Summer Reading
I love it when people say GILT is a great beach read. Good for summer. When I was young, I spent many many hours at the public library during the summer. It was just down the street (actually, down a very steep hill!) from my house, and I'd return with my arms full of books. We didn't have summer reading lists at my school, so I got to choose anything and everything I wanted. I choose fun covers, series books, books by authors I loved and reread favorites. Summer was a chance to enjoy any and every book I came across.
And for good or for ill, this has always stuck with me. I'd pore over high school reading lists and pick up one "good for me" book as well as a stack of my favorites each time I went to the library or bookstore. I've tried to go on reading binges of the classics. I made my way through David Copperfield and The Mill on the Floss while traveling in Africa and enjoyed them, but they took me forever (which was a good thing, because in some places, books were hard to come by). I think some of it is the difference between classics and modern books that Nathan Bransford addressed in his blog today. But to be honest, some of it is just that sunshine and free time seem to call for something else.
I find myself craving books that will make me laugh. That will remind me of what love feels like. That will transport me wholly and fully to another world, another time, another country.
I recently finished MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick and submerged myself in a summer world I've never experienced - a beachfront community in Connecticut - and in a love story that feels deep and true.
I'm now reading CROAK by Gina Damico - another summer, another east coast setting, but a completely different world (one in which the protagonist is a grim reaper). This book is hilarious and I'm reading it slowly to prolong the enjoyment.
Now, summer reads don't have to be about summer. And they don't have to be "fluff." I know how they make me feel, but they kind of defy definition. They just feel good.
How about you? What would you call a "summer read"?
And for good or for ill, this has always stuck with me. I'd pore over high school reading lists and pick up one "good for me" book as well as a stack of my favorites each time I went to the library or bookstore. I've tried to go on reading binges of the classics. I made my way through David Copperfield and The Mill on the Floss while traveling in Africa and enjoyed them, but they took me forever (which was a good thing, because in some places, books were hard to come by). I think some of it is the difference between classics and modern books that Nathan Bransford addressed in his blog today. But to be honest, some of it is just that sunshine and free time seem to call for something else.I find myself craving books that will make me laugh. That will remind me of what love feels like. That will transport me wholly and fully to another world, another time, another country.
I recently finished MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick and submerged myself in a summer world I've never experienced - a beachfront community in Connecticut - and in a love story that feels deep and true.
I'm now reading CROAK by Gina Damico - another summer, another east coast setting, but a completely different world (one in which the protagonist is a grim reaper). This book is hilarious and I'm reading it slowly to prolong the enjoyment.Now, summer reads don't have to be about summer. And they don't have to be "fluff." I know how they make me feel, but they kind of defy definition. They just feel good.
How about you? What would you call a "summer read"?
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