Reading was a challenge this week. At the beginning of the week, I was so tired that I just wanted to crawl in bed as soon as I got home from work. I managed to meet my minimum goal each day, but that was about it. As the end of the week drew near, I was getting back into my reading routine. That’s when an irritating stye decided to arrive on my left eyelid. It isn’t horribly painful, but my eyes become tired more quickly at the moment. So, I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked, but I’m happy with the end results.
What I Finished This Week
Loyalty by Lisa Scottoline. Set in Sicily (a nation with an active volcano), Loyalty is about a series of kidnappings that plague the small village. The police do nothing to solve the crimes. One man, a lawyer who was almost a priest, searches for the missing children. Against this backdrop, the plot also focuses on the first Mafia family in Sicily, gaining their power as they protect the island nation’s lemon harvest. If this description sounds confusing to you, then you understand exactly how I felt about Scottoline’s novel. While I have greatly enjoyed her previous works that I have read, Loyalty was convoluted and unnecessarily difficult to follow. With no less than 5 plots running parallel throughout the novel, Scottoline attempts to portray the various classes found on Sicily. The problem is that the stories do not converge until the final 100 pages of the book. By that point, I was simply ready for this novel to be over so I could start the next one. 2.75 stars.
What I DNF’d This Week
Grant by Ron Chernow. I managed to read another 50 pages of this brick this week and found the life of soon-to-be President Grant fascinating. With over 800 pages remaining of this biography, I simply could not commit to finishing the book. Other reads were calling to me and this one just felt like homework instead of something that I was enjoying. Too many books, too little time!
What I’m Currently Reading
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (9:31 of 17:49). This week brought me just over halfway through this marvelous audiobook. Most of this week’s reading was set in Japan in the years leading up to the American bombing at the end of World War II. The story focused heavily on Christian persecution, the role of women, and the importance of the extended family. This is a massive story that spans decades. While it is longer than I would typically read in an audio format, the narration is exceptional and I find myself completely drawn into the story.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (p. 64 of 363). There’s nothing quite like starting a new book on Monday morning to start the new week. The title basically sums up the story as I know it so far. Lucy and Joshua are co-workers now that the two publishing companies merged. Both were executive assistants to the CEO. The merge was not peaceful at all, so there are co-CEOs and two executive assistants sitting across from each other. Complaints have been made to HR by both Lucy and Joshua. Now the company is undergoing a major restructuring and both Joshua and Lucy are up for the job. Let the competition and the hatred begin. I selected this to fulfill the prompt in the November mini-challenge of a book set in an office.
Drumroll, Please!
With this week’s completion of Loyalty, I have successfully completed the main 2025 reading challenge of The 52 Book Club! Let the celebration begin! I have long had a goal of reading 52 books in a single calendar year, but always fell short and didn’t think it was an obtainable goal for me. Actually, Loyalty is my 70th book of 2025. I don’t know that this will be the normal pace for me from now on, but I do know that I have really enjoyed reading for the prompts provided. Just because I think it is a thing of beauty that I want to see again, here is the completed graphic of my 2025 reading challenge.
What’s the Plan for the Rest of 2025?
The 52 Book Club also extended several mini-challenges over the course of the year. I didn’t do a lot of reading towards those challenges because I thought I would struggle to complete the main challenge. Now I will see what I can do toward those other challenges. With 6 1/2 weeks remaining in the year, let’s see what I can knock out of those. First up is a fluff piece for one of the November mini-challenge prompts — a book set in an office.
Reading for Me 
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