Grasping for the Wind

How to Choose a Summer Reading Book

Summer is just around the corner, and its time to find that summer beach reading. Picking that book that you carry with you to the beach, the park, on vacation, and to visit the relatives can actually be surprisingly difficult. You have a limited amount of time, and you want to be sure to use your time wisely. So do you read a book recommended to you by a friend? Or do you read that latest New York Times bestseller? Do you take the bookstore's recommendation and read a book that they list as excellent beach reading? What has been your success rate with such methods?

It is not as easy a choice at it seems, as I have found to my detriment more than once. I thought I might presume to share with you some of the things I have learned about choosing a summer reading book.

Pick a book in a genre you like or by a favorite author.

This is of paramount importance. Summer reading is meant to be fun and pleasurable, and if you are reading a big fat biography of Winston Churchill, or trying to reread a classic that was assigned to you in grade school, you might find yourself not getting the relaxation that is one of your primary goals in taking a book with you on vacation or to the park. This does not necessarily mean that it should be a work of fiction or some book that is pure entertainment. If you can't decide, try picking a book from suggested summer reading books at your local bookstore or library in a genre you generally read. But it is important that you read a book that will help you relax and that will easily keep your interest.

Choose a book with short chapters or has regular breaks every few pages.

Summer is a busy time, and you are going to get distracted. Your kids will come up to you at the beach and ask you to swim with them, or you need to keep your eye on them in the pool. You will want to be able to poke your nose out of the book regularly, but not have to break the flow of the narrative in an unnatural place. Books with short chapters or short sections allow this to happen easily. Terry Pratchett's later works don't even have chapter divisions, but simply have the occasional break as he moves from one scene to the next. This suggestion does not mean the book has to be short itself. I just finished reading Tad William's Shadowmarch and it is a hefty tome at 600+ pages, but he breaks his narrative often enough to change scenes that you can look away or put the novel down without having to stop reading in awkward places.

Buy a book only if you don’t mind letting it get beat up.

You will most likely be traveling with this book, and believe me it is very likely to get damaged in some way. Either you will drop it, spill something on it, or the natural wear and tear of being taken in and out of a bag will bend the edges. You might get sand in it at the beach, or dirt at the park. No matter what you try to do your book will be damaged. I've tried everything, believe me, I'm one of those strange folk that doesn't bend mass market paperbacks far enough back to crease the book. I like my books to look brand new all the time. I know, I know, I'm a freak. :)

This is a great time for you to become a customer at your local library (they build wear and tear into replacement costs) or visit your local used bookstore for a copy of a book you don't mind seeing destroyed. Both will appreciate your business, and you don't have to feel guilty should your book be lost or significantly damaged. I have even bought books I already owned because I like the proprietor of my local independent bookshop and want to give him business, but didn't want to damage my good copy. DO NOT borrow from a friend, unless your friend is OK with that book being a mess when it is returned. Be sure to ask.

Pick something that reads quickly or that you can put down and return to after a long period of time.

This is related to the first suggestion above, since if you pick a book in a genre you like it will most likely read quickly or be a book you will want to return to.

We all are very busy during the summer. Looking at my own travel schedule for summer, I will be traveling for nearly a month at different times June through August. That's a lot of travel, and most likely, your schedule is even worse than mine - I'm a homebody at heart. During that time you will probably be spending most of your times seeing sights, visiting theme parks, carousing with friends or reminiscing with family. Combined with travel time, that leaves little time for reading, no matter how much you enjoy it. So a book that reads quickly is useful for picking up at odd times, or only getting to at night or early morning when every one else is asleep.

Or you may be so busy that although you brought your book, you don't get to it over the entire course of your vacation, even though you had started it on the first few hours of your road trip or plane ride. A week can be a long time to put a book down and then try and return to it, so if your book is something you will want to return to, that you enjoy, you will be able to pick it up more easily after a hiatus and will also not abandon it, thereby wasting the money you spent on it. (If it is a library book of course, money is not a consideration, but do consider the time invested.)

Your summer reading should not be your child's summer reading.

While it is important that you read some of the things your children are reading, you are not going to get the relaxation you need from books written for young children or even high school students (unless that is a genre you like). You need to read for yourself, and your summer reading book or books should be for you. This is a good kind of selfish. It will also have a trickle down effect to your kids. Because you are more relaxed, your relationship with your kids will be more relaxed, and you will both have more fun. (This is actually applicable all year.)

Have fun.

Summer reading has the connotation of "fun in the sun" to it, and you should be sure to enjoy yourself, however you define that. My hope for you is that you enjoy your reading, I know I will.

These are just a few suggestions, by no means comprehensive, and you may have more of your own. I'd like to know what you do to pick some summer reading. Tell me your suggestions and or anecdotes in the comments below.

Posted by John on May 7, 2008 12:24 PM | Posted to Literature and Language
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