Summer Reading
Summertime to me means having extra time to catch up on reading. For some reason the rest of the year is too hectic to enjoy the volume of books that I'd like to read but summer has a lazier pace that allows me to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes.
I am currently re-reading one of my favorite books as a middle school student, The Obnoxious Jerks.
Reading this book has brought back a flood of fond memories of my middle school and high school days and it has even helped me solve a mystery. It's about a group of smart alec smart kids as they attempt to pull pranks that will buck the system at their high school. The Obnoxious Jerks never fails to remind me of my own nerdy cohort, The Tom Sawyer gang.
One of the other childhood favorites that I like to revisit year after year is the deliciously creepy Behind the Attic Wall. It has orphans, pretending, a mystery and pretty much everything I like in a young adult thriller. It's a great quick read for a rainy day.
If you're looking for a more advanced thriller I have three books to recommend to you. The first is Greenmantle. When I read the back of this book I thought for sure it was going to be a snoozer. It's about World War I spying and intrigue and frankly sounded like a book for boys. I gave it a chance and I was riveted. Now it's one of my favorites.
If you're in to spying from an even older military can I recommend that you pick up a copy of the original, very long Three Musketeers? It's a fabulous book filled with romance and plot twists that are guaranteed to keep you turning those pages. It's a dense book but it is extremely rewarding. Another book that is head and shoulders above any other version is The Phantom of the Opera. I stumbled across this accidentally and then I could not put it down. The theatrical version is lovely but it doesn't compare to the original.
If you're in the mood for something fluffier, like some light beach reading, check out anything by Stephanie Plum, Dorethea Benton Frank or Jill Conner Browne. These authors have tons have titles that will keep you busy as you perfect your tan.
After too many fluffy sugary books I generally feel like I need to plug into something a little more educational. Some of my favorites are Last Chance to See, Desert Solitaire, Forty Acres and a Goat, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and others books about nature or the civil rights movement. That's just what makes my skirt fly up.
Reading is the best way to relax and kill some of those hot, humid summer hours in the ol' air con. But you don't have to take my word for it.
4 comments:
i'm the same way with summer reading. i usually have a pile of 'to-read's and i alternate between two fluffy and one 'heavy' read. my last heavy read was 'The Wordy Shipmates' by Sara Vowell (of npr fame) It was about puritans of the 17century and their beliefs as oppossed to the Church of England and modern day America. Pretty heavy stuff but Vowell writes about this stuff like she's talking about a tv show. lots of pop culture references and easy associations to make it more understandable.
after that, now i'm reading 'the centurians wife' , so far it's a snooze.
i still need to read 'animal vegtable...' should put that on my to do list
Oh summer reads!!! I read a lot of Christopher Pike & R.L Stine in my middle school daze. Now, I read a lot of Young Adult, you know, to keep up with what my students are reading, not because I love YA (ok I love YA). I have some recommendations for adults, even if you don't see yourself as YA reader. Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins are fast-paced, action-packed reads. The third comes out in August. My wonderful sister-in-law turned me onto Joan Bauer who writes great uplifting novels. I recently saw her speak at a conference and she talked about her characters as ordinary heroes (aka they don't have fangs or immortality), but they are amazing and inspiring. I could go on but my final author rec for today is Chris Crutcher. Like Bauer, his characters are very relatable and what they are going through hits close to home for YA (and me).
I actually do read and enjoy adult fiction as well and look forward to checking out reads you have mentioned. Remember to support your local library!!! Happy Reading
for a minute there i was like , 'weird I suggested joan bauer to my SIL' and then i realized YOU ARE my sil :)
i need to put hunger games on my list. i know you've mentioned that before.
Hooray! I needed new fluffy reading material!
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