Summer Reading is Not Just For Kids

By Stacey Anter

The Library Detective

Now that summer is here, it’s time to break out the sunscreen and shades, fire up the grill, and head to the library for some portable summer fun.  The kids are out of school and they’re already saying, “I’m bored!”  Well, I’m Stacey, nice to meet you.  Kids in many school districts need to keep their minds growing while school is on vacation and they can do this by reading books on their summer reading list to prepare them for the next grade.  But, who says they can’t have some fun while they’re doing it?  Summer Reading can be fun for adults too. Many libraries have an Adult Summer Reading Program, usually a much more flexible version of SRP for kids. For every book you read from now until August 16th, just submit a review, and every week a winner will receive a copy of Disney’s “Oceans” DVD, and the grand prize is tickets for two to Mystic Aquarium. If you have no idea what to read, we do have a suggested reading list, but you don’t have to stick to it. If you’re reading the newest Janet Evanovich, or James Patterson, that will do just fine.

Because there are only so many times I can tell you “It’s Ice Cream Month” or “Air Conditioner Appreciation Month”, I thought I would provide a few suggestions for your Summer Reading pleasure. From my own personal reading list, I will just share a few. Although, keep in mind, some titles (or later titles in a series) may not be available in the library system. If this is the case, feel free to ask a librarian to request the title you want through interlibrary loan. There has to be a library somewhere with the title you want. If it’s not available in RI, then it will be somewhere throughout the country. All you have to do is ask.

I just finished reading the last book in a series by Shanna Swendson.  The first book is called Enchanted, Inc. and the rest of the titles in the series are Once Upon Stilettos, Damsel Under Stress, Don’t Hex With Texas, Much Ado About Magic, No Quest for the Wicked, and Kiss and Spell.  These are whimsical, fun, and interesting books following a down-home Texan girl working in New York, named Katie. Usually one hears about the “weird” things that happen in the big city, but Katie gets much more than what she bargained for.  She begins seeing things that are extra- extra- extraordinary, like people floating by with wings, and gargoyles that move.  And with the help of the handsomely shy Owen, and the actually homely but interesting Rod, she comes to the realization that magic and spells do exist, and she can see right through them (hence her seeing Rod as his real homely self, as opposed to the hunk that everyone else sees).  Katie, our plain ol’ ordinary southern girl, has a gift and it’s very rare in the magical community – she is an immune.  Needless to say, she is happily whisked away from her stressful job with a seemingly bi-polar boss, to work as a verifier at MSI for Merlin (yes, King Arthur’s Merlin) in a world that considers her kind very special. Enter the evil disgruntled former employee, Phelan Idris, who is trying to sell spells that can harm and control people, and Katie has her hands full.

In Once Upon Stilettos, Katie’s parents come to visit for Thanksgiving, and she is a bit apprehensive about them finding out what she really does for a living.  Her roommates don’t even know, and Katie would prefer to keep it that way.  Aside from finding out that her mother is also an immune, she’s busy trying to excuse the strange happenings that her mother thinks she sees, explaining them as “an alternative lifestyle.” But ironically, Katie’s immunity is on the fritz for mysterious reasons just when Phelan Idris is lurking around. And to make matters worse, there’s a spy in the company and she’s asked to get to the bottom of it.  To find out what really happens, and how she handles things, you’ll have to read them.  They would be categorized under “chick lit” (like “Bridget Jones’s Diary”) but it may also be under fantasy. This series is characterized as being like “Bridget Jones meets Harry Potter.” You can also visit the author’s website at http://www.shannaswendson.com/.  Either way, check them out for some summer fun of your own. 

I’ve also started reading the latest in a series by Julie Kenner. She writes a lot of romance and chick lit, but the series I’m hooked on is called the Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom series (Carpe Demon, California Demon, Demons are Forever, Deja Demon, Demon Ex Machina, and Pax Demonica.) The best way to describe this series is to imagine Buffy the Vampire Slayer all grown up and married. It’s about a woman who was trained young by the Vatican to be a demon hunter, marries the love of her life, and retires to start a real life only to become a widow and single mother. She is now re-married with a teenager from her first husband and a toddler from her second husband, and that’s when her past life seems to rear its ugly head. Demons are popping up again and she is forced to return to demon-hunting. She finds out things about her past, and the death of her first husband, all the while trying to keep her secret from her family and friends.  Feel free to visit Julie Kenner’s website for more information and author read-alikes, at http://juliekenner.com/.

And by the way, showing your kids that you like to read will encourage them to become life-long readers as well.  For more reading suggestions, ask a librarian or two. I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction.  To find out more about summer reading programs, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too. If you would like to read other blog posts, come visit my Wordpress blog at http://librarydetective.wordpress.com/