Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed reading. And then you give me the lazy, hazy days of summer, throw in some good books and a cold drink, and you have one happy chick! Some of my favorite times growing up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, involved walking the three or four blocks to the public library, where in the summertime, they always had a Summer Reading Game for the kids to participate in. I would bring home stacks of books each time I went and can even remember our family making a stop on our way out of town for my sister and me to go in and do our oral reports to move our places around the game board. It was that important!
Fast-forward a couple of (OK, three) decades, and you can still find me relaxing with a good book on a lazy summer (or winter, spring or fall) afternoon, and most evenings before I fall asleep. My favorite books to read are usually Christian fiction, and I love a good series that doesn't end for at least four or five books. My favorite author is Jan Karon, and I have read her Mitford series all the way through at least twice, but I have other faves: Karen Kingsbury, Robin Jones Gunn (Sisterchicks), Dave & Neta Jackson (YadaYada Prayer Group series), to name a few. My newest "finds" have been Angela Hunt and Denise Hildreth (they don't collaborate, they write separately).
I just finished a series by Denise Hildreth, that I'll call the "Savannah" series, which I highly recommend. It's about a girl (recent college graduate) named Savannah, who happens to live in Savannah, GA. It's funny, quirky, thought-provoking, and makes you want to visit that city (or go back, if you've been before). The third book in the series is set in Seaside, FL, which is also a fun location to read about!
I also have been reading a new series by Angela Hunt (who has written lots of other stuff, including The Nativity Story, which was made into a movie). The series I found most recently is about a divorced mom who inherits a funeral home in central Florida, and decides to move her family (two sons and her mother) from Washington, DC, to start a new life in the small town. I just bought the third book in the series because I was tired of waiting for the public library to get a copy for circulation.
So, what about you? What is on your list to read this summer? I know some people prefer to read nonfiction over fiction, which is fine, too. I personally love to "escape" into a good novel and tend to feel like I'm supposed to "get something out of" nonfiction, so I get bogged down (unless I'm reading it as a group book study). Whatever your pleasure, share some of your favorites. Here's to a great Summer of Reading!
5 comments:
I bet you would like my cousin, Charles Martin's books. He is a Christian writer who likes to write about the south. He has an amazing gift to create his characters and plot very much like Grisham, yet adds biblical references that are very appealing as well. Maybe I'll bring you one tomorrow if I think about it. They aren't a series, though.
I'd love to read one of his books. I just finished the funeral home series, so I'm ready for something new. Thanks!
I tend to read mostly non-fiction, so every other book is now fiction. Recently finished Redeeming Love and C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy (much better than it may sound). Right now I'm reading a funky book by an Indian author called Sea of Poppies (about the Opium Wars) . . . I also did the public library summer reading--and we had a BOOK MOBILE that came to our neighborhood!
I remember the bookmobile! So fun. I discovered Alfred Hitchcock in it. Then I went straight off Mr Hitchcock and have never picked him up again. Igh, giant man-eating snails and mysterious doors leading to hell.
That said, I'm loving Lindsey Davis' Falco detective series, and someday going to read Harry Potter.
I was not an avid reader as a child and have kind of grown into it. Although this summer my reading times have been few and far between I am currently reading Karen Kingsbury's Tuesday Morning series. Even after 8 years & I know it is a fiction story it is hard to get through at times. But, I'm persevering!!
I do LOVE the libraries in Orlando so much more than Ft. Lauderdale. Last week Doug and I experienced the drive thru where we were able to turn in some books and re-check one too! Doug was especially impressed!
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