Summer Reading

Authored By: Laura Bray

I have nostalgia for summer reading. When I was a child, I loved signing up for the library’s summer reading program. There was so much excitement. Reading AND prizes? Is there a better combination? I spent long afternoons on the grass in my backyard reading books. I raced through Judy Blume’s Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and loved The Babysitter’s Club series.

In high school, I carried thick paperback books to the pool and the beach, my copies of Stephen King’s novels becoming sandy, the pages slightly buckling from my damp fingers, the smell of coconut suntan lotion embedding into the books.

Summers during college meant the freedom to read whatever I wanted. I devoured books on my lunch breaks from my summer job. Later in the summer I would begin the reading lists my professors sent ahead for the fall quarter.

Later, as a mother of a young child, I returned to the library’s summer reading program, this time my daughter eagerly signing up, clutching her book tracking form as she raced into the stacks. I would help her pick books, introducing her to my favorite children’s classics like The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner, while she introduced me to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Now, late in midlife I once again turn to summer reading. I try to bring back the feeling that I used to have when I was girl. I pick books that are easy to read, take my shoes off (you must be barefoot to truly enjoy summer reading), and make sure a tall glass of iced tea is nearby. On hot nights, I will stay up late, crawl under the cool sheet on my bed and read as I listen to the crickets sing outside my window.

Maybe, when the days start to shorten and evenings start to cool, I will give myself a reward for completing my self-designed summer reading program. I will buy myself a gift card to my favorite bookstore and use it when the leaves start to turn and I want to sit cozily by the fire, reading a good book.

Some suggestions for summer reading:

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome

A 1930s, British, children’s adventure novel about a group of siblings who sail their small boat around the Lake District. Classic children’s books are always a good choice for summer reading-no matter how old you are.

Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

Yes! That Judy Blume. This VERY adult, historical fictional about a friendship between two girls who spend their summers on Martha Vineyard. Summer Sisters was a Prairie Pages Pick (July 2024). You loved Judy Blume as young girl, why not revisit her again?

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

A woman reflects on her past as she prepares the cabin resort where she used to spend her summers for sale to developers. A rich and slightly magical story that takes place in the woods of Georgia. If you enjoy vacations in lakeside cabins, this a good one to pack.