Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Jan 5

Ready or Not (January 5, 2026)

by kennithfreeman

Happy New Year! I hope that 2026 arrived in your corner of the world with the promises of prosperity, love, and lots of great reading ahead. As the calendar turns to January, I find myself coming to the end of a much needed break. After spending just over 3 weeks at home, it is time to begin the journey back to Texas to begin another semester of work. Since I’m not ready to return to reality, I dove deep into my reading this week.

I want to give you fair warning….this post is a bit longer than normal. In addition to this week’s finishes and what I’m currently reading, I have also included a look back at my December reading as well as a review of the year in reading.

What I Finished This Week

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand. My final book of 2025 was finished on Wednesday afternoon. Once again, I returned to the story of the Quinn family. This installment in the story was not as compelling as that in Winter Street. With Patrick in jail and Bart still missing in action, Winter Stroll focuses on how those left behind in Nantucket are dealing with their absences. I thought the story lines that focused on Mitzi, Margaret, Julie, and Barrett were really well written. Ava’s petty love triangle between two men — neither of whom are treating her very well, honestly — as well as the issues between Kevin and Isabelle as they begin their family were trite and lessened the impact of the stories about the suffering of mothers, addiction, and the impact an absent father has on children. 3 stars.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. My first finish of 2026 was a book from My Library Shelf that I thoroughly enjoyed. Written in a dual timeline, the story focuses on the growing relationship between Henry and Keiko. Henry is a 5th grade Chinese-American living in Seattle as the Second World War rages in Europe. His parents are very traditional and see everyone who is not either Chinese or Caucasian as the enemy. While attending a predominately white school, Henry meets Keiko, a Japanese-American student. Their friendship continues to grow until Keiko and her family are resettled into a Japanese internment camp, ultimately ending up in Idaho. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a beautiful story of love, acceptance, and tragedy. This story will definitely stay with me for many years to come. 5 stars.

The Inn at Ocean’s Edge by Colleen Coble. I needed a new audiobook and randomly selected Coble’s novel in my Libby subscription. It wasn’t until completing the book that I learned that Colleen Coble is an author of Christian fiction — a genre I typically don’t enjoy. (I find that Christian fiction tends to hit you over the head with the moral of the story rather than simply letting the characters speak directly to the reader’s heart.) Claire is the daughter of a wealthy businessman who has returned to the coastal village that was the site of her abduction and return when she was four. Haunted by memories of her past that she cannot piece together, she seeks the truth of what happened during her missing year. On the coast, Claire meets Luke, a member of the Coast Guard whose mother disappeared on the same night as Claire’s abduction. Were the two events connected? Coble creates a lovely mystery that is filled with moments of hope and faith. I discovered a new author to enjoy! 4 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble (2:22 of 8:54). This is the second book in the Sunset Cove series. After enjoying The Inn at Ocean’s Edge so much, I decided that it only made sense to continue the story. When I found the entire series available as a single credit download on Audible, the purchase was a no-brainer since I have several long drives coming up this month. The story returns to the coastal Maine community with many of our favorite characters returning, but this time the focus is on Mallory, a single mother dealing with the guilt of past mistakes and the apparent murder of her father on his boat in the quiet town.

Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser (p. 133 of 446). I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying this read! I understand why the book has gotten so much good press and was selected as the 2025 Barnes and Noble Book of the Year as well as earning Schlesser France’s 2025 Author of the Year award. Mona is a young girl who lost her sight for a horrifying 63 minutes. Doctors are uncertain of the cause, but fear that Mona may lose her sight permanently within the next year. The family is advised to consult a child psychiarist; her beloved grandfather has a different plan for the child’s emotional health. Each week, Mona and her grandfather visit one of Paris’ great museums to intently study a single work of art before launching into a discussion about what they see there. The descriptions Schlesser provides about the masterpieces are as beautiful as the images themselves. Each chapter of the novel focuses on a different artwork, so I am slowing my progress a bit so I can find an image of the piece to examine for myself before entering into Mona’s journey. So far, it is a lovely experience.

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri (p. 250 of 387). I am continuing my descent into Hell with Dante and Virgil. I am now in the final third of the pit and encountering some of the most memorable scenes of the work. I only read a handful of cantos this week, but as the end is coming into sight, I am finding myself drawn back to the journey. I’m about to begin Canto 20 this week; there are only 34 in the entire work.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (p. 204 of 1304). I hope you are ready to get a lot of updates about this brick of a book for the next few months! Hugo’s novel is the first book of 2026 in The Active Mind Book Club. If I can stay on track with the proposed reading plan, I should finish the novel the week of February 9. This week’s reading (Week 1) has been challenging and extremely slow. Not only was there a lot of detail about minor characters that I know do not play pivotal roles in the work as a whole, but I have found the new translation by Christine Donougher (for the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) to be stodgy at times. I’m hoping that improves as I get more comfortable with her rhythm and style. As I neared the end of this week’s section, things were a bit better as I encountered familiar characters including Valjean, Fantine, and Javert. I have been struck by the novel’s focus on punishment and how it is impossible for a tiger to change its stripes. I’m looking forward to getting into the revolutionary themes in the weeks ahead. Wish me luck as I continue to plow through!

December in Review

  • Books read in December: 13 books (up 4 books from November)
    • 5 physical
    • 5 digital
    • 3 audio
  • Pages read in December: 4,510 (up 2,115 pages from November)
  • Highest rated book: Good Spirits by B.K. Borison – 5 stars
  • Lowest rated book: The Girl from the Garden by Parnaz Foroutan – 3 stars

2025 Reading By the Numbers

2025 was an outstanding reading year for me. It was by far my most productive year. What do I attribute the success to? I think there were a couple of things at play. First, just setting a realistic daily goal of 20 pages was life changing. I found myself making my way into a book most days since I wasn’t making a huge time commitment. Once I started reading, I relaxed into the activity and normally would spend about an hour in the pages of a beloved story. Second, I responded very well to the prompts provided by The 52 Book Club. My reading now had direction rather than just wandering through the stacks in search of my next read. Not every read was a great experience, but because I knew it was only one prompt, I was confident that another exceptional read was just a few days away. It also provided me a regular stack of “next reads” — I was never uncertain of what book was coming next.

Let’s look at the numbers for 2025. I crushed my goal of 52 books for the year and finished the year with 87 books read! Just so there’s no question that I was only reading tiny works, I had a grand total of 31,620 pages read. With 9 books earning 5 stars, I had a year of really good reading. (In fact, I gave 43 of the year’s books 4 stars or higher.) I tended to finish the books I started too….only 4 DNFs for 2025.

Best Book of 2025?

I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about the books I have read in the last 12 months. They brought me laughter and tears. They allowed me to explore new ideas and interact with characters that became friends. As I look back at the 9 books that I rated the highest — 5 stars — I have special memories from each of them. However, one book has stayed with me and I constantly find my thoughts returning to it. The best book I read in 2025 was…..

PANCHINKO by MIN JIN LEE!

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Dec 29

Coming to a New Beginning (December 29, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

It’s hard to believe that 2025 is almost gone. It feels as though I was just spending the summer break in the Geriatric Ward. I can’t believe that it is almost time to load up again and head back for the spring term and the beginning of a new year. I’m pushing through for a strong finish in the final days of 2025 in my reading life and excited about plans for the new year ahead.

What I Finished This Week

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. This finish came at the very end of Christmas Day and it was such a fun read! Maelyn Jones and her family return to the cabin every year to celebrate Christmas with Mom’s college roommate and several of Dad’s fraternity buddies. It is a highlight of the year, seeing the people that she has essentially grown up with each Christmas. One of the regulars is Andrew, a childhood friend that Maelyn has had a crush on since she knew what love was. However, she has never actually told him how she feels. In an unexpected plot twist, Maelyn is involved in an automobile accident after leaving the cabin that throws her into a time-traveling scenario. Mae now repeats her week at the cabin after making a wish to the Universe to show her what would make her truly happy. After several failed attempts, Mae finally tells Andrew how she feels and the readers watch as things finally play out. The only question is will this result in Maelyn’s happily ever after or will she be forced to relive the holiday week now that she has confessed the truth. This was a great change of pace from the normal holiday romance. 4.5 stars.

Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand. For some reason, I have steered clear of many of Hilderbrand’s novels. I think it has more to do with the fact that there were so many of them on the bookstore shelf than any real feelings about the writing. Before this exploration of Winter Street, I have only read one of her works — The Hotel Nantucket — which I also enjoyed. In this first volume of the Winter Street series, we are introduced to the Quinn family. Kelley and his four children are all experiencing challenges in love and life in various ways. Patrick has gotten sucked into some unethical business practices that threaten to cost him everything. Ava is in a relationship with a man who does not appreciate her at all. Kevin is the family loser who never feels as though he can live up to the expectations of being a Quinn. Bart recently joined the Marines and is now deployed to Afghanistan. Things are no better for Kelley, who walked in to see his wife in the arms of the man hired to play Santa. Now Kelley must decide whether or not to sell the Winter Street Inn (which also serves as home for him and two of his adult children) while navigating the challenges of parenting and maybe falling in love with his ex-wife again. 4 stars.

A Very Merry Mistake by Lyra Parish. This was a really entertaining audiobook that kept me laughing out loud. Claire is the daughter of a real estate mogul that is searching for the deal that will garner her father’s approval. She travels to Merryville, Texas….a small town that celebrates Christmas all year long. As she is driving into the quaint town, her car stalls and will not start. With no phone charger and no other way to call for a rescue, she begins to walk the last 10 miles into town. When Jack, a local tree farmer, offers to give her a lift into Merryville, Claire is hesitant and defensive. After finally accepting his hospitality, fate is not on Claire’s side. Her assistant made reservations in the wrong city and there are no rooms available anywhere. Jack offers Claire the use of his couch until she can find other accommodations. This begins a story of forced proximity and country vs. city living. The attraction between the two is palpable and things get heated quickly. This was a great ending to my holiday reading experience this year. 5 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

The Inferno by Dante (p. 204 of 387). My slow journey through the circles of Hell continues. I’m in no real rush to get this work read since the online chat with fellow Pepperdine alumni doesn’t occur until January 21. There’s still plenty of time.

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand (p. 92 of 260). I wasn’t ready to leave the Quinn family behind, so I’m diving into the second book in the Winter Street series. Kelley and Mitzi are still fighting and extremely nervous about Bart’s safety. Kevin is getting married. Patrick is serving his jail sentence for insider trading. Ava is confused as she has feelings for two men. In typical Hilderbrand fashion, the characters are continuing to grow and develop with each passing chapter. This will be another quick read.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (p. 96 of 285). According to my notes on Good Reads, I have read this novel once before and was not terribly fond of it. The cover is familiar to me, but I remember very little about the plot itself. What I do remember about the plot means it should be a good fit for me. I’m thinking that I probably tried to read this book during a particularly stressful time in graduate school….and that was never a formula for success. So far, I am fascinated by the story of a friendship between Kaiko, a young Japanese girl, and her Chinese schoolmate, Henry. The focus on the hardships of the Japanese-American citizens on the west coast during the War Years is fascinating and heartbreaking. I’m revisiting the work since it was housed on My Library Shelf along with several other works by Ford.

December 2025 Bingo Challenge Update

And just like that I have a blackout Bingo! I enjoyed working on the mini-challenge while patiently waiting for the 2026 challenge to kick off on January 1. Speaking of which, that brings me to….

2026 Plans

I have become obsessed with reading challenges and actually enjoying the process now that I have successfully completed my first 52 book reading challenge. Since I’ve figured out my stride and the process (I think), I’m upping the difficulty and adding additional challenges.

It should not be a surprise to know that I plan to participate in the 2026 challenge of The 52 Book Club. I’ve already started planning my reads for the year and have several options on hand so I can get a good start on January 1. I’ll try to be a little more active in completing the mini-challenges as they pop up now that I know I’ll be able to finish the main challenge, but I may have set myself up for not completing the minis since I have decided to add additional challenges to my life.

While checking out several book vloggers this year, I stumbled across the Read Good challenge hosted by @Benreadsgood on YouTube. This challenge is much smaller — only 1 book each month — with fairly general prompts that I think will be fun to connect with what I’m already reading. I was especially drawn to the challenge because of the prompts to read books nominated for the Women’s Prize as well as the Booker Prize shortlist. I also like that each prompt is associated with a specific month….cute puns guide our reading throughout the year. This is definitely a secondary challenge for me, but one that I think will be rewarding.

I am feeling drawn to classic literature again and want to read it in community without the pressure of a class. Back to the internet, where I found The Active Mind Book Club. It’s a paid community ($5/month on Patreon) that features chat and Zoom sessions to discuss the works with readers around the world. I’m going to give it a try and see how it goes. The year starts off with a reading of Les Miserables in January and February, 2026. Then we move into masterpieces like East of Eden and Madame Bovary as well as lesser known works such as Tolstoy’s Resurrection and Gaddis’ JR.

As though that isn’t enough, I’m also going to continue working my way through My Library Shelf. You may recall that I selected a new shelf in November, 2025 during a visit to the Unger Memorial Library in Plainview. In addition to my regular reading challenges, I’ll explore books shelved in the FORD-FORS section — 23 books in all. Some of these may be used to fulfill prompts for other challenges, but that isn’t the primary goal.

Am I crazy to add more reading challenges? Quite possibly. Am I going to have a blast trying to accomplish more? Absolutely! And I’ll be sure to share my progress, successes, and failures with all of you here as I begin another year of Reading for Me.

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Nov 10

Wordless Week in Waco (November 10, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

This has been a busy week! Most of my time was devoted to the student auditions of Texoma NATS held at Baylor University in Waco. That meant lots of rehearsals and playing for singers to compete in a massive competition and not a lot of reading time. By the time I got home each day, my eyes were rather tired and I didn’t want to hear another sound — so that meant audiobooks were out of the question. Still, I managed to finish one of my reads somehow. I’ll take progress any way I can get it!

What I Finished This Week

One Day in December by Josie Silver. Needing to read a book set in Winter to meet my penultimate prompt of the 2025 challenge, I decided on this novel. Laurie first sees Jack on a cold winter day while riding a bus, but their paths do not immediately cross. Was it love at first sight? It appears so and Laurie searches for him for over a year. When she finally finds him, things do not go as she had hoped because her best friend has introduced Jack as the love of her life. Over the course of a decade, Jack and Laurie remain in each other’s spheres of influence….but the timing never seems right. Laurie marries another man. Jack is in several relationships as he searches for purpose in his career after a near fatal accident. Through heartbreak, divorce, family crises, and personal growth, Jack and Laurie ultimately find their way to each other. Silver builds a charming story where true love wins out while asking lots of questions about if we should settle for our “almost perfect” person in hopes that true love will ultimately grow. This novel didn’t feel as though it was formulaic although it did end as this reader expected (and hoped). 3.5 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

Grant by Ron Chernow (p. 82 of 959). This book had the least progress this week. With students in my car, I didn’t want to listen to much on audio during the drive. During a busy week, this was also not the text that I turned to at the end of a long day. I managed to get through a single chapter this week in order to make a little progress. I intend to push this book back into my reading routine this week and see if I can make some significant progress toward my big book for Nonfiction November.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (2:36 of 17:49). Since I’m getting close to completing the main portion of the 2025 reading challenge, I decided it was time to start working on some of the mini-challenges. First up is the conclusion of the January challenge — all associated with the celebration of Lunar New Year. I only need one more book to complete this mini-challenge: a book set in a country that celebrates Lunar New Year. Pachinko seemed like a great fit and has proven to be an enjoyable read so far. Set in Japan, it is the story of a Korean immigrant family that begins when a young woman becomes pregnant by a powerful Korean man. Rather than facing the imminent shunning, Sunja accepts the offer to marry a gentle, sickly minister on his way to Japan. A National Book Award finalist, Pachinko is enthralling and deeply engaging. I’m excited to resume my listening routine this week and see how the story continues to progress.

2026 Reading Challenge Planning

The wait is over! The 52 Book Club dropped the prompts for the 2026 reading challenge this week. My social media feeds are filled with readers who are planning their new challenge while many of us are still in the process of completing the 2025 challenge. With a busy week in Waco, I have perused the prompts but not given much thought to the new books. I’m excited to explore The Godfather in the coming year as well as finally taking a look at works like Dune and The Song of Achilles. Beyond that, I’m really focusing on completing the main challenge before I dive into intense planning for 2026. If anyone wants to join me in the new reading challenge that starts on January 1, 2026, check out the link above and start your planning!

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Nov 3

Fall is in the Air (November 3, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

As the calendar began to turn another page, the weather decided to change as well. There is no doubt that we are now in the heart of Fall in Texas. With the cooler temperatures and earlier darkness (thank you, Daylight Savings Time), I was in the mood for warm and cozy reads. Two of this week’s finishes definitely fit that bill.

What I Finished This Week

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. I have overlooked this novel for many years. I wish I could provide a good explanation of why this was the case. I think it might have been an association with the trailer for the film adaptation. I also think that I was convinced that a novel about a woman in her kitchen in Mexico could not be interesting to me. Whatever the reason for avoiding the novel, I had no idea what I was missing! This is a beautiful tale of complicated love, difficult familial relationships, and the power of food. The magical realism that is widely prevalent in Latin literature was incredibly effective in Esquivel’s tale. I never found myself thinking about how unrealistic the events were; somehow, the magic was woven seamlessly into the fabric of the land and people. I anticipate that this will be a novel that I will want to revisit soon. 4 stars.

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia. The cover of this book alone caught my attention as I made a quick selection of an audiobook last week. It just looks as though it is going to be a cozy read….and it was! I found myself looking for excuses to spend more time in my car just so I could listen. (Yes, I eventually curled up in my recliner with a blanket over my legs, put in my earbuds, and listened in my reading spot.) Michelle is recently divorced and needs some time to evaluate her life. So she decides to spend a few months in Vermont and manage the family bed-and-breakfast after her mother’s unexpected passing. With her dog Rocket along for the ride, Michelle meets the handsome neighbor, Cliff, and his two daughters. What starts as an uncomfortable interaction quickly grows to attraction. We watch as both of the divorcees struggle with their emotional baggage while trying to come to terms with how they feel about each other. If It Makes You Happy was a charming read that had me laughing and crying as I became more invested with this cast of characters. 4.5 stars.

Burnout, Who? by Chloe Grant. As November approached, I decided that I wanted to participate in Nonfiction November. My plan is not to read nonfiction exclusively, but to at least read a couple of books this month that are out of my comfort zone and that are not directly related to my profession. Since I have also come to terms with the harsh truth that I am dealing with a bit of personal burnout, Grant’s book seemed like an appropriate choice for the moment. Burnout, Who? is not a deep dive into the condition that plagues countless perfectionists as well as those who struggle maintaining personal boundaries. Rather, the book offers practical advice for getting out of the situation that saps your energy without going to the extreme measure of resigning or changing careers. Grant provided some good tips that I plan to employ in the coming weeks, but I also found the book very repetitive and a bit too superficial. 2.5 stars.

What I DNF’d This Week

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I gave it a good try for a few days, but I just couldn’t do the magical realism right now. The writing was good. The prose was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t connect with the story and had no pull to the book’s pages. Rather than fight during an incredibly busy season of my life, I decided to make a quick decision to DNF the novel and make another selection.

What I’m Currently Reading

Grant by Ron Chernow (p. 49 of 959). Once I decided to participate in Nonfiction November, I also decided to select something that could fit the September mini-challenge over on The 52 Book Club. The challenge is simple — pick your biggest read of the year and beat it. I decided to interpret “biggest” as the book with the most pages. The biggest book of 2025 thus far has been Anna Karenina coming in at 864 pages. Chernow’s biography of U.S. Grant is written in a gentle prose that has been fairly easy to read thus far and doesn’t spend too much time diving into tangents along the way. The focus remains firmly on President Grant. In the little that I have read, I feel I have a good understanding of Grant’s personality and the ways that his upbringing influenced the man that he would become. I’m reading this book on my Kindle as a loan from my local library, making it easy to read a few pages while I’m waiting for a student or standing in line. With upcoming travel later this week, I hope to make some significant progress in this biography when I’m between auditions.

One Day in December by Josie Silver (p. 28 of 392). I just started this one on Sunday evening, so I’m not far at all. Earlier that afternoon, I went to my local Barnes and Noble looking for books to fulfill the last two prompts of the 2025 challenge — a book set in Winter and one set in a country with an active volcano. One Day in December is the Winter selection. Laurie stares out the window of a public bus on a cold winter evening just before the holidays begin. She notices a handsome man sitting at the bookshop, reading a book. She wills him to step onto the crowded bus at the very moment that their eyes meet. Sadly, the bus pulls away just as the mysterious stranger approaches the door and Laurie is left alone. This begins a search through the bars and crowded spaces of London as Laurie looks for her “bus stop guy.” Is it a sappy premise? Absolutely! However, it is a Reese’s Book Club selection, so I’m hoping that it will ultimately morph into something other than just a holiday romance. Either way, I’ll be one step closer to the end of the 2025 challenge!

October in Review

October was a month full of travel. It featured a weekend getaway to Oklahoma City and a few days in the Geriatric Ward with my parents. I traveled to “almost Kansas” Texas for a performance (plus the 6 hours in the car) and survived a NASM site visit at the end of the month. On top of all of that, there was a LOT of baseball to follow as the postseason got going and demanded my attention. Despite all of that activity, I still had a very successful month of reading.

  • Books read in October: 8 (up 3 from September)
    • 6 print
    • 1 ebook
    • 1 audiobook
  • Pages read in October: 3,454 pages (up 1,208 pages from September)
  • Highest rated books: People Watching by Hannah Banham-Young; Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez; and The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden – 5 stars.
  • Lowest rated book: Moby Dick by Herman Melville – 1.75 stars.

2025 Reading Challenge – The 52 Book Club

It is no secret that I have been actively participating in the 2025 challenge from The 52 Book Club this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the process and have had a lot of fun discovering new authors while also revisiting some old favorites. As November begins, I am in a really good place with this year’s challenge. I only have 2 prompts remaining in the main challenge. (Books have been purchased for both prompts and are sitting in my reading pile as I type this post.) As soon as I get that goal met, I’ll turn my attention to the many mini-challenges that have appeared throughout the year. I doubt I’m able to complete all of those as well by year’s end, but I should be able to make a fairly good dent in them.

Because it is November, those of us participating in the challenge are anxiously awaiting the announcement of the 2026 challenge that will come at any time this month. Part of the fun is guessing when the new announcement will drop on social media. If you have any questions about the reading challenge, I’d be happy to share my experience or you can check it out for yourself by visiting the52book.club and look under the challenges tab.

It has been a lot of fun creating a graphic representation of the books I have read for each of the prompts this year. I’ll be sharing it again in a few weeks when I fill in the final two books, but here is where it stands at the moment.

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Oct 20

Back in Arkansas (October 20, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

Any time I have a bit of time off from work, I head back to the comfort of my parents’ home in eastern Arkansas. The house is the only home that I have ever known. (Yes, I know that my family lived in another house in town when I was born….but I don’t recall anything from the first 3 months of life!) While the three bedrooms have undergone changes over the years and my piano has moved locations several times, very little has been altered. Going home is always a treat as it means I get to relax, enjoy home cooked meals, and feel more connected to my Arkansas roots than any other time.

Fall Break is now in the rearview mirror, but the time of rest at home was much needed. I ran a few errands that were on my to-do list, got a little practicing done (though not enough!), and slept. In the process, I also managed to do quite a bit of reading.

What I Finished This Week

Moby Dick by Herman Melville. There’s no nice way to say this — I hated this book. I loathed it. I absolutely detested Moby Dick! Does that make my feelings regarding the novel about the white whale clear enough? Truly, I thought that the final five chapters showed moments of absolute genius. However, that doesn’t make the other 500 pages worthy of another read. Melville should have made this a short story….even a novella….and would have had a much more effective piece of writing. I read it. I survived it. I’ll never read it again and I will now be able to defend my statement that I think Moby Dick is highly overrated. 1.75 stars.

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden. Such a fun read that was fast and filled with suspense. Told in two timelines, the story focuses on Sydney and Tom. Sydney has had bad luck dating the men of New York City, but seems to have finally met the man of her dreams in a doctor who came to her rescue after an attack. Tom was a high school student fascinated with blood who was suspected of a string of murders among the student body. When Sydney and Tom’s paths finally cross, is Sydney in real danger of being another victim of the psychopathic killer? Thankfully, despite the subject matter, McFadden manages to keep the reader engaged without relying on copious amounts of blood and gore on the pages. (I’m a wimp when it comes to reading graphically violent material.) This one is sure to keep you guessing until the end! 5 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

The 24th Hour by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro (p. 257 of 359). It’s been a while since I returned to the world of the Women’s Murder Club series. Honestly, I had forgotten that there were books in the series that I hadn’t gotten around to reading. This one features two cases for the women and their husbands. A rape victim suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and hospital facing a cyber attack that threatens to compromise patient records — potentially causing death of the most at-risk patients — unless their financial demands are met. This is a fast moving ebook that is also a nice change of pace from some of the other stories that I’ve read recently. Sometimes, predictability is relaxing.

The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett (p. 152 of 357). Parsifal the magician has died. Left behind is his wife-in-name-only, Sabine. Now Sabine must deal with the grief of Parsifal’s mother and sisters that she never knew existed. This is proving to be a neat look at the reasons we leave and the definitions of family and love — all through the lens of a broken son after his death.

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Sep 15

Unexpected Pleasures (September 15, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

In the midst of a really busy week, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had selected a couple of very enjoyable books. One was enjoyable because it stretched my mind and comfort level — even though I didn’t really “enjoy” the story itself. The other was a surprise as I found myself drawn into a world of fantasy — complete with magic and dragons!

What I Finished This Week

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni. This thriller toed the line between thriller and horror. The thriller was about a woman who was accused of murdering her boyfriend in a historic home. Turns out the two had unlocked a portal for a demon to torment them as they toyed with a possessed porcelain doll. Creepy, right?!? While I found the story of the doll’s creation interesting and was intrigued by the religious implications of the “God Puzzle” at the center of the story, I just didn’t enjoy the horror aspect of the novel. (Truthfully, I’m a wimp when it comes to reading stories about spiritual beings. It’s just not my jam.) Despite thinking about DNFing The Puzzle Master several times, I was just too far into the story to let it lie. I needed to know how it ended. After finishing the novel, I found that there is another novel featuring the puzzle maker at the center of the story. While he was a likable character, I don’t anticipate returning for another adventure into Trussoni’s universe. 3 stars.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I have never been a huge fan of fantasy. (I even had to educate myself on what this genre was really called!) Magic and mythological creatures really are not good plot points for me. However, I did find Fourth Wing to be an exception to the rule for me. Why? I think it really had to do with the focus on the human stories of the characters before introducing the major fantasy aspects. I found myself invested in the stories of Violet, Dain, and Xanos before I even saw the first dragon. Now that I’ve read the first installment in The Empyrean series, I think I’m going to have to see what happens next. (Major cliffhanger, Batman!) I won’t be continuing right away, but I have a feeling I will check out Iron Flame when I finish the 2025 challenge. 4 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage (p. 114 of 427). This novel was a new start on Saturday afternoon after I was done with work for the day. It was a Book of the Month selection for September 2025; I decided to read it to fulfill the prompt that there was a moon on the cover. Despite having read very little of the book so far, here’s what I know. Steph is of Cherokee descent and dreams of leaving rural Oklahoma to pursue a better education and ultimately become an astronaut. The story is filled with issues related to abuse, poverty, embarrassment, and lack of concern for tribal traditions. It has proven to be a powerful read while presenting opposing sides of the tradition versus progress argument that continues to be at play among Indigenous peoples.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (p. 27 of 250). Ever since starting the 2025 reading challenge, I had considered this book as a possible option for one with a celebrity on the cover. There was something about reading the memoir after Perry’s tragic death that kept me from wanting to read the book. However, as I was looking for something else to read digitally this week, I stumbled across the book in my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I guess it was just meant to be. I’ll have a much clearer picture of what I think of the memoir next week.

What’s Up Next?

Although plans can always change based on my reading mood, I think I’m going to dive into Ken Follett’s Night Over Water for my next read. It is close to 450 pages, so I want to make sure that I have some dedicated time to read it without too many distractions. I’ve enjoyed almost everything else I’ve read by Follett, so my expectations are high and I think I will probably need the change of pace after the heaviness of my current reads.

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Sep 8

Short Week Challenges (September 8, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

Last Monday was Labor Day. Like any good blogger, I decided to delay my weekly post to this site in order to observe the holiday. That was a very good decision and one that I know was correct. What I didn’t realize was the impact that choice would have on this week’s reading.

Monday holidays mean that I have fewer days to get all of the work accomplished. That cuts into my reading time each day. Furthermore, because of the delayed publication of my weekly update, this week only has 6 reading days before I have to make another update on my progress — and that one lost day is going to make the difference in what I was able to accomplish this week.

What I Finished This Week

No finishes this week. That hasn’t happened in quite a while and I don’t like the feeling of not having a finish, but I understand why it happened. Actually, I had to go back to the June 16, 2025 post to find the last week that didn’t have a finish. That week, I was surrounded by noisy pianos at the Texas Music Teachers’ Conference in Houston and could not read as I had hoped. This week, I just ran out of reading days.

What I’m Currently Reading

The Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (p. 322 of 493). I come to you with my hat in my hand and freely admit that I cannot stop reading this book! Is it sci-fi? Yes. Do I tend to avoid this genre? Yes. But this book is so much more and I cannot get enough of Violet, Xander, Dain, Tairn, and Andarna. (In case you are wondering, I’m team Xander at the moment. I also think Andarna is the cutest little dragon I have ever imagined in my life!) Okay…back to the book review. Violet has come through the selection ceremony and been chosen by two dragons. Now everyone wants her dead….everyone except Xander who is now eternally connected to her because they are both paired with mated dragons. I can hear my friends groaning because of how much I’m enjoying this book — and I really can’t explain it to you myself. The novel is well written and is more about the people than the magic and myth. I think I’ll have a finish here in just a couple of days.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni (p. 207 of 361). I sang this novel’s praises last week when I was beginning the read. I’m still all in on the novel, but we had a moment where I thought it was going to be DNF’d. Yes, the novel is about a writer, Jess Price, who has been imprisoned for a crime that she might not have committed. Enter master puzzle maker Mike Brink and Jess’ psychiatrist to try to figure things out. This is the formula for a great read when I’m in the mood for a thriller. As the narrative turns to Jess’ diary entries prior to the murder, we learn that the case involves an ancient riddle known as the God Puzzle that is somehow protected by a possessed porcelain doll. What?!? That was my response, too. When the scenes began to border on horror and not thriller, I wasn’t sure I was going to finish the book. That’s just not a type of reading that I enjoy at all. The creep factor went away as we returned to Mike’s attempt to figure out what was really going on with the God Puzzle, so I’m reading once again…..even if a bit more cautiously. Here’s hoping the Chucky doll doesn’t make another appearance to scare the crap out of me! Just in case, I’m doing this reading during daylight hours…..

My 2025 Reading Challenge Progress

Now that we are into September, it seems like the perfect time to provide a little update on where I am in my pursuit of completing the challenge from The 52 Book Club. Right now, I’m sitting at 67% complete, having fulfilled 35 of the 52 prompts. For those who enjoy the visual representation, here’s the graphic.

As you can see, I have 17 books left to read in the 16 1/2 weeks remaining in 2025. That’s completely doable! There are a couple of prompts that I am struggling to find a book that I think I will enjoy though. If you have suggestions for any of these prompts, I’m all ears.

  • Has a moon on the cover
  • Told in verse
  • A celebrity on the cover

Okay….now back to reading my creepy doll story! LOL

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Sep 2

Vacations Are Too Short (September 2, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

I decided that the Labor Day weekend was the perfect opportunity to escape Plainview and head to the beautiful city of Denver, Colorado. This was my first excursion into the state and I must admit that I was immediately mesmerized. The scenery is breathtaking. The people that I encountered were so kind and welcoming. I slept like a baby. I also enjoyed three really exciting baseball games between the Cubs and Rockies. Somehow, I also managed to get some reading done this week and continue making progress toward my goals.

Rather than pressuring myself to complete a post on Labor Day, I decided to enjoy the holiday and push this week’s post back to Tuesday. Reading for Me will return to its usual schedule next Monday.

What I Finished This Week

Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian. Let’s start with the important information. I absolutely HATED this book! I have rarely read such a piece of trash that has so few redeeming qualities. Why did I finish it? I kept hoping it would get better because I did find the premise intriguing. The story centers around two married college professors who each have extramarital affairs; his is physical in nature while hers is simply emotional. Her student feels the need for revenge and decides to expose her mentor in her debut novel that will also serve as her MFA thesis in Creative Writing. The thesis is supposedly what we are reading. Seduction Theory cannot decide what it wants to be. At times it is the thesis written to expose the illicit acts of all players; at other times, it is a journal of the author’s vengeful fantasies because her mentor decides to stay in her marriage. Adrian gives us a short book (thank Heavens!) that is both confusing and confused. Truthfully, I found myself wondering how an editor let it get through in its present condition. Really not good at all! 2 stars.

The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin. Set in World War II England, Martin takes us back to the universe she first introduced in The Last Bookshop in London (read April, 2025). This time, we meet Emma, a struggling widow, with her young daughter Olivia. Because of the marriage bar, women who are (or have been) married cannot work. Having grown up in a quaint bookstore, Emma loves literature and sharing her passion for reading with others. Miraculously, she is offered a position at an upscale lending library despite her social status. As German bombs begin to descend on the small town, Emma is forced to decide whether it is best to keep Olivia close by or evacuate her along with thousands of other children to a place she has never seen. Much of this historical novel focuses on Olivia’s experiences as an evacuee. Filled with humor, wonderfully researched historical data, and a touch of love, The Booklover’s Library is filled with characters that will melt your heart and cause you to care about their well being and futures. This one was really hard to put down! I’m excited to see what other historical novels Martin has available. 4.75 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

I didn’t bring any extra books with me on my trip to Denver, so I found myself headed to the airport without any additional selections. Rather than allowing this to hamper my reading style, I decided to go off plan a bit and start two random books for the week. However, I think I can use them for some of the more “general” prompts in the reading challenge if I need to.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni (p. 22 of 361). Admittedly, I picked this book on my Kindle on a whim as I was looking for a book related to the word “puzzle.” Even though I am barely into the novel at this point, I am immediately thrilled with this selection. Here’s what I know right now. Mike Brink had it all until he suffered a horrible brain injury during a high school football game that left him with the ability to see things differently — patterns, numbers, complex puzzles are no challenge for him. Now a renown puzzle maker, Brink is rather surprised when he is invited to a women’s prison in upstate New York by Dr. Moses to assist with one of her patients, an inmate named Jess Price who was convicted of a brutal murder years ago. Since her incarceration, Jess has not communicated at all….until she drew a complex puzzle to an ancient secret. On the flip side of the paper were two words: “Mike Brink.” The book’s blurb suggests that the puzzle will lead Mike on an adventure involving an ancient Abrahamic prayer, a la The Da Vinci Code. I’m all in and ready to get some more reading done on my flight back to Amarillo.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (p. 52 of 493). I have never been a super fan of science fiction. So the prompt for a book with a character who can fly was immediately challenging for me. I went to three bookstores in the Denver airport looking for anything that would fit the prompt. I was even ready to read a graphic novel about one of the Marvel characters, but nothing was available. While I was in the largest of the bookstores — Tattered Cover Bookstore — I googled recommended books with characters who could fly. Nothing on the list was on the shelves. As I was walking out the door in defeat, this cover caught my eye and I quickly returned to the list on my phone. I knew I recognized that title! It’s longer than I had hoped for a sci-fi title, but I decided to give it a chance and follow through with my plan to be spontaneous this week. I have to admit that I have really enjoyed what I’ve read so far. Violet finds herself in an academy to become a dragon rider — even though what she really wants to do is become a scribe. That’s truly all I know so far. Why have I gotten pulled into this book? Yarros isn’t focusing on the magic too much yet. She is creating characters with depth that have you pulling for their success. We will just have to see how I do when the magic begins to enter the story, but for now, I’m all in on this human saga.

Another Milestone Achieved!

With the end of August, I reached another milestone in my reading goals for 2025. With the final read of the month, for the first time since I have kept track of the number of books I have read, I am very happy to say that I have read 52 books in a single calendar year!!! Okay, I actually read 52 books in 8 months, but who is being that specific? LOL! That doesn’t mean I’m going to stop reading for the year because I still have The 52 Book Club challenge to complete. I know…..but not everything I read was a good fit for one of the prompts, so I still have a bit of work to do to complete that task. I’m having fun reading and think I have finally fallen into a good routine.

August in Review

I’m a sucker for looking at the numbers each month. Here’s how August shook down….it’s amazing how much reading I got done during COVID isolation! Don’t want to do that again, but at least there was productivity in the process.

  • Books read in August: 11 (up from 5 in July). +6
    • 6 print
    • 4 ebook
    • 1 audio
  • Pages read in August: 4,014 (up from 2, 273 in July). +1,741
  • Highest rated book: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover (5.00)
  • Lowest rated book: Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian (2.00)

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Aug 25

Let the New Semester Begin (August 25, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

Classes at Wayland began on Wednesday. The week has felt long and arduous for some reason. Thankfully, I had a good book to keep me company throughout the week. I also had a book that I just needed to read. Here’s hoping that the two books currently in my rotation this week will raise the level of enjoyment.

What I Finished This Week

James by Percival Everett. This beautiful novel has been in my TBR stack for almost a year. Winning the National Book Award, I knew that I was going to read it, but I was always looking for the perfect moment. Honestly, I wasn’t sure that the beginning of the school year would be the right time, but as soon as I started reading, I was drawn into the story and reminded of the joy I experienced reading Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (the inspiration for James). Everett begins with the classic story, but presents the events from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave. At times dark and introspective, the novel is laced with humor and tongue-in-cheek commentary about society and its racial divide. While this wasn’t my favorite prose of the year, I found it extremely enjoyable and insightfully relevant to the issues our world faces in 2025. 4.25 stars.

Migration by Charlotte McConaghy. Climate fiction is a challenging genre for me. The text always seem hopeless and man is portrayed as a villain for causing the Earth’s climate crisis. While the story of this novel was intriguing, I found it extremely dark and depressing. Franny is a woman on a mission as she desperately tracks the flight of rare arctic birds as they migrate south. Franny is also a driven woman, obsessed with correcting the mistakes of her past and making sure she punishes herself in order to find justice for those she has left behind. While McConaghy’s writing style is lovely and might be a pleasure to read when addressing a different topic, this one just didn’t do it for me. Between Franny’s depression, the failure of her marriage, and the plight of these endangered birds, I found little optimism to cling to in the reading of this novel. 2.75 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin (p. 52 of 416). I read Martin’s The Last Bookshop in London back in April and thoroughly enjoyed it. To satisfy the prompt to read a second book set in the same universe, I am returning to World War II England in The Booklover’s Library. Emma is a single mother facing the horror of impending attacks on the English countryside and whether she should evacuate her daughter, Olivia, or face the bombings together. Emma’s moments of solace come while working in the Booklover’s Library where she can escape the threats and terror among her beloved books. Although I just started the novel on Sunday, I am enthralled by the story and its characters. This is going to be another fun read!

Seduction Theory by Emily Adrian (p. 18 of 213). This novel was my August selection from The Book of the Month Club because I was intrigued by the premise. Two married academics have their extramarital affairs exposed in a master’s thesis. I have to be honest and admit that I also selected this book for one of the week’s reads because it is rather short. This will fit the prompt of a book with an epigraph.

A Little Celebration

I have accomplished my first reading goal of 2025! I reached page 18,000 in my reading this week. How did I arrive at that goal? In 2024, I read 16,851 pages. So I extended the goal by 1,000 pages and rounded up. Since it is just August, I anticipate that I will raise my page goal significantly for 2026.

The next goal on the horizon is completing 52 books in the year. This has long been an unspoken goal that has always seemed elusive. I should complete that goal in the next few weeks. Then I’ll just need to complete the annual challenge from The 52 Book Club for 2025.

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Aug 18

So Many Meetings (August 18, 2025)

by kennithfreeman

What an incredibly busy week it has been! Monday and Tuesday consisted of driving me and my things back to Plainview. I made it back just in time to begin professional development and faculty meetings on Wednesday morning. Despite the never ending and often tedious meetings, I still managed to have a very good week in my reading life. I’m celebrating the conclusion of the big Russian novel as well as two ebooks this week!

What I Finished This Week

The Appeal by John Grisham. Just in case you didn’t read my summary from last week, let me briefly recap. Chemical company dumps waste in a small Mississippi town. Water supply becomes polluted and people die. Jury returns verdict with massive damages awarded. Company does not want to pay and attempts to purchase a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court. That’s the entire plot. Grisham is very good at weaving these interesting legal stories that force the reader to examine both sides of the issue. Was I frustrated as I read? Absolutely! Did I find myself rooting for the victims to get the money I felt they deserved? Most definitely. Do things in the justice system always turn out as they should? According to my experiences and Grisham’s novel, not at all. 3 stars.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. It’s time to celebrate! I completed my latest #BigBookofSummer read with this Russian masterpiece. This week, I read Part 7 and the shorter Part 8. Part 7 was the climax of the book as Anna’s psyche unraveled and she found herself in the pits of despair. Ultimately, she would choose to end her life in order to punish those who she did not feel loved her adequately. While I understand that Part 8 was needed to wrap up loose ends, it really felt as though Tolstoy was trying too hard to say something of importance and never quite summed up the theme of his novel. Levin wrestles with his philosophy of religion and spirituality while asking important questions about the meaning of life. Part 8 was intended to show how Anna’s death had impacted those left behind; instead, it was just a depressing statement of how life continues until we all ultimately die. 4 stars simply because of the massive scale of this tome.

The Perfect Game by J. Sterling. A romance that is all about a pitcher getting drafted and moving through the ranks to the major league? I’m all in! After seeing the book lauded on Facebook all summer, I decided it was finally time to read it and see what all of the fuss was about. It’s a pretty standard plot. Boy meets Girl and falls in love. Girl has trust issues that are tested when Boy has a drunken one night stand while traveling. Matters become worse when Boy’s indiscretion leads to an unwanted pregnancy. All in all, this was a fun, fast read to bring my summer reading sprint to an end. 3.75 stars.

What I’m Currently Reading

James by Percival Everett (p. 104 of 303). I purchased a copy of the 2024 National Book Award winning novel last November. What I knew about the book was that it was a re-telling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s perspective. Twain’s masterpiece has long been a personal favorite and one that I have examined multiple times, so I knew that I would ultimately read Everett’s novel. I finally sat down with James on Saturday morning and began reading. I was instantly pulled into the story and enjoyed the prose immensely. What I didn’t expect was how quickly the story moved; even with some dialect included as an homage to Twain’s novel, I have found the text quite easy to move through thus far. I’m anticipating that this book will be an easy one to finish this week and will fulfill the prompt for a book with a final sentence of less than six words.

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (p. 50 of 254). One of the prompts that I have been most worried about completing was “Climate Fiction.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one who will deny that Earth’s climate is changing and that we have a responsibility to protect it. However, it’s not something I want to consider in my reading life. I had tried to read There Once Were Wolves earlier this year, but the opening scene was just too graphic for me and I could not get past it. Migrations is about a woman who is studying endangered birds that make an annual migration to Antartica. Many scientists believe that this will be the final flight of the birds; Franny is convinced she will also cease to exist when the birds are extinct. Although I’ve only gotten a few pages into the book, I am finding it an enjoyable read thus far.

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