Summer Reading

As a teacher I have always enjoyed summer reading. It started as a kid. We did not live near a library but early on Mom signed us up for the Weekly Reader Book Club. We loved when they came in the mail. There is only one year difference between my sister and me, so when the chapter books arrived we would have to take turns reading them. My younger brother and sister shared their books too.

Years later we would look for our favorites Weekly Reader Books at a book sale or on eBay so we each could each have our own copy. The Secret of Crossbone Hill by Wilson Gage was one of my favorites along with Secret of the Old Post Box by Dorothy Sterling which my younger sister couldn’t wait to have her son read.

I read all year-long but in the summer as I am not working there is much more time. Since the 80’s I have kept a list of the books I read. Now I’ve computerized it and put it all in a spreadsheet. I love having a list of when I read a book.

This year has been different with my diagnosis of breast cancer in the bones. I have less free time and more doctor visits. My energy is not the same. In addition, I am my mom’s primary caregiver and she has been in the hospital twice since December and in a rehab center for a month. Even with extra help from my family and a part-time care assistant, Mom has needed a lot more help.

Early in the spring I started a pile of books to read this summer (posted below). A few are rereads and I still am waiting on the arrival of another one! I tend to read a nonfiction book and fiction book at the same time. My nonfiction books include theology, education and history. For fiction I enjoy mystery, fantasy, poetry, young adult books and award winners. This year due to my terminal cancer I have chosen quite a few books dealing with cancer and suffering.

Here is a list of the books. You can click on the book and order it if you want to read it also. As I write reviews of the books, I will update with a link to the review. I hope this inspires you to some good reading this summer.

Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret of Story of the Early Game by John Thorn

By Book or by Crook: A Lighthouse Library Mystery by Eva Gates

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Review

The Call of the Wild by Jack London

The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought by Marilynne Robinson

Dear Deb: A Woman with Cancer, a Friend with Secrets, and the Letters That Became Their Miracle by Margaret Terry

The Devotional Poetry of Donne, Herbert and Milton (Christian Guide to the Classics) by Leland Ryken

Father Brown Crime Stories: 24 Short Stories by G. K. Chesterton

Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves by Trillia J. Newbell

Finding Truth: 5 Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism and Other God Substitutes by Nancy Pearcey

The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations compiled by I. D. E. Thomas

God in the Whirlwind: How the Holy-love of God Reinvents Our World by David F. Wells Review