I saw a news article recently where former President Obama published his summer reading list, which he’s been doing for years. This got me thinking about my own reading list. Of course, I don’t just limit it to summer as I read about 2 or 3 books a week year round.
And just now, I’ve got two “books in real life” partially read through on my bedside table and am halfway through another one on my Kindle app. I read the Obama article and although his taste runs more to the international stories of real people, there were a few I want to check out. One of which is a science fiction, Andy Weir’s “Project Hail Mary.” I haven’t read his other books but I own the movie, The Martian, which was adapted from one of his books and it’s one of my favorites.
Last week the New Mexico State Library rural bookmobile stopped at our mobile home park. I had seen the truck a time or two before but hadn’t ever stopped in. This time I happened to be in the Ranchhouse visiting without my dog so I popped over to the bookmobile. I chatted with the two employees, got a library card (I haven’t had one for many years), and got signed up for online resources. There are a lot of books you can read online or listen to for free if you have a library card.
This got me thinking and I went online to check out the local “sticks and bricks” library in my nearest town, about 20 miles away. They also have a lot of free online books and all I have to do is go in and get a library card. I plan to do that very thing this week. I’ve been paying for Amazon Kindle Unlimited for about 4 years but if I can start reading quality and entertaining books for free online, take me there!
So what’s on my summer reading list?
“Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal” — a memoir by Jeanette Winterson. I’m almost finished with this book and really enjoyed it. She’s an insightful writer with a lot of classic literature knowledge.
Hope Callaghan’s Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries — I’m in the middle of the last one, 21 books in total. These are free if you have a Kindle Unlimited account. Engaging but not taxing on the brain. Good for reading before falling asleep.
“F Is For Fugitive” — one of the alphabet series detective mysteries by Sue Grafton, who published 25 in the series before passing away. I have the paperbacks and decided to dig them out and re-read the series again after a number of years.
Books that are waiting for me for the rest of the summer:
“H Is For Hawk” — a memoir by Helen McDonald
“The Year of Magical Thinking” — by Joan Didion
“The Art of Memoir” — Mary Karr
Plus anything exciting I come across as I explore more that the public libraries have to offer. I think the reading journey has just begun.
Tina Mischke 