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The anti-summer-reading list

Posted by: Meg Thilmony

Thursday, June 5, 2008 9:44 AM

I thought about compiling a summer reading list, like so many bloggers do, to get you literary buffs through the summer.

But then I realized - when will I have time to read this summer? Not while I'm floating around the lazy river at Sholem.

Or while fishing this weekend at the Regional newspaper's fishing derby, a free event in memory of fallen Douglas County Chief Deputy Tommy Martin.

I probably shouldn't read while I'm running, walking or rollerblading the neighborhoods where Tom Kacich will lead his C-U on the Move tour Saturday.

No reading will be involved when I'm seeing "Superman" Saturday night at the Virginia Theater Saturday night.

Nor will it be involved when I tackle items on my summer to-do list, like stargazing, attending festivals or watching movies at the drive-in.

But, to be fair, I probably will do at least a little reading. Last summer, I devoured just about anything I could find by Barbara Kingsolver. I especially enjoyed her local-eating tale "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle."

And before an early-summer trip to Guatemala last year, I headed to the Champaign Public Library and asked a helpful librarian for some fiction that would transport me.

My favorite was Yann Martel's "The Life of Pi", most of which took place on the Pacific Ocean.

Another riveting book I recently read was Warm Springs: Traces of a Childhood at FDR's Polio Haven". For someone of an earlier generation, this book must be a memory of how things were. For me, it was a new look at the differences between my childhood and my parents and grandparents'.

What about you? Are you planning to read? If so, what? If not, what activities will you tackle in your leisure time?