The Joys of Summer Reading

To me summer has always meant extra time for reading and writing. This week I signed up for Camp NaNoWriMo to get work on on my latest book(s) .  I am jumping back and forth between two projects at the moment so I can't say which I might be working on by the end of the month. But I have made some decisions on my plot which should serve me well as I navigate writing and editing during my "camp" experience.

As for summer reading, this year I am planning to revisit some of my old favorites. For instance I always remember that in my high school years I spent lots of time walking back and forth across town every week in 100-degree weather to the library to pick up a new batch of books. I read them while I sat outside in the evening and watered the lawn. We all had our chores and my dad assigned my brother to cut the grass, and I had to water it. In the days before automatic timers, that meant dragging the sprinkler across the lawn every 20-minutes or so. I got plenty of reading done while I waited for the next time to move the sprinkler.  I read everything from Avon romances to James Bond spy novels. I read baseball books  and classics. I read On The Beach that threatened nuclear annihilation for the world. But one of my all time favorites was Rebecca. It remains a favorite so I am re-reading it this summer, though I can do it in comfort now inside an air conditioned room with a view of the mountains. I've even listened to the audio version (makes walking on the treadmill or out on the trail go a little faster). One book I have promised to read this summer is Rebecca's Tale. I bought it several years ago and didn't read it at the time and forgot I had it. I am pulling it out and making it one of my many summer reads this summer.

I am also taking my time in reading Sue Grafton's final Kinsey Milhone book, Y is for Yesterday. It still breaks my heart to know this is the last one I will be reading so I am savoring every moment of it. I may go back and re-read the entire series, since I have been lucky enough to get them all from the very beginning  (though I can't seem to find my hardback copy of G is for Gumshoe). There are some authors whose books I have bought in paperback, hardback and audio and she is one of them.

So happy summer reading! You might try re-reading some old favorites -- I always find them just as joyful the second time around. At least you know how the book is going to end!