Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Nov 26

The One with Lots of Rehearsals (Nov 26, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I’m late with this week’s post again. Last minute packing for a much needed trip to Arkansas to rest with family meant that I didn’t get around to writing when I had planned. Enough about my current situation — let’s talk about last week.

Last week was BUSY! In addition to my normal responsibilities, I had nightly rehearsals for the opera workshop performance, a recruiting trip to Hobbs, New Mexico, and a masterclass to accompany. It was a fulfilling week of music that I greatly enjoyed. However, it did have an impact on my reading life. When I got home each night, I was more interested in crawling in bed than cracking open a book.

What I’m Currently Reading

JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by Rosemarie Terenzio and Liz Neil (4:38 of 14:54). Can I find an excuse to do a little more driving for someone? I get to listen to my audiobooks while I’m on the road and I’m anxious to do some more listening! This week, I have learned about John’s time in high school and at Brown University. Of course, he was defensive about his father’s presidency and the men that surrounded him. Who wouldn’t have been given his personal history? I love reading about his friendships with both celebrities and everyday Americans. It seems that the Kennedy family longed to simply have the freedom to live their lives away from the public eye. John’s journey to India and his interaction with the people there was heartwarming and reminded me of why America — and the entire world, for that matter — absolutely loved John-John.

Owning Jacob by Simon Beckett (p. 193 of 343). I can’t decide whether I’m loving or hating this book. As I told you last week, I was fascinated with the premise: Ben’s autistic stepson was not the biological child of his dead wife — she kidnapped him from the delivery ward! The 6-year-old has now been returned to his biological father’s care, but Ben is obsessed with the child’s new stepmother and fears that the boy may be in grave danger from his father’s negligence. The story is fascinating and I’m deep into the obsession. What I’m not enjoying right now is the dark turn the book has taken. I’m not sure if I’m watching a man lose his sanity through his obsession or if he is going through a very sexualized mid-life crisis. There’s no question that I will finish Beckett’s novel because I have to know what happens. If all goes well, I’ll finish it up on today’s flight to Memphis.

What’s Ahead

As the year begins to draw to a close, all sorts of reading challenges are appearing online. While I’ve never finished a 52 book challenge, I do enjoy looking at the prompts and seeing how things will align. For 2024, I used The Booklist Queen’s Reading Challenge. The prompts were fun, but a lot of times I found myself stretching to make a book fit one of the prompts so I could push forward to the end. For 2025, I’m in the process of changing my approach. I have found The 52 Book Club and their challenge for the upcoming year. This group does a very good job of including suggested books for each prompt, so I’m planning to sit down in the coming month and have a basic plan for my year of reading. I think that my brain may benefit if I know what books I hope to read in each given month. It will also give me the opportunity to shift my plan if a book doesn’t strike my fancy at the moment rather than wallowing in a sea of uncertainty as I try to find something to read. I’m especially noticing that happens more frequently when my schedule gets incredibly busy. Having a plan makes it more likely that I’ll actually follow through.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy time with family and friends. Take some time to curl up with a good book along the way!

~Kennith

audio family saga fiction

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Nov 18

On the Mend (Nov. 18, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

After what feels like the longest illness ever, I think I am finally on the road to recovery. I’m still dealing with some lingering congestion and sneezing, but I am definitely feeling better. As a result, I managed to put my nose into a few books this week and got two finishes for my efforts.

What I Finished This Week

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes. Once again, Jojo Moyes hit me right in the feels with another excellent novel. Yes, this book was about bullies and self-doubt. It was also about misunderstandings and forgiveness. It was a beautiful look at a dysfunctional family wrapped up in a charming romance. It was everything that I should have hated in a novel that left me much richer for sharing a little time with these powerfully drawn, deeply flawed characters.

No Book Beginners: A Step-By-Step Framework for Creative Piano Teaching by Tim Topham. I’m a little ashamed to admit that this book has taken me several months to complete. It wasn’t because the writing was challenging or that I found the discussion uninteresting. Truthfully, the book is a very fast read. What slowed me down was the fact that I really needed to wrestle with the basic argument and decide where I stood on it. Here’s the basic idea: if we really want to teach young pianists effectively, don’t rush into introducing them to the challenge of reading the notes of the page. Instead, focus on the other elements of music — melody, harmony, rhythm, and sound. Let the students become so engrossed in the music itself and develop a natural curiosity about it. Then (and only then) begin to explore the language of reading music. It’s not how I was trained, so everything in me rebels against the idea. Yet, I have to admit that there is something in the argument that causes me to pause and consider. Topham presents a 10-week framework for these beginning lessons that prepare the student for reading. Am I ready to jump in completely? Not yet….but it has definitely given me something to think about. That’s what we ask from the non-fiction that we invest our time and energy into reading.

What I’m Currently Reading

JFK Jr.: An Intimate Oral Biography by Liz McNeil and RoseMarie Terenzio (1:46 of 14:54 listening time). Normally, a 15 hour audiobook would turn me off, but this one caught my eye. I had started listening to Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell on Wednesday, but the topic was much darker than what I had originally anticipated. That’s when I saw this biography on John F. Kennedy, Jr. I have always been fascinated with the man and watched along with the rest of the nation when his plane went down. Honestly, I had planned to listen to a little bit of this book to close out the week and begin with something a little shorter next week. But then I realized this wouldn’t be like other biographies. McNeil and Terenzio have gathered recollections from those closest to the Kennedys to tell the story of John-John from their various perspectives. The result is a story that I cannot get enough of. The recollections of John’s famous salute to his father’s passing casket and his early interactions with other men after his father’s death are spellbinding. While this won’t be a quick read, I am in for the long haul now.

Owning Jacob by Simon Beckett (p. 40 of 343). On Sunday afternoon, I was browsing the Kindle library for a new read. I didn’t want anything too literary. I did want something that would keep my attention from the start because I hope to continue making significant progress in my personal reading as the year draws to a close. This thriller has all the elements I was looking for. The novel opens with the death of Sarah who has left behind her husband Ben and his 6-year-old stepson, Jacob. While sorting through his wife’s possessions, Ben stumbles upon a lockbox that contains Jacob’s birth certificate and newspaper clippings about a child that was taken from the hospital nursery. As Ben continues to investigate, he realizes that Jacob shares the same birthday as the child that was taken! Was Jacob actually Sarah’s son? Or has he unknowingly been part of something far more sinister? As the truth begins to emerge, Ben is now faced with the question of what he should do — reunite his autistic son with his birth parents or continue as though nothing has changed? This novel is absolutely riveting. Since the truth has been revealed so early in the story, I’m anxious to see where Beckett’s storytelling is going to take us next.

biography ebook family saga fiction music non-fiction thriller

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Nov 12

A Mixture of Singing and Hacking (Nov 12, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I apologize, dear reader, for visiting with you a day later than normal. I spent much of last week at Sam Houston State University for a voice competition. I accompanied a few students between bouts of coughing up a lung. Yes, as usual for my annual NATS visit, I fought the crud…and the crud won.

I struggled with my reading this week. Have you ever noticed how much the book in your hand moves when you are trying to extract a lung via your sore throat? Yeah, that’s a real thing! I did manage to do some listening during the cross-state drive and completed an audio book. I’ll take that as a win!

What I Finished This Week

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten. This audio memoir was a beautiful look at success through the eyes of the beloved food icon. From negative messages from her childhood through the beliefs of the day that a woman only went to college to find “her man”, Ina shares a lovely tale of how she views obstacles as inconveniences rather than roadblocks. Tell her she can’t do something, Ina will look for a way to achieve her dreams rather than being stifled. The story of her marriage to Jeffrey Garten and their ensuing challenges as career-driven newlyweds was inspiring and a lesson in the power of compromise when both parties lovingly speak truth despite the uncomfortable situation. Personally, I also loved Ina’s story about leaving the high-powered world of Washington, D.C. politics to pursue her passion for food, despite the outcries of others. I have always appreciated the simplicity of Ina’s food; now that I understand that the same philosophy guides her relationships and business pursuits, I am a bigger fan of this successful woman. If you’ve ever found yourself drawn to The Barefoot Contessa and couldn’t really explain why, I encourage you to take a look at this memoir. I highly recommend the audio book. It feels as though you are sitting down for a cup of coffee with a new friend who is sharing story after story with you as the two of you laugh together.

What I’m Currently Reading

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (p. 225 of 369). Despite only getting another 100 hundred pages into the novel this week, I’m still hooked by the story. Our unlikely quintet has made it to Scotland for the Math Olympics. Along the way, the children have connected with Mr. Nicholls while Jess is beginning to have to admit to herself that the man who has freely driven them across the country is not such a jerk after all. In fact, Jess might just be attracted to him. The book does contain triggers of bullying, domestic abuse, and betrayal. I know I said that I wanted to finish it last week…..but this week, I really intend to finish this great novel and get started on another one!

Just a Bit of Accountability

Each year, I set two major reading goals for the year. First, I set a target for the number of books that I hope to read in the new year. Then I set a target for a gross number of pages. For 2024, the two goals are 40 books completed and a minimum of 15,000 pages. (Pages of books that I ultimately DNF count toward my total page count.)

Since it is now November, it’s time to look at where things stand and what I have ahead in the next 6 weeks if I plan to reach my goal. Currently, I have read 12,037 pages which is about 80% of my total goal of 15,000 pages. Just under 3,000 pages in 6 weeks? I think I might actually be able to do this if I can get back into the reading routine. (Just so we are all clear, I also include audio books in my total pages. So a drive to the Geriatric Ward in a few weeks and flights over the Thanksgiving holidays should help me get close to the goal.)

The number of books might be a different story. Currently, I’m sitting at 30 books completed. I’m pleased with what I have accomplished this year in my reading life, but I know that I hit a few weeks where reading was just not happening in my corner of the world. 10 books in 6 weeks is certainly possible, but that would mean I would need to finish approximately 1.66 books per week. That’s not a normal reading pace for me normally. I’m not going to give up on this goal just yet, but what I am able to accomplish in the coming week will tell a lot about the story. Plus, I get to decorate for Christmas while I’m at home in a couple of weeks…..and that’s not going to involve much reading. If I select some lighter reads and dive into some “fluff”, I can probably reach the goal. But do I think reaching the goal of total books read a worthy goal to read books that aren’t as personally enriching? Decisions, decisions!

Next week, I should get back to my normal routine of posting on Monday. Until then, happy reading!

~Kennith

audio ebook family saga fiction memoir

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Nov 4

A Week of Music (November 4, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I know….given my job, every week should be filled with music. Believe me, it is and I love it. This week, however, seemed to have more music than normal with a recital hearing, a recital performance, and lots of final preparations for the upcoming NATS competition in Huntsville, Texas. I’ve been making lots of music and simply getting by in my reading life. However, I did decide that it was time to return to audio books as well just to make sure my reading life continues to progress during the busy season that comes at the end of the semester.

What I’m Currently Reading

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes (p. 126 of 369) With lots of evening engagements this week and struggles with my allergies (ugh!), I’m just about 1/3 of the way through. Since our last check-in, Tanzie has been entered in a Math Olympic competition up in Scotland that will cover the remaining portion of the massive tuition. Through a sort of comedy of errors, Jess and her children end up getting a ride from Ed, one of the homeowners that Jess works for. The situation is always awkward and the discomfort between the adults is in sharp contrast with Ed’s interactions with the children. Although the plot has moved a bit slower than I anticipated, the character interaction is hysterically funny and I am always anxious to get back into the pages of the book. I’m hoping that I’ll have some down time while I’m in Huntsville and can find a quiet corner to read for a bit.

Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten (audio book, 3:18 of 8:47) My family has watched cooking television shows as long as I can remember. When Food Network finally made its way into the Geriatric Ward, that became a standard channel for our television viewing. That’s where I first met Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. My parents were never fans of Garten, but I was oddly drawn to her elegance and simple table settings even if I rarely wanted to make the recipes. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I found the Contessa to be very calming. When I stumbled on this memoir in my Audible account, I knew it would be a great fit for me.

Thus far, I’ve heard about Ina’s childhood and how she met her husband, Jeffrey. I laughed at their adventures camping through Europe between Jeffrey’s discharge from the Army and the beginning of graduate school. I smiled as I listened to Ina recount how she came to own the Barefoot Contessa just off of Long Island. It is so encouraging to hear that “if you do what you love, you will be successful.”

I’m looking forward to driving nearly 8 hours tomorrow because I plan to have my new friend, Ina, tagging along and telling me the rest of her story.

Here’s hoping that we all have successful weeks in the pages of our selected books.

~Kennith

audio ebook family saga memoir

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