Reading for Me

This has been another week of adding to my Did Not Finish pile and finally not feeling guilty about it. Why stop reading a book? I was no longer interested. I felt as though I was trying to read out of duty and necessity instead of desire. That’s not what I want for my reading life these days. The attitude that I could never put down a book unfinished is what led to many years of poor reading in my world.

What books did I put away this week? The biography of Disraeli and Great Pianists both had to go away. The biography is going back to the library after a tough realization that I did not want to spend eight weeks in the spring studying British history of the 19th century as my return to graduate work. The course syllabus did not suggest that the class design was realistic and I just didn’t need that level of stress in my world right away. The Schoenberg book will return to its place on my office shelf; it has been so long since I picked it up that I admitted that it is not where my interest currently lies.

So after a long, busy week, I headed to the bookstore on Friday evening to pick up some books for finals week as well as the holiday break. The plan is to finish reading the Kincaid Brides series before heading back to Arkansas next weekend. While this third volume in the series has not been outstanding, I think I can go ahead and make my way to the end of the story. Two new novels found their way into my home this week — one I was drawn to immediately when I saw it on the shelf and the other than I have had on my TBR list for several years. I have already begun reading The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams and am thoroughly enjoying this novel. Once I get settled in Arkansas, I plan to supplement my reading of a few Shakespearean plays in preparation for my spring class with Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth.

That’s the plan for the rest of 2021. I’m toying with the idea of a different type of reading challenge in 2022. I’ll keep you all posted and let you know what I decide in the weeks ahead.

Greetings from eastern Arkansas! I hope you have all had a relaxing Thanksgiving holiday, surrounded by those you hold most dear. I traveled to my parents’ home on Tuesday evening and decided to take a complete vacation, focusing only on things that needed my attention here. As a result, I have read nothing since leaving the airport. That doesn’t bode well for meeting my reading goals for the remainder of the year, but it certainly has led to a healthier mind and spirit for this reader. That is worth far more to me than the arbitrary reading goal I set for myself.

When I begin heading back to Texas tomorrow afternoon, I will resume the adventures of the Kincaid brides and see what more I can discover about Disraeli through his biography. Tomorrow, I will begin the process of returning to my responsibilities and my normal pursuit of an academic life. For now, I am going to continue enjoying rest and respite. I’ll update you next weekend about my continuing progress through the world of books.

My reading chair is surrounded by a multitude of books. Everything is in progress and nothing is getting marked off of my list. I’m not necessarily a fan of this method of reading, but it is the only way I am getting things accomplished at the moment.

What is causing such disarray in my reading life? Academia and pleasure reading are merging and I am just trying to keep my head above water. I’m nearing the end of my current novel, The Accidental Tourist, and should have that completed before I need to return it to the library on Monday. I thought I would finish it earlier this week, but my music appreciation lectures demanded that I do some reading on Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner to get through the week’s lectures. Additionally, I’m continuing to make my way through Schonberg’s The Great Pianists, but haven’t been able to devote any time to its pages this week.

On Thursday, I learned that I have been admitted to the Master’s program in Humanities at Wayland. I’ve been considering pursuing another graduate degree for a while and this one seems like a good fit. Then I registered for Spring classes! The first 8-week course is British History; the syllabus includes four book reviews (one every other week of the term). The books on the list are MASSIVE, so I made my way to the library on Friday morning and picked up the first tome that I’m going to read. It’s long and requires a lot of brain energy to read. It’s been a little while since I had to read academically, so I’m hoping that my brain cells are still up to the task. So, I’m slowly making my way through A Mad, Bad, and Dangerous People? England 1783-1846 by Boyd Hilton at the moment. So for a little while, it seems that the purpose of starting this blog — reading solely for personal enjoyment — is going to be encroached by a bit of academic work as well. We’ll see how things progress!

Earlier this week, I continued my recent dive into romance novels and read the first in the series by Kristen Proby. Why the recent fascination with romance? I guess it has something to do with the fantasy and escapism they bring from the realities of life. Plus, they tend to be easy reads….and that has been about all my brain could handle during the crazy life of October!

Listen to Me featured Addison, a co-owner of a hot new restaurant in Seattle. Addison has had bad luck in relationships and has been jilted by musicians as well as her parents. Enter Jake, the swaggering rock star dealing with his own demons from his past. The attraction is instantaneous, but there is no certainty that either will be able to look beyond their hurts and baggage to see the possibilities that are right in front of them.

Proby’s writing is witty and fast-paced. STEAMY as well. If you are not comfortable with graphic depictions of intimacy, you should just move on to the next book because this one is not for you. However, if you are looking for a fast-paced read that grapples with the realities of flawed people in the dating pool, this is the perfect book for you.

Thankfully, romance is not the only thing in my reading world at the moment. What else am I working through? I’m really enjoying The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. I just started the book this week and am reading the hard copy at a rather leisurely pace, but I was pulled into the plot from the very beginning of the story. I’m continuing my research through Harold Schonberg’s The Great Pianists. I’ve made my way up to the chapter on Franz Liszt just in time to lecture on the same topic in my music appreciation class. I also decided to add an audio book to the mix this week, so I began listening to Anderson Cooper reading his book Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. All of my books are very diverse, so I can always find something that will strike a chord in my reading life.

Greetings from Salt Lake City on a rather chilly Sunday morning. This weekend was Fall Break, so I decided to head out of town and enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation. Although things didn’t go quite as I had planned — blasted back ache! — I am still very thankful that I got some rest, but it’s time to head back to my normal routine.

Since I was taking some time off, I also took a bit of a reading holiday while in SLC. I had “plans” of getting some quality reading done, but the mountain air just made me sleepy and there were so many things to see! Before starting my break, I did manage to get some productive reading done. I continued to slowly make my way through The Great Pianists and have really enjoyed looking at Listen to Me by Kristen Proby. I made good progress on this romance novel on my flight into SLC on Thursday. With any luck, I’ll maybe have a finish before hitting the ground in Amarillo tonight!

That brings us to the topic of The Moonstone. I’m really at a crossroad with this book. On one hand, I have invested so much time in reading this book that I just want to see it through to the end and mark it off of my list. On the flip side, there are so many good books in the world! Why am I slogging through a painful read? As hard as it is for me to accept, I think this book is about to move into my DNF pile. I’ve gotten a taste for the style of the writing. It’s definitely not something I’m going to recommend to anyone else. Hmmm….I guess I just came to a decision while writing this post! Why was that so hard?

I had a finish yesterday afternoon. Beyond that, I don’t really know what to call it. It was not a book or a novel. It was marketed as a “novella”, but at only 48 pages, I think that’s even a bit of stretch. Still, I finished and I’m adding it to my collection of completed reads for the year. (At this point, I need all of the help I can get to meet my goal of 40 books in 2021.)

Another post in the “One Love” series, this story featured a young woman who had been hurt in love one too many times. When she finally seeks out the services of a matchmaker, the first date is off the charts with the handsome vet that she is paired with. Will this relationship work out or will she manage to allow fear to self-sabotage her chance at happiness yet again? Definitely a light-hearted read to just get your reading motor started again.

Other than that short novella, I did continue making my way through some of my other slow burns. I’m still trying to plow through The Moonstone, but I’m beginning to have doubts that I will actually complete it. I understand the plot, I’m just not engaged in reading it. I also made a little headway through The Great Pianists this week, closing out the chapter on Beethoven. I’m hoping that now that I am getting a little closer to contemporary pianists and piano technique that this book will grab my attention during the week once again.

I also took the plunge and started an account on StoryGraph. I like the option to include ratings that fall between 2 and 3 stars because sometimes a book just doesn’t deserve 3 stars….but 2 stars seems too harsh. I like the site’s functionality so far and am hoping that I get better reviews from it than I did on Goodreads.

As I was preparing to write my Friday post on this site, I realized that I had not written my review of my last read — James Patterson’s 21st Birthday. That’s when I noticed that I hadn’t updated about my completed reads since late July! Wow! I promise that I’ve completed a few books since then…..not as many as I would have liked……but I’ve read 6 books since then. Rather than providing reviews of each of them (as three of them are re-reads for me), I’m just going to list them here. This will bring my current total for 2021 to 25 books. I *might* make my goal of 40 books this year, but it is going to be rough if I continue to experience the level of apathy I’m in right now.

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (audio)
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (audio)
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (audio)
4. Recreational Music Making Handbook – Brenda Dillon
5. Gods in Alabama – Joshilyn Jackson
6. 21st Birthday – James Patterson

Okay…..so now I’m going to consider my blog caught up and I will try to get into a better routine of reviewing my reads. What am I working through right now? I returned to the Harry Bosch novels and am about a fourth of the way through Trunk Music. It’s a fun read, I just wish that my local library’s copy was not a massive volume (containing 3 of the novels). It’s just too hard to handle for long periods of time.

I’ve been struggling with writing this post since I finished reading the novel on Wednesday of this week. You see, I can’t completely figure out what I feel about the experience. As the weekend is coming to a close, my self-imposed blog deadline is quickly approaching. So….this one may be an adventure for both of us because I’m not entirely sure where this post will go.

Let’s start by setting the scene of the novel. April is a teenage girl living in upstate New York in a very challenging situation. She dreams of being a musician. Her mother left when she was very young, causing April to always wonder what she could have done to make her stay. April’s father is a bit of deadbeat, leaving April to live alone in a trashy motor home while he begins a “new life” with his girlfriend and her young son.

When April has finally had enough, she hits the open road with plans to begin a new life. She has no destination. She has very little money, no real education, and no place to lay her head. April lands in Ithaca, New York where she becomes part of a rag-tag “family” made up of the people that populate a local coffee shop. Once challenges arise that threaten to expose some of April’s secrets, she once again hits the road with little plan or preparation.

This becomes the formula for the rest of the novel. April runs from a problem, ends up in a new city with the hopes of a “new life” until she learns that her immature expectations cannot exist in reality. When April finally experiences a life changing event that demands she grow up quickly, she learns — along with the reader — that our true family is our chosen family, “the people we keep.”

Now, I’ll try to explain where my mixed feelings about The People We Keep come in. Once I finished the novel, I had to admit that it turned out to be a very good read and raised issues that I found interesting to consider. So I recommend the book as a whole now that I have finished it. However, I found myself constantly frustrated during the reading experience. The plot became formulaic because of April’s constant running. Very often, it felt as though I was reading the same story over and over again, just in a different setting with a slightly different cast of characters. It was hard to find any redeeming qualities in April (and, as a result, in the novel) until the end of the book.

So….all of that to say I don’t regret reading the book at all and think that anyone who manages to make it to the end will find a charming story. But I also think that there are other novels that were a much more enjoyable and entertaining reading experience. So don’t rush to your local bookstore to pick up this book. If you find yourself with a copy easily assessable, give it a look and see if it grabs your interest.

Let’s just start with the most important statement that this review will contain. READ THIS BOOK! This book was a fast read that was thought provoking and addressed contemporary issues without hitting you over the head with a clear opinion.

After the End tells the story of Max and Pip, a couple living in England. Their only child, Dylan, will soon turn three years old — hopefully. Dylan is currently in the Pediatric ICU as a result of complications from a brain tumor. After multiple surgeries and chemotherapy, the doctors have discovered that the remaining portion of the tumor is growing. Sadly, they do not recommend further treatment and ask Max and Pip to make an impossible decision. Do they continue to seek treatment that might prolong Dylan’s life for a short while or do they simply offer palliative care and allow the child to die? The doctors have made it clear that should Dylan continue to live, he will have very little function, if any. He will not walk or feed himself. It is doubtful that he will ever clearly communicate his wishes or pains. He will not regain control of his bladder or bowels. Faced with the question that has no obvious answer, Max and Pip find themselves on opposite sides — unable to agree on the best course of action to take for young Dylan. As a result, the case will be taken before family court.

In a startling turn at the novel’s mid-point, Mackintosh produces two subsequent chapters that have the opposite decisions handed down by the court. For the remainder of the story, the author masterfully explores what *might* happen to Dylan and his parents in both scenarios. When I first encountered these chapters in the novel, I was confused and uncertain of how this was going to play out. Soon it became clear that Mackintosh was showing the reader alternate endings to the story. Through this unusual storytelling device, After the End points out that mistakes, suffering, and joy result along both paths and that it is absolutely impossible to truly know what the best choice is in every situation. One simply must consider the facts as presented at the moment, listen to your heart and gut-instinct, and follow a path. Then, we simply must travel the chosen path and not torment ourselves by constantly looking back and second-guessing our choices.

At the conclusion of the novel, Mackintosh shares some insight in her author’s note that I think readers need to know before beginning the journey. While the novel is completely a work of fiction, Mackintosh and her husband faced a similar situation in their own lives when their child became gravely ill; the Mackintoshes were forced to face a decision similar to that of Max and Pip. While Candace and her husband were in total agreement about their decision, I personally believe that her experience allowed her to write the story of Pip and Max with an unmatched level of truthfulness, compassion, and empathy for all characters in her novel while carefully navigating the waters of the quality of life versus quantity of life debate.

If you are ready to ask yourself repeatedly how you would handle such a challenging and unimaginably difficult situation, journey with Pip and Max through the pages of After the End. Once you reach the end of the novel, these characters will stay with you long after the final page and continue to give you much to think about and consider.

Spring Break 2020 has been very unusual. Most of the week was spent sitting in the Geriatric Ward while watching updates about the COVID-19 crisis unfold before our eyes. Schools are closed for the rest of the semester. Bars, movie theaters, and businesses are closed all over the country. Restaurants are permitted to offer pick-up and delivery only. Americans are encouraged to shelter in place while practicing “social distancing” in an effort to stall the spread of Coronavirus. There are currently 22,000 reported cases of COVID-19 in the United States. Things have certainly been strange this week and there is no clear end in sight. The world wonders if things will ever truly return to normal.

Needless to say, I have been a little distracted this week. Early in the week, I managed to do a little reading of Potok’s In the Beginning but quickly became distracted. Other than that, I managed to do a little listening to Julie Andrew’s memoir Home on Audible. I anticipate completing much of the memoir while driving back to Plainview this weekend.

My hope is that I will be able to get back to a regular reading routine in the days ahead as I also make the transition to online teaching since WBU announced on Thursday that we will transition all face-to-face classes to online only instruction for the remainder of the Fall term.