Reading for Me

The Books I Have Read…..Just for Me

Jul 16

Music and a Little Summer Sickness (July 16, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

I’m back in the Geriatric Ward after a quick trip to Cincinnati, Ohio last week. The trip included attending a recital by my friend, Jessica Rivera Schafer. It was lovely to sit at the back of the hall and just listen to some quality singing after a long summer hiatus from any classical music.

The trip also included a lot of sleeping. After the recital on Thursday evening, I slept for nearly 14 hours and simply could not seem to get enough rest. I don’t know if I was sick or exhausted, but I was confined to bed for the next couple of days — even deciding to skip going to the baseball game (Marlins at Reds) that I had been looking forward to all summer long.

I felt poorly enough after getting home on Saturday night that I made my way to the medical clinic yesterday morning. That visit took longer than I anticipated, putting me completely off of my regular routine. While the tests came back negative for COVID and the flu, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything when I got home. Thus this week’s update post is a day late….but here it is.

What I Finished This Week

The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline. A couple of short flights to Cincinnati made my Kindle the perfect reading companion. This relatively short novel was packed with intrigue and interesting characters. As I mentioned last week, the story opens with John Devlin suspecting that he had killed a man and asking for help from his brother, TJ. As the story continues John attempts to pin the murder on TJ in order to hide his own secrets. Can anyone say dysfunctional?! Having enjoyed other novels by Scottoline, I had high hopes for this one. It was okay…..I didn’t hate reading it, but it felt rather routine and formulaic.

What I’m Currently Reading

Blackout by Connie Willis (p. 264 of 491) Your eyes don’t deceive you. I have read all of 10 pages of this book this week. I didn’t try to pick it up until I got to Cincinnati when I was expecting quiet time in my hotel. However, I didn’t feel like reading and wanted to sleep instead. I forced myself to read a chapter and a bit more of this month’s entry for #BigBookSummer. I hope to get back to this novel this week and see if I can make some progress. I’m not really sure why, but this one is just not grabbing my attention at the moment.

My Best Friend’s Secret by Romeo Alexander (p. 138 of 313) I needed a new Kindle read for the flight home and picked up this one. I’m barely halfway through the book and it’s just now getting to the basic premise. Since I started it when I wasn’t feeling very well, I didn’t get acclimated to the story right away. The alternating voices seem very similar in tone to me, so I’m having some difficulty keeping the characters straight in my head as well. It’s not a bad book…..I’m just not in a good place with it.

What’s Ahead?

My intentions this week are to finish My Best Friend’s Secret and to make significant progress in Blackout. However, I also have a couple of memoirs in my sights that I want to dive into this week. One was written by my sister and I feel obligated to give it a cursory glance at least. The other is J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy; since he has been named as the Republican nominee for the Vice-Presidency, I feel it is important to re-read this piece and reacquaint myself with his story as the nation makes an important decision later this fall.

There you have it. I’ll return to my normal Monday posts next week and let you know what I’ve managed to get done.

Happy reading, y’all!

~Kennith

Big Book Summer historical romance Sci-Fi Series

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Jul 8

Doctors and Independence (July 8, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

As July arrived, the reality that there are only a few weeks remaining of my summer vacation became a reality. That meant it was time to take care of a lot of doctors’ visits for me. Before the holiday arrived, I visited both the dentist and the cardiologist. Thankfully, I got good reports from both….and might have heard about the importance of flossing and exercise.

The arrival of Independence Day signaled one very big reality for the rest of the week — the Geriatrics would have a four-day weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents. But I am the oddball of this family and prefer to enjoy the sounds of silence more than the cacophony of mind-numbing televisions. My dad is the major culprit in this issue. Because he cannot hear (I don’t jest!), he has no idea just how loud things really are. Several times, I had to shut the doors separating the living room from the bedroom-turned-small-den in the rear of the house because the volume on the tiny television in the back was so loud that you could hear it over the main system in the front. It was really bad!

Somehow, I managed to convince my Mom to resume her reading life and she has had her nose in The Women by Kristin Hannah recently. Two readers in the house means there was a little more productivity going on since we didn’t have to have the television roaring for entertainment purposes. That’s a happy sound to my ears!

What I Finished This Week

Crusher by Darryl Banner. This light romance told the story of Quin and Adrian. Quin is an art student with immense talent and low self-esteem. He has been convinced by everyone — his parents, his art instructor — that he should pursue another career. But Quin’s passion for painting tells him otherwise. While visiting a beach-front town, Quin encounters Adrian – the local heartthrob who is known around town as the “Heart Crusher.” Opposites attract, the two fall in love, and all’s well that ends well. LOL!

What I personally found most rewarding about this read was the insightful conversation the two boys had about the pressures of creating and searching for validation from those you trust. Quin voices the fears of every young artist and explains beautifully to his non-artist friend the emotional roller coaster that is trying to figure out if you have the fortitude and talent to succeed.

What I’m Currently Reading

Blackout by Connie Willis. (p. 254 of 491) Now that I have reached the halfway point of my July selection for #BigBookSummer, I’m finally beginning to enjoy this book. I was worried for a bit as I dove into the book this week.

Here’s the basic premise….Historians at Oxford in 2060 have the ability to travel back in time to observe important events as they occur. Despite their various intentions, the team finds themselves in sundry locations in and around London during World War II. Okay…I like historical fiction and I am fascinated by this war. I thought this would be an excellent read for me. A large portion of the novel’s opening necessarily explores the time travel since the intricacies of the process are important as the story progresses. However, I got lost in the weeds and just wanted to get to the War. Now that the aspects of time travel are woven into the background of the characters’ stories, I am finding that I can simply enjoy the trials and exploits of these people. I’m glad that I stuck with it for a while and did not DNF this book. But be warned….if you are not a sci-fi fan (like me!), this is probably not a book I would recommend.

The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline. (p. 114 of 369) This novel is proving to be a fun and fast read that keeps me coming back for more. The Devlin family are all lawyers — everyone except TJ, that is. TJ is a convicted ex-con and recovering alcoholic who works for the firm as an investigator. TJ’s older brother has his sights set on taking over the firm when his parents finally retire and is working on a major merger to insure he is set financially. When John discovers that the company’s accountant has been embezzling funds, John arranges a private meeting. In the early pages of the book, John becomes irate and throws a rock at the accountant that strikes him in the head. When the accountant’s body is found a few days later, a few questions are at the top of everyone’s minds. Did John kill the man or did someone else? Does it matter?

At this point, I don’t have many of the answers at all, but I’m definitely looking forward to continuing my reading to find out what is going to happen next and to learn The Truth About the Devlins!

Upcoming Plans?

Later this week, I’ll be visiting Cincinnati for the first time to hear a friend’s voice recital and to take in a game at the Great American Ball Park. As a result, I’m not entirely sure just how much reading I’ll get done. I would like to finish the Scottoline book this week, but we will just have to see how that goes. Regardless, I’ll meet you back here next Monday to give you the update about my reading life.

Happy reading!

~Kennith

Big Book Summer fiction historical Sci-Fi

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Jun 17

Home After a Bit of Travel (June 17, 2024)

by kennithfreeman

The last few weeks have included some work travel. Last weekend, I was in Norman, Oklahoma; this week saw me in Waco, Texas at the Texas Music Teachers’ annual conference. I was there telling piano teachers, parents and students about Wayland and the opportunities we have there. My plan was to do a lot of reading while sitting in the booth. I was so excited to curl up with my books and get some work done.

Sadly, I learned that things have not changed for me. I am easily distracted and cannot concentrate in the midst of noise. So the constant banging of pianos not only gave me a headache, but it meant that I could not read a word of the easy read that I had selected for this purpose. When the day was done, all I wanted to do was head back to my hotel room and relax in the silence. At night, I would do a little reading to calm my mind, but I didn’t get as much accomplished as I had hoped.

Now on this Monday afternoon, I have returned to Arkansas to find a situation that will once again mean that I don’t get much of anything accomplished this week. Yesterday morning, Mom was taken to the ER with shortness of breath associated with a lung infection. She’s fine, but feels horrible and will be spending much of the week in the back room watching television and resting while a humidifier pumps cool midst next to her. To add to the fun, Pop got attacked by a cat this morning (yep…..a simple little cat) and had to go to minor medical to get bandaged up. He has been on blood thinners for years, so even a small scratch requires medical attention. But the bandages plus rainy weather means he is home for the day as well. What does that look like? He has plopped down in the recliner, remote in hand, and the volume up incredibly loud because he is deaf and won’t admit it to himself! (Just a little frustrated about that, but at some point you just have to say “whatever” and move on.) So that means I can only find a bit of quiet at the dining room table with my EarPods crammed in my ears to try to shut out some of the noise. C’est la vie!

Now that I have whined enough about my situation, let me tell you what I’ve been reading this week.

The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club by Julia Bryan Thomas. (p. 135 of 246) This was the book that I expected to get to finish at the conference this weekend. Set in the 1950s, it is the story of four young ladies who are beginning their freshman year at Radcliffe College. While in the area, they begin a friendship with Alice, a single woman who owns a local bookshop and they begin a book club. Their discussions center around books that examine the role of women in society and often become heated as some of the girls hold very traditional stances. Against the backdrop of these conversations, one of the freshman girls is assaulted and cannot share her trauma with her friends and turns only to Alice. Nearly halfway through the book, I’m really enjoying the conversations and watching as the literature becomes relevant to the situations they are finding themselves in.

Adam Bede by George Eliot. (p. 237 of 574) I’m just going to be honest here. I’m struggling to find inspiration to continue reading this classic novel. When I first started the book, I was drawn in by the theological concepts and the growing relationships. However, the reading is SLOW and it just feels like I am slogging through thick mud to finish a single chapter. There is part of me that wants to read this work because I know it is important and well-written. But then I find myself questioning if it is worth the effort. I’ve not made a decision yet, but I won’t be surprised if this is DNF’d this week because of how much I am drawn into my first BIG NOVEL of the summer.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (p. 66 of 627) When I first learned about the Summer Big Book challenge, I immediately knew this was my opportunity to finally give this book a chance. I picked it up last week and got to a slow start rather intentionally; I didn’t want to get too invested before going to the TMTA conference. While in my hotel room on Friday night, I picked up the book for read a bit more and the time travel element was established — and I was HOOKED! So now I just want to keep my nose in this massive book and see what is going to happen to Claire in old-world Scotland. My goal is to finish this big book in the month of June so I can pick up another one to enjoy in July.

That’s what has my attention at the moment. Now….back to the reading!

~Kennith

Big Book Summer classic fiction historical

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Dec 2

#29: The Paper Girl of Paris (Jordyn Taylor)

by kennithfreeman

I love reading historical fiction. There’s just something magical about mixing fictional characters with real events. Ever since reading Number the Stars, I have had a special place in my heart for works for young readers that address the horrors of World War II. When I stumbled upon The Paper Girl of Paris on a recent trip to the bookstore, I knew that I had found an exciting read that was going to move me. I was right in my assessment.

The Paper Girl of Paris tells the story of Alice and Adalyn. Alice is a 16-year-old girl who has just inherited a Paris apartment from her grandmother. When Alice and her parents arrive to check out the unusual gift, they find that the space is much as it was when the family left in the height of World War II. While exploring the apartment for information about her grandmother, Alice stumbles upon the diary of her grandmother’s sister, Adalyn. While she is initially intrigued by the discovery of another relative, Alice’s feelings change when she discovers a photograph of Adalyn enjoying drinks with Nazi invaders. Was Adalyn a supporter of the Nazis in Paris? Did she betray her own family who ultimately left everything behind to avoid the Nazis?

A thrilling story about the the French Resistance and the importance of family, The Paper Girl of Paris will be an exciting read for any history lover and a great introduction to the major issues of World War II for any young reader. I highly recommend it!

fiction historical teen Young Adult

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Apr 23

#10: The Duke and I (Julia Quinn)

by kennithfreeman

I thoroughly enjoyed my recent foray into fluff reading. After watching the Netflix’s series Bridgerton based on Quinn’s novel, I was prepared for some raunchy scenes that were going to make me blush. All in all, Quinn’s novel was romantic and sexy, but it wasn’t as graphic as I feared. I found it a pretty good mix of naughty and nice.

If you’ve been living under a rock and have no idea about the plot of this series of books, I suppose some introduction is appropriate. Set in Regency England, the series follows the love lives of the 7 children of the Bridgerton family. In this first volume, our focus is on the oldest daughter, Daphne. Daphne is anxious to be married and have a family. However, she cannot find a suitor who captures her eye and heart. Enter Simon, the dashing Duke of Hastings.

Simon appears to be the perfect match for Daphne. Handsome, social standing, and wealthy. However, because of his childhood experiences, Simon does not intend to wed or bear children. It should come as no surprise when Simon and Daphne enter into an agreement to pretend to be madly in love so they both get what they want during the social courting season. Simon is unapproachable by other young ladies while Daphne is now the center of attention of all of the eligible bachelors! Nothing can go wrong with this plan, right?

Read the book. Watch the outstanding ensemble piece on Netflix — just have whatever you need to cool you down when you do! — and enjoy this charming story of love and intrigue. You’ll be glad you did.

2022 Reading Challenge fiction historical romance

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Jul 27

#17: The Personal Librarian (Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray)

by kennithfreeman

Once again, I feel compelled to yell from the rooftop – If you like historical fiction, READ THIS BOOK! If you are just looking for a compelling story, READ THIS BOOK! If you are interested in exploring the role race plays in America, READ THIS BOOK! Can I make it any clearer for you? READ THIS BOOK!!!!

The Personal Librarian is the factionalized account of Belle de Costa Greene, personal librarian of J.P. Morgan. Greene was singlehandedly responsible for pulling together one of the world’s greatest collections of important printings of early English works as well as an outstanding gathering of paintings by masters of the Italian Renaissance. Miss Greene was respected as an art expert in the early decades of the 20th Century in both America and Europe. What makes Belle de Costa Greene an even more interesting figure is that she accomplished all of this as an African-American woman who passed as white in order to succeed, fully knowing that if her secret were discovered, it would result in catastrophe for both herself and her family.

Beautifully written with an eye for historical accuracy, The Personal Librarian is an outstanding portrait of an era in American history that shares many parallels with the one we are currently living in at the beginning of the 21st Century. With lush descriptions of illuminated manuscripts, prized art collections, and the social gatherings of New York’s upper class, The Personal Librarian explores the Gilded Age with remarkable clarity while comparing that life with the plight of minorities existing just a few blocks away. A struggle that occurs just after the Supreme Court overturned the Civil Rights Act of 1875, Jim Crow laws were taking hold, and segregation was becoming the rule of the land. The novel is both endearing and heartbreaking at the same time. Read this novel and you will gain a new perspective that I think will forever change you. READ THIS NOVEL!

Book of the Month fiction historical

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Apr 18

Reading Update: Books 7-9

by kennithfreeman

I have been very negligent in updating you on the books that I have been reading. The end of March and the first half of April was a busy time, but I managed to make my way through three novels. Here’s a quick update on what I’ve read and enjoyed.

#7: The Four Winds (Kristin Hannah)

I received this novel through the Book of the Month Club and it has been one of my favorite novels of the year so far. I cannot give it high enough praise! The story starts in rural west Texas (where I’m living these days) and progresses to the cotton fields of southern California in the height of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. In many ways, I think of it as a modern retelling of The Grapes of Wrath with female protagonists. Excellent novel that I did not want to put down!

#8: In Too Deep (Mary Connealy)

As the semester was winding down, I wanted to devote a few weeks of my reading to making more progress through My Library Shelf Project. This novel is the second volume of The Kincaid Brides series, a Christian romance series set in the wild west of Colorado. I found this volume much more entertaining than the first and did not feel as though it was quite as formulaic in its structure. I have one more book in the series on my shelf to read, so I’m hoping the writing continues to follow the upward trend. If you are looking for a quaint romance without the sultry sexiness on every page, this just might be the perfect book for you.

#9: The Concrete Blonde (Michael Connelly)

This is one of the hidden gems I have discovered on My Library Shelf. I am officially a fan of the Harry Bosch crime novels. This novel centers around the civil case resulting from Bosch’s killing of an unarmed suspect as he reached for his toupee hidden beneath his pillow. The event was alluded to in the earlier novels, so I was very happy to see the issue dealt with in greater detail and explained more fully in this novel. I began reading this novel just before bedtime and decided it was not a good nighttime choice. The story was too engaging and I simply did not want to wait to find out what happened next. I tore through this novel in just a few days and plan to pick up the next in the series tomorrow from the local library.

historical My Library Shelf romance thriller update

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Mar 21

#5: The Fall of Richard Nixon: A Reporter Remembers Watergate (Tom Brokaw)

by kennithfreeman

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately. That’s an understatement if there ever was one! I’ve been “reading” the same novel — The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson — for over a month. The novel is not long. I just haven’t been able to read. I’ve continued to go through the motions and read for about 20 minutes most days, but the activity has been uninspired and unproductive. What’s worse? I have another book on my iPad that I simply cannot finish. This is not a good thing for my yearly reading goal.

If I’m honest, I’ve been dealing with depression again for the past 6 weeks or so. Nothing has really triggered anything and I am certainly not in such a dark place that I need professional help (yet). I’m just sad, lethargic, and unmotivated. With warmer weather, I am beginning to feel better and at a place where I can actually address the sadness and make moves to change my emotional state when I catch myself getting dark. One of my ways to make sure that I am taking care of myself emotionally is to spend some time pampering myself. So, when I left the office on Friday afternoon, I exited the work email on my phone and decided I would check it once each day. If something really important came up, my colleagues have other ways of getting in touch with me. I scheduled a massage for Saturday afternoon and paired it with a trip to the bookstore and a favorite restaurant. For one day, my only concern was my well-being.

As I went into the bookstore, I didn’t feel the draw to fiction. That’s the normal stuff of my reading life and I needed a change. I began to wander the non-fiction stacks, but didn’t find much I wanted to dive into. This was not the time to explore secrets to happiness or finding purpose for my life. I wanted something that felt real, but that didn’t require me to examine myself. That comes later….

That’s when I stumbled (literally) into the History section and found myself intrigued by all of the Presidential works. Some that immediately caught my eye were massive tomes that I wasn’t ready for. Those would have been a huge commitment. As I was walking away, I noticed a couple of familiar figures on the cover of a book that did not look like an intimidating read at all. I’ve always been fascinated with the Nixon presidency and especially its ending due to the Watergate scandal. Tom Brokaw was my childhood image of the Nightly News. He was someone I trusted to explore the issue with a journalist’s keen eye while keeping his personal opinions out of the dialogue. I was pleased to find that one of my expectations held true.

The Fall of Richard Nixon was a fascinating, fast read. I plowed through the entire work in less than 24 hours (something I rarely do) and enjoyed exploring the situation from Brokaw’s first-hand perspective as a member of the White House press corps during the Nixon administration. The work was filled with insight, humor, and compassion for members of the Nixon White House. While Watergate is still a massive story that I am certain I have not fully unpacked, I feel as though I have a better handle on how America found itself in such a troublesome time within her highest office.

What I found unfortunate in Brokaw’s work were the numerous statements about the Trump administration that were couched within the Nixon story. Some of these were genuinely insightful and worthy of comparison. (Regardless of what side of the political spectrum you lean, no one has ever claimed that either Nixon or Trump were saints.) However, when Brokaw took off on a tangent that stretched for several pages about an article that he discovered in the New York Times — under the fold — while exploring the headlines about Nixon in the Fall of 1973, it became obvious that Brokaw wanted to slander the sitting President (at the time of the book’s publication) at any cost. Brokaw’s exploration of charges against Trump Management Corporation for discrimination against blacks in apartment rentals had no other segue way to the Nixon story. Brokaw returns to the struggles in the Middle East and the resulting oil embargo as though nothing had interrupted the conversation at all. While this was the lengthiest anti-Trump passage, the assaults were peppered throughout the work. If that was the goal, write an exposé on Donald Trump. Don’t hide it within another work about a different President in a different era unless you are at least going to make a connection between the two stories. I must admit that I now know that my trust in Brokaw’s unbiased journalistic integrity was based in naiveté.

What’s on the reading plan next for me? I am going to try to get back into The Kindest Lie this week and see if I can finish it up. If that doesn’t seem to take, I also picked up Becoming by Michelle Obama as another non-fiction option. Here’s hoping that I am coming out of the reading slump.

historical memoir non-fiction

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Nov 14

#33: The House Girl (Tara Conklin)

by kennithfreeman

I just finished reading The House Girl this morning and absolutely loved it! I am anxious to read another of Conklin’s novels housed on My Library Shelf to see if the credit goes to the story line or Conklin’s writing. I have a feeling Conklin is going to ultimately get the credit.

In last week’s update, I explained my initial understanding of the novel. Shortly after posting the update, things turned around and I found myself enthralled in a gripping tale set in the Antebellum South and modern day New York City. The story centers around Josephine, a slave girl on a tobacco plantation in Virginia. She has been treated well for the most part by her mistress, Lu Ann Bell. As part of their relationship, Lu Ann and Josephine have both dabbled in painting together. Both women are tormented. Both find comfort in expressing their feelings in the visual arts. Only one of them is a master artist.

In the 20th century, Lu Ann Bell is regarded as an important figure in the art world. Credit for the outstanding paintings found on the plantation have been attributed to Lu Ann. Enter Lina, a NYC lawyer who has found herself involved in a slave retribution case when she first hears the story of Josephine. She begins a journey to find out if Josephine or Lu Ann should be recognized as the gifted artist. If she believes it if Josephine, then she must figure out a way to track down the slave’s descendants in order to have a plaintiff for her case.

The House Girl is an insightful look into the life of the slave in the American south while also exploring our continuing pursuit of freedom from those things that hold us captive – whether it be the past, our job, or our beliefs. Conklin’s novel is not to be missed and has quickly found itself ranked among the best books I have read in 2020.

fiction historical My Library Shelf

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Nov 1

#32: Cometh the Hour (Jeffrey Archer)

by kennithfreeman

This week, I read the sixth volume of The Clifton Chronicles by Jeffrey Archer. Set in the 1970s, the novel opens with Emma finally being vindicated in her libel case filed by Lady Virginia. Giles and Seb both find love — one relationship looks very promising while the other is shrouded in questions of espionage and deception. Harry Clifton’s efforts to have a Russian author freed from prison finally have success, but at what cost?

Cometh the Hour is a fast-moving read that keeps the reader engaged. While this volume has many scenes in the English court system, the writing is more interesting than the long political battle that stymied in an earlier novel of the saga. I’m looking forward to reading the final book in The Clifton Chronicles later this month. First, I plan to spend the week reading The House Girl by Tara Conklin as part of My Library Shelf.

fiction historical Series

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