Happy Memorial Day! I am writing in a hotel near the Austin airport early on Monday morning. Later this afternoon, I’ll finish my time with the 2026 State Solo & Ensemble contest and begin the trek to Arkansas. It’s been an okay week with lots of reading and the start of a summer challenge that had honestly slipped my mind. I’ll tell you more about “Big Book Summer” later in this post and the books that I have tentatively lined up for the challenge.
But first, let’s get to the reading!
What I Finished This Week
That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn. I didn’t expect to enjoy this romance as much as I did. Truthfully, it was an audio selection that was made quickly as I was driving back to Plainview from Dallas. I anticipated it being more “noise” than an enthralling listen. I’m very glad that I was wrong. As I shared in last week’s post, the story centers around Griffin and Ren. Griffin is a widower still mourning the loss of his young wife just two years ago. Just before the tragedy, Griffin and his brothers were in New Orleans when they were cursed by a fortune teller. Griffin has lived with his guilt ever since that fateful trip and blames himself for his wife’s death. Out of fear, he refuses to allow anyone else to get close to him because they may also be hurt by the curse. Everything begins to change when he meets Ren, however. This young math teacher finds ways to break down Griffin’s walls and feelings develop. Just as Griffin begins to think that a relationship might be possible, Ren is injured. This is a beautiful story about daring to love, the sacrifices we make to keep others safe, and risking it all for the sake of love. 4.75 stars.
What I’m Currently Reading
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (p. 348 of 576). I cannot tell you how many times I have pulled this novel off of the shelf to begin reading only to put it back in its spot. It always felt too big….too complex….too much for where I was at the moment. This week, I decided I needed to just bite the bullet and dive in. School is out of session and I had a little more time to settle in for a story that would require more brain power to process. I quickly discovered that Towles is an outstanding writer who weaves an intricate story in such a way that it is very easy to follow while also creating characters with depth. The story centers around Emmett, a young man returning to his Nebraska farm after serving time in a correctional institution for a “crime” that was actually an accident that ultimately led to another boy’s death. Emmett is now responsible for his younger brother, Billy, after the death of their father. Since the family farm is going into foreclosure and Emmett is not welcomed in the small community any longer, he and Billy decide to take the Lincoln Highway west to California in search of a new life — and hopefully a place to belong. Things do not go as planned for the young duo, and they find themselves on a massive adventure across the United States as they encounter a host of colorful characters. In case you can’t tell, I’m really enjoying this read at the moment.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (0:11 of 9:05). I finished an audio book on Saturday and still have a long drive ahead of me on Monday and Tuesday. I can’t believe that I have never read this classic novel, so this seemed like the perfect time to correct that situation. I’m not very far into the novel yet, but I’m planning to make a large dent in it during this first drive.
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (p. 27 of 886). I wanted to start a “big book” in a digital format as well over the holiday weekend. I have a physical copy of the novel in the floor of my apartment, so I anticipated reading this book in the fall. When I discovered that it was also included in my Kindle Unlimited subscription, I decided to start it as well. It has been a minute since I read the first book in the series, so it is taking me a second to remember what was happening at the cliffhanger ending. Fantasy is not a normal genre for me, but I did enjoy my time in The Fourth Wing. I’m looking forward to returning to the story again.
Big Books of Summer Planning
Once again this year, I plan to participate in Sue Jackson’s Big Books of Summer reading challenge. The concept is simple — read big books this summer. You set how many you want to read — just one this summer….or one a month…..or something else. For the purposes of this challenge, Sue defines a “big book” as having at least 400 pages. The challenge runs from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
I have to admit that I had forgotten about the challenge until I saw Sue’s announcement video, so I haven’t done a ton of planning. But things have a way of working out because the book I began this week was a big book! I’m choosing to include it in my summer reading goals even though I started it before May 22.
Here are a few of the books that are on my radar as possible Big Book reads for this summer:
- The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (576 pages)
- Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (623 pages)
- Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (870 pages)
- The Godfather by Mario Puzo (595 pages)
Obviously, I’m reading the Towles novel this summer. I had already planned to dive into Mario Puzo’s classic since it is needed for the prompt of the novel that inspired the top grossing movie of the year that I was born. This will be my third summer completing the challenge and it has become a bit of a tradition to read one of the Outlander novels — and Voyager is the third in the series. I may try to find another big book to read as an audio book this summer as well. As always, we will just have to see what the summer has in store for my reading adventure.
Reading for Me 