It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This weekly meme is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

I'm reading: 

Something from my dusty bookshelf. I gotta admit, I'm struggling with this one. It's very technical and detailed. I know the series is hugely popular, so it pains me that I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought that I would but I'm determined to finish it!!

TITLE: Deja Dead

SERIES: Temperance Brennan, Book #1
AUTHOR: Kathy Reichs

PUBLISHER: Pocket Books

PUBLICATION DATE: October 23, 2007 (first published 1997)

FORMAT: Paperback, 10th Anniversary Edition
LENGTH: 416 pages

GENRE: Mystery

ISBN: 9781416570981

Her life is devoted to justice—for those she never even knew.

In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Tempe detects an alarming pattern—and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her—her best friend and her own daughter—in mortal danger. . . .

Not only am I a first generation Canadian, but immigration is my profession. 

TITLE: Wherever I Find Myself: Stories by Canadian Immigrant Women

AUTHOR: Miriam Matejova (editor)

PUBLISHER: Caitlin Press

PUBLICATION DATE: February 7, 2017

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 216 pages

GENRE: Nonfiction

ISBN: 9781987915341

Edited by Miriam Matejova, Wherever I Find Myself is a diverse collection of stories about the joys and struggles of immigrant women living in Canada. Often bringing with them the shadow of war and the guilt of leaving, the women in this new anthology expose their emotional pain but also their gratitude for being able to call Canada home. Their stories paint touching and charming portraits of cultural and linguistic misunderstandings, bureaucratic hurdles, attempts to navigate unfamiliar landscapes, and a desire to be accepted despite differences in accent, skin colour, or taste in food. Together they form a mosaic of emotions and world-views that underline the immigrant condition for women.

A yellow dress with ruffles, a kind Grade 1 teacher with a surname that’s difficult to spell, cockroaches in the bathroom, the contempt of strangers, and Whitney Houston on the radio–a Filipino woman recalls her experience as a six-year-old immigrant in a ghetto in Mississauga in the 80s. Browsing through a Polish fashion magazine at a European deli, a woman sees herself in an alternative universe of what her life might have been had she never immigrated to Canada. A same-sex couple moves from Minnesota to Ontario to find refuge for their love, but first they must drive a seventeen-foot truck through a blizzard and make it through the frustrating net of Canadian bureaucracy. In search of her origins, a Jewish woman travels to her birthplace in Passau, Germany. There, among rows of European picturesque houses and foreign tombstones of a Jewish cemetery, she finds no memories, only the shadow of Hitler and the ghosts of her parents.

Through these stories of courage, aloneness, and hope, new and established writers reach out to both immigrants and those whose families long ago ceased to identify with the immigrant label. Through their struggles and, at times, endearingly critical looks at Canada, they remind us that many of our perceived divisions are nothing but artificial creations of mind and that all of us are past, current, or potential immigrants.

I completed a nine-week course with a group of people, which featured DVD Study sessions and a Participant Guide with study questions (homework!) for discussion each week. The book is a lot to digest, and I'm still reading it in chunks.

TITLE: Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life

AUTHORS: Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

PUBLISHER: Zondervan

PUBLICATION DATE: November 2, 1992

FORMAT: Hardcover

LENGTH: 314 pages

GENRE: Nonfiction, Psychology, Self-Help

ISBN: 9780310585909

Having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle. A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. Boundaries impact all areas of our lives: Physical boundaries help us determine who may touch us and under what circumstances -- Mental boundaries give us the freedom to have our own thoughts and opinions -- Emotional boundaries help us to deal with our own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others -- Spiritual boundaries help us to distinguish God's will from our own and give us renewed awe for our Creator -- Often, Christians focus so much on being loving and unselfish that they forget their own limits and limitations. When confronted with their lack of boundaries, they ask: - Can I set limits and still be a loving person? - What are legitimate boundaries? - What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries? - How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money? - Aren't boundaries selfish? - Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries? Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend offer biblically-based answers to these and other tough questions, showing us how to set healthy boundaries with our parents, spouses, children, friends, co-workers, and even ourselves.

Another one from my dusty bookshelf, which I am reading aloud to my younger daughter. We are loving this series! It just gets better and better!

TITLE: A Dangerous Path

SERIES: Warriors, Book #5

AUTHOR: Erin Hunter

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

PUBLICATION DATE: March 17, 2015 (first published 2004)

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 368 pages

GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy

ISBN: 9780062367006

Join the legion of fans who have made Erin Hunter's Warriors series a #1 national bestseller--with new editions featuring a striking new look! More thrilling fantasy, fierce warrior cats, and epic adventures await in Warriors #5: A Dangerous Path.

ShadowClan has chosen Tigerclaw as their new leader, and Fireheart fears that this old enemy still harbors dark plans for vengeance on his former Clan. A mysterious threat has invaded the forest, placing every cat's life in peril. And Fireheart's beloved leader has turned her back on their warrior ancestors. Fireheart can't help but wonder if she's right--has StarClan abandoned them forever?

Another one from my dusty bookshelf, which I am reading aloud to my younger daughter. This series is picking up and getting better!

TITLE: The Burning
SERIES: Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Book #6

AUTHOR: Kathryn Lasky

PUBLISHER: Scholastic, Inc.

PUBLICATION DATE: November 1, 2004

FORMAT: Paperback

LENGTH: 224 pages

GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy

ISBN: 9780439405621

A great battle is on the horizon and drawing near. In preparation, Soren and his band must fly to the mysterious Northern Kingdoms to find allies and study the grim art of war.

Meanwhile, St. Aggie's has fallen to the Pure Ones. If they are not stopped, they will launch another, more deadly attack against the great tree. And without allies from the north, Ga'Hoole will surely fall. Soren's mission must succeed. And the final battle must be won. The coming conflagration will demand wisdom, bravery, and sacrifice from all the owls of the great tree, and from Soren and the band, nothing less the heroism.

I'm listening to:

Something from Overdrive - one of my holds came in. It's a 2018 YA debut.

TITLE: Sky in the Deep

SERIES: Sky in the Deep, Book #1
AUTHOR: Adrienne Young

NARRATOR: Khristine Hvam

PUBLISHER: Macmillan Young Listeners

PUBLICATION DATE: April 24, 2018

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 8 hrs and 40 mins

GENRE: Young Adult, Fantasy

ISBN: 9781427296986

Seventeen-year-old Eelyn’s world is war. Raised to fight alongside her Aska clansmen in a generations-old blood feud against the Riki, her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki if she wants to make it back to the fjord after the thaw. But when she begins to see herself in the people she's been taught to hate, the world Eelyn once knew begins to crumble. And after the village is raided by a ruthless clan many believe to be a myth, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend who has tried more than once to kill her. Together, they must end the blood feud between their clans or watch their people be slaughtered.

A lush, Viking-age inspired fantasy about loyalty, forgiveness, and the definition of family.

I just finished:

TITLE: The Good House

AUTHOR: Tananarive Due

NARRATOR: Robin Miles

PUBLISHER: Recorded Books

PUBLICATION DATE: July 9, 2004 (first published 2003)

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 21 hrs and 37 mins

GENRE: Horror

ASIN: B002V0TJP4

Tananarive Due, author of The Living Blood won the American Book Award and is praised as Stephen King's equal by Publishers Weekly. In The Good House, Due sets a story of ancient powers and modern retribution in a small Pacific Northwest town. When a young woman returns to her grandmother's empty mansion, she is pitted against demonic forces that have poisoned her family for generations.

What are you reading? Have you read any of these books and, if so, what did you think? Please let me know in the comments and, if you are also participating in this meme, leave me a link to your blog post so that I can stop by!