Reading for Me

Happy New Year, my reading friends! My reading life (and thus, my writing here) was very sporadic during 2019. I’m ashamed to admit that I only read 21 books last year. My goal was 35. Obviously I fell short. That’s never a good feeling.

Recently, I viewed Brandon Vogt’s online seminar about how to double your reading next year over on claritasu.com. Brandon has some really neat ideas to share and I found the seminar worth the $1 that I had to pay for a trial subscription. (I promptly cancelled because none of the other videos seemed that relevant to my personal faith journey, but I do think it is worth a look. The videos seem to be done at a very high caliber.) After considering Brandon’s statements, I decided to take the challenge and set a goal to double last year’s reading. That means I’m setting a goal of reading 40 books in the next 12 months. What can I say? I like round numbers and just couldn’t bring myself to looking at the number 42 all year long. LOL

What will that mean? It means some changes in mindset for me first of all. Rather than trying to read a book every week, I’m simply committing to reading at least 30 minutes every day. I’ll have several books going at the same time so my reading can go wherever my interest leads me. “Reading” will also include audio books….so my time in the car can also be used toward my reading goal. I really don’t know how this is going to go for me. Having so many books going at the same time might be a total disaster. I just don’t know. Currently, I’m working my way through 3 books: 1) a novel from My Library Shelf project, 2) a massive biography of the composer Johannes Brahms, and 3) an audiobook.

I plan to use this blog as an accountability tool. The brief book reviews you have come to know (and hopefully love) will continue as I read through the year. In addition, I am going to post each Saturday with an update of how the reading has gone for the week. I’ll admit when I haven’t done much reading and share the challenges I’m facing. I’ll also share glimpses into some of the reading that I am really enjoying and what is sitting in the pile waiting for my attention next.

I hope you will join me for the journey. As always, I love to hear from you and to get your responses to the books. Now it’s time to put the iPad away and transport myself back to the story of a few women who have found themselves in the undesirable position of being food tasters for Hitler during the war….but I’ll tell you more about that one in the days ahead.

Happy reading!

Kennith

On October 18, 2019, I returned to the Unger Public Library in Plainview and selected another library shelf for my reading project. I had completed most of the books on the previous shelf and the remaining books were rather offensive to my reading palette. So rather than force myself to read things that I had such a distaste for, I opted to simply find another shelf. The new shelf contains 29 books and covers authors in the POI – PRA range. I was only familiar with the two classics contained on the shelf.

I began my reading with the first volume of a 5 book science fiction series, The Long Earth by Terry Pritchett and Stephen Baxter. The novel was certainly out of my normal comfort zone and not something I would typically read on my own. However, it was a fun departure and I enjoyed Pritchett’s writing style. There are several of his books (outside of the series) on the list. I’m looking forward to exploring more of what he has to offer.

Then it was time to pull a treasured paperback from my home library and read the next book from My Library Shelf. I returned to My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok and immediately recalled why I first fell in love with this novel while at Pepperdine. The exploration of the intersection of faith and art is compelling and in many ways parallels my personal struggles, especially as it relates to dealing with family who simply do not understand my art and the sacrifices it requires. I’ve probably spent more hours interacting with Potok’s text than I should have this week, but I simply could not put the book down! I need to process the text a little more before launching into the other Potok novel on My Library Shelf – The Gift of Asher Lev. I have a feeling that will be part of my Christmas break reading.

Under normal circumstances, I probably would not have picked up this book at all. However, several years ago after first relocating to West Texas, I embarked on a journey that I refer to as My Library Shelf. The concept is very simple at its core. Following a few guidelines that I had established (no more than a certain number of books by the same author and at least one classic novel), I selected a random shelf in my local library with the intention to read through all of the books housed there on that day. As a result, I have encountered some charming novels that I would have never read on my own. I don’t read exclusively from My Library Shelf; rather, I return to it when I simply don’t know what I want to read at the moment. With my busy schedule, the size of the novella was appealing. Unfortunately, that was one of the few things I enjoyed about the book.

The Whispering Muse is an Icelandic novella that tells the story of Caeneus, the second mate on an ocean freighter, transporting paper to India. Caeneus’ tale is tied up in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts. I have never been a fan of mythology and could not get past the unbelievable plot with its many twists and turns. The only reason I continued reading The Whispering Muse was because I wanted to mark it off of my list. Turning the last page and realizing I was done was the best part of my experience with this novella. Now, on to something else that I will hopefully enjoy more!

It was time for me to return to the stories of The Women’s Murder Club and I am so glad that I did. In this installment, Lindsey and the other women are attempting to find three young prep school teachers who have been kidnapped without a trace. Meanwhile, Lindsey’s husband, Joe, encounters of survivor of the Bosnian genocide who is convinced that she has seen the face of one of the soldiers on the streets of San Francisco who killed her husband and young son and held her captive in a rape hotel.

Is it possible that the two cases are intertwined? When the war criminal is discovered, it becomes necessary to catch him in a crime in order to see him deported and forced to stand before the ICC to answer for the horrors he has brought on so many. The first of the teachers is found dead in a rent-by-the-hour hotel….and Lindsey and the SFPD know that they are racing against the clock to save the other women.

Just when you thought you could easily predict exactly how Patterson’s novels would unfold, you encounter a brand new world in 18th Abduction. And this reader could not be more pleased with the outcome!

I continue returning to Kristin Hannah’s novels and I continue to be impressed. She is quickly becoming one of my favorite contemporary novelists and her book True Colors is probably the best book I have read this year. It is packed with unexpected plot twists, wonderfully developed characters, and themes that are extremely relevant to our society today.

True Colors follows the lives of three adult sisters who continue to struggle with their identity after their Mother’s untimely death in their childhood. Trying to balance their personal lives with the issues related to being a family while caring for their father and the family ranch proves to be too much at times. After a string of undependable ranch hands, the girls hire a stranger passing through town who appears to be capable, but there is also an air of mystery, intrigue, and danger surrounding him.

The new cowboy is Dallas Raintree, a Native American. The girls’ father immediately demands that the no-good man be fired before he brings trouble to the family ranch. Dallas begins to flirt with one of the sisters; they fall madly in love and marry. Dallas’ reputation in the close-knit community, however, does not improve with his marriage.

When a local woman is murdered, Dallas is the obvious suspect. He is arrested, tried and convicted despite his assertions of his innocence. His young wife uses her limited resources to have the sentence overturned with no success. As she struggles to come to terms with her situation, she also struggles to raise the couple’s young son who acts out with violence and rebellion.

Is Dallas guilty of murder? Can a tattered family be reunited despite opposing views? Does anyone care to look beyond their preconceived ideas about an individual based solely on their appearance and actually search for truth? All of these questions are raised and answered beautifully in True Colors. The reader will laugh, cry, and gasp while experiencing the highs and lows of life in this quiet northwestern town where animals are cared for, people live at a slower pace, and everyone is given the chance to let their True Colors shine through.

A must read for everyone! You will not be disappointed.