It’s June. That means two things.
1) SUMMER
2) It’s time for me to read an epic Stephen King novel.
Every summer when June rolls around and things slow down (things used to slow down when I was in school — now they speed up because I work in the children’s department), I grab yet another massive Stephen King novel from my bookshelf. There’s always one ready to go because I have a slight addiction to buying books. (I buy an average of three a week… that’s normal, right?)
This year I’m reading Bag of Bones.
Scary, huh?
It’s alright. My favorite thus far has been It. You just can’t get better than scary clowns. You just can’t.
There are some rules to my tradition:
1. The book must be started no earlier or later than the last week of May.
2. The book must be at least 500 pages long.
3. It must be read by the end of June.
This third thing is very important. Because when June wraps up, I have a few weeks to read whatever I want, and then I absolutely positively MUST re-read White Oleander by Janet Fitch.
White Oleander is my absolute favorite summer book. And it absolutely must be read in the dead of summer when nothing is green. I imagine the Santa Anas blowing in just like in the novel and I crack open the book. I’ve read it either times now. Yes, I know the book by heart. That doesn’t make it any less awesome.
I thoguht maybe I was just a crazy person, going along with all these elaborate traditions. But once I started asking around, I soon realized I’m not the only person that does this.
So I want to know — in a town that reads as much Frisco, TX does, what are your crazy reading traditions?
And really, I need to hear some whoppers. Because nothing surprises me anymore.
 |
Lisa Kilian |
| Library Assistant | |
| lkilian@friscotexas.gov |
|
Lisa Kilian |
| Library Assistant | |
| lkilian@friscotexas.gov |
Tags: books, Frisco Public Library, library, reading, reading tradition, summer
My husband just read “Under the Dome” by King. It’s over 1000 pages long. I heard it was pretty awesome. In honor of your tradition, I may pick it up and tackle it myself before the end of the summer. Currently, my King read is “The Gunslinger.”
I have reading traditions, too. Some books just have to be re-read from time to time. And I spent an entire summer with the Gunslinger. Great fun.
I’ve heard so much about the Gunslinger novels and I’ve never gotten around to reading them! Next year, definitely.
I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe annually! Somehow it is just as delightful every time.
I had made it about halfway through Wizard and Glass (the fourth in the Dark Tower series) when life (read: college, mostly) took over and my reading went in different directions. I had waited forever for it to come out, too, so it makes me sad that I didn’t make it through. At this point, I need to start from the beginning again, or I won’t remember what’s going on. I would absolutely recommend them, though.