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Summer Reading Program

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When I was a girl, our village library offered a summer reading program. We were each given a chart with colorful stickers to keep track of all the books we read over the summer. There were prizes for the kid in each age group who read the most books—usually a book, of course. How I loved to see that chart filled with stickers! But I couldn’t cheat—my mother was the librarian, so she knew if I was really reading or just collecting stickers. Nowadays, I don’t just collect stickers, I collect books. As you can see, my shelves are pretty full!

I still think of summertime as reading time and I look forward to long afternoons to just relax and “do nothing” and read. I’ve been very busy these past months, writing and launching “Chasing Shadows” along with a Christmas novella, “Wish Book Christmas,” which will be out this holiday season. So I have fallen behind on reading books for pleasure. But now summer is here, and it’s time to remedy that. Here are some of my favorite places to curl up with a book:

The best place is on our beach on Lake Michigan. I love the warm sand and sunshine and the sound of the waves. This is the best place to read happy, romantic stories that end “happily-ever-after.”

My second favorite is our front porch. It overlooks a bike-and-walking path, so it’s fun to watch people go by with their dogs and kids while I catch up on all my favorite magazines, (which I’ve been neglecting). The porch has rocking chairs and a swing, and is a favorite place to read books to my grandchildren when they visit.

In rainy weather, I sit inside by the front window for the same view of the bike path. This is where I pray and read and have my quiet time year-round.

We are also blessed to have a screened-in back porch with a green, leafy view of trees and the fragrance of newly-mown grass. It’s above our walk-out basement, so I feel like I’m in a treehouse. A ceiling fan adds a breeze on hot, summer nights—and this is my favorite place to read when there’s a thunderstorm.

One last place is beneath the screened porch, down by the backyard. There are lots of comfy chairs and also a hammock if I want to take a little nap. Party lights make it festive after sunset, which comes late here in Michigan in the summertime.

So now I need to take a trip to the library. Do you have any great summer reading recommendations? What are your recent favorites and the places where you like to relax and read them?

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Lynn Austin

Lynn Austin, a former teacher who now writes and speaks full time. Lynn was recently inducted into the Christy Award Hall for Fame for winning eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction. One of those novels, Hidden Places, has also been made into a Hallmark Channel movie. Lynn and her husband have raised three children and make their home near Chicago, Illinois.

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Comments

  1. Chasing Shadows has been my favorite read so far this year. I just finished In A Far Off Land by Stephanie Landsem, Bridge of Gold by Kimberly Woodhouse, Lady in Attendance by Rachel Fordham, and I’m now reading More Than We Remember by CHRISTINA Suzann Nelson. All were very good. Happy reading on those beautiful areas.

  2. I recommend The Gown and our Darkest Night both by Jennifer Robson.And The Lost Lieutenant by Erica Vetsch 1st of 3 in a series. I have been reading the Chapel Cove series by several authors. The first is Remember Me by Marion Ueckermann

    • Thanks for the recommendations, Lucy. And I’m glad you enjoyed “Chasing Shadows.”

  3. I just read Karen Witemeyer’s The Heart’s Charge and Kristi Ann Hunter’s Winning the Gentleman. Both are great.

    I love fitting in pleasure reading in between writing. Looks like you have some great places to read. 🙂

  4. I love to read in bed before a nap and/or before I retire for the evening. That gives me the opportunity to put my feet and legs up and relax before I go to sleep. In fact, I woke up about 3 am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I finished T. I. Lowe’s Under the Magnolias this morning about 5 am. I will select your book to begin reading tonight.

  5. I usually read sitting in my office desk chair. which is comfortable, because if I go to my recliner, with my legs up, even though I am not reclining, I most likely fall asleep!!

    I read all of the 9 books in A Prairie Heritage by Vikki Kestell this spring. I had never read any of her books before and became hooked with the first one. I would recommend them to anyone

  6. I plan to read 3 novels in the summer 🙂 Summer by Karen Kingsbury (currently reading, also a reread), Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (reread), & Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury (reread) 🙂 <3

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