Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Jun 24

Part-time Nurse, Part-time Reader (June 24, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

Happy Monday, fellow readers! Things have been hopping here in the Geriatric Ward this week. Mom was getting better with her chest infection all week long. Sadly, on Friday evening, another infection appeared that required another trip to the ER. Thankfully, this was nothing life-threatening, but couldn’t wait until Monday…..so we spent roughly 6 hours getting care. (That’s an entirely different story that I might share at some other point.)

Somehow, I have managed to get some reading done this week now that I’m back at home. I am happy to say that I have a finish, some serious progress, and a decision. Here’s what’s been going on.

What I Finished

The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas. As I mentioned last week, this was a fun, fast-paced read set in the 1950s featuring four freshman women at Radcliffe College. The novel took an unexpected turn at its climax that I am still trying to decide if I liked or not. What I did enjoy was how each of the four women grappled with their beliefs about the role of women in their society and the importance of marriage. Even after reading the final word in the middle of the week, I found myself thinking about these characters and wondering what might have become of each of them as their lives continued. I suppose that is a mark of an exceptionally well-written story.

What I Put Away

Adam Bede by George Eliot. This should really not come as a surprise to anyone. I enjoyed the premise of the novel. The writing was wonderful. I simply could not find desire or time to read the novel to make any significant progress. The sense that I “should” read this novel was also having a negative impact on my reading of other books because I would feel shame whenever I picked up something else. Admitting that to myself made the decision to DNF Adam Bede an obvious choice. Will I return to it again later? Maybe. I enjoyed reading The Mill on the Floss earlier this year. Perhaps one Eliot novel is my max for the year.

What I Am Reading Now

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (p. 349 of 627). Now I cannot put this book down! I’m loving the developing relationship between Claire and Jaime. I find the prose smooth and the plot filled with suspense, love, and humor. It’s really a beautiful novel!

Plans for the Week Ahead

Since it is the last week of the month, I’m going to focus my attention on finishing Outlander as part of the Big Book Summer Challenge. I have a bit of incentive to finish as well; my next big book arrived today — Blackout by Connie Willis. I’m also going to start looking for my next “normal sized” read for my Kindle. But this week is all about Outlander….and I can’t wait!

That’s it for me! Happy reading, y’all.

Big Book Summer fiction Series

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Jun 17

Home After a Bit of Travel (June 17, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

The last few weeks have included some work travel. Last weekend, I was in Norman, Oklahoma; this week saw me in Waco, Texas at the Texas Music Teachers’ annual conference. I was there telling piano teachers, parents and students about Wayland and the opportunities we have there. My plan was to do a lot of reading while sitting in the booth. I was so excited to curl up with my books and get some work done.

Sadly, I learned that things have not changed for me. I am easily distracted and cannot concentrate in the midst of noise. So the constant banging of pianos not only gave me a headache, but it meant that I could not read a word of the easy read that I had selected for this purpose. When the day was done, all I wanted to do was head back to my hotel room and relax in the silence. At night, I would do a little reading to calm my mind, but I didn’t get as much accomplished as I had hoped.

Now on this Monday afternoon, I have returned to Arkansas to find a situation that will once again mean that I don’t get much of anything accomplished this week. Yesterday morning, Mom was taken to the ER with shortness of breath associated with a lung infection. She’s fine, but feels horrible and will be spending much of the week in the back room watching television and resting while a humidifier pumps cool midst next to her. To add to the fun, Pop got attacked by a cat this morning (yep…..a simple little cat) and had to go to minor medical to get bandaged up. He has been on blood thinners for years, so even a small scratch requires medical attention. But the bandages plus rainy weather means he is home for the day as well. What does that look like? He has plopped down in the recliner, remote in hand, and the volume up incredibly loud because he is deaf and won’t admit it to himself! (Just a little frustrated about that, but at some point you just have to say “whatever” and move on.) So that means I can only find a bit of quiet at the dining room table with my EarPods crammed in my ears to try to shut out some of the noise. C’est la vie!

Now that I have whined enough about my situation, let me tell you what I’ve been reading this week.

The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas. (p. 135 of 246) This was the book that I expected to get to finish at the conference this weekend. Set in the 1950s, it is the story of four young ladies who are beginning their freshman year at Radcliffe College. While in the area, they begin a friendship with Alice, a single woman who owns a local bookshop and they begin a book club. Their discussions center around books that examine the role of women in society and often become heated as some of the girls hold very traditional stances. Against the backdrop of these conversations, one of the freshman girls is assaulted and cannot share her trauma with her friends and turns only to Alice. Nearly halfway through the book, I’m really enjoying the conversations and watching as the literature becomes relevant to the situations they are finding themselves in.

Adam Bede by George Eliot. (p. 237 of 574) I’m just going to be honest here. I’m struggling to find inspiration to continue reading this classic novel. When I first started the book, I was drawn in by the theological concepts and the growing relationships. However, the reading is SLOW and it just feels like I am slogging through thick mud to finish a single chapter. There is part of me that wants to read this work because I know it is important and well-written. But then I find myself questioning if it is worth the effort. I’ve not made a decision yet, but I won’t be surprised if this is DNF’d this week because of how much I am drawn into my first BIG NOVEL of the summer.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (p. 66 of 627) When I first learned about the Summer Big Book challenge, I immediately knew this was my opportunity to finally give this book a chance. I picked it up last week and got to a slow start rather intentionally; I didn’t want to get too invested before going to the TMTA conference. While in my hotel room on Friday night, I picked up the book for read a bit more and the time travel element was established — and I was HOOKED! So now I just want to keep my nose in this massive book and see what is going to happen to Claire in old-world Scotland. My goal is to finish this big book in the month of June so I can pick up another one to enjoy in July.

That’s what has my attention at the moment. Now….back to the reading!

~Kennith

Big Book Summer classic fiction historical

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Jun 10

Finally Getting Back to It (June 10, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I intended to write with more regularity. I really did! But when life and performances began to take off, something had to give…..and blogging was the obvious choice. When things began to slow down, the thought of trying to catch you up on my activity, dear Reader, was overwhelming. Even though life was busy, I managed to continue reading a bit. But every time I thought about sitting down to write an update, I froze.

So I have decided to simply update you in this way. Since my last post in March, I have read 5 additional novels (both audio and print books). The books ranged from contemporary literature to beach reads. That’s the total update you’re getting for March, April, and May. Now I can just pick up and report on my reading for the last couple of weeks.

What Have I Finished Reading?

For the official kick-off of summer reading, I started The Things We Do for Love by Kristin Hannah the day after Memorial Day. I have really enjoyed reading Hannah’s works recently and decided to explore another of her earlier works. Published in 2004, the novel is the story of two women. Angie is a divorcee who has also experienced fertility issues and has no children. Lindsey is a teenager from a dysfunctional family who finds herself pregnant. The Things We Do for Love is a beautiful exploration of family, motherhood, love, and loss.

What Am I Currently Reading?

  • Adam Bede by George Eliot. I’m only about 220 pages into the book and enjoying it at a leisurely pace. With a goal of reading roughly 25 pages each day, Adam Bede will certainly be a long term project for the summer.
  • The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas. I’ve only read a paragraph….but I’ve started! With more travels coming up this week, I needed to get something loaded and started into my Libby app that would keep me moving while sitting at the recruiting booth for WBU at the Texas Music Teachers’ Convention in Waco this week.

What’s Ahead?

While watching YouTube earlier this week, I stumbled on Sue Jackson’s Big Book Summer Challenge and was intrigued. The premise is pretty simple: read big books between Memorial Day and Labor Day. For the purposes of this challenge, a big book is defined as anything with 400 pages or more. I am certain that I can read at least one big book this summer…and here’s hoping that I can read a few more. Here’s my list of possibilities for summer 2024.

  • Adam Bede (George Eliot)
  • Black Out (Connie Willis)
  • Outlander (Diane Galbadon)
  • Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)

There you have it! Now back to the reading. (And the blogging hopefully…..look for update posts each Monday throughout the summer!)

~Kennith

Big Book Summer classic fiction update

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Jun 10

Smoke and Wind Everywhere (Mar 2, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I’m a week late on making this update, but life has been a little hectic the past couple of weeks. A couple of fun performances and UIL solo & ensemble competitions took the majority of my musical attention after returning from San Antonio. Add to that the first couple of weeks of rehearsals for the children’s opera produced by Opera of the Plains and you will see that I have been a busy boy! Last week, wildfires plagued the Panhandle and the windy conditions made containment a major challenge while blowing heavy smoke into Plainview. While I was never in danger from the fires, the acrid smell brought some frightening times from my youth right back to the forefront of memory.

With all of that going on, reading took a bit of a back seat in the second half of February. Still, I managed to work my way through a couple of books that I enjoyed quite a bit.

What I Finished

  • Red, White, and Royal Blue (Casey McQuiston). Let’s start with a simple statement: I LOVED THIS BOOK! It has everything you could want…humor, intrigue, politics, romance. Alex is the son of the US President. Henry is a member of the British Royal family. The two hate each other—or is the tension really denying deeper feelings? This LGBTQ novel is both riveting and heart-warming. It is a worthy read by any book lover.
  • Yellow Face (R.F. Kuang). Two authors — one white, one Chinese-American — are at the heart of the novel. When one dies suddenly, the other takes her first draft of a new novel, edits and caresses it into a masterpiece and publishes it as her own. Is it plagiarism? In an industry where there is “nothing new under the sun,” Yellow Face is a deep exploration of integrity, racial sensitivity, and creative freedom. It also brings to question where original inspiration comes from….and if it’s even possible to write a story that hasn’t been influenced by the experiences and thoughts of another person. While this wasn’t a pleasure for me to read, it did make me think deeply about issues.

What I Did Not Finish

  • The Caine Mutiny (Herman Wauk). I always struggle when I decide to DNF a book. With the craziness of February, I was barely able to read 50 pages of this massive work. Rather than dragging this book with me into another month, I decided to shelf it for now. I enjoyed the writing, so maybe I’ll return to this military story again at a later date.

What’s On My TBR

Three books are on my radar at the moment.

  • The Women (Kristen Hannah). I’ve been anxious to dive into the latest book from a favorite author ever since it arrived a few weeks ago. I’ve barely started it, but I can tell that I’m going to enjoy this tale of the women heroes in Vietnam’s nursing units.
  • 23rd Midnight (James Patterson). I’ve always enjoyed these stories of the Women’s Murder Club series. Again, just started it….but I’m expecting a fast, enjoyable read.
  • Silas Marner (George Eliot). March brings me back to my project of exploring the works of Eliot. Since the month looks busy, I’ve elected to read one of the shorter works. With less than 200 pages and the regular assignment of this novel to high school students, I’m feeling confident that I can complete my reading goal this month.

There you have it. I’m going back to my reading chair now and will tell you how things are going in a few weeks.

~Kennith

2023 Reading Challenge Uncategorized

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