Rick's Reading List

Freida McFadden has an impressive resume and has written a lot of books that have been big sellers. The New York Times, Amazon, USA Today and others have acclaimed her work for having #1 sellers on their lists. That is part of the reason I wanted to read "Ward D," a story about a medical school student who had to do an overnight rotation in the psych ward at the hospital. But when Amy arrives and feels the door to Ward D lock behind her, strange things start to happen and people start to disappear. The book is supposed to be a psychological thriller, but I found it utterly impossible to believe that the tales in Ward D would ever happen in a hospital. I know that it's a work of fiction -- but that wasn't enough to find it believable.

The leading lady in Stacy Willingham's "A Flicker in the Dark" is Chloe Davis. The young lady has had a difficult life. Her father is in prison for a series of murders committed when Davis was 12. She was very close to her father and can’t believe he could take so many lives. While her dad is in prison, her mom is institutionalized, leaving Chloe and her brother to raise themselves.  Twenty years later, when Davis is a psychologist in Baton Rogue, it starts happening again -- young girls are disappearing -- and one of them is one of Chloe's patients.  A Flicker in the Dark, this week's entry on Rick's Reading List on KDKA Radio.

This week's entry on Rick's Reading List: First To Die by James Patterson.

In April 1942, a Slovakian Jew named Lale Sokolov was forced into the concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. When the Nazis learned that he speaks several languages, Lale was put to work as a tattooist where he permanently marked his fellow prisoners. In the next two years, Lale witnesses barbaric  atrocities — but also demonstrated incredible acts of bravery and compassion. Risking his own life, he uses his privileged position to exchange jewels and money stolen by the Nazis to help those who were in prison.

Madeleine L'Engle wrote a masterpiece -- even though she never thought "A Wrinkle in Time" was very good at all. As a matter of fact, very few publishers thought much of it either. Dozens passed on her fanciful science fiction work that ended up being a top seller in children's literature and a winner of the 1963 Newbery Medal for Literature. A Wrinkle in Time is part Chronicles of Narnia, part Orwell's 1984 and part Star Trek, but it also has the gift of being a "children's" book when read to kids, but with more thought-provoking "adult" issues sprinkled throughout -- part of the reason "A Wrinkle in Time" is on Rick's Reading List.

James McBride's novel "The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" was one of the highly acclaimed works of 2023.  Critics swooned over the tale woven by McBride based in a portion of Pottsville, PA called Chicken Hill.  In the 1930's. Chicken Hill was largely inhabited by Jews and African American working class families. It deserves all the praise it has received as McBride weaves people from different races, religions, and economic backgrounds into a powerful story of hope, sadness, joy, and the strength of human kindness. 

Amy Brady is an historian and a journalist.  In her book "Ice," she investigates how frozen blocks of water have changed America.  From refrigeration to chilled drinks, medicine to skating rinks, she traces the history of something that happens naturally in the cold climates: water freezing and turning into ice.  Yet something we take for granted now, wasn't always readily available.  In Ice, Brady explains the early days of ice boxes, the luxury of ice cream, ice in cocktails and how it changed what we drink. She also looks at hockey, speed skating, figure skating and cryotherapy for breast cancer -- all possible because of ice.

James Patterson is an author I have read many times. Perhaps that's why I was anxious to read "The House of Kennedy," but after working through four generations of Kennedy's and countless familial tragedies, I found myself wanting more from Patterson. The book seemed like little more than a recitation of countless facts about the Kennedy clan -- most of which were attributed to other historians. While informative, it lacked new information -- the personal behind-the-scenes stories -- about one of America's most famous families.  Do I know more about the Kennedys after reading Patterson's book.  Obviously the answer is yes.  Did I expect more from the author?  Also, yes.

David Baldacci's book "The 6:20 Man" features Travis Devine.  He is a West Point graduate, who after a couple of tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, finds himself back home looking for something a bit less exciting. That is how the 32-year-old winds up working as a junior associate in a Wall Street brokerage firm.  But trouble seems to find him when a woman who  mentored Devine is found hanging in a supply closet at the firm. What looked like suicide becomes a homicide -- and Travis Devine becomes a suspect.  "The 6:20 Man" is the latest addition to Rick's Reading List on KDKA Radio.

"Horse" is a book that has received so many honors from the critics, and after reading Gerardine Brook's novel, I can see why. It takes readers through three distinct eras of American history -- tied together by a magnificent thoroughbred named Lexington.  Lexington was one of the greatest racehorses the world has ever known, but more than that, he became the most successful stud the sport has ever known. But through the book "Horse," Brooks takes her readers through social issues, arts, history, science and equestrian lore that are masterfully mixed into one fascinating book.