Notes from a Reading Slacker

My reading has been slacking off lately. Seriously. I would normally tell you, "Summer is the BEST time for reading! Pools and beaches...I read so much in the summer!" But that, I am discovering, is a lie. A dirty lie.

My year goes like this:

• January–March: It's so cold. I hate the cold. I hate New York. I hate the Northeast. I hate life. Why is it so cold?
• April–May: It should be getting warmer. Why isn't it getting warmer? It would be warm by now in Nashville.
• June–August: I LOVE LIFE.
• September: Oh god, it's almost over. Summer, don't leave!
• October: Oh no, it's coming...
• November–December: How much longer til June?

During those nine months waiting for the warmth, I distract myself with books. But during those three glorious summer months, I can barely sit still long enough to open one. Yet, my office desk is filled with STACKS of books just waiting to be read. And I do want to read them...really, I do.

Therefore, I think I'm going to have to do that thing one does when chaos rules and you don't know where to start tackling a project: make a list. If I can just figure out where to start, maybe it will seem a little more manageable.

• Currently Reading: The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell. This should've been read in about a day, but my slackertude has dragged it out to about a week. Therefore, before I can comment on it, I will have to go back and skim the whole thing again.
• Next Up: Betsy-Tacy and Tib by Maud Hart Lovelace. I've been meaning to read the Betsy-Tacy series because I never knew of it as a child. But because they're so short, I feel I need to read a few before I can write anything about them.
• Sometime After That: Finny by Justin Kramon, Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky, Everything is Going to Be Great by Rachel Shukert, War Memorials by Clint McCown, the rest of Betsy-Tacy
• And, Thanks To Reviews I Just Read, Added These To the List At High Priority: The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley, 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, I Know I Am But What Are You? by Samantha Bee
• And I STILL Need To Read: New York by Edward Rutherfurd

And since I can barely sit still to read, I surely don't feel like sitting still long enough to blog about it. I am going home next week for a full 9 days (!!) with few definitive plans, which may give me a chance to catch up on some reading. Or, I may forget about reading and spend my time cruising around Nashville in the car I so love and never get to drive. My money's going on the latter.

Maybe you'll just hear from me in September.