Summer Reading Lists -- Yes or No?

Somehow summer reading lists have withstood the test of time, gleefully ignoring our transition to adulthood. They’re a throwback to those wonderful summers when school was out and there wasn’t much to do and we would proclaim “I’m bored” before we hit the 4th of July.

Everyone has a summer reading list . . . every publication, every blog, every library . . . you get the picture. I am not recreating those lists with my own picks, but I will share some of the good ones I’ve found. (After all, as someone who is woefully behind on my own 2015 reading goals, who am I to talk??)

For grades 6 to 8 from the American Library Association, you can find a wonderfully diverse list of 25 fiction and nonfiction books. These books are not just for the tween crowd. I spied a few on this list that I’ve been meaning to read. These would be great books to read along with your middle schooler! 

No vacation plans? You can read your way across the country following the list of 50 Books 50 States. This list has quite a few of my favorites on it including The Help, To Kill a Mockingbird, Silver Linings Playbook (Yes, it was a book before it was a movie!), My Sister’s Keeper, The Notebook, and The Color Purple. 

If you are seeking a vacation from all the typical beach reads, you might like 26 Books That Will Change the Way You See the World.  I have heard of nearly all of them and have a few on my current reading list such as Omnivores Dilemma, The Last Lecture, and Outliers.  Those I’ve read on this list include the Harry Potter series (which is unfairly included as a single selection), Slaughterhouse-Five, The Book Thief, and The Stranger by Albert Camus—which (let’s be honest) I would never have read if it hadn’t been assigned in a college course I took many moons ago. 

If you want to seek out your very own kind of list, I’m sure you’ll find something you like on Goodreads’ 2015 Listopia—nine pages of lists created by Goodreads members for every kind of genre and grouping you can imagine.  (If you are an avid reader and you haven’t discovered Goodreads yet, sign up today. This is an awesome website.)

Finally, if I’ve stressed you out by reminding you of all the good books out there that you haven’t had time to read, here are two very manageable lists. The six-book Perfect Summer Reading List caught my eye because it includes the much-anticipated Harper Lee novel Go Set a Watchman, which will be released on July 14^th. 

Blogger Jess Witkins' Top Ten Books I’m Excited to Read This Summer includes some super-humorous titles as well as one that’s been living on my nightstand FOREVER—Looking for Alaska by John Green. 

What’s on your summer reading list? I’d love to hear your plans. (Comment below!) And don’t forget to enter my May eBook Giveaway Contest!!

 To kick off your summer reading I’m running a contest to win a copy of my eBook in either Nook or Kindle version.  You can enter three different ways and each action will give you a chance to win. First, you can subscribe to my blog in the right hand column on this page. Second, you can follow me on Twitter by clicking HERE. Finally, you can pop over to my Facebook author page and click “Like.”  The contest runs until midnight (Central) on May 31, so don’t procrastinate or you’ll miss your chance. The winner will be announced on June 1.  (If you already have my book and you happen to win, I will send you a gift card so you can choose another awesome title.)