwagon.

YAY! I'm so glad someone else liked Allegiant. I liked it so much and feel that people were quite harsh about it (as readers always are when a series ends). I loved the explanation and the ending.

Happy reading this week!

Lindsey said...

We tend to get a little relaxation in on Sundays, if only because we are exhausted after both working in the morning church service!

I haven't read the Divergent series, but I know that a lot of people love it. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Sue Jackson said...

Kellee -

Well, I wouldn't say EVERYone loves Kavalier and Clay. There were 6 people at my book group discussion, and 3 didn't like (2 of those were quite elderly); the other 6 of us loved it! So, I guess it's not for everyone. I just got really pulled into the story and attached to the characters. Hope to write my review this week.

Sue

Sue Jackson said...

Looks like I need to work on my math - there were 6 of us at book group, and 3 didn't like it...so that would leave 3 who DID like it!

GatheringBooks said...

Hi there Sue, good to know your thoughts about the Divergent series. It's out in the cinema here in Singapore and i'd probably just watch the film first. Good to know you've already finished reading the Michael Chabon novel! Awesome.