When I was a kid, one of my favorite summer activities was the Summer Book Club. I loved going to the library and browsing shelf after shelf of book. I loved racing to the VHS section to see if Savannah Smiles was in that week. I can still remember the layout of our local library branch. I spent summers with my nose stuck in a book. I read during breakfast and lunch. I would spend hours swinging in the hammock reading. My favorites were the Baby-Sitter’s Club and anything by Judy Blume. I loved to read. I think my dad instilled in me a love of reading. We would regularly go to Bookstop, and I would devour at least half my latest BSC book while he browsed.

But somehow, through the years, I lost touch with my love of reading. I got busy with sports and friends in high school. I got busy with marriage and baby-making and raising kids and scrapbooking. Reading a book was pretty much reserved for airplanes, until I had kids, and then even that time went away. I think there were years when I would read maybe one or two books, times when I would rather pick up a People Magazine or US Weekly than a book.

But this summer, I have rediscovered my love for reading. I started taking the kids to the library pretty regularly. I started taking notice when people talk about books on their blogs. And the final straw…I discovered the Request Page for my library. This is the greatest thing ever. I search the books from the comfort of my home. I find one I like and click request. When it’s in, it’s placed in an envelope with my name on it, right at the front of the library. I can be in and out so quick. No more hushing the kids, reminding them of the library rules while I search for books. In the past month these are the books I have read or have checked out right now:

Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (notice a trend? When I get stuck on an author, I tend to read everything he or she comes out with.) I read this one in 3 days! It got me. When I read, I completely and utterly get into the story. I cry when I read. I laugh out loud. I identify with characters so much that I feel like they become a part of me or a best friend. People who are not book lovers cannot understand this. Anyway. back to my book list for my own summer book club:
Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. This is such a great parenting book for those of us with spirited a.k.a. strong willed kiddos. So many practical ideas, and just the whole philosophy of the book is great. Why do our strong-willed kids have to be negatively labeled? They possess so many great qualities that just need to be refined!
Tonight I checked out Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin, The Pact by Jodi Picoult, Two Little Girls in Blue by Mary Higgins Clark, and three books about dogs-one about adopting rescue dogs, one about choosing a dog, and one about beagles because I think they are so cute and are at the top of the list for potential breeds…which reminds me, thanks to all of you who commented about the dogs. You guys all have great advice!

So, wow. I just re-read my blog and this is totally long and probably pretty boring! But I wanted to get it down on my blog in case in the years to come I forget that I love to read. And so I can get a prize at the end of the summer for reading a bazillion books.