Summer Reading

One of the joys of summer as a child was reading books. From age 7-12 years, I devoured the classics: from "Harold and the Purple Crayon" to the "Tarzan" series.

We lived in a small town in Iowa and the brick library was one of the most imposing structures. It had 15 wide, granite steps leading to a Corinthian-columned portico with huge oak and glass doors. Inside, the stone floor was better than air-conditioning for stretching out with a pile of books.

By the time I was twelve years old, we lived in a white clapboard house facing East in Omaha with a huge screened porch stretching the width of the house. There was always a cooling breeze in the afternoon where I read Marvel comic books and all of the leather bound Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.

Nowadays it seems that you have to bribe kids to read with points, prizes, and contests. All of the mid-county libraries (, , , and ) have summer reading programs for kids.

Even though computer use at these libraries is not surpassed by patrons reading books there, I still like to sneak in and read a magazine or two, or check out a book I would rather not waste money on---yes, I am talking Stephen King and Hunger Games novels.

I still read voraciously however. This month I finished "Child of God" by Cormac McCarthy. This book was absolutely terrifying as it documented  the beast within each male psyche. I followed up with Wally Lamb's, "The Hour I First Believed", a lightly fictionalized account of the Columbine High School massacre. Of course I saw "Othello" in Forest Park's Shakespeare Glen and plan to finish June's reading list with Will's play.

How about you? What are you reading this summer and why? Have you taken your children or grandchildren to enroll in the libraries' summer reading programs?

Post a comment about your favorite summer read. Maybe I will add your choice to my July or August reading lists, depending on whether I continue my male "darkness" theme or change to your suggestion.

Happy reading!