From One Book Lover

Reading in 2020 started out a little rocky, but picked up by summertime — and summer reading was saved! Okay, a little dramatic, but summer reading is a joy I look forward to every year. In 2012, I launched a summer reading program for adults, encouraging them to read as much as they liked, and rewarding program participants who read the most with a free book. Well, local libraries caught up with adult readers, so my program is no longer needed — but I still encourage summer reading for everyone, especially adults. In 2020, that may have been a little harder to achieve. Many readers confessed to having less time or initiative to read due to mental or emotional fatigue, fear, overworking, job searches, or other various reasons.  Myself, I had a windfall in the shape of a new co-worker who saved my vegetarian bacon, so to speak, and my mind. I was able to relax and pick up books for pleasure and relaxation again, finally. I read a wide variety of books, from cookbooks (yes, cookbooks...

This is not your typical summer. (In fact, it's so atypical that I'm posting in August.) Are you treating your summer reading the same?  I'm not. First of all, I nearly missed out on My Library's Summer Reading Program. Between my work schedule and My Library's schedule, I was thrown off my own schedule, and I didn't find the program information until recently. When My Library began offering curbside pickup service, however,  librarians kindly included the flyer for the program. Was I relieved!  Last year's adult summer reading program was a blast, and I stepped off with them at the program launch (and ended the program with cake and Good Omens .) But this year... Work kept me hopping by half again, and I was still feeling the effects of COVID Reading Blahs until after Memorial Day, the traditional launch of my personal summer reading program. I've had reading slumps before, but rarely in the summer.  What's a reader to do? I listened to myself, and ...

This summer, I read a whole lot of books. Many of them were short and sweet, quite a few were graphic novels, and most were worth the time and energy. Not all, definitely, but I found quite a few diamonds in the rough on the library and bookstore shelves. I have great memories of reading many of the books on this list.  I finished most of the Nickel Boys as I paced along the river's shore in a Virginia state park. No   Visible Bruises took most of the summer, but I took my time due to the subject matter. I listened to The Lost Gutenberg  as I walked to and from the library under darkening skies. I wanted to savor The Testaments , but instead spent much of a blistering summer weekend in Gilead, curled up in my favorite chair. I paused How to Be a Good Creature when Tess starting showing signs of old age. I read more titles this summer than in years past, but the total pages is probably close to my average — this summer I consumed a generous amount of juvenile ...

Ragweed aside, September is one of my favorite months of the year. It's back-to-school and it harbors the possibility of cooler weather. You can still wear sandals, but sneakers are equally comfortable in the fluctuating weather. However, with chillier mornings come the interruption of allegedly important things, like required reading and weatherizing. It also means that the summer reading club members are stretching their legs and starting to brush the sand off the towels. Oh, we haven't closed the giant umbrella, and the ice is still chilling our drinks in the cooler... but we can't help but notice that every sunset comes a little earlier. I don't review my start-of-summer list on Labor Day — no good will come of that — but I can't help but notice the nightstand is just a little more crowded than it was on Memorial Day. Okay, let's be honest, it's differently crowded, and tipping toward insanity. A few books not on the original list are peeking...

Do you want to ramp up your summer reading? Join your fellow book-clubbers in reading a fascinating book selected by Intrepid Reader Karen. Karen has discovered a phantastic book titled The Ghost Studies: New Perspectives on the Origin of Paranormal Experiences by Brandon Massullo. The Ghost Studies, according to Google, provides scientific explanations for paranormal occurrences, including: New and exciting scientific theories that explain apparitions, hauntings, and communications from the dead The latest research on the role of energy and electricity in hauntings The role that emotions, bioenergetics, and the environment play in supernatural phenomena New research into why some individuals are more prone to ghostly encounters I am as skeptical as the next person, but I have had some inexplicable experiences that make me wonder what else there is in heaven and earth, and I'm willing to find out what Mr. Massullo has to say on the subject. Readers, let's ...