Skip to main content

Week in Review

       aaa1

Good morning. I hope you had a nice week. Unfortunately, mine was rather sad as my brother passed away on Friday. He has had a lot of health issues for many years, but it was still a bit of a shock. He was a huge Stephen King fan, so I've decided to honor him by reading a Stephen King novel. I've only ever read one book by King, and it was his memoir, On Writing. So now I need help choosing the right novel to read. I'd prefer something that isn't 500+ pages long! Any suggestions?

Reviews and Blog Posts
I managed to write a few blog posts last week:
New Release: Gooseberry Island by Steven Manchester
2014 Reading Recap
Saturday Snapshot: Ice on the pond
Book Review: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Reading
I have been reading Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (and it's only $3.99 on Kindle right now!). I'm really enjoying this novel about a bunch of kindergarten moms. It's funny and suspenseful and though-provoking all at once.

I haven't shared the kids' reading in a while, but they finally started doing some more reading after a bit of a break in the month of December.

C, who is 10, read The Giver by Lois Lowry. He really enjoyed it and we are now planning on reading the rest of the series together.

M, who is almost 8, is reading Maleficent by Elizabeth Rudnick. She's a slower reader, so it's taking her a while. But she seems to be enjoying it. She loves the movie, and I believe the book is a retelling of the movie storyline.

What are you reading this week? It's Monday! is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, so hop over there if you'd like to see what others are reading too. You can also check out the younger version of It's Monday!
Labels:

Comments

  1. Sam (Tiny Library)January 12, 2015 at 11:12 AM

    I'm so sorry to hear about your brother, my thoughts are with you and your family.
    I don't know what sort of Stephen King book you are after, but I have enjoyed Misery and Salem's Lot, both of which are on the smaller side. Whatever you choose, it's a beautiful tribute.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katie @ Chalk it up to Better LuckJanuary 12, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    I was thinking about adding Big Little Lies to my list for 2015. Now that I've read this, I think I will! It's one of my goals to read a lot more this year and I think your blog will really help me out! Thanks for sharing in the BOBB group!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:03 AM

      I'm really enjoying it. It's long, though, so taking a while to get through!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2015 at 1:51 PM

    So sorry to hear about your brother! I like it that you're planning to read a book in his memory. I like some of King's novels, but mainly the bigger ones (The Stand or 22/11/63). I hope you'll find one you like.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:04 AM

      Thank you. 22/11/63 looks good but I think I'm going to go with one of his earlier books.

      Delete
  4. westmetromommyJanuary 12, 2015 at 2:12 PM

    Hmm, I didn't know that there was a book of Maleficent. I might read that to my daughter--she enjoyed the movie (although I have to say I was just so-so about it)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:04 AM

      We all enjoyed the movie a lot. If she liked it, I'm sure she'd like the book as well!

      Delete
  5. Linda @ A La CarteJanuary 12, 2015 at 4:07 PM

    So sorry about your brother! I don't read much Stephen King but did love 11/22/63!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:05 AM

      Thanks. It does sound like a good one. Maybe I'll get to it at some point!

      Delete
  6. Cheriee WeichelJanuary 12, 2015 at 9:18 PM

    I am sorry about your brother. Grieving is hard work. I just finished rereading The Giver. I haven't read it for a long number of years, but am astonished all over at how good it is, and how it endures as a novel.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 13, 2015 at 9:05 AM

      Thank you. I really enjoyed discussing The Giver with my book club. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

      Delete
  7. GatheringBooksJanuary 14, 2015 at 11:54 PM

    My daughter and I also read The Giver together, when she was around 10 or 11 too I think. We have already finished Gathering Blue and we hope to start reading the third novel soon. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 16, 2015 at 1:01 PM

      That's great! C is making his way through Gathering Blue and then it will be my turn. We also put in requests for the other books at the library. They all have waiting lists!

      Delete
  8. Lori MartinJanuary 17, 2015 at 3:02 AM

    Sorry for the loss of your brother :( As a Kindergarten mom myself, I decided to check out "Big Little Lies" and it looks interesting, so I bought it and will start it soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JulieJanuary 19, 2015 at 8:54 AM

      I hope you enjoy it! And I hope your experience as a Kindergarten mom is nothing like theirs!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

Getting back to blogging

It seems that blogging has dropped to the bottom of my list for the past year, and was pretty low for the year or two prior to that. I love to read, and am continuing to do so, but as my regular readers know I haven't been around much. My last blog post was almost a year ago!!

There are many things that have taken me away from blogging. Work has been much more challenging and interesting these past few years, but that means I really don't want to get back on the computer when I get home at night - or on the weekends.

Family life has been more busy with kids having multiple activities in the evenings, leaving little time to just hang out and write about the books that I read.

I will admit to a bit of a Facebook addiction, which means way too much time spent scrolling through my newsfeed instead of doing something more productive. This is one of the things I'm working on and hoping that this will free up some time for getting back to the blog.

Overall, life is good. Work is …
Post a Comment
Read more

Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop

I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Mundie Moms are hosting the Freedom to Read Giveaway Hop in honor of Independence Day in the United States, and I've decided to participate.

To stick with the theme of Independence Day, I'm doing what I did last year for this hop:

I'm giving away a book of your choice that is written by an author from the United States.
It can be any genre as long as the author is from the United States. You choose the book (up to $15), and I'll order it and have it mailed to you from Book Depository.

The contest ends on Thursday, July 5th at midnight Eastern Time. The winner will be notified by e-mail. If they do not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.

Happy 4th of July! I hope you have a safe and fun holiday!

Enter here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Now check out all of the other giveaways you can enter at the links below!

209 comments
Read more

Freedom Giveaway Hop

Simply Stacie and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer are hosting the Freedom Giveaway Hop in honor of Independence Day in the United States, and I've decided to participate.

To stick with the theme of Independence Day:

I'm giving away a book of your choice that is written by an author from the United States.
It can be any genre as long as the author is from the United States. You choose the book (up to $15), and I'll order it and have it mailed to you from the vendor of my choice.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment below telling me your favorite U.S. author (this doesn't have to be the author of the book you choose if you're the winner). Include your email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian mailing addresses only. I've decided to open this up to international entries as long as Book Depository ships to your address.

For extra entries:
Leave a separate comment if you follow My Book Retreat through Google Frie…
435 comments
Read more