summer reading

I can't believe how fast May snuck up on me. It's funny to see all my friend's facebook statuses revolving around job plans, jobs, vacations, etc. I chuckle because they are celebrating the beginning of summer as college students, but here I am, a college graduate, on a high school schedule? My summer won't even start for about 5 weeks. If you're getting a bitter vibe then you misread me. I'm not bitter in the least, but rather, I find it quite humorous. One thing that is nice about the first week of May is the weather. I shudder to think if I'm jinxing it right now by saying how wonderful the sunshine and temperatures gravitating in the high 60s, low 70s have been the past week, but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

So, since the weather is turning to summer norms I've decided to follow suit and kick off my summer now in one aspect. During my summers I tend to catch up on all the reading I miss out on during the school year. It has been typical in the past to fill my September-December with homework, lesson plans, papers, etc. then relax over Christmas break in order to regain just enough strength to get right back at it January through the first week of May. Now..the 2nd week of May (after 5 days of sleeping in and doing next to nothing) is when I tend to start working full-time and reading everything I wanted to all year long. This year is already different of course. I read a book every few days on average since I spend my weekdays behind another teacher's desk substitute teaching I have the time to read. However, I want to make a summer goal that I read 50 books. I've been looking over a lot of booklists complied by different educators and magazines and weeding out those I've already covered over the years. I want to get a mix of 10-15 newer books, a representation of multiple countries and cultures, and even a few books that I'm "too old for." Sometimes books designed for adolescents can be fantastic reads. I figure that if I tackle two to three books every week I can handle 50 easily.

It takes me back to elementary school when my teachers would challenge us to read over the summer. I can still recall Mrs. Pearson giving me a beach ball to record all the books I read then upon bringing it back in September I was rewarded with a gift certificate to get even more books. She is one of the rare teachers who really touch the lives of her students. I think that summer helped fan my passion for books. Well, that and my mother always reading with me. I wish kids today read more books because they really do miss out on a lot merely scanning the Internet and skimming sparknotes for answers in school. I'll try and keep you posted on my booklist decisions and if I'm keeping up with my goal. :)