Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Feb 24

Where’s Frosty? (February 24, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

This week was all about dealing with cold weather. Whether I was trying to survive the elements while waiting for gas to arrive, vainly attempting to warm up before rehearsal, or smiling at high school students despite the cold, the one constant for most of the week was the windy conditions.

Normally, I want to spend days like this under a blanket with a good book. The week after the Texas Music Educators’ Convention, there was too much going on in my professional life to get much reading done. I did manage to get back into a daily routine of spending some time in the pages of a book, but the results were not as I would have hoped.

What I Finished This Week

Nope….nada…..nothing to see here. Just keep moving along.

What I’m Currently Reading

Diamonds Aren’t Forever by Connie Shelton (p. 298 of 339). I’m not entirely sure why I haven’t finished reading this book yet. The chapters are not long. The plot moves quickly. The reading pace is relatively quick. I just can’t seem to make forward progress. It feels as though I have read for an hour and I have finished only 15 pages. I’m enjoying the story, so that’s not the problem either. Truthfully, I think the constantly shifting perspective is causing me difficulty this time. Just when I get comfortable with a character’s storyline, the author shifts to a different perspective — sometimes backtracking through plot points already discussed. I should get this finished tonight if all goes right.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (9:44 of 11:23). This has turned out to be a very enjoyable audiobook. I find the sassiness of the main character to be very funny and enjoyable. I’m also enjoying a rom-com that isn’t skipping over the process of falling in love and heading straight to the bedroom. That’s not to say that there are no open-door scenes, but by the time they arrive in the story, we are invested in the characters and sex is an expression of true feelings. I should finish up this book before I head out on my next roadtrip of the semester.

Finishing My February Goals

Two books remain for my February reading assignments: Fangirl Down (Tessa Bailey) and Waiting for the Moon (Kristin Hannah). With only a week left in the month, I have to make some very specific plans. The Bailey novel will be my next audiobook. I plan to listen to it on the drive to and from Wichita. As far as Waiting for the Moon, I’m thinking I can finish this novel while I’m on the road if I devote my hotel time to just getting it read. If all goes according to plan, I’ll have four completed novels to talk about next week.

Looking Ahead to March reads

Since I’m still moving forward to completing The 52 Book Club’s 2025 Reading Challenge, it is time to look at the books that I have planned for my March reading life. With Spring Break coming up this month, the plan includes a couple of authors whose writing style required a little extra time when I read some of their other books. Here’s what’s ahead:

  • Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
  • Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
  • The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
  • The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Why the two children’s books this month? As opera rehearsals kick into high gear in preparation for the children’s opera, I anticipate needing some “easy” reads to get through the month. If things go well, I can also get an early start on April’s reads as I venture into performance season.

Regardless of the outcome, I’ll keep you posted on my progress and how things are going. Now it’s time to get back to my reading for the night.

~Kennith

2025 Reading Challenge audio ebook The 52 Book Club

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Feb 17

San Antonio Adventures (February 17, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

After our last visit, I made a whirlwind trip to San Antonio to represent Wayland at the Texas Music Educators’ Convention. With an attendance approaching 30,000, it should not be surprising that the convention center was buzzing with activity all week long. Long hours on the exhibit floor and lots of conversations with friends, colleagues, and prospective students meant that my reading was severely diminished this week.

Sadly, Friday was such a busy day (and also my birthday) that I failed to read a single page. Sigh. My streak of 54 consecutive days of reading a minimum of 20 pages has come to an end. I wasn’t too surprised. The last full day of TMEA is always a marathon with exhibits opening at 9am and we work straight through until we close the alumni reception around 11pm. Oh well, time to get to work on a new reading streak!

What I Finished This Week

Reset by Dan Heath. While driving to central Texas, I was able to finish this audiobook. I found many of the ideas presented in this book about changing the direction of your business when resistance is present very interesting and helpful. I anticipate that I will obtain a hard copy of the book in the future so I can review the material and reflect on it. 3 stars.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I finished this American novel in the quiet of a San Antonio hotel before all of the craziness of the week began. I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I found the examination of the life of a black woman in Georgia and Florida in the early 20th century to be engaging. While I was extremely surprised by the book’s ending, I found myself reflecting on the content for several days after finishing my reading. I selected this book as part of the “Happy Lunar New Year” mini-challenge; the prompt was “features a wise character.” 3 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

Diamonds Aren’t Forever by Connie Shelton (p. 68 of 339) I knew that reading at TMEA would be challenging, so I wanted to read a fluff piece. As you can see, I didn’t get very far, but I am enjoying the book thus far. The basic premise is quite funny as well. An older woman’s family heirloom necklace was stolen from a museum. After the police could not retrieve it, she hired a private investigator to find it and return it. Thankfully, the PI was successful. Only problem — he returned a replica to the woman and is making for the hills with the valuable jewels. Fueled by their anger, a group of women devise a plan to steal the necklace from the thief and return it to its rightful owner.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (1:51 of 11:23). After a very loud week in San Antonio, I was looking forward to enjoying a bit of quiet on the drive home. After letting my ears recover for several hours, I was finally ready to begin a new audiobook. Since I didn’t plan for the drive, I selected a book already in my library. So far it is proving to be very humorous and makes fun of the typical “Hallmark romance” novels that so often make their way to my bookshelf.

That’s it for now. Even though I’m not traveling this week, things look as though they are going to be quite busy after all. Here’s hoping that I continue to make some progress in my reading pursuits this week.

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Feb 10

Rehearsals Have Returned (February 10, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

Now that February is here, my time is no longer my own. Rehearsals for the children’s opera are in full swing. State music conferences are happening in the coming weeks. Recruitment is in full swing and it is also contest season in Texas. That means I’m spending a lot more time on the piano bench and fighting to find time to read each day. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — it’s just a seasonal change for the next few months.

Traditionally, the spring semester has always been a difficult time for me to maintain an active reading life style. In the past, I would get frustrated that I wasn’t making progress and simply give up as I watched my goals pass by unmet. This year, I’m taking a more realistic approach. My daily goal is to read 20 pages….so far, so good there. That smaller goal means that I may not read a book or two every week. I’m okay with that. As long as I am constantly making forward progress, then I am still on my way to achieving my goal of reading 52 books in 2025.

What I Finished This Week

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong. For the first time in 2025, I have only read one book this week. I have to admit that I am a little sad about that, but I am deciding to focus on the progress instead of the lack of movement. This book fulfilled Prompt #1 in The 52 Book Club 2025 Reading Challenge: A Pun in the Title.

Finding Mr. Write is a 2024 rom-com that had a lot to say about the publishing industry. Daphne is an author who has not been able to get her apocalyptic zombie novel published. On a whim, she adjusts her cover letter — focusing on the survival skills in the novel — and uses a man’s name instead of her own. In that moment, Daphne’s alter ego, Zane Remington, is born. To Daphne’s surprise (or perhaps, her frustration) Zane’s novel is published and climbs to the top of the best-seller list! Now, Daphne must find an actor to portray Zane in public appearances on the much anticipated book tour. Instead of finding an actor, Daphne hires Chris Stanton, a handsome accountant in need of extra cash. What follows is a charming story of role play, romance, and fun.

Unlike several of my previous reads, Finding Mr. Write spent more time exploring mutual attraction before the two characters finally begin to fall in love. While there are a few scenes that would be classified as “open door” as the book nears the end, the overall spice level of the book is very low. Overall, this was a very enjoyable, funny read for me. 4.75 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

Reset by Dan Heath (1:32 of 6:17). Self-help books tend to be a challenge for me to read on audio. Reset has proven to be no different. As the week has been busy, I have found myself reverting to driving in silence. I have a longer drive coming up on Tuesday, so I anticipate getting this book finished and hopefully starting something new.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (p. 172 of 227). It is no surprise to me that I struggle reading literary books on my Kindle. There’s just something in my psyche that associates ebooks with fluff reading. I thought about driving to Barnes and Noble and picking up a copy of this book to add to my library, but I was tired and opted for the ease of reading the ebook. I’m intentionally delaying starting another novel until I can plow through the rest of this classic. I love the characters, but the dialect is forcing me to slow my reading pace to make sure I comprehend the material.

What’s Ahead?

I will spend most of the week in San Antonio attending the Texas Music Educators’ Conference. With some 10,000 participants from all over the state, this is a great time to speak with potential students while vision casting and dreaming with my colleagues. That also means that I won’t get a lot of reading done this week. (I find it difficult to read if other people are around.) So my goal for the week will be to read something rather light on my Kindle this week — Diamonds Aren’t Forever by Connie Shelton.

There’s a plan in place. Now we will just have to see if I reach the goal when we chat again next Monday….

2025 Reading Challenge American author audio classic ebook fiction non-fiction romance self-help The 52 Book Club

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Feb 3

The Long January is Over (February 3, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

Was it just me or did it feel as though January started about 3 months ago? Maybe that explains why it has been such a good month for my reading life. This week saw a 5 star read and a classic American novel that I’ve always avoided finally making its way into my reading stack — although I don’t know why I was frightened now that I’ve started reading it.

What I Finished This Week

The Princess Bride by William Golden. This book was my final book for my January goals for The 52 Book Club 2025 Challenge. I was using it to fulfill the “Adventure story” challenge (prompt #38). Having seen bits and pieces of the movie based on the novel, I found myself visualizing many of the key scenes of the book and smiling along the way. However, I also found myself confused and just ready for the book to end. The final 100 pages of the novel were especially unsatisfying to me. I don’t think I’ve ever said this before — but watch the movie and just skip the book. 2.75 stars.

Mr. Picture Perfect by Daryl Banner. I’m not going to bore you with a plot synopsis because that suggests that I somewhat recommend the book. While it had some cute moments and I thought that having a character that might be on the spectrum as a leading man in a romance was interesting, this book isn’t going to be a good fit for most readers. It was my end of the month audiobook, so I listened through to the end. 2 stars.

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover. I cannot sing this novel’s praises enough! What an absolutely incredible book! Reminders of Him had been stashed in my Kindle library for quite a while, but I never got around to picking it up. Now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long. Although it is only early February, I anticipate this novel will contend for the best book of 2025.

What’s the book about, you ask? Kenna has served 5 years in prison for the death of her boyfriend, Scotty. It was actually a car accident. But Kenna was driving the car….and she left Scotty alone. At the time of the accident and through the trial, Kenna didn’t know that she was pregnant. Once she gave birth early in her sentence, the pre-mature child was taken from her immediately to be raised by Scotty’s parents. Now that Kenna has been released, she returns to the scene of the crime in the hopes of obtaining forgiveness and connecting with the daughter she has never met. Although I haven’t read many of Hoover’s novels, I have enjoyed all that I have experienced so far. Reminders of Him had me laughing and sobbing as I explored ideas of grief, forgiveness, and loss with an amazingly lovable cast of characters. 5 stars!

What I’m Currently Reading

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong (p. 72 of 357). February is here and it is time to begin reading more books to fulfill prompts of the 2025 challenge. I borrowed this book from my local library to read for the “Pun in the Title” challenge (prompt #1). I’m not very far into the book, but I’m finding it really cute so far.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (p. 43 of 227). As though the 2025 challenge wasn’t going to keep me busy enough, I found myself sucked into the February mini challenge too! This Lunar New Year challenge seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore some authors I’ve not read before. For the prompt “features a wise character,” I’m finally going to read this 1937 American novel and I’ve already fallen in love with the rhythm of the language and the story itself.

Reset: How to Change What’s Not Working by Dan Heath (1:12 of 6:17). I wanted to take a brief foray into self-help audiobooks. As soon as I read the description of Reset, I knew that it was a book that would be beneficial. I’m hoping to pick up some tips to help correct some broken systems in my personal and professional life.

January Stats

It’s time to look at the numbers. I’m actually very pleased with the reading that I got done in the first month of 2025.

  • Books read this month: 12
  • Highest rated: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer (4.75 stars)
  • Lowest rated: Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding (2 stars)

February is going to bring some unique challenges with it — specifically 2 trips and opera rehearsals beginning — but I’m hopeful that I will be able to maintain my process and make continued progress to my goal for 2025.

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