“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.”
~James Dent
I have mentioned on this blog before that seasonal changes have a great effect on me. Though it be a seemingly arbitrary date, the day that signals a change of season, in concert with the weather changes in and around those days, seems to provide a natural, unconscious, jump start for me. Without making a fuss over it I find that my reading spikes, times of greatest energy, etc. seem to fall in line very clearly with the beginnings of those 4 seasons around which our year is structured.
Summer, I must admit, is my least favorite of the seasons. I do not think it was that way when I was a child, but the lack of a ‘summer vacation’ as an adult causes me to see this season simply as the one in which it becomes unbearably hot and humid and my desire to be outdoors all but dries up with the grass.
A couple of years back I determined that I was no longer going to let the summer months pass by in a wave of heat. Looking back over previous years I noticed that the number of books I read, etc. dwindled miserably in the summer. It was then that I decided that each summer should be treated as if I was still a kid…at least in so much as I could still have some sort of summer reading program of my own. In addition I could set other goals for summer accomplishments that would help me resist the natural tendency towards sloth.
I noticed on Debi’s site recently that she posted about summer reading goals, inspired by a meme on another site. It reminded me of a post I did last year entitled The Summer Of…, coincidentally posted right after last year’s Once Upon a Time Challenge. Inspired by what others are doing I thought I’d welcome the summer by posting a very unrealistic look at the kind of reading I would like to do for this season and then post a few realistic goals to work on.
“Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ”Embraceable You” in spats.”
~Woody Allen
For me this is as much of a “look at all these books I have but haven’t read” moment as anything else. In this time of increased costs it is necessary to severely limit the book budget but it is also a time to actually get around to reading some of the potentially wonderful books I have on my shelves. I don’t know about you but summer for me brings on this whirlwind of desires regarding what to read. It is my least defined time of the year…the season in which any and all kinds of reading seem appropriate. As an example of just a handful of the reading urges I have had lately I offer the following examples of as-yet-unread books that I strongly desire to read:
This is just a small sampling of the entire shelf of books I pulled together to read for The Sci-Fi Experience earlier this year…each of these look very enticing.
I have only read one or two graphic novels for Dewey’s Graphic Novels Challenge thus far and I would really like to re-experience my first introduction to Neil Gaiman by reading Sandman in this new Absolute format.
Then there is the pile of books sent to me for review, all of which look delicious.
Summer always feels like barbarian time for me and I long to catch up with the adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, complete the adventures of Conan, and check out more of Robert E. Howard’s phenomenal work. Not to mention that I have a special edition Kull: Exile of Atlantis by Howard coming from Subterranean Press soon!
The Once Upon a Time II Challenge may be over but that doesn’t mean that my desire to read fiction in those genres has been satiated. With a new book coming out this year it is high time I catch up on the unread books on my shelf by Patricia A. McKillip. You would think she wasn’t one of my all time favorite fantasy authors based on the number of books I am behind on!
And although The Lord of the Rings is generally a November/December thing for me I found myself at this same time last year craving some Tolkien nonfiction (I believe I read some Tom Shippey books at this time last year) and I have these wonderful gifts from my darling wife staring at me every day from my work bookshelf.
As I said above, these are just the merest handful of books that inhabit my home that are crying out for some quality time with their owner. I have Bond books, noir/crime pulps, new and to-be-read-again graphic novels (like Shanna and Liberty Meadows pictured in the opening image), gifts given to me by dear friends, books I started and loved and never finished (like the chunksters pictured below):
short story collections…a TON of short story collections…, dear old science fiction and fantasy friends wondering why I haven’t visited lately, young adult and teen fiction, a Charles deLint pile, library holds on Shirley Jackson novels, …it goes on and on!
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.”
~John Lubbock
What is a person to do? In looking back at last year’s ‘Summer of’ it appears that out of all the books I pictured and talked about there, I only managed to read 4 of those books. Thus is the life of a reader who is carried away by whims. It is fun to dream and scheme to get alot of books read, but what is realistic?
My Realistic Reading Goals:
1. Read at least 5 books each month for July and August (for some this may seem like a pitiful number, but in the years before I started setting summer reading goals, I was lucky to have finished 4 books over the course of June-August!)
2. Complete all review books (this will be 6 of my 10 books for those 2 months).
3. Include at least one never-before-read graphic novel (I have a pile).
4. Make progress on Dewey’s Challenge and Annie’s Challenge.
Other, Non-Reading Realistic Goals:
1. Walk dog at least once per day 5 days per week (I need to kick myself in the butt when it gets hot, walking in the heat is not my first choice for fun).
2. Finish cleaning out basement (thankfully well underway).
3. Get air conditioner/duct work completed. (This one may be cheating as we have the company scheduled to do this on Monday the 30th, but as it has been a plan for the last 3 summers I think it deserves to be on here…and after all, it isn’t done yet!)
4. Have themed movie nights once per week (I’ve done this before and I always have fun with the planning, etc. I have over 400 titles queued up on my Netflix list, it is time to put that program through its summer paces!)
5. Spend quality time with family, including the newest member, my niece:
“People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.”
~Anton Chekhov
Exactly Chekhov, and that is the point! The idea is to pre-plan now so that my current energy level can be sustained through the next few months…I don’t want July and August to pass in a haze in which I look back and wonder where I disappeared to for those months.
I hope all of you have summer plans. If you do feel free to share them in the comments and/or link to any posts you have regarding your summer agenda.
“Summer is the time when one sheds one’s tensions with one’s clothes, and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit. A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that all’s right with the world.”
~Ada Louise Huxtable
Aw, she’s so cute! I hope you feel a bit better about this summer. Spring is my most hated season: rainy, cold, windy. When summer comes here, it’s like someone hit a switch! Instant heat and humidity, but I’ll take it over spring.
You’ve reminded me that I have to read Farworld as well!
You’re in for a treat with the Howard and Leiber books.
Wow #4 is a great idea!
I’ve been trying to take Wolf on a walk every day, but the heat really bothers him, so it has to be after 7…and when it’s raining, well…I don’t like getting soaked LOL!
Dan: I have read the first 2 Conan books from this collection and the first 2 Lankhmar books and have really enjoyed them both tremendously. They each have their own unique style which makes them fun to read. I’m sure I am in for more great stuff with these other books. I am really looking forward to reading some of Howard’s non-Conan stuff as Conan is all I’ve taken the time to read thus far.
Chris: thankfully here the majority of spring is generally nice temps though there are the rainy days. It usually isn’t cold here in the spring, just cool which is why it is one of my favorites. This year, however, we didn’t really have a spring which makes me even less thrilled with summer. I prefer autumn and winter/spring are pretty closely tied for second place. I am going to have a good summer though, regardless. No sense wishing time away, especially as I get older! 🙂
Janet: Yes, Charlie isn’t a big fan of the rain either. I don’t mind if it is a warm, gentle spring rain, but this year it has been all wicked thunderstorms!
Aww, your niece is a cutie. 🙂
Summer is my least favourite season too. Autumn is my favourite, such beautiful colours and such a relief after the heat of summer.
You have reminded me that I really need to read something by Patricia McKillip! That will have to be remedied when I knock some more books off the current TBR pile.
Rising costs are definitely hitting the book buying budget here too. I’m using BookMooch more, and restricting myself to the odd Subterranean Press order and some “must have” purchases like Absolute Sandman Vol. 3 and some de Lint books. Can’t be a bad thing though, since it means I’m forced to get to the TBR pile and read some of the books that really deserve to have been read long before now!
I’ve been thinking about setting myself a summer challenge, and seeing if I can see it through! Perhaps mine will be to keep making time for blogging… 🙂 I might pop a post up later on when I’ve had a think.
Quix: You are well on your way if more blogging is one of your summer goals…it is nice to see you back in action over there.
Thank you, she is indeed a cutie.
If you choose to try McKillip I would recommend Ombria in Shadow. It is one of my favorites of hers and has a nice Neverwhere-ish feel to part of the story that I like. I think it is also one of her more accessible books.
I too am trying to restrict myself as I’ve already pre-ordered quite a few Subterranean Press books this year and there are several books, as I mentioned in my recent Book Pron post, that I must have!
Ooooh, cute niece! Even having my own cute chubby baby in the house, I want to reach over and pinch those cheeks.
And good luck with the winnowing and prioritising and reading – that’s a lot of book up there in the photos. I am a little jealous.
wow, great photo’s! Of course you KNOW I am still waiting to hear that your Peter Jackson Bio is a good one! lol
Gads… I have 6 CHUNKSTERS!! SIX! the only one with a dent in it is Jonathan Strange (about 240 pgs) I need to make a dent in at least one of them soon.. or.. I could wait for RIP and read the Historian, that would eliminate one lol..
But I have need (NEED) of some humor and have sent for When You are Engulfed in Flames, due here any time now.. I keep hearing it will make me laugh.. and I need that.
Just finished Mr Sebastian and the Negro Magician and I will WAIT…until Engulfed in Flames gets here!
wow… hard to even believe I had two sons as small and as cute as your niece once… very hard to believe, but you’ll learn this soon enough!
Have a great summer Carl !! I hope Mary has a great one too!
Summer as an adult can be weird. I would LOVE summer if every day could be spent at the beach, swimming all day long and then long evenings spent reading and eating great food. Unfortunately as a grown up your days look quite the same as they do the rest of the year except you are blasted with heat and too-cold air conditioning, work never gets done because someone is always on vacation and chores still need to be completed. Wow, I sound like a scrooge. Fortunately, there are also loooong evenings spent reading on the porch, and vacation, and barbecued meat and, if you are anything like me, margaritas and reality television.
I am enjoying this summer (it doesn’t get too hot here) but do very much miss having a proper summer holiday. I will be off for a week next month, but it’s not the same as those vistas of time we had as children. Seven weeks of blissful freedom!
I don’t hate winter, but my reaction to it has been coloured by my husband, who does. We live far enough north that the days are very short, and the lack of daylight gets us both down. But I wouldn’t miss the long evenings of summer for more daylight in winter, I don’t think. It won’t get dark until after 10 tonight…
Connie Willis! I used to live in the town she lives in and my brother worked at a video rental store she frequented. He got her to autograph a handful of books for me including Doomsday Book. My favorite is To Say Nothing of the Dog. And I’m wanting to re-read Dune this summer too. I found the first three books in the series in the free shelf in our apartment building. I attempted to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell too and didn’t finish it so that’s on the list too. What a cute niece! I enjoyed the photos of your to-read piles 🙂
I’m with you. Summer is just no fun anymore without the summer vacation from school! I’m still kicking myself for not getting my teaching certification when I had a chance!
I have piles of my own books just waiting to be read! I’m just thankful it’s a pile that will never end!
Carl, let’s hope I can keep it up! Things have calmed down considerably here, so I should be ok. 🙂
Ombria in Shadow has been recommended to me before, so it is definitely on the list! I’m going to be good though and resist until I get through some of my TBR pile…
I have a few Subterranean Press editions on order, including (of course) The Graveyard Book. I just can’t resist when the newsletter drops in my inbox…far too tempting.
Quix: I ordered that one as well…the cheaper of the two, if you can call it that! 🙂 I laugh because I may have been one who recommended Ombria to you before.
Stephanie: I admire teachers, I wouldn’t have the patience to deal with the kids of today even for the promise of summers off!
Amanda: There is just something about that hot sandy picture on the cover of Dune that makes it seem like it should be read in the summer. I got it last summer and didn’t get to it and I am really leaning towards it being one of my books this summer.
Kicking K: I like the dark of winter and shorter days…at least I do during that season. I like the lighter days in spring for sure but once it starts getting dark again early I begin to feel more in my element. I think alot of that stems from the fact that so many of my fondest memories are of things that happened around my birthday and Christmas in Nebraska and those were generally dark, cold times so I associate that with good things. Plus I like to revel in the gothic literature around that time of year so there are many really good feelings that I associate with shorter days.
Courtney: You’ve pretty much summed up summer for an adult perfectly! 🙂 I do like it when it gets warm enough to grill outdoors, although for me that can still occur when it is kind of chilly outside. Grilled meat and veggies are the best!
Desily: I know your pain, I have more chunksters that I didn’t post in the pictures yesterday…trying to live in a bit of denial! 😉
I have a couple of humorous books in the back of my mind that I would like to get to soon as well. Something funny seems to be perfectly paired with summer days.
Ella: Thanks! I appreciate the best wishes with the goals. Heaven knows I will need help to actually accomplish them!
Oh, oh, oh…I just loved everything about this post! Most of all that adorable picture of your niece…I think she may well be the cutest little thing on the planet!
But I loved seeing all those luscious books, too, and knowing just how you felt about wishing you could simply dive in soak them all up. And of course, understanding, too, that that’s just unrealistic. Every one you do get to will be a gift though, right?
I also really loved that Chekhov quote, in fact, I’d love to stencil that one across my living room wall!
I’m so like you…I just LOVE all the seasons! I think I probably love summer as much as the rest of them…best of all, because all my munchkins are home with me! Today was the boys’ last day of school, and I am soooo thrilled…hopefully we’ll now be enjoying days filled with popsicles and sandbox creations and me sitting in the shade reading as the kids play in their little pool! Ah yes, life is good!
Hope this summer is your best one yet, and that all those goals bring you nothing but happiness!
I hate the summer and considering the geography of some of you, it doesn’t get all that hot here. It’s been years since I got to enjoy a summer, young as I may be, because I have had a job since I was pretty young. I do read a bit more in the summer, though, because I have this lovely porch swing. I have yet to sit on it this year, though, but that is just me lately. I would love to increase my reading in July and August and get more on the level with how I used to read. Anyways, hope you have a great summer, Carl. Not surprising a lot of those books you have pictured above are also on my TBR pile! That’s actually weird. I would say over fifty percent of them. haha
HOLY CRAP! You didn’t tell me you pre-ordered The Graveyard Book! Very cool. Very cool indeed. It is apparent I’m working in the wrong field.
Books I would like to finish this summer: Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson ( a chunkster ), Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming, 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill, and The Onion Girl by Charles DeLint ( another chunkster ). I would so love to make it through these before the RIP Callenge. Any other additions to this list will only jinx it. Right now who knows if I’ll get to any of them though since I’ve been on a comics/art books reading binge these past 6 weeks.
Jeff S: What field is that Jeff, the debt field? 😉 I actually threw that in there on purpose to see if you were reading the comments, my friend. Well done!
Kailana: That is odd. For me my dislike…or less of a fondness for…summer is all about the heat and humidity. If it didn’t get that way here I would absolutely love it!
Debi: Yay for your kids and their summer vacation! I’m sure they plan to have a ball. If I could somehow figure out a way to read several books simultaneously and also manage to enjoy each of them I would be in heaven!
That’s some nice stacks of books! My economy drive is biting in the book department, but I’m joining you on the completion/re-read thing. There are many I need to return to, and I need to start reviewing properly instead of just declaring that a book rocks or not!
See, I don’t like babies but your niece does look quite, well, I hate to say it… cute.
Steph, don’t regret not teaching. If it was English you were going to teach, you don’t get the summer off, honest!
Aah, there it is…the ARC for When Twilight Burns! I couldn’t miss that!!! 🙂 I’ve got two dozen books in my TBR pile and I just keep psyching myself to read through them – the sooner I do that, the sooner Aug. 5th will be here and I’ll be taking one of my summer vacation days to read WTB! – Yahoo! 🙂
Kristen: I’m looking forward to reading it, reviewing it, and interviewing Colleen again closer to the book’s release. I think I’ll also hold another photo contest for prizes…I’ve done this for the last 2 book releases and its been a hoot!
Your niece is adorable 🙂 I hadn’t even see Volume 3 of Absolute Sandman yet! it’s gorgeous! I still haven’t got 2 yet…need to remedy that…Hope you enjoy Rendezvous with Rama. I think it’s a fantastic book and the build up and “never quite knowing” feel of it is great. I’m in love with your copy of Dandelion Wine! That cover is awesome and so is the book itself. I have that on my summer reading list too. Bradbury makes for good reading anytime of the year, but I’ve heard that that one in particular is great for the summer. I ordered his new collection that’s coming out around Halloween from Subterranean. Looking forward to it. I have Farworld waiting for me too. I started the first few chapters and it’s pretty good so far.
You have some great reading ahead of you! I know what you mean about reading less in the summer months, though…somehow the heat seems to suck my energy away, and I always read less than in the other seasons.
Your nice is so cute 😀
Jack Vance! Someone else reads Jack Vance! And Fritz Leiber! You’ve got some great reading listed. I loved Dandelion Wine (should be read in the summer), Rendevous with Rama, and Doomsday Book (pretty heavy, topically speaking). I’m really hoping to get to Farewell Summer this summer as a sequel to Dandelion Wine.
If you’re looking to start your summer off by capturing a little of the old magic, you have to read Dandelion Wine (check and see if your copy has the introduction Bradbury added in the seventies, it’s an essay called “JUST THIS SIDE OF BYZANTIUM” and you need to read it first – if yours doesn’t have it, you can read it at this website:
http://www.raybradbury.ru/stuff/zen_in_the_art_of_writing.pdf
You know, the reason my reading drops off in the summer involves two interconnected things: my honey-do list and the fact that the sun doesn’t set until eight or nine o’clock. In the fall and winter I can come home do a few chores and settle in with a book or movie or a visit with family/friends – I just LOVE the fall and winter!
Your niece looks like a doll – you can make all the plans and assemble all the lists you want – She is going to consume ALL your spare time…
Ken: I will have to look and see if that intro is in there, if not, thanks for the link, I will certainly check it out. I’m sure having to mow and do outside projects in addition to inside ones takes up a lot of my time, but it still seems odd how much my reading used to drop off. Last year I did pretty good since I made an effort and I hope that happens this year as well. If I am substituting reading time for things that matter it is okay, but if I’m just sitting watching mindless television because I’m hot and tired then I certainly want to be motivated to move beyond that!
Terri: I wouldn’t have read any Vance…at least not to this point…if Subterranean Press hadn’t put out that wonderful cover by Tom Kidd. I’m so glad they did. I’ve read the first 3 short stories in this collection and really enjoyed them.
I held off on reading Dandelion Wine earlier this year because it looked like a great summer read.
Nymeth: It would be different if I could have looked back to those past summers and identified what happened to me, instead I used to just sort of fade out in the summers and the days would pass and I would have no idea what happened…I guess I just mostly sat on my butt watching television. No more!!!
Chris: I just saw that Subterranean Press book today and it looks really nice. I’m going to have to put that on a wish list at this point (got to be good with the money!). I was really happy when I stumbled across that old paperback of Dandelion Wine. It was a buck I think and I really enjoyed the bizarre nature of it.
I have already mentioned that I will make this my summer of graphic novels and manga. I also plan to read along with the YA Romance and the Harlequin/Silhouette reading challenges. I also want to read ghost stories. I know it would make more sense to wait until October, but I have learned the hard way not to wait until later or the mood may disappear.
Dune, Dandelion Wine, Sandman, Johnathon Strange …. why did you do this to me? I JUST cleaned my books out today and now I have to add those to my read/re-read list! I’m finishing up the FarWorld ARC myself….
It does get humid here, that’s for sure! I live in a Valley and everything just settles here. It’s horrible!
I’m afraid I am not a big fan of most of your non-reading list items, but she is absolutely adorable, walking the dog is a fine idea (as well as a walking zen thing), and themed movie nights are grand in every way…
On another note, I, too, am so very affected by the shift in seasons. My down shifts are autumn and spring; for some reason, I handle the extremes of winter and summer much more easily.
I have always loved summer. I think I’d be willing to give up every material possession I own before I’d go off to work in the summer! I’m very blessed to get to be home full time with my kiddos.I love being with them during summer vacation, even when they drive me crazy! I get to relive my childhood summers through them.
Winter is my tough season. I need sunshine!!
Jules: Winter is a tough season for Mary as well. I think the best thing is to try to do what I am doing with the summer which is to try to plan ahead ways to make the time fun in order to overcome the things that one can’t control…like for me, the unbearable humidity!
Rus: and here I thought you were going to volunteer to help with my basement.
Kailana: yes, it is the humidity that bothers me more than anything else. The temps can get pretty high and it still not be as annoying as it is once the heat rises.
Tasses: Sorry! 🙂
Sam: I love your summer of manga and anime idea (I think you mentioned that the other day). I have some anime and manga that I haven’t gotten to yet on piles in my house and that would be fun to get into this summer as well. And I totally understand about the moods, strike while the iron is hot!
wow. that is admirable.
and i know i always say this, but i love love LOVE the way you’ve photographed your books for this. it just makes the post such a joy to read!
Hey, I read Jack Vance. I prefer the Lyonesse novels to the Dying Earth ones, on the whole.
Oh, read at the Connie Willis, that’s one of my favourite books by her…actually, I love almost all of her books, she is on my top 10 list of favourite writers…I love how you say your reading drops in summer. Mine changes, and I tend to watch more movies and garden and social visits, so my reading drops also. I like your realistic goals!!! I always want to read one chunky novel, I have Jonathan Strange and Dr Norrell to read too….but somehow the heat makes me go for light and frothy novels instead! I’ll let you know how I do, good luck with heat/reading/wonderful lazy, hazy summer days. I much prefer summer to winter!