Column: Celebrating the joys of summer reading

Is there anything better than summer reading?

I have been charging through a pile of books in the past few weeks. As a school librarian, I spend some time reading Maine Student Book Award nominees. The list is devised by a committee of librarians and teachers, and promoted throughout the state.

Students in grades four through eight who read at least three of the books can vote for their favorite in March. The author receives the award.

I already have several favorites so far. One that I read over the course of a day was “Lifeboat 12,” by Susan Hood. I knew it was based on the true story of the SS City of Benares, which was torpedoed by a German U-boat in 1940. The ship had been taking children from Britain, which was undergoing heavy bombing (the Blitz), and bringing them to safety in Canada.

I didn’t realize until nearly the end that the lead character, Ken, and the other passengers in Lifeboat 12, were real people. That made the story of their courage, and ultimate survival, all the more special.

Then there’s the list I create for the staff of our middle and high school. I invite my colleagues to read all or some of the books on the list. Then we pick four to discuss after school, one about every other month. We drink tea and munch on pastries. Usually there are seven or eight of us. This year we had some retired educators join us as well.

At the top of my list this summer was “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens. This was a Reese Witherspoon pick last fall, and it seemed like everyone I knew was reading it. I think it’s still on The New York Times bestseller list, and with good reason.

Kya has grown up alone on a marsh in North Carolina. She leads a solitary life and becomes adept at living off the land. Kya also evolves into a talented naturalist. Then she is accused of murder. This novel is a coming-of-age story, a romance and a mystery all rolled into one, and the writing is lyrical.

I have yet to read three of my favorite authors on the list. Ruth Ware’s new book, “The Turn of the Key,” is just being released this week. I’m also looking forward to Sujata Massey’s “The Satapur Moonstone.” This is the second in a series featuring Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s only female lawyer in 1922.

And Anthony Horowitz has written a sequel to “The Word is Murder.” It’s called “The Sentence is Death.” Of course it is!

I try to read at least one long, serious book in the summer. This year I selected “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” by David W. Blight. I estimate that if I keep reading at my current pace, I should be able to finish by the time I return to school in August.

My husband, Paul, and I are Civil War buffs, so I knew a fair amount about Douglass—and admired him—already. But I’m learning so much more, and I’m not even to Fort Sumter yet.

As I mentioned in a previous column, though I have eight weeks off in the summer, I only consider one of them my true vacation. That’s when Paul and I go away and I don’t have any obligations on my calendar. I started “Frederick Douglass” on vacation and also read “The Missing Corpse” by Jean-Luc Bannalec. This is the fourth in a series of delightful mysteries set in Brittany. This one had to do with oyster farming, and it was great fun to sit by Penobscot Bay while reading about a beautiful coastal region in France.

By now it must be obvious that I read several books at a time. Usually it is one fiction and one nonfiction. But I have added the MSBA books to the mix. I can keep all of the details straight if the books aren’t too similar.

I appreciate the time I have to read in the summer due to my work schedule. But I think many people do find extra minutes to read during the warmer months. We want to spend time on the beach and sitting on our porches and decks. We travel. Books come with us as we pursue these summer activities.

Summer reading is special because we can take an indoor activity outside. I enjoy winter afternoons spent in my reading nook, thick socks on my feet and a throw over my knees. But I also relish a half hour of sitting on the deck, book in hand, after dinner.

August is here. The back to school sales began several weeks ago. I will return to my school-year schedule, probably without reaching my reading goals.

I won’t stop reading. I can’t. It is as important to me as breathing. I make time to read every day, even if it’s just for 15 minutes.

Summer reading is the best. But fall reading—it’s not too shabby.