Summer Reading Challenge

Book Buzz is a blog produced in collaboration with neighborhood librarians from Houston Public Library, Harris County Public Library and the Bellaire Library.

Jessica Russell, Harris County Public Library Collection Development Manager, reading The Windfall by Diksha Basu.

If you are not in the public library business, summer is a time for fun and relaxation. If you are in the public library business, summer is a time to offer tremendous numbers of programs and services to support fun, relaxation and, yes, learning. We are full-time fun learning facilitators.

The public library summer reading program was designed many years ago to encourage youth to read for pleasure, retain learning gained during the school year and to promote libraries and literacy. It is still vitally important to keep students reading and engaged throughout the summer. In fact, I think adults could also benefit from keeping our brains active in the summer, even if we might have to trick ourselves with special reading choices.

When you are relaxing on the beach or listening to an audiobook while vacation driving, most people aren’t in the mood for a tragic tale or a weighty philosophical tome. To stop your own summer slide, your local librarian can help you find books that keep your mind active and the rest of you from being tense.

Siblings Kendall and Kameron Kirkwood enjoying library time. 

If you are a person interested in science, many fun choices are available, no matter your age. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe provides many different questions to ponder and great conversational fodder. How To Teach Physics to Your Dog by Chad Orzel introduces physics by way of cheerful conversations with his dog, Emmy.

If you are interested in history, one of my favorites is the Hark, a Vagrant! series by Kate Beaton, combining literature and history in humorous comic format. An Uncommon History of Common Things by Bethanne Patrick describes the origins of both boxer shorts and pancakes, among other things. Bill Bryson’s books are always fun and informative and The Mother Tongue: English & How it Got That Way makes the history of language fascinating for the non-linguist.

Engaging new literary fiction choices include Difficult Women by Roxanne Gay or All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai. No matter what our reading interests are, we can always stand to challenge ourselves a bit more. Up next for me is Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. How are you feeding your brain this summer?