Summer Reading

        One of the joys of summer is to find a book that you can't put down and have to read chapter to chapter quickly.  Once this was confined to the week at the beach but this past few summers it has started on Memorial Day and stretched throughout the summer.  There is something about having a cold drink, sitting out on the deck and reading that can't be matched inside.  

     Past years have tended to be a mixture of fiction and nonfiction.  Summer seems to be the only time I mix in some fiction.  Presumed Innocent, The Help and The Da Vinci Code fit the bill for a good fiction read.  A Walk in the Woods and Unbroken are both non fiction books I would recommend.  One of my favorite all time books is The World is Flat which explains so much of what we are experiencing in the world today. One summer at the beach I must have looking for something scarier and I read The Stranger Beside Me and Helter Skelter. Both books I couldn't put down. Just be sure to lock your doors at night!

   On my reading list this summer are The Passage of Power about LBJ's presidency, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, Imagine: How Creativity Works and Freedom's Cap: the US Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War.  I haven't found a good fiction book yet but am open to suggestions.

   Give your children the gift of reading this summer.  From the Howard County Library: 

 "Kick off summer reading on Saturday, June 2 at Miller Branch. Sign up for a summer reading club and participate in a day of fun including children's stories, face painting, crafts, and activities for children, teens, and adults. Library staff will be on hand to recommend great books for teens and adults.

Register for a summer reading club!
Wee Dream - (infant - age 3)
Dream Big Read - (ages 4-10)
Own the Night - (entering grade 6+)
Great Reads for Staycay & Vacay - (high school students & adults)

Kick-Off Schedule:
10 - 2 - Face painting & crafts
10 - 2 - Star Wars costumed characters (Old Line Garrison of the 501st Legion, and Terrapin Base)
10 - 2 - Wii games (for teens)
10 - 2 - Scavenger Hunt (for teens)
10:30 - 11:30 - The Bubble Lady
11:30 - 11:45 - Stories (children's classroom)
12 - 12:15 - Stories (children's classroom)
12:30 - 1:30 - Science Spectacular with Eric Energy
1:30 - 1:45 - Stories (children's classroom)

The Bubble Lady entertains all ages as she makes gigantic bubbles, long bubbles, smoke bubbles, and puts audience members inside a giant bubble.

Science Spectacular presents an interactive class with the wacky scientist Eric Energy. He performs visual science experiments relating to air, matter, and sound, producing vortex fog rings, bubbling potions, and a voice changer."