When I was a girl, our village library offered a summer reading program. We were each given a chart with colorful stickers to keep track of all the books we read over the summer. There were prizes for the kid in each age group who read the most books—usually a book, of course. How I loved to see that chart filled with stickers! But I couldn’t cheat—my mother was the librarian, so she knew if I was really reading or just collecting stickers. Nowadays, I don’t just collect stickers, I collect books. As you can see, my shelves are pretty full!
I still think of summertime as reading time and I look forward to long afternoons to just relax and “do nothing” and read. I’ve been very busy these past months, writing and launching “Chasing Shadows” along with a Christmas novella, “Wish Book Christmas,” which will be out this holiday season. So I have fallen behind on reading books for pleasure. But now summer is here, and it’s time to remedy that. Here are some of my favorite places to curl up with a book:
The best place is on our beach on Lake Michigan. I love the warm sand and sunshine and the sound of the waves. This is the best place to read happy, romantic stories that end “happily-ever-after.”
My second favorite is our front porch. It overlooks a bike-and-walking path, so it’s fun to watch people go by with their dogs and kids while I catch up on all my favorite magazines, (which I’ve been neglecting). The porch has rocking chairs and a swing, and is a favorite place to read books to my grandchildren when they visit.
In rainy weather, I sit inside by the front window for the same view of the bike path. This is where I pray and read and have my quiet time year-round.
We are also blessed to have a screened-in back porch with a green, leafy view of trees and the fragrance of newly-mown grass. It’s above our walk-out basement, so I feel like I’m in a treehouse. A ceiling fan adds a breeze on hot, summer nights—and this is my favorite place to read when there’s a thunderstorm.
One last place is beneath the screened porch, down by the backyard. There are lots of comfy chairs and also a hammock if I want to take a little nap. Party lights make it festive after sunset, which comes late here in Michigan in the summertime.
So now I need to take a trip to the library. Do you have any great summer reading recommendations? What are your recent favorites and the places where you like to relax and read them?
5 comments
I love reading programs! I actually made a year-long one for myself with about a dozen categories to make sure I read widely. Here are some I’ve enjoyed recently that would make for good summer reading: Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn (new authorized bio, part 1), The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner (historical fiction), Little Princes by Connor Grennan (true story of the lost boys of Nepal, but the author’s writing about how he got involved is laugh-out-loud funny; highly recommend audio), Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (WW2 historical fiction), currently reading The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron (historical fiction, three time periods). Absolute favorite place to read is on the balcony of a ship, but it happens a lot more often on my patio!
I am looking forward to Let It Be Me by Becky Wade, The Redemption series by Karen Kingsbury and The Thorn Bearer by Pepper Basham.
I just the summer reading program at my library so I am excited about it. I hope I remember to log the hours I am reading.
My favorite places to read are on my front and back porches.
Lynn, I love your books. I first found your books at the library! I wanted to find some new authors and started at “A” in the fiction section and looked for Christian publishers on the spine. I read all of yours they had at the library and now own most of the rest of them. Thank you for sharing the gift that God has given you by writing books. I think you are an incredible writer and one of my faves.
Hi Lynn. Thanks so much for sharing pictures of your favorite places to read! My favorite place to read in the summer is on my front deck, sitting on my deck swing, basking in God’s glorious creation while enjoying a good book.
I have recently read and been blessed by your devotional Sightings. I had earlier read your book Pilgrimage and was so blessed by that, as well. Lately, I’ve been enjoying rereading novellas from both the Sons of Encouragement and Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers. My local library’s summer reading program is Reading Road Trip USA, and I have plans to read some great fiction to explore the southern US, such as Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin (Georgia), Summer by the Tides by Denise Hunter (North Carolina), and Glory Road by Lauren K. Denton (Alabama). I’m currently reading The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (Kentucky) for my book club, and that one is interesting. I LOVE summer reading!!!
Have read “Chasing Shadows” three times. For myself and twice as refreshers before the two book clubs I facilitate.
Without hesitation it’s one of the best books I’ve read.
Thank you, Lynn; and here’s to many more hours reading the efforts of your God-given skill.
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