Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Oct 24

#31: The Black Echo (Michael Connelly)

by kennithfreeman

I get asked on a fairly regular basis why I do the My Library Shelf project. The idea was birthed after reading The Shelf: Adventures in Extreme Reading by Phyllis Rose. The premise is fairly simple. Select a shelf — ideally with at least one classic novel and no more than 5 works by a single author — and read with a sense of adventure. The project is always much easier and more exciting at larger libraries. Unger Library has been a little more challenging. Few classics are mixed in with the contemporary works and there are LOTS of shelves dominated by mass market authors. That has meant that I have to be a little more flexible with the “rules” of the project, but I still get to enjoy the adventure of reading books with which I would not otherwise engage. Sometimes, I find a really enjoyable book like The Black Echo.

The Black Echo is the first of Michael Connelly’s novels featuring Detective Harry Bosch. (The Bosch novels seem to be quite popular. There are currently 21 books in the series as well as a television series based on the character available on Prime Video.) Bosch is a Vietnam vet who has joined the LAPD as a rough-around-the-edges, no-nonsense homicide detective. In the opening novel, Bosch is called to investigate an apparent overdose victim found in a water drainage system above the Hollywood Hills. What should have been an easy case becomes much more personal when Bosch recognizes the victim as a fellow serviceman from his past. Now the case has become personal.

The Black Echo is full of intrigue and excitement. The twists and turns continue until the novel’s closing passage — with an ending that this reader did not see coming at all. I especially enjoyed the southern California setting and the attention to geographic details. I was able to travel the familiar roads with the detective as things were described with stunning clarity. Connelly is a gifted story teller and I am looking forward to returning to more of his works as I continue to make my way through My Library Shelf.

What’s ahead? For now, I am returning to The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. My plan is to include the final two books in the saga in the rest of my 2020 reading.

fiction My Library Shelf mystery thriller

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Oct 13

#30: Out of Control (Mary Connealy)

by kennithfreeman

The first of three books in The Kincaid Brides series, Out of Control focuses on the relationship between Rafe, the oldest of the Kincaid brothers, and Julia, a daughter of an abusive father who finds herself in need of rescue in the wild West. A departure from my normal reading fare, I read Out of Control as part of My Library Shelf and have to admit that the novel ended much better than I had originally anticipated.

Julia is fascinated with caverns she has discovered in Colorado and the fossils they contain. While on one of her explorations, she is attacked by a man and stranded in the cavern to die. Rafe hears her cries for help, comes to her rescue, and thus begins their adventure. As his relationship with Julia begins to flourish, Rafe finds himself seeking balance as he also tries to reconcile with his younger brothers Ethan and Seth, both emotionally and physically scarred from a childhood tragedy that continues to haunt them as adults.

The novel begins very slowly and plods along in an unexciting manner. However, when I finally reached the middle of the novel and the death of Julia’s abusive father (trust me, it is not a spoiler…….the reader can see it coming from the earliest pages of the novel), it seems as though Connealy’s writing improves tremendously and the story telling pulls the surviving readers into an adventure that is both satisfying and hopeful.

I have another novel in the series to read because of its inclusion on my library shelf. I’m not sure that I will read the final book in the series though. There are too many good books to read to waste my time on lackluster ones.

fiction historical My Library Shelf romance

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Oct 11

The View From My Reading Chair – Oct 11

by kennithfreeman

There’s good news and not-so-good news to report from my reading chair this week. The good news – I’m returning to a regular reading routine. I’m finding pleasure in the reading process and healing for my mind and spirit. The not-so-good news? While I am reading daily again, I’m not reading with the same voracity and passion that I did just a few short weeks ago. I choose not to refer to this as “bad” news because I am seeing improvement. I know that things will return to “normal” in this area of my life relatively soon.

One of the things that has been a sure sign that reading is returning to normal in my life is the fact that I have been reading two books this week. This has kept me from successfully completing a book since my last posting, but it is doing wonderful things for my routine. What am I reading? With the completion of My Library Shelf (or as much of it as I was willing to read!), it was time to pick another shelf. This shelf of the Unger Library contained some names that I recognized, but haven’t read. Unfortunately, this shelf did not contain a classic novel. (It has been a challenge to find shelves in the Unger Library that fulfilled all of the stipulations to qualify for My Library Shelf project.) It might be a good thing in this season of my life that much of the shelf that I have chosen is fluff. I need a little levity in my life right now.

What am I reading, you ask? From My Library Shelf, I am reading Out of Control by Mary Connealy. It is a romance (can’t believe I am reading another of these willfully) set in the Colorado mountains. The novel opens with a young woman finding herself stranded in a deep cavern when she is rescued by Rafe, a rancher in the area. The plot centers around the questions of how did Julia end up in the cavern, why someone is pursuing her, and if she and Rafe can find love. Published by Bethany House, Out of Control had the suggestion that it would have an element of faith wrapped in it; I struggled to find it in the early portions of the novel. Now that I am reaching the halfway point, the author is much more pronounced in her examination of faith and God’s hand at work in the circumstances in which the characters find themselves.

The other work I am reading came at just the right time in my life. Max Lucado’s latest book is You Are Never Alone. Lucado is a favorite Christian author of mine who consistently finds a way to get to the heart of an issue in a way that always speaks to me personally. You Are Never Alone was written in the earliest days of the current pandemic. Lucado explores the impact of the miracles recorded in the Gospel of John on our modern lives. An early chapter focusing on the miracle at Cana grabbed my heart and reminded me that God truly cares about the smallest details of my life — not just the things of eternal significance — simply because the things that matter to me matter to Him. I am thoroughly enjoying Max’s writing and am purposefully moving through the book at a markedly slower pace because I don’t want to miss any of the treasures the pages hold.

So, I don’t have a full book review to share with you this week. (Maybe I’ll finish Out of Control in the coming days?) But I can report that I am finding peace and restoration right now in the pages of the books I am exploring. That’s a significant and important factor for me to celebrate right now.

update

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Oct 6

#29: Mightier than the Sword (Jeffrey Archer)

by kennithfreeman

As the weekend came to a close, I finished the fifth installment of the Clifton Chronicles and thoroughly enjoyed my reading experience. Mightier than the Sword is set in the 1970s against the backdrop of political turbulence across the globe. This time, the novel does not focus on one character primarily; instead, all four are heavily featured as the Chronicles race to its conclusion.

Harry Clifton decided to use his platform to call for the release of a fellow author who is imprisoned in a Soviet jail for the publication of his controversial biography of Joseph Stalin. Emma struggles to maintain control of Barrington Shipping while fighting a libel case against her nemesis, Lady Virginia. Seb continues his meteoric rise through the British banking system, yet questions if there are more important things in life than just business success. After facing political scandal, Giles finds himself once again in a heated campaign against Major Fisher that just might cost him his position in Parliament as well as his hopes of serving his country as a foreign minister.

Mightier than the Sword is a gripping novel and a great example of Archer’s ability to masterfully weave a story.

fiction historical Series

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Oct 2

The View From My Reading Chair – October 2, 2020

by kennithfreeman

Sometimes life is hard and it is simply impossible to sit in a cozy place and read. I’m fighting a little depression at the moment and have not been finding the same joy of reading that is normally such a comfort to me. Instead, I find myself worrying about the future. After trying to put on a happy face for the public throughout the day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is anything that requires mental work. That includes reading. Thankfully, as the week has continued, I have slowly begun to make my way back to my reading chair. I’m not reading as much as I have in the past, but I am at least cracking the covers of my novels once again and trying to return to the love of story.

What am I reading right now? I’m about halfway through Mightier Than the Sword, the 5th volume of the Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. I am still enjoying the saga and the characters. I just don’t have the energy to actually read. Hopefully things will continue to improve in the days ahead and I will get this book finished in the week ahead.

update

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