Summer Reading

In the past year or more, I've gone through the dry Valley of Not-Wanting-To-Read-Much-Of-Anythingness. So, I'm not sure how it happened, but I've developed quite a long and impressive list of books I want to read this summer.

Now, that's not very unusual from other summers, and I'm usually lucky to finish about 20% of the list by the end of August. There just always seems to be a few more important things to do, like surf the internet a little longer, or stare at the ceiling just a bit more.

So why is this summer different? Because I'm off to a great start. I've mapped out an elaborate reading schedule so that I can finish as much as possible, and I just finished Chapter 6 -- 85 pages in all, mind you -- of my first book, and I'm loving it! Yeah, I know it's only day 4 of summer and there's still a lot ahead of me, but it doesn't hurt to give yourself a little encouragement for the small things, right?

Part of the goal is to read a little juvenile fiction. Next year, I'll be teaching reading for the first time in my career. I'm kind of excited about it (one more way to influence young minds into liking something most of the world hates), but I've gotta admit my knowledge of children's literature is pretty pathetic. So when we had a workshop on multicultural literature the other day, and the presenter and our librarian both raved and raved and raved about how wonderful a book The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 is, and I've seen it around the classroom since college and have always wanted to give it a shot, I decided this would be the first book of the summer.

And I love it. And you should read it.

Now, I'm only six chapters in, but knowing what's ahead in the plot, something tells me it's only going to get better. Little Kenny's poignant descriptions of family mishaps are not only clever and vivid, they're part terrifying, part heartwarming, part empathetic, part hilarious. I don't know a whole lot about living in a blue collar African-American family in Flint, but there is something about the experiences relayed--the looks in Momma's eyes, the pains of being teased--that we can all identify and nod our heads with, agreeing with sorry smiles and wincing chuckles.

So go pick it up at your library and give it a shot. And don't be one of those people who's above juvenile literature. I don't remember how Madeleine L'Engle put it exactly, but she always said she didn't write kids' books. She just wrote good stories, and the kids were the only ones with enough creativity and imagination to embrace them. (Speaking of which, if you've never read Wrinkle in Time, you absolutely must.) I see no reason why Christopher Paul Curtis's debut novel should be banished to the kids' section.

There you have it. Commerical over.

Here are a few of the books on the schedule for the rest of the summer:

• Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich -- Required reading for the faculty and high schoolers at my school, a community trying to broaden awareness of and sensitivity to those outside the middle and upper class.

• The Shack - William P. Young -- Time to find out what the hype and attraction is about.

• The Drama of Scripture - Bartholomew and Goheen -- Required reading for our future work in France.

• Phantom Tollbooth - Norman Juster -- The first novel taught in our reading curriculum.

• Irresistible Revolution - Shane Claiborne -- Erica's interested because she was involved in some of the guy's initiatives when she studied at Eastern. I'm interested in order to see what all the hype is about, especially because I've heard people on similar wavelengths to my own tell me it's some pretty level-headed stuff.

• Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson -- A sweet student of mine bought this for me last year, and he wrote in the card that it was because "I know you and your wife are interested in mission work." I've heard lots of good things from good people, so I'd like to see what it's about too.

I'm going to stop here before I completely embarrass myself at the end of the summer when only 20% of this is read (thought I'll admit there's much more on the list), especially because I'm just now remembering I'm enrolled in a seminary class which will probably entail much more reading than I'm used to. But if you'd like to read along with me, pick a book and let's get started!

What's on your summer reading list?